A Young Black Man Going Ego Trippin’

Our visionary Tonya Cross is the organizer of local community conversation “Peace Circle” that launched in July 2015.  The Peace Circle creates a safe space for open and honest dialogue about social issues that impact the local community. The conversations are held the first Tuesday of every month at Mean Mug Coffee Company, 1024 S. Fulton Street, Salisbury NC.

Peace Circle hosted their first parent/child workshop sessions “What’s Your Role In The Village?” in September 2015 which addressed how systemic racism, discrimination, and stereotypes impacts the local community. A Young Black Man Going Ego Trippin’ photo series was inspiration for artwork and poetry created by local youth who attended the workshops. Mrs. Carla Marlin Smith a parent engagement specialist at Parent University of Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools was the workshop facilitator. Ms. Anneca Raines of Uhkneeka Rainz Photography is the photographer of the photo series.

Young Black Man Going Ego Trippin'

Young Black Man Going Ego Trippin’ Photo Source: Carla Smith

A Young Black Man Going Ego Trippin’ is currently being featured at Waterworks Visual Arts Center, 123 E. Liberty Street, Salisbury NC. The photo exhibit includes art and poems created by the local youth who attended Peace Circle’s workshop! The young men in the photo series also have Salisbury NC/Rowan County ties. The exhibit will be up till September and we would like to encourage everyone in Salisbury, NC and surrounding areas to visit the exhibit. Thanks for your continued support!

The Vine Events

JOIN | SHARE | LEARN

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

 

Gifted – A Must See Film!

The film Gifted is amazing! I had the opportunity to recently attend the premiere screening of the movie starring Chris Evans, Mckenna Grace, and Octavia Spencer. Grace who plays a 7-year-old child prodigy named Mary Adler steals the show. The only thing that is missing is her two front teeth! She instantly wins the hearts of the audience and draws you into the story of a uncle’s single parent journey as primary caregiver to his niece. It’s a beautiful journey of loss, obstacles, and triumph.

The character in the film I liked the most was Fred; the one-eyed cat! He provided comfort and personified normality for a little girl who was far from average. Mary was academically gifted in mathematics. Her uncle Frank Adler, played by Chris Evans, promised her deceased mother (his sister) that he’ll make sure her daughter experience childhood and not allow her gift to rob her of it.

To avoid any spoilers, I’m going to stop sharing about this wonderful film and recommend you go see it for yourself! It opens Friday, April 7th in limited theaters and nation wide on Wednesday, April 12th. For more information about Gifted, click here!

Tonya Cross
Visionary of The Vine Events

Embracing Community Diversity

20140612-225722-82642087.jpgWhat happens when a community with a common faith and goal join together? You get a Community Based Ministry Café. On Saturday, May 17, 2014, community leaders from various faith denominations gathered at New Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Salisbury, NC to learn how to engage the community through ministry. As part of the Café, our very own Tonya Cross led an hour long workshop called Embracing Community Diversity: A panel discussion of race, justice and beloved community. This workshop consisted of a panel including Tonya, Deseré Cross and Evelyn Medina.

The purpose of the workshop was to address barriers in the community that prevent people of different backgrounds from working together. Each panelist addressed a different barrier. Tonya talked about self-segregation, suggesting that one reason why communities have a hard time creating change is because within a community, people self-segregate themselves, meaning they separate themselves from others who do not look like them or have the same beliefs.

The second panelist, Deseré, talked about stereotypes. Stereotypes are assumptions people make about a group of people based on preconceived notions. Deseré suggested the best way to combat stereotypes is to be aware of the assumptions you have about certain groups of people and to not allow those assumptions to prevent you from interacting with new and different groups of people.

Evelyn, the third panelist, shared her personal story about how she ensures her children are exposed to different cultures. Her story sparked a conversation about how non-exposure to different cultures can act as a barrier to your willingness to work with people who are different from you.

A fourth panelist, who was unable to make it, was to discuss how language also serves as a barrier that prevents people from working together with people from different backgrounds. Although the panelist who was to cover this topic was unable to attend, the barrier was still brought up in conversation and was addressed by Tonya and Evelyn.

Overall, the workshop was a success and received good reviews from participants in the Café. Special thanks to all of our panelists and participants who contributed to a wonderful discussion about barriers in our community that can prevent us from collectively building our community. As you live your daily lives, we encourage you to mingle outside the box, be aware of stereotypes, and expose yourself to new people and things.

