Thu 2/1 @ 11:30AM-1:30PM
In October of 2010 city leaders, including then-Congressman Dennis Kucinich, city councilor Phyllis Cleveland and various other civic poohbahs, gathered on a large bare patch of land in what was then called “the Forgotten Triangle,” a Kinsman neighborhood that featured block after block so empty, with only an occasional crumbling house, you thought you were in rural West Virginia.
They were there to join Keymah Durden, Damien Forshe and Randy McShepard for the official kickoff of Rid-All Farm. The three school friends had had the idea to plant that empty land with fruit orchards, a vision that coalesced into Rid-All Green Partnership, a large urban farm and education and recreation space. They began building it the next year. Now the land is teeming with greenhouses, hoop houses, tilapia ponds, compost bins, a community kitchen, a tree nursery and a playground. Since 2019, it’s hosted the annual Fresh Fest every fall.
The scattered houses on those nearby blocks have since been subsumed into the “Opportunity” Corridor, just a stone’s throw away. Sadly Forshe passed away in 2018 at the age of 50 but McShepard, Durden and their team continue to grow the project. Its growth caught the attention of Seattle’s Thriving Communities organization which uses film to tell stories about community activism. And its film Regenerating Communities tells Rid-All’s story.
The City Club will be hosting a special advance screening of the film, which is, alas, sold out. (It probably won’t be the last opportunity to see it.) However, it’ll be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with Durden, McShepard and filmmaker Ross Monagle, moderated by the City Club’s Cynthia Connolly, and that part of the program, likely to be as illuminating as the film will be livestreamed at the City Club website starting at 12:40p,m If you have questions, you can tweet them to @TheCityClub or text 330-541-5794.
cityclub.org/regenerating-communities