Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Saturday, May 19, is National Cohousing Tours Day!

[Fred H Olson (fholson]

Ann Zabaldo <zabaldo [at] earthlink.net>
is the author of the message below.
It was posted by Fred the Cohousing-L list manager <fholson [at] cohousing.org>

Note that this was reply to the mailing from Coho/US (not over
cohousing-L) so I moved that part up and put Ann's comments at the end.

More tour info is at: http://www.cohousing.org/tours.aspx

--------------------  FORWARDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS --------------------


On Apr 12, 2007, at 9:59 AM, Coho/US wrote:

> Saturday, May 19, is National Cohousing Tours Day!
>
> Several months ago, we noticed that two of Coho/US' tours, the
> Massachusetts spring tour and the long running Northern California
> spring tour, had coincidentally been scheduled for the same day in
> May. Then we were asked to assist Mid Atlantic Cohousing
> (Washington DC area) by handling registration for their spring
> tour, also scheduled for - you guessed it - May 19. A light bulb
> went on over our heads. If we were going to have three tours on the
> same day, why not have four or five?
>
> Fortunately, the staff of Wonderland Hills in Colorado, and one of
> the two leaders of last year's successful cohousing tour in the
> Seattle area jumped on the bandwagon, and today we are pleased to
> announce that five (count 'em, five) cohousing tours will take
> place on that Saturday. So, we declare May 19, 2007 as the first
> National Cohousing Tours Day!
>
>
> FOR MORE INFORMATION, or to register for any of the five tours
> being held on May 19, go to http://www.cohousing.org/tours.aspx
>
> In the Seattle area, the tour will include several ferry rides for
> the tour bus and its passengers, so participants get to see two
> island communities and one on the Olympic Peninsula. The
> Massachusettstour this spring will focus on communities in the
> western part of the state. The Colorado tour will include one
> community under construction, and a visit to a site where ground
> has not yet been broken, so that participants get a good sense of
> how involved future residents can be in every stage of the
> planning, design and building process. The Northern California tour
> includes the most urban cohousing community in North America, two
> other urban communities and the newest cohousing community in the
> greater S.F. bay area. And the Washington D.C. area tour, sponsored
> by Mid Atlantic Cohousing, will include a couple of the nation's
> most rural communities, still quite close in to our nation's capital.
>
> All five tours will be led by people who live in cohousing. Two of
> the tour leaders are also cohousing architects. In each community,
> you will be guided in small groups by community hosts for a walk
> around the site, a thorough look through the common house and other
> shared facilities and amenities, and usually a visit to two or
> three private homes.
>
> Here are some comments made by people who have been on Coho/US tours:
>
>
>
> "Even though I had read a bunch about cohousing, I didn't really
> 'get it' until I went on the tour."
>
> "The five communities we saw were quite different from each other,
> but I think I could actually enjoy living in at least four of them."
>
> "Before I went on the tour, I couldn't imagine how people living in
> cohousing could get enough privacy, but now I see that making space
> for yourself to be alone is quite easy to do there."
>
> "A couple parents I spoke to said now that they live in cohousing,
> they can't even imagine raising their kids anywhere but in the
> community they live in now, unless it was another cohousing
> community."
>
> "Right after the tour seven or eight of us met in the last common
> house we visited, and before we left that evening, we had the
> makings of a brand new core group."
>
> Space for these tours is limited, so don't delay. For more
> information or to register for any one of these five tours,
> go to http://www.cohousing.org/tours.aspx.
> Invite a friend. We hope to see you there!
>
>
> In community,
> Joani Blank
> National Cohousing Tours Coordinator
>
> Copyright © 2007 The Cohousing Association of the United States All
> rights reserved.



Hi all!

Actually, here in the Mid Atlantic area we celebrate "May is
Cohousing MONTH!"  The bus tour is our most visible event but we
encourage our member communities to plan events around the tour.  For
instance ... follow up events for tour participants. These events not
only extend the bus tour experience but are marketing opportunities
for member communities.

Cohousing Collaborative will be hosting a two hour Q&A Sunday morning
following the tour for groups in the forming stages to answer
questions about how to get their communities built.  It's a free
event as part of Cohousing Collaborative's contribution to the work
MAC is doing in our region.

MAC invites other communities throughout the country to join in the
"May is Cohousing Month" celebration.  Have an Open House.  Invite
prospective cohousers to dinner.  Have a BBQ.  Have an informational
event at a bookstore or coffee shop. Write an article for your local
newspaper.   Help spread the word about cohousing!  But most of
all ... have fun!

Ann Zabaldo
Board of Directors
Mid Atlantic Cohousing
www.cohomac.org
zabaldo [at] earthlink.net
202-291-7892