Cohousing-L Mailing List: Research Triangle Park folks: Future of Community is tomorrow (Durham/Raleigh/Carrboro, NC)

[Raines Cohen (rc3-coho-L]

Thanks to RTP area cohousing neighborhoods for your connection and
support for tomorrow's Future of Community gathering:
http://www.FutureOfCommunity.org/

We're gathering tomorrow at the Friends Meeting House at 404 Alexander
Street in Durham (NC) --- expect at least 50 of us -- and please pass
the word in your communities, forward this message, and invite your
area friends and community seekers to join us, we will have room and
want everyone at all interested to get the most of this rare
opportunity.

Here's an FAQ to get things rolling.

0. WHO'S COMING? Ecovillagers. Co-op community builders. Cohousers.
Ecohouse Organizers. Community Founders. Longtime Members. Seekers.
Transition Town folks. Moviemakers. Faith-based communitarians.
Community-based businesspeople. Urban Farmers. And YOU and Your
Friends.

In particular we know at least half a dozen folks from nearby Eno
Commons are coming (including a couple with homes for sale), and
Coho/US's current and past Executive Directors, Rebecca Lane and Craig
"Oz" Ragland (both from the Seattle area). My wife and
community-planning-partner Betsy Morris and me from Berkeley (CA).
Communities Magazine Editor Chris Roth and the Fellowship for
Intentional Community (FIC) board, including Executive Secretary and
trainer/facilitator Laird Schaub. Lots of folks from Durham Central
Park Cohousing, the hot up-and-coming forming-group-with-a-site near
the meeting spot. And some from Asheville, Great Oaks Cohousing in Ann
Arbor, Michigan, and beyond.

1. SCHEDULE? The doors open at  9:30 for social coffee time and
registration; OPENING PROGRAM starts promptly at 10 am! Feel free to
come and leave anytime, but if you want to be part of the
introductions and make sure the topics you care about get on the
schedule, get there early. We'll start wrapping up around 4, with
formal sessions over by 5 and the conference bookstore closed by 5:30
so we can finish cleaning up. One of the rooms will be dedicated to
showing videos; we'll have the director of An Idiocratic Life and the
Editor of Within Reach showing clips and fostering discussion, as well
as Visions of Utopia, A New We, and other documentaries.

2. PARKING? Use the lot directly across from the Meeting House!  Take
the first six slots in each row. Three handicapped spots in Meeting
House parking lot. Please don't park onstreet or use the Ronald
McDonald House lot. Durham Area Transit stops a block away.

3. LUNCH? Experience a community-made meal of fresh veggie soup,
salad, fruit, and sandwiches (meat and/or cheese), for $10 or if that
doesn't suit you, bring your own and enjoy it with us, with indoor and
outdoor tables with facilitated conversations by
topic/interest/location. We'll also have coffee, juice, and waters:
hot, cold, and bubbly, for sale. BYOWB: Bring Your Own Water Bottle
(and bowl/utensils) if you can, but we'll have plenty on hand.

4. CHILD-FRIENDLY? YES! There's a small playground and indoor
kid-friendly space available for parents to keep an eye on children,
so you can still be part of the action.

5. ACCESSIBLE - YES, go through the parking lot to a path and ramp
into the Meeting House to get there without climbing stairs; both
bathrooms are wheelchair accessible. If you have other needs, please
let us know.

6. ELECTRONICS?  WIRELESS? Yes and yes -- Feel free to bring laptop or
iPad for note-taking; and if you have a spare, a video projector to
help us share beautiful images and movies of community! An open WiFi
network may be available on parts of the site, but don't rely on it.

7. CAN I BRING my flyers, books, posters, models? Yes!  Anything left
behind will be recycled unless you've made special arrangements with
the hosts.

8.  VOLUNTEER? Yes, please!  you are welcome especially for cleanup
after lunch and closing. (if everyone can chip in a little time, 15
minutes to half an hour would be all it takes to spread the work)

9.  MONEY STUFF? - We suggest donations of $20 to $45, as you are
able; cash, credit cards, or checks accepted (there's no ATM onsite).
10% of proceeds go to FIC (plus all book/magazine/video sales and
direct contributions).

10.  Please, no drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or weapons on site!

Any Q's, please call us at 510-842-6224 or contact us via the website
above. Spread the good word, and we look forward to seeing you there.
We'll report back on how we can help you replicate this model in your
town, building energy for community.

Raines and Betsy, your Cohousing Coaches & Community Organizers
Planning for Sustainable Communities
http://www.CohousingCoaches.com/