Earth Day Green Drinks, April 22nd

GREEN DRINKS APRIL, THURSDAY THE 22ND! (WHAT A GREAT WAY TO CELEBRATE EARTH DAY!!)

Join us for a night of good company and green conversation! We'll be at the LTD Prints in Strasburg, VA (click the link for their website and directions). There will be yummy snacks and Marcy McCann will share with us a little about green printing AND there will be displays from local artists.

Where: LTD PRINTS in Strasburg
When: April 22 @ 6ish.
Who: YOU and all of your friends!

Green Drinks January 28th

Join us for a night of good company and green conversation! We'll be meeting at Cristina's in Strasburg. They just finished all of the requirements to be a Virginia Green Restaurant (too cool!) so we'll not only be enjoying great company, we'll be enjoying our refreshments with a little less eco-guilt!

Where: Cristina's Cafe in Strasburg

When: January 28th @ 6:00ish.
Who: YOU and all of your friends!

September Green Drinks

GREEN DRINKS SEPTEMBER, THURSDAY THE 24TH!
Join us for a night of good company and green conversation! Kevin Rooney of the Cleaner Greener America Foundation will join us to talk about biodiesel. So come with questions and ready to hear about this alternative fuel source!
Where: (by popular demand) Union Jack Pub on Loudoun Street walking mall.
When: Sept 24 @ 5:30ish.
Who: YOU and all of your friends!

Just FYI: October 22nd will be in Tom's Brook at the Natural Art Garden Center and we'll be seeing their green roof and hearing from the owner about first hand pro's, con's and other really cool green roof stuff!

Also FYI, keep a lookout for a Green Film Fest coming up in November hosted by the soon to be open Alamo Draft house. This should be a super fun (and free) event, so let the buzz begin, I'll pass on more details soon!

Green Drinks: Eastern Panhandle!

YOU ARE INVITED TO

GREEN DRINKS of the EASTERN PANHANDLE

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

6 pm @ Craftworks

Every month we meet at a location in the Eastern Panhandle to interact with people who work in, or are interested in, the environmental field. This is an informal world-wide organization known as Green Drinks. These events are simple and relatively unstructured, but many people have found employment, made friends, developed new ideas, done deals, and have had moments of serendipity.....all in the spirit of greening our lives for the betterment of all humankind.

Chad Gauthier of Pinnacle Enterprises and Karen Valentine of GoGreenGals are the co-founders of this chapter. We look forward to sharing our commitment to a healthy, productive, and sustainable Eastern Panhandle with all of you. Our goal is to unite the community to embrace responsible, local, and environmentally sustainable lifestyles. So come and join us for some healthy organic apps and drinks. On behalf of us both, we look forward to meeting you and joining forces to green the Panhandle!

Join Green Drinks for refreshments on the deck overlooking Cool Spring Marsh and Bullskin Run, and learn about this unique new resource for Jefferson County.

CraftWorks at Cool Spring is a center for creative learning in art, craft, nature and sustainable living that supports protection of the Cool Spring Marsh landscape, where people come to learn, relax and rejuvenate in a setting that fosters deep connections with the natural environment and stronger communities.

What's truly distinctive about CraftWorks is that it invites artisans, environmental educators, green builders, and other creative people into create and offer classes, gather, retreat, and help invent the long-term future of this resource.

CraftWorks director David Lillard will take Green Drinkers on a short 15-minute walk through the grounds and describe the plans for studios and programs.

Refreshments provided by CraftWorks; donations to offset costs warmly appreciated.

Directions to CraftWorks. We'll meet at Mrs. Thornton's cottage.

Take Route 340 south from Charles Town. After you pass Washington High, the 4 lane highway ends and it becomes a two lane road. Soon you’ll pass a diner on the right, a produce stand on the left and you’ll make a SHARP right hand turn immediately after the diner onto Wheatland Road (WVA Rd 340/2)

Continue on Wheatland until it deadends (about 2 miles)—turn right (Lloyd Road). The first house on the left is Mrs. Thornton’s Cottage. The second entry on the left is Cool Spring Farm (has a sign and a split rail fence)—turn in, then turn left to follow the sign to the cottage.

Note: If you use Mapquest for directions, Lloyd Road is called by its old name Haines Road

enjoy~karen

Karen Valentine
GoGreenGals/River&Trail
304-261-1532

Green Drinks - June 5th

Green Drinks will be kicking off Valley Earthfest this year! I know I told you it'd be on the 4th Thursday in May, but I lied. It will be on Friday June 5th and we'll be hearing from Linda Kurtz about how to green our personal environments AND we'll be hearing more about what will be available at Valley Earthfest!

When? June 5th at 5:30 (Friday)

Where? Camino Real in Berryville (click here for a map)

Why? To kick off Valley Earthfest and learn more about greening our personal environments. (oh, and chips and salsa!)

Green Drinks for the Bay! - Earth Day

When? Earth Day, April 22nd at 5:30

Where? Ferguson's in Winchester (click here for a map)

Why? To celebrate Earth Day and the health of our waterways (oh, and to beat a record set in Australia!)

