In my last piece, I spotlighted a few nonprofit organizations making major impacts on our community. Today I’ll highlight a few noteworthy individuals who are making positive impacts on Savannah in their own unique ways.
I list these in no particular order, and it pains me to limit my list to six, but here we go:
1. Kristin Russell, Teri Schell and the army of food lovers who created and sustain the Forsyth Farmers Market. The farmers market is almost single-handedly creating a new food movement in Savannah.
Every Saturday, farmers from throughout our region congregate at the south end of Forsyth Park to hawk their wares and educate visitors on healthy food and produce items. Local restaurants purchase produce here, alongside Savannah’s most nutrient-rich individuals.
The volunteers who make this market happen every Saturday deserve a big hug from the culinary conscious public. If you haven’t been, go and be healthy. forsythfarmersmarket.com.
2. Sticking with the food scene, we cannot overlook the painstaking hard work of Rene Tran and his cadre of Well Fed content producers.
Rene publishes a monthly periodical covering the entire food landscape, chronicles the local food movement and has successfully produced for two years in a row Food Day. Pick up Rene’s publication, meet the man and become a part of the Well Fed movement. www.wellfedsavannah.com.
3. Kay Wolfersberger and her fiance, Ben, came into my life over a year ago when I tried to talk them out of starting an art gallery. At the time, Kay worked for SCAD in its Working Class Studio department. She has since departed the friendly confines of SCAD to parlay her design aesthetic into a private enterprise.
You can see her branding work on local startups, regional websites and secretly impacting popular styles and brands in our fair city. Stay tuned to Kay’s new collaborative effort dubbed The Maker Collective, at kaylovescandy.com/.
4. There is a coffee revolution afoot in Savannah. The Sentient Bean and Gallery Espresso started the madness many years ago, and both of these establishments are flourishing. However, Philip Brown of PERC and Jen Jenkins of Foxy Loxy and now Coffee Fox are trending. Jen’s shops are handsome, clean, friendly and fresh. Philip’s roasts have many of the same qualities.
5. Sticking with the theme of revolutions, let’s talk about music. Bill Dawers, the most prolific attender of happenings I know, has an incredible blog covering the Savannah music scene better than anyone in the region. If you care about Savannah music, stay tuned to www.billdawers.com.
Kayne Lanahan’s Savannah Stopover Music Festival solidifies the spring as the best season to be in Savannah. Kayne has transformed a simple idea into a movement, and her festival has grown into a regional powerhouse of great music. Stay tuned for bigger and better acts in 2013.
Blake Olmstead and Peter Mavrogeorgis’ recent opening of Dollhouse Studios is not only a world-class recording facility but an incredible place to hang while watching fantastic emerging acts. It’s exciting that Blake and Peter have committed time, money and energy to producing a state-of-the-art music facility in Savannah.
6. Matt Hebermehl and Kathryn Sandoz are individually changing Savannah’s art scene. Hebermehl is street, gritty, youthful and graphic; Sandoz is refined, polished and bucolic. Apart, they are individually powerful, but when working together, they scream.
I am excited by their commitment to Savannah, the local art community and activism. Their connections, warmth and ability to bring new people into the fold does more for Savannah than any museum or gallery could ever do.
Savannah remains a town of old money and heritage, but this new, young, vibrant movement of people transforming our local scene is exciting.
The success of these individuals and countless others is reassuring. We should support these folks and their contemporaries. These are individuals who are committed to our community and are willing to invest time and resources to make our community more diverse, more engaging, more entertaining, healthier and more savory.
Make a resolution to get off the couch, get out and support Savannah’s local art, food and music scenes in 2013.
Jake Hodesh is the executive director of The Creative Coast, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the creative and entrepreneurial community within the region. Jake can be reached at 912-447-8457 or jake@thecreativecoast.org.