JOIN | SHARE | LEARN

The Vine Event Planning Facebook – TheVineEventPlanning
Twitter – TheVineEvents
Google+ – The Vine Event Planning

Our specialty is informative events such as, Q&A parties, screening dialogues, interpersonal workshops, and community forums. We offer both face-to-face and online event designs. Contact us today for a “free” consultation for your next meeting/event.

May – Mental Health Month

Mental Health Month It’s up to you today to start making healthy choices. Not choices that are just healthy for your body, but healthy for your mind. ― Steve Maraboli

May is Mental Health Month. Mental Health America’s 2014 theme is “Mind Your Health”. Throughout the month of May, we will have daily post on our social network pages about mental health. For more information about Mental Health Month visit Mental Health America.

JOIN | SHARE | LEARN

The Vine Event Planning Facebook – TheVineEventPlanning
Twitter – TheVineEvents
Google+ – The Vine Event Planning

Our specialty is informative events such as, Q&A parties, screening dialogues, interpersonal workshops, and community forums. We offer both face-to-face and online event designs. Contact us today for a “free” consultation for your next meeting/event.

Cesar Chavez Movie Community Screening

Cesar Chavez Movie Screening Cesar Chavez Movie Community Screening

The Vine Events partnered with Community Based Ministry Cafe’ (CBMC) to host a community screening of Cesar Chavez Movie. Cesar Chavez was a civil rights leader and labor organizer who embraced non-violence as he battled greed and prejudice to bring dignity to people. “Embracing Community Diversity” team hosted the event as a precursor to their breakout session at CBMC that will address overcoming cultural barriers that hinder inclusiveness. Our keynote speaker for CBMC will be Alexia Salvatierra, author of Faith-Rooted Organizing. Join us for CBMC on Saturday, May 17th by registering here.

JOIN | SHARE | LEARN

The Vine Event Planning Facebook – TheVineEventPlanning
Twitter – TheVineEvents
Google+ – The Vine Event Planning

Our specialty is informative events such as, Q&A parties, screening dialogues, interpersonal workshops, and community forums. We offer both face-to-face and online event designs. Contact us today for a “free” consultation for your next meeting/event.

 

Motivation and Purpose

The owner of  The Vine Events, Tonya Cross, was featured in the YouTube video below.  Check out our Boss Lady’s great advice!

JOIN | SHARE | LEARN

The Vine Event Planning
Facebook – TheVineEventPlanning
Twitter – TheVineEvents
Google+ – The Vine Event Planning

Our specialty is informative events such as, Q&A parties, screening dialogues, interpersonal workshops, and community forums. We offer both face-to-face and online event designs. Contact us today for a “free” consultation for your next meeting/event.

Community Based Ministry Cafe’

We’re so excited about partnering with some great organizations to bring Community Based Ministry Cafe’ (CBMC) to our area! We invite you to join us on Saturday, May 17th for a one-day training event for pastors, leaders, and organizers who are interested in reaching and transforming their communities.

Our keynote speaker at CBMC will be Alexia Salvatierra, author of Faith-Rooted Organizing. Our team, “Embracing Community Diversity”, will be facilitating a breakout session that will help our guest develop and implement a strategy to cross cultural barriers and establish relationships. Click on links below for more information.

Keynote Speaker: Alexia Salvatierra http://www.alexiasalvatierra.com

CBMC Registration: https://secure.wesleyan.org/ors/cafe-nc/

JOIN | SHARE | LEARN

The Vine Event Planning
Facebook – TheVineEventPlanning
Twitter – TheVineEvents
Google+ – The Vine Event Planning

Our specialty is informative events such as, Q&A parties, screening dialogues, interpersonal workshops, and community forums. We offer both face-to-face and online event designs. Contact us today for a “free” consultation for your next meeting/event.

20140328-010612.jpg

May – Mental Health Month

MHM2013_Pathways_to_Wellness_BUTTON_webMay is Mental Health Month. Mental Health America (MHA) theme this year is Pathways to Wellness. MHA created a Mental Health Month Calendar which has a wellness tip for each day of May. We will be sharing these daily tips on our social network pages and hope to encourage our fans/followers to find and maintain their pathway to wellness. For more information about mental health wellness visit MHA website at www.mentalhealthamerica.net.

