Common Ground

10/14/2026

toilet paper? at an auction?
stay tuned ;)

10/14/2026

If you have to pluck out your eyeballs to avoid seeing how many pesticides were sprayed on your dinner, it might be time to change your dietary habits. 🫣

We stumbled across this PSA from Thailand (created by Leo Bangkok for the Thai Health Promotion Foundation), and while we had a brief conversation about whether it was a little too weird for Brazos Valley or not, we knew we had to share it. Beneath the Itchy & Scratchy tone of it all, it communicates something important:

Out-of-season and non-native crops require massive amounts of chemical support to survive where they don't belong. When we force nature to grow outside its natural calendar, heavy pesticides usually bridge the gap.

When you buy out-of-season produce shipped in from overseas, you're taking a gamble: FDA inspections show imported fruits and veggies fail pesticide safety standards nearly NINE TIMES more often than domestic ones.

It isn't just what's shipped from overseas either. USDA testing revealed that nearly ALL non-organic leafy greens and berries carry mixtures of sometimes DOZENS of synthetic chemicals even after they're on store shelves.

And those are just the chemicals used to grow them! What about to ship them? That winter strawberry traveled over 1,500 miles to get to Texas, and it needed a heavy coat of synthetic fungicides and gases just to keep from rotting on the truck.

If McDonald's asks, "Do you want fries with that?", maybe H-E-B should ask, "Do you want Permethrin, Imidacloprid, Bifenthrin, Diphenylamine, and Cypermethrin with that?"

Native, locally grown produce already knows how to thrive in Brazos Valley soil. It’s naturally resilient, naturally nutritious, and doesn't require a hazmat warning before eating. 🌿✨

Let's build a together so the entire Brazos Valley can enjoy clean, locally grown vegetables (and nobody has to projectile-puke pink on their assistant).

Check out the Native Plant Society of Texas's Ecoregion Map to find out what's native to your neck of the woods, and Texas Farmers' Market's Seasonal Outlook to find out what's currently in season! Both links available in the comments.

10/13/2026

🔥 AUCTION ITEM REVEAL! 🔥

Y'all have already seen we aren't playing around when it comes to the auction lineup for Dollywould this Saturday. We’re pulling out all the stops, and this next auction bundle is genuinely heavy-hitter status. 💥

We are BEYOND honored to showcase a custom gear bundle donated by TheBlackest Co. - The Blackest Black Owned T-shirt Company. 👕✊🏿

They are an indie-ran, Black-owned apparel powerhouse that is putting real art and legacy into their clothing and, what's more, real effort into helping community. 🖤🌱

I don't mean just Florida, where they're based out of, either. Their donation shows how much they strive to help community EVERYWHERE, even in our neck of the woods here in B/CS. 🤠

Let’s talk about who’s behind the craft: the owner Fred Douglas (talk about your name becoming your destiny!) has been active in the fashion game for thirty years, spending a whole decade designing for massive names like the NFL, NBA, WWE, Ecko, and Wal-Mart.

But what makes them truly legendary is their dedication to their purpose. TheBlackest Co. moves with intention, pouring a portion of their efforts right back into institutions like the Black Panther Party Museum and Black Girls Code.💻

Somebody do us a favor and check the dictionary, pretty sure you'll find their logo under the definition for "praxis". 📖

The bundle features two of their heavyweight tees (a "People's Free Food Program" and a "People's Free Health Clinic"), as well as a slick "People's Free Food Program" tote bag.

When you bid on this bundle Saturday, sure, you're grabbing some apparel rooted in important (and ever-relevant) Black history. But you're also directly supporting those same community-building efforts. Common Ground benefits from the funds raised, and TheBlackest Co. when you tell your friends where that new tote bag came from. 💼

👉 While you wait for Saturday to finally get here, do yourself a favor and go tap in with their online storefront (https://theblackestco.com/) and show them some heavy support. Guarantee you find a few shirts you need. 📲👕

At Common Ground, we talk a lot about building the world we actually want to see. Right here in the Brazos Valley, brick by brick (or seed by seed). As the iconic Angela Davis once put it:

"You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time."

