Great Lakes Bioneers

TAKE A FAIR TRADE BREAK on WORLD FAIR TRADE DAY
SATURDAY, MAY 10TH all day at Unity, Higher Grounds, and Oryana
TC’S LARGEST FAIR TRADE COFFEE BREAK is at 3PM at Unity

For the official international Web site, go to: World Fair Trade Day
Come join in these local events to celebrate the movement to make trade fair. Learn about the benefits of fair trade (FT), and taste the difference that respect, love and dignity can make in chocolate, coffee, olive oil, fruit preserves, bananas and other fair trade products.

Unity FT Marketplace will be tasting free FT coffee, chocolate, etc all day, as well as holding a drawing for a $25 gift certificate to the store full of FT fashion, toys, books, and beautiful/useful home decor. join us here at 3PM for the official TC’s largest fair trade coffee break Lets get the whole town together to join in this awesome celebration 113 E State St. (in the alley behind the City Opera House) 929-4228 http://unityfairtrade.com/

Higher Grounds and Oryana all day will be tasting free fair trade coffee, local FT fruit preserves and other FT goodies. Come check out their SALES on FT products in honor of WFTD

Oryana: 260 E.10th St. (at Lake st) 947-0191 http://www.oryana.coop/

Higher Grounds: 806 Red Dr., Suite 150 (the old state hospital) 922-9009 http://www.highergroundstrading.com/

What is Fair Trade?
Fair Trade is an alternative way of doing business, one that builds equitable, long-term partnerships between consumers in North America and producers in developing regions. Fair Trade businesses commit to:

• Paying a fair wage in the local context.
• Offering employees opportunities for advancement.
• Providing equal opportunities for all people, particularly the most disadvantaged.
• Engaging in environmentally sustainable practices.
• Being open to public accountability.
• Building long-term trade relationships.
• Providing healthy and safe working conditions within the local context.
• Providing financial and technical assistance to producers whenever possible.
This criteria was established by the Fair Trade Federation.

This Just In, Corporations are ruling the world! OK, so that’s old news but if your looking for a comprehensive and entertaining look at the creation of the modern corporate machine, visit our friends at the State Theatre (www.statetheatrtc.org) tonight to view the screening of THE CORPORATION (www.thecorporation.com).

Taking the corporation’s legal status as a “person” to its logical conclusion, the film puts the corporation on the psychiatrist’s couch to ask “What kind of person is it?” Provoking, witty, sweepingly informative…and, either depressing as hell or a stimulus package of a different sort.

When: Tonight!!! April 28 at 7:30 at the Traverse City State Theatre… www.statetheatretc.org
This film is part of the on going Monday night Community film series, tonight’s host is the Unitarian/Universalist group

Second Annual Skill Swap–registration now open!
Presented by our friends at ISLAND and the Wagbo Peace Center is now taking registrations for the event on May 10, 2008 from 9 to 3 at Wagbo Peace Center in East Jordan. On display with hands on experience are 15 skills that build self-reliance, taught by your friends and neighbors, along with a fresh local and wild foods lunch and a post-workshop contra dance! Skills include bread baking, seed starting, irrigation for water saving, handmade paper making, timber stand improvement and more!

Early registration is $25 per person, kids 14 and under free! Add lunch for just $5.

All the information you need and online registration is at www.artmeetsearth.org/skillswap.htmlSkills Workshops:

Session I (9:30 to 10:55)
Baking Bread: Yeasted & Sourdough
Seed Starting & Transplanting
Irrigation for Water Saving
Handmade Paper Making
Timber Stand Improvement

Session II (11:05 to 12:30)
Chicken Processing
Seed Saving
Earth Floor Construction
Handmade Soap
Cook for a Crowd (& make lunch!)

Session III (1:30 to 2:55)
Friction Fire Starting
Cultured Foods
All About Herbs
Pruning Fruit Trees
Earthwise Cleaning Products

Peter McCreedy rocked our world with his stories of children learning with dirt, stone tools and chucking homemade spears. His key note, and workshop, highlighted the amzing work he is doing as directory of ecology at his school in South Michigan.

Jenee and Kai were two of the humans getting radicalized listening to Peter McCreedy on Saturday. Traverse City’s Great Lakes Bioneers has had some seriously committed moms and pops step-up and make the conference truly family friendly. Is everyone getting their baby fix?

Once again, Glenn Wolf’f directed participatory art space is developing well–this year based on the concept of Fairness. The piece will be hung at Higher Grounds Trading Co.

And, it isn’t time to rest yet Jeremy Truog. We won’t get on his case for taking a well deserved nap, but there is still one day left–so get to work! Thank you to all of the volunteers and NMC staff who make this conference run ever so smooth.

“It is difficult to believe our story, but if we don’t tell you, you won’t know.”

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to screen WAR/DANCE for our Saturday night film. This documentary tells the story of Dominic, Rose, Nancy and their school in the Patongo Internally Displaced Persons camp as they take an historic journey to compete in Uganda’s national music and dance festival. This powerful and vivid film received the Best Non-Fiction Film award at the 2007 Traverse City Film Festival. It is schedule to hit theaters nationally on November 2, and so this is an opportunity for people in Northern Michigan to once again see this film before its official release.

The film is presented by the Great Lakes Bioneers as part of the annual Great Lakes Bioneers Conference held on the campus of Northwestern Michigan College October 19-21, 2007. Its open to everyone, so even if you can’t make the conference, come join us for a movie.

We will be accepting donations at the event on behalf of the Patongo Scholarship Fund, which is overseen by the co-director of War/Dance, Sean Fine.

BIONEERS at the Movies!
October 20th in the Milliken Auditorium
$7/$5 students
Doors open at 7PM, Film at 7:30PM

For more info: ART meets EARTH

Student Registration available here on September 1. Printable poster here (PDF)

Our local cherry farmers - including our own Food Committee Chair, Todd Springer - have been working long hours gathering the nearly 200 million pounds of these delectable fruits that Michigan produces. Whoa.

July isn’t just busy in the orchards…it’s a busy time for Bioneers organizers as well. Our workshop slots are now filled and I am sure many of you will comment that there was not enough time to get to every workshop you were interested in. In 2007, you can look forward to learning about medicines in your backyard, incorporating activism into family life, green roofing and so much more!

We have also invited folks to become Organizational Partners and Business Sponsors; if you didn’t get a letter in the mail and wish you had, we’re sorry! We’re happy to remedy that situation. You can also download detailed letters from our website. We need to hear from you by July 25 to get your name and advertisement in the registration booklet going out to thousands in early August. When is that deadline again? July 25. And, hey, anyone can advertise to give a shout out to people or ideas you love. Just get us a check and the ad copy by July 25.

If you aren’t a business or an organization and want to help, it’s easy!

1. Buy an advertisement for an idea, a quote, or to say happy birthday.
2. We accept donations at any time of year.
3. You can join the national Bioneers and mention our name - we get a portion of their income.
4. Give goods and gift certificates for our Silent Auction. info@glbconference.org
5. Convince your friends, family and neighbors to register & attend the conference October 19-21.

Registration will open in early August. Until then!

Straight from the Headwaters we have this year’s plenary speakers.

You’ll recognize a few of the speakers, but many from this year’s list are first time presentations at the Bioneers conference. For complete lsit and tentative schedule, visit: Bioneers Plenary Speakers

Do you have any thoughts about any of these speakers? Send us a comment. We would love to hear your connection and story.

Comment here, or send us an email