It takes a village to support a Garden... Well I've been distracted for the past month with our annual Garden benefit. The Garden needs about $30,000 a year to operate and maintain. We only charge $15 yearly dues, and $25 for members with vegetable plots, so you can see there is a constant fundraising component built into our continued existence. What does the money go for? Well there's utilities... right now Con Ed is charging us over 200 a month to light four lights. Then there's the tools, Newsletter costs, insurance, soil amendments, greenhouse supplies, plants and perennials that we buy, our annual picnics, the Arts Festival, and of course the costs of raising money. Finally, there is maintenance. Plumbing ( always a headache) brickwork at our gates, iron work on our railings and fences, sidewalk patching, doors to the two toolsheds, locks, keys, etc.etc.etc. We're open daily to the public so everything has to be maintained top notch. No one in the organization gets paid, but we have to pay our plumbers, ironworkers, and other craft people. Anyway, we raise money from grants- (too many to list here) booksales, neighborhood supporters and the annual benefit. It helps to be in an affluent neighborhood on the upper west side of Manhattan with good restauraunts nearby that donate food. Our members also make fabulous dishes- stuffed pork loin, shrimp appetizers with endive, spiral cut ham with plumsauce, asparagus with proscuitto, cakes and cookies. About 25 Garden members worked on the benefit this year- everything from setting lanterns the morning of the event, and working the food prep tables to designing the invitations in February. and inviting local officials and celebrities to be a part of our "Benefit Committee and Supporters" in January. Any way it's over, the garden is beautiful- and we can look forward now to our Shakespeare in the Garden Performances in July and August. Check out the website, westsidecommunitygarden.org for pictures of the Garden, membership forms and the latest schedule and coverage of events, and thanks to everyone who worked on this excellent Midsummer Revel.