That’s what this space is about. That’s what we see for the entire Brazos Valley.

Come out to Dollywould this Saturday at Hotel McCoy College Station (📍October 17th, from 5-8PM), enjoy some live music, maybe bid on a couple things, and learn about how we can radically transform our community together. 🌱

Also, look forward to auction donations or appearances from Fringe Salon Co, League of Women Voters of the Brazos Valley, Beautimous Me Salon, Bailey Noah Photography, and Kahjok Kimchi House!

We'll catch you there.🥳👋

10/12/2026

We interrupt your scroll for a developing story. 🚨

Are you ready for the reveal of the next auction item at our Dollywould event? I'd say this one is important enough to , but truth be told, he already knows!

Why's that? Well, today's auction reveal is Coffee and Brunch for Four with Rusty Surette! ☕

Yes, THAT Rusty Surette. KBTX Media's evening anchor, who has been in your living room for years. Dolly had 9 to 5. Rusty has 5, 6, and 10 PM.

This one’s a morning appearance, though. No teleprompter, no commercial breaks, and the only thing he’ll be reading off is the menu. 🥞

Here’s what the winner gets:

☕ Coffee with Rusty
🥞 Brunch at a table for four
💬 A real, off-air conversation with the guy who’s been telling the Brazos Valley what’s going on since 2015

Rusty spends all day, every day keeping our community informed. Now he's putting his own morning on the auction block for a community garden in Bryan. We’re honored, and we’re trying very hard to act normal about it.

Every dollar raised funds Common Ground’s free workshops and community garden.

Rusty's taking you out for breakfast, where in town would you want to eat? Put your best answers in the comments below!

Come to DollyWould, bring a few bucks for a bidding war, and wear your best blond wig! There’s live music, community groups, and plenty more reveals on the way!

🎫 Dollywould
📅 Saturday, October 17, 2026, 5-8 PM
📍 Hotel McCoy, College Station (3702 State Hwy 6 S)

Build a with us :)

That’s the news. We now return you to your regularly scheduled scrolling.

10/10/2026

Thank you, The Eagle, for sharing this with the public!

Everyone come out to the Hotel McCoy College Station on the 17th from 5 - 9 PM to enjoy an evening of music, auctions, vendors, and family-friendly community. Don't forget your Dolly costumes!

Common Ground, a community garden initiative in Brazos Valley, will host a Dolly Parton-themed fundraiser on Oct. 17 at Hotel McCoy to support its new garden and educational programs. ⤵️ Find a link to the story in the comments.

10/07/2026

Common Ground went on a ROAD TRIP on Saturday. We went to pick up two paintings for DollyWould: and somehow ended up in the wrong town, looking for a music festival that did not exist.

Let me back up.

John Flippin, a notable contemporary abstract artist in Smithville, donated not one but two paintings to our Dollywould auction. Getting them meant a lot of gas, so for the first time ever we asked for donations online. Bill Chollett, Kris May, Connie Flickinger, and Karen Hubbard showed up. Thank you.

Your donations covered gas there, gas home, and my per diem, a term I'm using generously for one cheap Brookshire Brothers chicken slider and some Cheetos. They also covered more copies of the Dollywould flyer, which BCS Print, Signs, & Graphics - Copy Stop gave us a discount on, so a big thanks to them too. Banners for Common Ground and Dollywould are in the works because of you donors as well.

(We're still accepting donations, if anybody else feels inspired to give. We've got a drive to Brenham coming up and we're getting quotes on a sturdy sign for the IGHHP/Common Ground property. We disclose how we spend everything, and it's all earmarked by our parent nonprofit IGHHP. Okay, enough asking for money, back to the story:)

Now the trip. I get to Smithville and text John. He says he's "at Lost Pines." I search Lost Pines Art on Google Maps, and the top result is the Lost Pines Art Center in Bastrop. So I drive to Bastrop.

