Sebastian Ellefson at Backstory Café

Having any legal problems? Landlord-tenant disputes, DUI questions, concerns about your small business? Drop by Backstory Café tomorrow afternoon between 1:30 and 3:30 and attorney Sebastian Ellefson will be happy to provide you with legal advice for no charge. Ellefson, who got his BA from the University of Chicago in 2003 and his JD from the University of Minnesota in 2008, practices law in Bridgeport during the week, but starting last month he’s appearing at Backstory on the first Saturday of every month to help out those in need of legal consultations. Ellefson says the free consultations are “a way to get your name out there and use your legal powers for good.”

This week we ran a photo essay on the churches of Woodlawn. There were a number of them that we had no room for, or that Robin and Sam couldn’t find information on. They can be found here.

A bonfire on Saturday, October 24 shows support for the 61st Street Community Garden. (Sam Feldman)

The 61st Street Community Garden was founded about a decade ago as a shared garden for families. Each family or individual pays about $40/year for a 10′ x 10′ plot of land with few restrictions to grow. The Garden, however, is owned by the University of Chicago and was built on top of a vacant lot. Earlier this year, the University announced its intentions to demolish the garden so it could use the land as a staging ground for the construction of the new Chicago Theological Seminary campus. The individuals and community involved with the garden have had various conversations with the University about relocating or preserving the garden, but the University still plans to demolish it next month. There are a few events coming up to celebrate the garden and raise awareness about its closing. Both of them will be held at the garden.

• Saturday, October 24, 2-5 PM – Come Say Hello, Come Say Goodbye?: Food, bonfire, and a drum circle to show support for the garden. I had the distinct pleasure of overhearing a planning meeting for this event hosted by University of Chicago students, and their basic mission is to show appreciation and hope from students that the University will change their plans.
• Sunday, November 1, 10AM-4PM – Last BBQ and Potluck: This event is hosted by community members and meant to be a last goodbye to the garden. There is more information on volunteering to help gardeners relocate their equipment, but the gardeners still do not have another site for the planned relocation.

Chicago Sun-Times

Chicagoist

After several years of stop and start, the Woodlawn Collaborative, a joint project between University of Chicago students and nearby community groups, officially opened last week in the First Presbyterian Church at 64th Street and Kimbark. The first occupant of the site is MAGIC, a Woodlawn-based neighborhood youth services organization, which will provide a safe study space for local middle and high school students.

Last spring the Weekly ran a story on the Collaborative’s long struggle to secure the space for use by student and community groups involved in the arts, education, and activism. Greg Gabrellas, one of the founders of the Collaborative and a student at the University, updated us on the project and emphasized that the opening is only the first step. “We still must create an organization, basically from scratch, that is comprised of student and community-based organizations working towards a common end.” The Collaborative has roughly 20 partner groups and hopes to expand programming through the fall and winter and begin running at full capacity by next spring.

The project’s mission to act as a catalyst to social change in Woodlawn is seeing its first results. “We can’t pretend that we can solve these urgent social problems ourselves; we will educate the next generation of artists, activists and intellectuals who can take a stab at it, perhaps in better conditions than our own,” Gabrellas says. He emphasizes that what the collaborative needs now more than ever is people. “There is a place for everyone: group leaders to shift their activities here, teaching artists to teach classes, economics majors to help us with our finances, and dedicated people to ensure that everyone who enters our facilities is safe and sound.” On October 30th the members will convene for their fall general meeting to discuss the transition into a full-time center.

Care2/Local Harvest just announced the results of their “Love Your Farmers Market” contest, where fans voted online for their favorite markets from June 19 to September 17, and the results are a bit surprising. Woodlawn’s own 61st Street Farmers Market, begun only 16 months ago in a vacant lot across from the Experimental Station, came in 66th place, higher than any other Chicago market, beating out 10-year-old, year-round powerhouse Green City Market (#76) up in Lincoln Park. No other markets in the city limits placed within the top 100, although the northern and western suburbs had a good showing with Woodstock at #41, Grayslake at #55, Brookfield at #57, Libertyville at #87, Crystal Lake at #92, and Gurnee at #93.