It’s back!

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service is collaborating with Historic Milwaukee for a second installment of “Neighborhood Gems: Behind the Scenes,” taking place at 6 p.m. tonight (Wednesday, Sept. 29).

The free digital event, part of Doors Open 2021, will feature five-minute “lightning round” presentations from seven community projects, using multimedia and storytelling to share their backstory.

You can sign up to join the event in Zoom or watch the Facebook Live stream on our Facebook page. You can also stream 2020’s Neighborhood Gems event here.

In the lead up, we’re publishing mini-features on the projects, including Maranta Plant Shop, CirculateMKE and Proyecto Conbíf.

Maranta Plant Shop

Maranta (1739 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive) is a new Black- and brown-owned plant shop and community space. Co-owners Mag Rodriguez and Michelle Alfaro curate plants from around the country and were intentional about contributing to the legacy of the Bronzeville neighborhood. Maranta also recently opened Tostada by Maranta, a food stand operated by chef Dominique Alvarado.

This presentation will be given by Rodriguez.

CirculateMKE

Since 2015, CirculateMKE has created opportunities for shoppers and entrepreneurs to experience the diverse cultures of Milwaukee, putting on pop-up markets in community hubs throughout the city. A typical market features everything from food to home goods to fashion to art to body products, all created by local makers. CirculateMKE has become a home to over 120 local entrepreneurs, who they continued to showcase through digital storytelling events during the pandemic.

This presentation will be given by CirculateMKE organizers Shalina Ali and Fidel Verdin, who also run hip-hop education nonprofit TRUE Skool.

Proyecto Conbíf

Artist Ck Ledesma’s Proyecto Conbíf links their two homes in Milwaukee and Puerto Rico with a flavorful dialogue about colonization. With the project, Ledesma snail-mails ingredients and instructions to cook their favorite childhood corned beef dish to participants in Milwaukee and beyond. Participants then create a meal that both reminds Ledesma of their grandmother and has ties to the transatlantic slave trade. Ledesma has also created murals and art installations throughout Milwaukee’s neighborhoods.

This presentation will be given by Ledesma.

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‘Neighborhood Gems’: Learn about Maranta Plant Shop, CirculateMKE and Proyecto Conbíf

by Adam Carr, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
September 29, 2021

<h1>‘Neighborhood Gems’: Learn about Maranta Plant Shop, CirculateMKE and Proyecto Conbíf</h1> <p class="byline">by Adam Carr, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service <br />September 29, 2021</p> <p>It’s back!</p> <p>Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service is collaborating with&nbsp;<a href="https://historicmilwaukee.org/"><strong>Historic Milwaukee</strong>&nbsp;</a>for a second installment of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1209090899612321"><strong>“Neighborhood Gems: Behind the Scenes,”</strong></a> taking place at 6 p.m. tonight (Wednesday, Sept. 29).</p> <p>The free digital event, part of <a href="https://historicmilwaukee.org/doors-open/"><strong>Doors Open 2021</strong></a>, will feature five-minute “lightning round” presentations from seven community projects, using multimedia and storytelling to share their backstory.</p> <p>You can <a href="https://historicmilwaukee.org/event/doors-open-neighborhood-news-service-event/?fbclid=IwAR14qNYxkUGNw49_koGKsMssOELk-oCiJdjEuXd-XFewtcmx1LnZCle1lDE">sign up to join the event in Zoom</a> or watch the Facebook Live stream on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/milwaukeenns">our Facebook page</a>. You can also stream <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=789295095179993&amp;ref=watch_permalink">2020’s Neighborhood Gems event here</a>.</p> <p>In the lead up, we’re publishing mini-features on the projects, including Maranta Plant Shop, CirculateMKE and Proyecto Conbíf.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-78702 is-resized"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/3-Maranta.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-78702" height="768" width="1080" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Michelle Alfaro (pictured) and Mag Rodriguez operated Maranta as a pop-up for six months before moving to their current location. (Photo provided by Maranta Plant Shop)</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>Maranta Plant Shop</strong></p> <p><a href="https://marantaplantshop.com/">Maranta</a> (1739 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive) is a new Black- and brown-owned plant shop and community space. Co-owners Mag Rodriguez and Michelle Alfaro curate plants from around the country and were intentional about contributing to the legacy of the Bronzeville neighborhood. Maranta also recently opened <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tostadamke">Tostada by Maranta</a>, a food stand operated by chef Dominique Alvarado.</p> <p>This presentation will be given by Rodriguez.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-78704 is-resized"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/3-Circulate.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-78704" height="956" width="1440" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">CirculateMKE has a market in Alice’s Garden coinciding with Doors Open 2021. (Photo provided by CirculateMKE)</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>CirculateMKE</strong></p> <p>Since 2015, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/circulatemke">CirculateMKE</a> has created opportunities for shoppers and entrepreneurs to experience the diverse cultures of Milwaukee, putting on pop-up markets in community hubs throughout the city. A typical market features everything from food to home goods to fashion to art to body products, all created by local makers. CirculateMKE has become a home to over 120 local entrepreneurs, who they continued to showcase through <a href="https://milwaukeenns.org/2020/09/15/nns-spotlight-popular-mobile-market-to-make-a-triumphant-in-person-return-this-weekend/">digital storytelling events</a> during the pandemic.</p> <p>This presentation will be given by CirculateMKE organizers Shalina Ali and Fidel Verdin, who also run hip-hop education nonprofit <a href="https://www.trueskool.org/">TRUE Skool</a>.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-78705 is-resized"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/3-Conbif.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-78705" height="1575" width="2100" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Proyecto Conbíf participants documented their cooking process and submitted the photos seen here. (Photo provided by Ck Ledesma)</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>Proyecto Conbíf</strong></p> <p>Artist Ck Ledesma’s <a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/story/ck-ledesma-established-artist/pAJCGBmIggPNKg">Proyecto Conbíf</a> links their two homes in Milwaukee and Puerto Rico with a flavorful dialogue about colonization. With the project, Ledesma snail-mails ingredients and instructions to cook their favorite childhood corned beef dish to participants in Milwaukee and beyond. Participants then create a meal that both reminds Ledesma of their grandmother and has ties to the transatlantic slave trade. Ledesma has also <a href="https://milwaukeenns.org/2017/08/25/new-chavez-bid-artist-in-residence-a-good-fit-for-clarke-square-community/">created murals</a> and art installations throughout Milwaukee’s neighborhoods.</p> <p>This presentation will be given by Ledesma.</p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://milwaukeenns.org/2021/09/29/neighborhood-gems-learn-about-maranta-plant-shop-circulatemke-and-proyecto-conbif/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://milwaukeenns.org&quot;&gt;Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-NNS-Favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://milwaukeenns.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=78701&amp;amp;ga4=G-HGM4XK3QCM&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://milwaukeenns.org/2021/09/29/neighborhood-gems-learn-about-maranta-plant-shop-circulatemke-and-proyecto-conbif/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/milwaukeenns.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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