More info? - look below, and check out www.greendrinksforthebay.org and the facebook page!

That's right, fellow Green Drinkers, this month we'll be gathering on Earth Day, April 22nd at 5:30 (ish), at Ferguson's in Winchester, VA. We will not be alone in our celebrations, 16 different participating Green Drinks chapters throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed will come together to stage a same-day gathering in their respective cities, attempting to top the world attendance record of 1,800 set in Melbourne, Australia, and to rally support for action to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Not just the bay, but also the health of our water ways right here in our own Shenandoah Valley!

Jed Rau from the Lord Fairfax Soil and Water Conservation District will join us to talk about how what we put on our yards and gardens and how we use water in our homes affects water quality, and representatives from Ferguson's will be on hand to answer questions about water conservation in our homes.

Ferguson's will be graciously providing refreshments for us (beer in the bathtub? Tea on the counter?) as we gather to celebrate Earth Day, to increase our awareness of how our personal actions affect water quality all the way to the bay, and to learn how to decrease our water consumption in general.

So come on out and join us on Earth Day, bring your friends, your family, your neighbors, and let's show the world that Virginians mean business about greening our environment!

Greening the Valley one conversation at a time.

March Green Drinks

Green Drinks Northern Shenandoah Valley!

Where? Union Jack Pub in Winchester at 101 N. Loudoun Street on the walking mall (in the bar upstairs on the 3rd floor!)

When? March 26th at 5:30ish

Why? Duane Myers will be telling us all about solar panels! Duane says to come with your questions and if he doesn't have the answer, he'll find the answer for you!

Get directions here

Invite your friends (and your family, and your neighbors, and your friend's friends, and people that aren't your friends), we'll see you there!

So what is Green Drinks? It's a grassroots networking opportunity. Nothing fancy, no membership required, no cover charge, just a cash bar, a bunch of eco-minded people, and conversation. From Automobiles and Buildings to Recycling and Watersheds and every topic in between, we'll be talking about all things green. Who goes? YOU and all of your friends! We're hoping that this will be an informal way to meet and engage other like minded individuals in the area. Everyone from every profession and of every age is invited, so please, spread the word. (and just because it's called Green Drinks doesn't mean you have to drink)

Greening the Valley one conversation at a time.

Green Drinks February

Green Drinks Northern Shenandoah Valley!

Where? Camino Real in Berryville (in their new bar upstairs! They've got a pool table!)

When? February 26th at 5:30ish

Why? Chips and salsa! And Juliet Mackay-Smith from Locke Store in Millwood is going to tell us more about local food, how to get it and why its important to think about what we eat.

Get directions here

Invite your friends (and your family, and your neighbors, and your friend's friends, and people that aren't your friends), we'll see you there!

So what is Green Drinks? It's a grassroots networking opportunity. Nothing fancy, no membership required, no cover charge, just a cash bar, a bunch of eco-minded people, and conversation. From Automobiles and Buildings to Recycling and Watersheds and every topic in between, we'll be talking about all things green. Who goes? YOU and all of your friends! We're hoping that this will be an informal way to meet and engage other like minded individuals in the area. Everyone from every profession and of every age is invited, so please, spread the word. (and just because it's called Green Drinks doesn't mean you have to drink)

Have a great green day!

Greening the Valley one conversation at a time,

If you've got a great idea for a future topic, would like to speak or would like to sponsor an event, please email me. I'd love for Green Drinks NSV to grow into a vibrant local community of green minded people sharing information and spreading the word on how to make our community more sustainable. Thanks!

January Green Drinks

The Half Note Bar will host January's meetup. Robert Hughes from BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies) will be sharing with us about the triple bottom line (people, planet, profits). Invite your friends, we'll see you there!

Where? Half Note Bar at George Washington Hotel 103 E Picadilly Street Winchester, VA

When? January 22nd at 5:30ish

Why? Smooth Jazz. Oh, and conversations about green things with other like minded folks.

Green Drinks December 4th

The next Green Drinks will be in Winchester!

Piccadilly Brew Pub in Winchester will be hosting our next event. We'll be talking about "greening our holidays" to get the conversation started. Invite your friends, we'll see you there!

Where? Piccadilly Brew Pub

When? December 4th at 5:30ish

Why? Locally brewed beer. Oh, and to learn more about how to love the earth while we're loving all those holiday yummies!

Get directions here

Next meeting will be January 22nd, location TBD. If you're interested in sharing with us a short presentation or speech about something green, please let me know.

Greening the Valley one conversation at a time.

October Green Drinks

Camino Real in Berryville will be hosting our next event. Chips and salsa for everyone! We'll be looking at a short video clip to get the conversation started. Invite your friends, we'll see you there!

Where? Camino Real at 16 Crow Street in Berryville, VA 22611

When? October 23rd at 5:30ish

Why? Chips and Salsa! Oh, and conversations about green things with other like minded folks.

