Cohousing-L Mailing List: See you in Denver next week? It's the people, not just the program

[Raines Cohen (rc3-coho-L]

Are you on the fence or not yet convinced to come to Denver next week for
the Community-Rooted Housing Summit?

We'll be missing you if you're not there, and you'll be missing out not
just on the scheduled sessions and tours but on the incredible networking
and connection that make these sessions inspirational and productive for
anyone in any stage of the world of cohousing and cooperative community.

I've heard some folks considering it say that with the outreach and
expansion the National Cohousing Alliance (NCA) is doing with this event to
reach new audiences beyond traditional cohousers, they don't see lots of
sessions aimed at established communities or seekers of the same. If you're
feeling this way, may I call your attention to these things that may not be
fully spelled out on the Summit website:
https://cohousingalliance.org/summits/denver2026/

* The Tours: On Thursday there's still seats available on a bus going to
lots of long-established communities around Denver. There's no better way
to have a basis for comparison if you're forming a community, or even just
talking about tit. You don't have to be in the market for communities in
this area to use the ones you see as examples to talk about and use as
inspiration - and to learn from their process. Plus you get lots of time on
the bus to talk to other seekers, perhaps you could meet future co-founders
of your next community. And with tour leader Neil Planchon from my first
community (Swan's Market in Oakland, CA), and people like Ann Zabaldo on
the bus (creator of 2 DC-area communities and leader of the Mid-Atlantic
Cohousing regional group), you've got centuries of collective experience
from dozens of communities to draw on.

The Friday tour, led by NCA boardmember Sarah Wells, will visit many
alternative communities around Denver that are going beyond the "classic"
cohousing model to create more affordable and inclusive and connected ways
of living well together. This could be just the inspiration you need to
make a project work where you call home.

* The People: I'm really looking forward to getting quality time with folks
like NCA Board Chair Laurie Frank from Linden Cohousing (Madison, WI).
Seniors-in-Cohousing committee leader Dyan Wiley of Cherry Hill (Amherst,
MA) (co-coordinating an Aging-in-Community forum in Boulder the day after
the Summit). NCA Affordability Task Force initiator James Mendell from
Bristol Village Cohousing in Vermont. My friends Tom and Carol Braford,
creating an EcoVillage based on cohousing concepts in St. Louis, Missouri.
Locals like Jim Leach from Silver Sage (Boulder, CO), developer of more
cohousing neighborhoods than anyone else in the country, if not the world.
And lots more... including you?

Lots of activities will provide social time, between sessions and
afterwards, over food and in smaller groups where you can hear up close the
real stories that led us to community, and what we've learned along the way.

* The Sessions: I'm leading a conversation at the Summit on Aging in
Community.  I'm being joined by Ann and Dyan so we can answer any question
about seniors in cohousing (there's a lot more of us in intergenerational
cohousing than in senior-specific cohousing so far) and bring up deep
topics for discussion about how we and our communities can adapt as we age.

There's also lots of area communities sharing about how they get the work
done, new communities sharing their plans, and sessions on many different
aspects of diversity and different approaches to building, financing, and
ownership.

I'm also looking forward to Savannah Kruger, founder of the Neighborhood
Village Project, with colleagues sharing about how to organize your
extended community beyond the borders of your cohousing. I was part of this
program last year and, with my neighbor Alice, unearthed lots of
connections.

Note that all these sessions will not be recorded or broadcast in hybrid
form, to keep them interactive and engaging.

* Social Events: Beyond the formal published program, I'm setting up lots
of meetings with cohousers from near and afar, at my hotel (the Marriott
Courtyard Cherry Creek, in case you want to pick a spot with several
cohousers, that's about a mile from the Summit) and elsewhere. Looking
forward to the "Dine-Around" dinners after the Saturday main sessions. And
organizing some of my own, like a group booking at a mobile sauna at the
Colorado Taphouse on Thursday night, with room for several more of you who
arrive early (bring your swimsuit!) - I'll have a rental car to help get
people there. And I've arranged a delivery of chocolate truffles that may
show up when you least expect it.

* Recreation: The weather looks pretty nice in the Denver area next week
and weekend. I'm bringing my bike helmet so I can use the community bikes
and e-bikes along the river trails, and maybe visit Casa Bonita or Meow
Wolf for unique interactive entertainment experiences.

I'm taking the train to get there, and with my 85-year-old neighbor
enjoying the city-block-long public hot springs in Glenwood Springs,
Colorado, on the way.... and afterwards heading out to see family on the
East Coast. There's still some good last-minute airfares / mileage deals,
and deals to be found on the train.

Don't want to pay for the whole shebang yourself? Maybe your neighbors can
chip in. Maybe there's someone you can carpool with and save on gas (I
found a cheap electric rental myself). Consider it an investment -- in
yourself, and your community.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Raines
at Berkeley (CA) Cohousing