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Raw Box Organics, bringing healthy options to Tampa
Long time readers or even the newer, avid ones know that I have been juicing for several years now and that Tanya decided to get into it shortly after she moved here. In fact, in June she released her first book, Faces of Juicing, Visual Juicing Recipes. As a result of our marketing of her book we became aware of other health related businesses that belonged to friends of ours, one of which is Raw Box Organics, out of Tampa, FL.
Raw Box Organics delivers fresh organic produce each week from their truck to your home; getting all of their products from the harvests of local farms. Keeping it local not only supports the local community but it also ensures that the produce is as fresh as humanly possible. In order to guarantee freshness they only deliver in the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater areas. They do not ship.
As owner Morten Due explained, \”Raw Box Organics was founded based on the principle that organic food is the key to good health. The body has an amazing ability to heal itself if fueled with the right food. We strive to make eating healthier easy by delivering fresh produce to homes and offices weekly.\” To make it easy for any budget, Raw Box Organics offers a variety of sizes, including Fruit Boxes, Vegetable Boxes, Mixed Produce Boxes, Juicing Boxes, Office Boxes and Kids Snack Boxes. Continue reading
A DNA Reunion Follow-up – Tim meets his sister
My regular readers will likely recall that a couple weeks ago I did an article about my friend, Tim, who was adopted at birth and learned this at the age of 7. About 15 years ago he started working in earnest to discover who his birth mother was. He was not having much luck until last December when he learned about 23andme.com, a center that does genetic testing for health, disease and ancestry through a DNA test done with your saliva. On December 19, he sent in saliva samples from him and his daughter. A few weeks later he received his results. Although the test results did not provide any information about his natural birth mother, it did provide him with enough leads that he eventually found a Yahoo DNA group which was designed for people that were adopted or had put children up for adoption to discuss their DNA results. It was there that Tim met his search angel, Diana.
In what must have seemed like a whirlwind of events, Tim\’s search angel, Diana, soon notified him that she had discovered Tim\’s birth mother and a sister, Debby. After reaching out via Facebook, Tim and Debbie started talking and it was not long before Tim and his mother arranged a meeting for the end of January when she flew out to meet her son and granddaughter. Two weeks later, on Friday night, Debby flew to Los Angeles with her husband to meet Tim and his daughter. I was again invited to come out and photograph the meeting which you will find below. As you can see in the photos, everyone was happy to finally meet. Continue reading
1st Annual Rocktoberfest at LA Live, benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project
Back in April, when I made my first visit to Rock & Brews, I was walking around checking out the artwork decorating the place, I could not but help notice among all the rock and roll images was a lone banner on the center of the main wall. On it was the image of one soldier carrying another, obviously wounded soldier, with the words, \”Wounded Warrior Project\” below. Upon closer inspection I could see that it had been signed by many people from different branches of the armed forces. I made a mental note to investigate the Wounded Warrior Project and see if there was some way I could get involved. ![\"Wounded](\"http://www.gotbaddog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Brews_8550.jpg\" "\\"Brews_8550\\"")
Last weekend, while at BAM Fest, I saw that Rock & Brews had a booth and they were using it to promote an upcoming event; Rocktoberfest at LA Live, with a fund raising event kicking it off to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. I went over to talk to them about it and after an email or two it was decided that GotBaddog.com would photograph their opening night, Charity Gala, this Monday, October 15 at LA Live. Continue reading
Hollywood On Tap Beer Festival: Benefiting The Blank Theatre
The Blank Theatre Company is having a craft beer festival, Hollywood On Tap, as a fundraiser on Saturday, October 20, 2012 at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. The festival will include more than 40 craft brews including dozens of local craft brewers, about a dozen food trucks and live music. 100% of the proceeds will go to benefit The Blank Theatre, a 501(c) (3) non-profit arts organization. ![\"Hollywood](\"http://www.gotbaddog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/HOT_Web-Logo.jpg\" "\\"HOT_Web"){kind=logo}
Hollywood On Tap will be held at Paramount Studios, Streets of New York backlot, so it will be like going to NYC for a beer without all the travel and with better weather. The event runs from 2-5:00PM with VIP admission beginning at 1:00PM. Ticket prices before October 1 are $45 for VIP and $35 general admission; and $50 for VIP and $40 general admission after October 1. Tickets WILL NOT be sold at the door, so if you want to participate in this event you must purchase your tickets ahead of time at HollywoodOnTap.com. If you do not have a designated driver, Driving Alliance has packages available that include the cost of admission and they will drive you to and from the event. Please visit http://drivingalliance.org/events/ for more details. You can also purchase your tickets by calling (323) 661-9827. Designated drivers can get in for $15 if they are accompanying a paid participant. Continue reading
My comments to the Torrance Planning Commission in support of CUP12-00015
Tonight, Smog City Brewing had their hearing in front of the Torrance Planning Commission for a Conditional Use Permit to open a tasting room in Torrance. If you want to look it up, it was CUP12-00015. As we were given three minutes and I was pretty nervous, my comments ended up being edited slightly at the last minute; but the following is my comments in their entirety. Oh, they were granted the permit and will hopefully be open in February and on the Business & Beer rotation soon thereafter.