Who goes? YOU and all of your friends! We’re hoping that this will be an informal way to meet and engage other like minded individuals in the area. Everyone from every profession and of every age is invited, so please, spread the word.

Get directions here

September 25th Green Drinks

Ferguson Bath will be hosting Green Drinks in September. Hooray for free snacks. But more than munchies, hooray for Ferguson's inviting many of their product vendors to come and show off their green wares. Suppliers like Moen, Ecopure, Hansgrohe, KitchenAid, Decorua, and more. It'll be a great chance for all of us to learn more about what green building products are available right here in the Northern Shenandoah Valley. Who knows, maybe you'll find that new, water saving kitchen faucet that you've been looking for. Invite your friends, we'll see you there.

Where? Ferguson Bath 312 Front Royal Pike in Winchester, directions here.

When? September 25th at 5:30ish

Why? Free munchies! Oh, and the eco-friendly product showcase.

AUGUST Green Drinks

The next Green Drinks will be Thursday, August 28th at 5:30(ish) pm) in Winchester, at the Virginia Brewing Company in the Zeropak. Go to their website and get directions here

At 6:15, Valerie Cookson-Botto will share with us about "how to avoid toxins on our skin" to get the conversation started. Bring your friends!

July Green Drinks - Thanks and thoughts

Thanks to the Half Note Bar for hosting, to Cheryl Ash for sharing with us about greening our homes on a budget (the 16 points were great little nuggets to get the conversation started), and especially thanks also to everyone who showed up. We had a great conversation, and I saw lots of networking going on (it really does warm my heart to see people passing out business cards and talking about potential collaborations!) If anyone has ideas for a future green drinks topic, something you'd like to learn about, or maybe even something you'd like to share about, please let me know, I'd love to hear ideas and feedback.

Quite a few people asked if Green Drinks was an open or closed event. Great question, and the answer is OPEN!!! Bring friends. colleagues, business partners, clients, kids, parents, grandparents, neighbors, your postman, anyone! And just to help you spread the word, here's a little explanation of what we're trying to do.

June 26th!

Come one, come all to the 2nd ever Green Drinks - Northern Shenandoah Valley!

We'll be meeting in Winchester this time, at Brewbaker's on the
Loudoun Street walking mall, on Thursday, June 26th at 5:30 pm.

So what is Green Drinks? It’s a grassroots networking opportunity. Nothing fancy, no membership required, no cover charge, just a cash bar, a bunch of eco-minded people, and conversation. >From Automobiles and Buildings to Recycling and Watersheds and every topic in between, we’ll be talking about all things green.

Who goes? YOU and all of your friends! We’re hoping that this will be an informal way to meet and engage other like minded individuals in the area. Everyone from every profession and of every age is invited, so please, spread the word.

Why? Why not? Basically we just wanted to get together everyone that is trying to make a difference in how we interact with the world around us. Oh, and we plan to have lots of fun while we’re at it.

At 6pm, we'll start making a few introductions.

Everyone suggested last time that we all get to know each other a little better, so instead of a video or a speaker, we'll all be speaking briefly. Now before you get scared, consider this: if there are 40 people that show up and we all speak for 30 seconds, we'll have a 20 minute "presentation" Not so scary, right? So prepare to meet and greet all of your new eco-minded best friends with something short
such as "Hi, I'm (name here), I work for / go to school at / keep my time occupied by (what you do here), and I am green because or interested in green because (your interest here. You can have
multiple interests, but please remember, if we all take 30 seconds....)

Brewbaker's address is 168 N. Loudoun Street, Winchester VA 22601 (for those of you who want to use a mapping program to get there) Parking is free on the street everywhere in Winchester after 5pm.

First Green Drinks a success!

Thanks to everyone that showed up yesterday at The Olympic Flame in Berryville. I didn't get a head count, but email sign ups totaled about 35 people. Wow. The response was great, and I think some lessons have been learned.

Lesson 1 - email works. I sent out a few emails to people that know what Green Drinks was all about, and they sent it on. I love the organic nature of personal relationships and how the phrase "pass this on" was taken seriously. Kudos to you for inviting your friends!

Lesson 2 - name tags and email list need to be more clearly marked. I heard from a few of you that it was a little disorienting to come into the bar and have no clue where things were or what was going on. My apologies, and this will be remedied next time.

Lesson 3 - people just want to talk to each other. The video clip about water was informative, but I heard from quite a few of you that you were hoping for an atmosphere more conducive to schmoozing and getting to know everyone and what they do that is green. Duly noted, we'll figure out how to make this happen next month.

I believe that the collective intelligence and influence of this many people in the Valley can, in fact, make our community and our world a better place. (idealist moment over)

If you've got any other feedback, any questions, comments, concerns, ideas, please let me know! I would love for this page, and this group, to be something to which we all contribute. There has already been interest from a few parties that might want to host us next month, and that is great. I'd love to be able to schedule a few months in advance so that we can all arrange our schedules accordingly and invite as many friends and associates as possible.

Here's to greening our community!