Beer Mile to benefit EcoBrick Exchange
On Sunday, Oct. 13, Mirror Twin Brewing Company will host a “Beer Mile Run” in support of EcoBrick Exchange, an award-winning, non-profit organization that is raising funds to rebuild a pre-school in Walmer Township, Port Elizabeth – one of the poorest communities in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa – using environmentally friendly materials. The Penguins Learn & Play center will be rebuilt using EcoBricks: two-liter plastic bottles filled with compressed, unrecyclable plastic waste. The school will be the first two-story Eco-Brick building in the world.
The Beer Mile event is organized by Kinga Mnich, Ph.D., a local partner in the EcoBrick Exchange project. Admission to the event will include participation in the “beer mile” run, four beers, a T-shirt, live music from Lee Carroll’s Ethos Jazz Band and a raffle. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the project; Mirror Twin has also created a collaborative brew called “EcoBrick Exchange,” with a dollar from every pint purchased to be donated to the project. The event takes place 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at Mirror Twin Brewing Co., 725 National Ave., with tickets now available at EventBrite.com (search for “Mirror Twin Beer Mile”).
Lexington names Official City Flower
Gary Bachman Office of Ag Communications
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Pow Wow Wild Berry coneflower grows to about 20 inches tall and produces continuous blooms. (Photo by MSU Extension Service/Gary Bachman)
Following a landslide win in the polls, the Purple Coneflower – also known as Echinacea Purpura – has been named the official city flower of Lexington, Mayor Linda Gorton announced in September. The flower received 50 percent of the votes cast by more than 1,100 citizens who participated, beating out the other two candidates Catmint and Blue Salvia. The three choices had been narrowed down by the local branch of the organization America in Bloom, which first sought input from master gardeners, garden club members, home gardeners, and garden professionals.
An education and demonstration campaign planned by the city will soon follow, to encourage the community to plant Purple Coneflowers in 2020.
Neighborhood events planned for this month’s Lexington Tree Week
A handful of Chevy Chase-area neighborhoods have organized events in conjunction with this year’s Lexington Tree Week, a weeklong celebration of Lexington’s trees and the ways they impact our lives, taking place Oct. 12-19. The multi-venue event includes tree plantings, hikes, tours, educational programs, music events, a tree climbing competition and more.
Bell Court Tree Planting
Sat., Oct. 12 at 9 a.m.
Tree Week officially kicks off with group tree planting in Bell Court’s Bell Park (545 Sayre Ave.). Five trees will be planted in neighborhood yards, as well as one in the park. Trees and mulch will be provided, but attendees should bring their own shovels and gloves.
Trees of Fairway
Sun., Oct. 13 at 3 p.m.
Attendees should meet in the Fairwood median off Richmond Road for a walking tour of the “Trees of Fairway.” The tour will focus on the aesthetic quality of individual trees and on their ecological functions and will conclude with refreshments at the gazebo behind the Speech and Hearing Center.
For more information on these events and a full lineup of Tree Week events, visit