My name is Lloyd Brown. I have been a Torrance and South Bay resident since 1964. I graduated from Seaside Elementary in 1967 and Bishop Montgomery High School in 1971.
My past includes being involved with Cub Scout Pack 948 as a den leader, a coach for several AYSO seasons, a Torrance Little League coach and umpire and I have been honored by the Edison School PTA for my volunteer work with them.
I have owned my home in Torrance since 1985 and I am the Director of Business Development for Synergy DTI, Inc, a Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce member. I am the blogger behind GotBaddog.com which concentrates its efforts on promoting local business and non-profits. I am also a co-founder of Business & Beer and I am an advocate for American craft beers. Continue reading
Alpine Village Bier fest coming September 1
Alpine Village in Torrance, CA, home of Southern California\’s largest and oldest Oktoberfest (45 years), is spreading their wings so to speak by holding their first ever Bier fest. While Oktoberfest is unmistakably German, Bier fest is German in name only. Otto Radtke, the General Manager of Alpine Village is a big beer fan and he is proving it with the selection of American craft micro breweries that will be represented at his inaugural event. Local brewers and hosts to several of our Business N Beer events, The Brewery at Abigaile, Strand Brewing, El Segundo Brewing and Monkish Brewing will all be represented. At the time of my writing this, there were more than 35 brewers lined up providing more than 100 different beers! ![\"Bier](\"http://www.gotbaddog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/bierfest-flyer.jpg\" "\\"bierfest-flyer\\"")
Stone Brewing will be bringing eight or nine different brews themselves, including the 16th Anniversary, Smoked Porter w/Vanilla, ’10 Imperial Russian Stout and Double Dry Hopped Ruination. Not to be outdone, Firestone will be there with several of their own, including some of my personal favorites; Double Jack, Wookie Jack and union Jack. Other brewers in attendance will include Ballast Point, New Belgium, Heretic Brewing and Hangar 24. The Bier fest slogan of \”Focusing on hard-to-find, one-of-a-kind and out-of-your-mind bier!\” is being lived up to as I heard a rumor that a run to Oregon is being made to bring back some brews not normally available here. If you are a craft beer fan, this is an event you will want to be sure to attend. You can see the latest updated list of the brewers and what they are bringing on Alpine Village\’s website. Continue reading
BAM Fest returns to Santa Monica, October 6, 2012
The 18th Street Arts Center is holding its 3rd Annual Beer, Art and Music Festival, on October 6, 2012. Affectionately known as BAM Fest, this is a fundraiser for the 21 year old Santa Monica based non-profit. The 18th Street Arts Center has become a well-known and internationally respected alternative art space which has sponsored over 1,000 artists through their residency program, and BAM Fest is a great way to help them continue while enjoying some great beers, music and food.
