Global Growers, which operates Decatur’s Kitchen Garden, sends out this announcement…

Bordered by several acres of bamboo forest, Global Growers Network’s (GGN) training farm along Snapfinger creek is invaded by young bamboo shoots each Spring.  To protect the health of the farm, GGN will, for the first time, invite the community to help maintain the bamboo from spreading.  Pick-Your-Own Bamboo Shoots days will take place each weekend in April and May, on a RSVP basis. A member of the organization will guide attendees on how to harvest, prep and cook bamboo shoots.

Bamboo plays a crucial part within the Network’s operations. As not only a great building material for fences, trellises and stakes, the material serves as a familiar overlap for many of the different cultural groups working with the organization. By hosting Pick-Your-Own Bamboo Shoots harvests, GGN hopes to facilitate a deeper knowledge of the species, as well as raise money for the growing operations among the associated farms and gardens.

GGN’s Pick-Your-Own-Bamboo-Shoots Days are on a RSVP basis only: tickets sold on BrownPaperTickets.com

$5 for all you can pick bamboo shoots,  $5 (optional) donation to pay for 1 roundtrip MARTA pass for growers

The AJC has a very good round-up about the bumper crop of talk and legislation spouting up in North and Central DeKalb that could create as many as five new potential cities in the county.  I certainly recommend the entire article to any DeKalb resident or interested party, but here are a few snippets that might be of particular interest to Decatur area folks (since this is inescapably a Decatur-focused site).

Another proposed city, alternately called Lavista Hills and Briarcliff, would wend from I-285 south to the existing city lines for Atlanta and Decatur.

Doing so would eliminate most of [the proposed city of] Lakeside while taking in massive employers such as Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More importantly, that city would encompass all of Druid Hills, where there’s a strong interest in gaining more local control over zoning and planning. A civic group there has been locked in a legal fight for a decade, trying to stop an attorney from carving a seven-lot subdivision out of three existing lots in the historic area.

…And that’s before considering what residents in central DeKalb could do. Although people there who might naturally seek annexation into Atlanta or Decatur, talk is swirling about a city of Prosperity. Though no bill carries the name, it could be added to one of the existing proposals — allowing it to be created by 2015.

Though the boundaries are fluid, Prosperity also could potentially spark a new battle for commercial areas in central and east DeKalb. Only the Stone Mountain industrial area and Stonecrest Mall businesses would be large enough to offset the mostly bedroom communities that dot the rest of DeKalb.

I haven’t done a vs. post in a while, but after spending a little time with this past week’s NYT Food & Drink Issue, I’m particularly interested in the response to this juxtaposition.

Gerald sends along this press release from the Wine Workshop and Brew Center…

DECATUR, GA – April 8, 2013 Wine Workshop and Brew Center (WWBC) announced today that it will open its doors for business on Thursday, April 11, 2013. The shop is located at 627-F East College Avenue in Decatur, Georgia. WWBC is Atlanta’s newest home brewing and wine making supply store. The store will cater to area hobbyists who want to make wine or beer.

The shop is open from 11:00am to 8:00pm on weekdays; 9:00am to 6:00pm on Saturday; and 1:00pm to 5:00pm on Sunday.

“We love being in Decatur. It’s such a vibrant and friendly place,” said WWBC President, Marcia Langford Perez.

In addition to beer- and wine-making supplies, WWBC will provide instructional sessions that help customers learn about their new hobby. The shop schedules these classes on weekday evenings and on Saturday afternoon.

WWBC features in-store winemaking services. A staff member will help customers select a wine ingredient kit with grape juice from vineyards located throughout the world. The winemaking magic starts when customers sprinkle the yeast into the juice. After several weeks, customers return to bottle and custom label their wine.