Cohousing-L Mailing List: Think you can't afford the conference? Think Again! Some zero-cost and "a la carte" options

[Raines Cohen (rc3-coho-L]

I've heard from some people who would love to be at this weekend's
cohousing conference but can't afford the full $295 registration cost,
or who can't take the time to fully participate.

As Gold Sponsors of the conference, us Cohousing Coaches at Planning
for Sustainable Communities want to make sure that as many people as
possible get to participate, so we want to share some of the
additional opportunities. Please share this widely on your community
list or wherever appropriate:

- Thursday night Video Fest: $0 plus tax (still $0.00)
- Thursday afternoon and Friday half-day workshops: $50
- Thursday and Friday full- and half-day bus tours: $60-110
- Saturday-only registration: $160 (includes meals)
- Sunday afternoon Open Forum: entirely no charge
- Sunday afternoon open houses in Berlin and New Hampshire

Here's some details:

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* Video Fest: 7:30 PM Thursday (repeated Saturday evening after the
auction for conference registrants)

See professionally-produced videos about cohousing, interleaved with
community-produced shorts showing community life.
Wilder Auditorium, Bentley College, Waltham, MA

- Voices of Cohousing. Building Small Villages in the City: a DVD
created in Europe featuring European cohousing communities
- Developing Sustainable Neighborhoods for Today's Housing Market - a
DVD created by Mid-Atlantic Cohousing

Films from different cohousing neighborhoods, including
- Cambridge Cohousing - created a local video team
- Doyle Street Cohousing - testimonial from the neighbor next door,
created by me!
- Songaia Cohousing - created by Community members

No advance tickets or registration required. Just come on down, and
bring your friends! Also a good place to meet other seekers (hint,
hint, local cohousing groups that are recruiting)

http://www.cohousing.org/2008/film

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* Pre-conference tours and workshops: seats still available for some,
as low as $50

Get an intensive education on a particular topic from some of the top
professionals in the world of cohousing.

Learn about Aging In Community strategies. The Cohousing development
process. How to design a Common House. Play the Timeline Game.

Get to visit the many cohousing neighborhoods in Eastern and Western
MA... on a guided tour, with time for learning and conversation.

http://www.cohousing.org/2008/preconference_workshops
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$160: Saturday-only Registration, includes meals
If you can only make it one day, this is the day to make it. Plenaries
in the morning, breakouts in the afternoon, concluding with banquet
and auction, dancing, exhibits -- great community connections.

Details and registration:
http://www.cohousing.org/2008/
--

* Open Forum Sunday afternoon

Although the conference officially closes at 1, we're continuing the
conversation with free-for-all OPEN FORUMS convening shortly
afterwards. We've got the use of all the breakout rooms for a couple
more hours to do OPEN SPACE format gatherings, where EVERYBODY can be
a speaker, getting into more detail than the formal sessions, covering
the additional topics you care about. Did I mention that it's free? No
registration required, but to make the most of it you do need to be
there at the very beginning.

One topic we know is already planned for the time: a gathering of
folks interested in Cohousing Research. Our very own Betsy Morris,
Coho/US Research Director, will be facilitating that conversation.

Bring your additional topics by the Cohousing Coaches booth during the
conference, or join us early Sunday afternoon to convene a session on
the topic that's near and dear to your heart.

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* Open Houses Sunday afternoon

- Sawyer Village Ecovillage (Berlin, MA): Mosaic Commons and Camelot
Cohousing are just a few months from move-in and would love to have
you as neighbors in their market-rate and affordable units.
http://www.sawyerhill.org/

- Nubanusit Neighborhood and Farm Cohousing Ecovillage will welcome
folks willing to sneak across the border to New Hampshire (not that
far, really, by California standards) and take a peek at their
community-in-development
http://www.peterboroughcohousing.org/

I'll leave it to these communities to post the details of their
invitations, since I don't have them handy.

So, no matter what your schedule, no matter your budget, come on down
to the conference and we'll have a grand old time.

Raines Cohen, Cohousing Coach http://www.CohousingCoach.com/
Planning for Sustainable Communities

Letting folks know that while it may be toasty here now, highs for the
next few days are expected to be in the low 80's.