John tells me it's near Main Street, which is closed off for a music festival. I find the building, a few blocks from Main, walk in, and there's one of John's paintings on the wall. Great sign. I call him to say I made it.

He says I definitely did not.

I describe where I am. He says, "Oh, you must be in Mosaic, just walk down a little further." The building I'm in is not named Mosaic. So I walk to Main Street, find another store with Lost Pines in the name, go in, and ask for John. Not there. Also not there: the music festival. No closed streets. Not one guitar.

Spooky season had me wondering what in the Silent Hill was going on. Eventually we work out that he meant the Lost Pines Artisans Alliance in Smithville, not the Lost Pines Art Center in Bastrop. Somebody over there needs to cap how many businesses get to be Lost Pines.

So I drove back to Smithville.

Honestly, the rest was worth it. John walked me through the gallery and told me how his life led him to abstract art. He used to be mostly a woodworker, until he watch David Datuna eat the banana off the wall, got furious over a mockery of abstract art, and wanted to create what he knew it could be. Before turning 70 he'd made 50 paintings. Between 70 and 73, he's made 70 more. He teaches abstract art classes, works with the Alliance, and has shown across Texas, including the Austin Fine Art Gallery. Biggest thanks to John.

Then, walking both paintings back to my car, I passed Mosaic, the store John thought I was in the whole time. I went in with the paintings still under my arm and told the woman there about John and our community garden. She sent me to the back to pick out two framed photos and said she'd donate them. I grabbed two pink and purple wildflower shots, one by Billy Moore and one by Mark Winslett. They'll go in the auction as a bundle called "Wildflowers Don't Care Where They Grow." (Dolly fans, IYKYK)

All of this goes up for auction at Dollywould, October 17 at Hotel McCoy College Station. With live music, the Dolly Dress-Up, local groups and vendors, and the auction, you won't want to miss it!

10/04/2026

The DollyWould: A Common Ground Housewarming and Celebration of Dolly Parton lineup is set. October 17, 5PM, Hotel McCoy College Station. Each of these four is playing some of their own songs plus one hand-picked Dolly Parton cover!

JustHannah grew up in Arizona playing church music and ended up a Texas troubadour. Her grandmother sang in church until she was 88 and her uncle was a rock and roller in 1960s San Francisco. Her blues, Americana, and rock come from those two.

Kendale Walker's country could pass for 1975 or last week. She's got a natural break in her voice that turns into a yodel when she lets it. Her songs are about love and growing up and getting through stuff, usually with a joke tucked in somewhere.

Alvina Williams () has performed in nearly every genre across her career, and her powerful vocals are unforgettable. You might have seen her at the Apollo, the Palace Theatre, or Stage 12 among various other venues, and now we're grateful she's bringing her authentic stage presence to Dollywould.

But don't forget Johnathon Vermaelen, who's played Exotik Eatz, The 101, and Cadillac Ranch (again, among several others). He's been a DJ, producer, and songwriter for over 15 years. His electronic music pulls from a lot of different genres, and has growing listener bases in Amsterdam, Mexico City, Colombia, and Chile. Rumor has it his Dolly cover is a deep cut, leave your guess what it is in the comments below! Best guess gets bragging rights!

Come dressed as Dolly! We're going to get a picture of everybody for our Dolly Dress-Up part of the event, and rumor has it there might even be a prize or two awarded! Numerous local artisans, vendors, and community groups will be there to learn about and show support for! There's an auction with donations from local businesses, and the Hotel McCoy bar and kitchen will be open. All of it goes to us at Common Ground, your community garden and regenerative agriculture project here in Bryan/College Station. It's our housewarming (not to mention an opportunity to build more community here) and we'd like you there!