BAM Fest will feature more than 25 craft breweries from around the country as well as local brewers such as Monkish Brewing, Strand Brewing, El Segundo Brewing Company and The Brewery at Abigaile. Regular readers know that we are big fans of our local craft brewers and I am always willing to cover fundraisers for non-profits, so it was an easy decision to attend this event. In addition to all the good beer there will be several food trucks, four live bands and art exhibits including sculptures, videos, paintings and music. Continue reading
Business N Beer, a new kind of networking group
Since we joined the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce late last year, we have had the pleasure of meeting and interacting with many small business owners in the South Bay area. Through these interactions I have been invited to join several service clubs and business networking groups. While I wish I had the time and money to join every service club the fact is I do not, so I volunteer my services to help publicize their fundraisers. As far as networking groups are concerned, I can definitely see the value in them but they all seem to come with obligations I can not meet. This would include mandatory weekly meetings that might meet at 7:00 AM for breakfast or lunch at a Sizzler or something along those lines. My schedule just does not allow for that kind of commitment.
As you [may] know, in May Tanya and I participated in American Craft Beer Week and in the process became aware of several microbreweries, brewpubs and gastropubs in the South Bay area. I got the opportunity to meet many of the owners and well as several brewmasters as well. I could not help but notice that as Craft Beer Week progressed, we started seeing a lot of the same people at the various locations. In the subsequent weeks since then the number of people that we would meet steadily increased. That is when Tanya got a brilliant idea; we would start our own business networking group, but add a twist to it. We decided to name it Business N Beer. Continue reading
The 2nd Annual Beer & Music Festival coming July 14
The Manhattan Beach Young Professionals are throwing their 2nd Annual Beer & Music Festival, otherwise known as SummerFest 2012, this coming Saturday, July 14. Sponsored by Chevron, the proceeds from this fundraiser will go to benefit the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce. There will also be a raffle with all the monies being donated to the PS I Love You Foundation. The event will be held at Raleigh Studios\’ New York Street, located at 1600 Highland in Manhattan Beach. It runs from 3-6 PM, with an after party at 12 and Highland Restaurant.
When looking at the SummerFest lineup it is obvious that this is going to be a lot of fun. The participating brewers reads like the \”Who\’s who\” of local brewers and gastropubs, including The Brewery at Abigaile, Affligem Brewery, Angel City Brewery, Batch 19, BevMo, Birra Moretti, Blue Moon Brewing Company, Bootleggers Brewery, Drake\’s Brewing, El Segundo Brewing Company, Firemans Brew, Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Golden Road Brewing Company, Hangar 24 Craft Brewery, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Mad River Brewing Company, Monkish Brewing Company, North Coast Brewing Company, Old Crafty Hen, Port Town Brewing Company, Primo Island Lager, San Pedro Brewing Company, Shock Top Brewing Company, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Simmzy’s, Stone Brewing Company, Strand Brewing Company, Widmer Brothers Brewing Company, South Bay Brewing Supply and the Strand Brewers Club. If you enjoy American craft beers, you will definitely find a few brews to your liking. In addition to the breweries there will be food trucks and several restaurants participating with free small bites from local restaurants during the first hour (3-4pm only). Continue reading
2012 Chocolate Blues & Business Networking Festival is coming to Long Beach
The 2012 Long Beach/Seal Beach Chocolate Blues is coming to Long Beach, CA on Wednesday, June 27th, 2012 from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM. While this event has been running for nine years now, and happens in 40 cities across the United States, I think this is the first time that they have come to the Los Angeles/Orange County area. As such, this will be my first time attending and to make sure I attend, GotBaddog.com will be hosting the \”Bloggers Circle\” with my better half, Tanya of TanyaMartin.com and GeekGoodGirl.com.
Having perused the testimonials on the Chocolate Blues website and LinkedIn it appears that this is going to be a great networking event. I think the fact that they urge all attendees to bring several hundred business cards suggests lots of business gets done. As my special gift to you, just for reading this far, I have a couple dozen free passes available. All you have to do is be able to attend, and contact me. You can register here on my blog or follow GotBaddog on Facebook, then send me a message. Sound good? Continue reading