Bigger pictures

If anyone picked up the News-Gazette today, they couldn't miss the article on Common Ground. It is incredibly good. I mean, good in that "Oh wow, I want to leave a basket of blueberry scones on the author's porch" way.

There's only one thing wrong with it: the accompanying picture was only of Jacqueline and myself. But we know there's a bigger picture, a picture with hundreds of hands and hearts, past and present, which brought us to this point and are keeping us moving forward. Without all of our members and our dedicated staff, we're nothing. The show of support in our last minute push to wrap up financing (we're so close!) has shown that yet again.

So I've been trying to brainstorm a way to symbolize this, a way to capture what this transition means for our community of food lovers, fair traders, and earth caregivers. I think symbols and celebrations are incredibly important. I feel that the recognition of how meaningful this event is should be translated into how important we are to each other, in the hopes of continuing to build a stronger community.

In 2003, the Berkshire Co-op Market in Barrington, Massachusetts had hundreds of members show up when moving day was at hand, forming a human chain from the old store to the new to move "Groceries across Great Barrington." It left their general manager in tears.

As our old and new locations are 1.2 miles apart, it would take around 1200 people to do the same thing here, which is a bit much to ask on an August day in the midwest. (We'll still need help moving, but we'll use trucks!) So I'm going to throw the question out to you all. How do we celebrate this move?

Bring your ideas to Victory park (seven blocks east of the new space, on Green St.) this coming Saturday the 19th from 1 to 3pm to share ice cream with each other and with your board. Our ears will be open to anything that's on your mind with respect to the co-op these days, and we'd also love to hear your ideas on how to capture the occasion of this move for posterity. A dance? A really big peach pie? A video collage? I'm all ears. (Well, if there's pie involved, I'm not _all_ ears.)

Peace,
-Clint
CGFC Board Chair