The Vine Event Planning
Facebook – TheVineEventPlanning
Twitter – TheVineEvents
Google+ – The Vine Events Chat Cafe

Happy Earth Day

20130422-082839.jpg

The Vine Event Planning
Facebook – TheVineEventPlanning
Twitter – TheVineEvents
Google+ – The Vine Events Chat Cafe

Earth Month – Making A Difference

For Earth Month, The Vine Events interviewed Tiffani Davis, owner of Tiffy’s Corner. It is time to move beyond awareness to acceptance. It is time to accept and act upon our responsibility to replenish the earth. We believe Tiffy’s Corner has made this transition and is doing their part by providing healthy products.

The Vine Event Planning
Facebook – TheVineEventPlanning
Twitter – TheVineEvents
Google+ – The Vine Events Chat Cafe

Q&A Interview With Tiffani Davis

What’s the name of your company and what inspired you to start it?

The name of my company is Tiffy’s Corner. I was inspired to start Tiffy’s Corner because we live in a fast paced synthetic world. I wanted to provide people with inexpensive healthy products.

What type of products do your company provide?

Tiffy’s Corner provides many affordable healthy products. In today’s world, our food and body care products are loaded with ingredients that are extremely toxic to our bodies. Both inside and out.

I provide healthy baked goods that are as natural as can be. No preservatives or artificial ingredients of any kind. “You are what you eat” and I wouldn’t want anyone to be a lab created synthetic science experiment.

I am a firm believer that if you can’t digest it, don’t put it on your skin. This became my concern when we had children. As a parent, you want to protect your child from as much as possible. Well when you really read what is in these products, it really makes you wonder. All of the major company products are dangerous if ingested…Why would you make such a product for an infant or child? Infants and children constantly have their hands in their mouths; it’s natural for a child to be oral. Even though they may not bring that lotion bottle to their mouths and drink it (well my daughter did), the product is still on their skin. Not only are they ingesting harmful chemicals when the hands do go in the mouth, but it is getting absorbed through the skin. I felt it was time to provide us all with healthier options for our skin.

What do you find most rewarding in what you do?

I have to say that the most rewarding part of Tiffy’s Corner is the fact that I provide healthy organic products that are in reach for all walks of life; no matter what your financial situation. It breaks my heart to see how expensive organic products can be. Not everyone can afford the majority of what is out there today, but everyone should be able to afford and live an organic healthy life.

Our theme for Earth Month is “Replenish The Earth”. Why do you think it’s important to replenish the earth?

“Replenish The Earth”?… Ahhh, I could go on for days on this subject! I don’t think I could stress enough the impact humans have on this planet. We have become a cancer to our planet and need to provide a cure ASAP! If you do just a little research on the global changes occurring, it should light a fire under some of us to make the appropriate changes needed to sustain our planet. Unfortunately, people don’t want the truth…why? Because its inconvenient, the thought of making a change in their everyday life is scary and God forbid it just might slow them down! I believe that as soon as humans felt the need to speed everything up (transportation, building, growing, curing, etc) is when we began destroying Mother Earth .

It’s time to slow down. It’s time to step back and take a look at our water supply, take a look at the forest and the lack of trees, take a look at the amount of trash we accumulate, take a look at the mutations of animals, insects, and yes humans. It’s time to give back to this planet . Because we are only guest here. The trees, plants, animals, and insects can do just fine without us. We have become an unwanted house guest!

There are so many ways to make a difference. Plant a tree. It doesn’t have to cost much. Save a few seeds from an apple or orange and go for it! Start it on your widow sill and know that as soon as it begins to sprout, you have already began to make a difference . Be aware of your water use. No need to use more than you actually need. In our home we have a few grey water lines that irrigate plants outside. This reduces water use greatly. I barely turn on the outside hose in the spring or summer. But you don’t have to go through the great lengths of installing a grey water system. Catch rain water for your garden and indoor plants. When you wash those fruits and veggies, don’t just let that water go down the drain, catch it in a bowl and use for plants as well.

If we don’t take these steps and reverse the damage we have done, we will have no future. I urge us all to sit quiet, join hands, listen to Mother Earth, and begin the rebirth of our planet. It’s time for change.

You can visit Tiffy’s Corner online store at www.tiffyscorner.weebly.com.