What on earth do farmers, wine and beer makers, a TV station, chocolatiers, artists and a business incubation program have to do with one another?

They may seem like completely unrelated in any other context, but on Thursday for The Peoples Channel and Durham Community Media the combination represents the growing importance of celebrating localism.

We all know that buying local goods and services is good for the economic and physical health of our communities. However, we rarely think of local media creation contributing to our community's health.

In Kalle Lasin's book "Culture Jam" he talks about the dilemma of eating healthy, local food:

"Eating is a complex art. We want to listen to our bodies, but Frito-Lay has jammed our feedback mechanisms. We want to eat a naturally healthy diet, but the world's largest suppliers of processed foods have taught us to trust convenience, comfort and the taste of sugar, fat and salt. We've lost the sacred joy of the feast."

We have also lost the sacred joy of the local, authentic story because the media landscape is much like the industrialized food landscape.

Though mass media does not pollute our bodies or environment, the media does pollute in other ways. For the same reason we should be supporting local producers of food and drink, it's also important to support media made by our community.

Both keep us healthy, reflective, and strong.

The presence of Durham Community Media Channel 18 (DCM18) is especially miraculous because of how it has survived against seemingly impossible odds in Durham.

After the cable industry in North Carolina was deregulated in 2007, Durham ran the risk of losing its public-access station, and the programs the local producers made on a regular basis were in danger of having nowhere to be broadcast.

Since 2009, The Peoples Channel has run DCM18 on a shoestring budget and support and awareness from the community at large is growing. The tenacity of this little cable station has been a remarkable thing. It has rallied church leaders to help them raise awareness, and has been attempting to reach out to the community for mutual support in many other ways as well, from local middle and high schools to local businesses.

Home-Grown, Home-Made: A Celebration of Localism at Fullsteam Brewery on Thursday, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. is an attempt to bring this idea home to the community.

The Peoples Channel and Durham Community Media, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Durham's community cable TV stations, decided to call on our local business friends to have a party celebrating the joy of all things local. The main goal of the event is to highlight local businesses and organizations that do good work and add to the charm and sustainability of our community.

We're all interested in creating a healthy community.

This will be an evening where we can all come together and celebrate how unique and strong we are when we support one another.

Please join us and help support community media, local food and drink makers, and help support a healthy community. For information, visit www.thepeopleschannel.org or call 919-960-0088.

Chad A. Johnston

Executive Director, Durham Community Media