Yarrow Days 2012 (My third Yarrow Days, and first one living here.)

I actually choked up.  I was standing at the driveway with my daughters waiting for the parade when I suddenly realized that the very first time I ever set foot on the Ecovillage was about half an hour before the parade began two years ago.  I clearly remember getting out of the car.  we'd been driving for a long time and had no idea what to expect.  The first person we saw was a five year old boy.  "Folks are starting the parade!  We're all over here watching if you want to join us!"  And off my kids went.  We collected out baby and headed towards the action.  I remember even then knowing I was going to move here.  How many places can you move to that has its very own parade?

So much has changed.  So much has stayed the same.  I'm exhausted at the idea of changing out all the pictures on the website.  They are all so out of date!

What has changed the most is simply our numbers.  My!  We are a growing village.  It used to be that I was a newcomer!  And now I am considered an old timer!  And yet more neighbours will come.  More neighbours will put their own love and ideas into this village...

 and it will just keep getting better.  The kids will get older, and then they too will begin to shape the place we live.

They do it already!  A group of children actually succeeded in getting the adults to give them back a dirt mountain.  Two years ago Dirt Mountain was a pile of clean fill that was waiting to be used.  It was covered in weeds and the kids would spend hours digging and shaping it.  They would come home filthy and exhausted. Of all the things a group of kids could ask their parents for, a pile of clean fill seemed achievable.  So now they have a dirt mountain again.  At least until we start the next round of construction.

 This is a picture of my son dressed as a farm dog for the parade.  He has just realized all his neighbours are waving and cheering for him.  Two years ago he was barely old enough to grasp the concept of a parade.  Although I seem to remember he had no trouble at all catching candy.

After the parade the park next store becomes a market and stage area.  I have never seen so many families in the park at one time.  I recognize faces from all over greater Yarrow.  Every so often I bump into one of my cohousing neighbours.  We enjoy things separately, but it is sure nice to see a smiling face.  If you want to find at least one ecovillager- head over to the guy selling beautiful silk bohemian wear.  Not many of us bought much, but we all looked and admired.  I couldn't help feeling proud when my six year old select a pink and blue gypsy skirt as her Yarrow Days treat.  My son found an angry bird that a local teen had made of felt for his treat.  Millie chose cotton candy with help from the older two.  Of course they helped her eat it aswell.

Some of the ecovillagers helped out with the BBQ.  I think others worked security at the dance.  The whole weekend was fun.  It is the cutest, quaintest, little festival a city slicker like me could ever ask for.

And the parade floats still throw candy!  My kids were thrilled!

Make your own Bow!

Raise the BARN!

COMING APRIL 21

Take Part in a Good Old Fashioned Barn Raising

In the past, when a barn was needed, communities came together in a fun and frantic weekend to build it. Now, you can take part in a barn raising yourself, at the Yarrow Ecovillage Community Farm in the Fraser Valley. The farmers at this Community Farm need a barn, and are using this need as an opportunity to invite everyone to take part in an amazing, community building event. All people, young and old, are invited to participate – the handiest people will be given the difficult jobs, and children and anyone uncomfortable with a hammer can pick fresh vegetables from the farm, and prepare a lunch for the crew.

So how can you take part? Well, before the actual barn raising, the Yarrow Ecovillage Community Farmers need to do some barn fundraising. They will be launching a peerbackers.com campaign from April 21^th to May 31st, and anyone who donates, even if it is just one penny, will be invited to take part in the barn raising fun. Those who donate more are eligible for all sorts of amazing rewards, such as organic produce, an invitation to a pumpkin picking party, or a fancy local food dinner for two. You can help by encouraging you friend network to donate when the time comes. Please email us at welcome@yarrowecovillage to be put on our campaign list.

The Yarrow Ecovillage Community Farm provides farmland to farmers who are committed to growing organic food for local markets. If you have shopped at a Vancouver Farmer’s Market, chances are you have bought something grown by one of the Community Farmers! Some of the produce grown by the different farms include salad mix, sweet baby carrots, heirloom tomatoes, and deluxe asian vegetables. The Community Farm is also expanding as a hub for local food and agriculture events, such as gardening workshops, local food dinners, and of course, barn dances once our barn is built!

For more information, a tour of the farm, or an interview, please contact

Tamara Bonnemaison,

Farm Manager, Yarrow Ecovillage Community Farm

Tamara.bonnemaison@gmail.com

778 374-0321

Braved the Snow.

It was a tough day for those of us who'd worked so hard to bring together the Chuck presentation on cohousing. All week people assured me (from Edmonton originally) that the snow would melt. Only on thursday when they called another snow day for the schools did panic set in.

And of course, the disappointment. I'm speaking personally now, but the village as a whole was disappointed. All week long we received emails, phone calls and even the odd person who drove down the driveway looking for something they longed for. Don't get me wrong, I know the people who will end up here will find us on their own. I suppose what I wanted was the room full of people with a common vision. I wanted to see people smiling and excited all in one room together. I wanted to feel the success of the media attention we've been getting lately.

Silly really. But it was a lot of work. In the end the village was split. Some wanted to brave the snow and would not be deterred. Others were more sane, and cautious. We set out in two cars expecting that no one would be there. We were wrong.

The presentation went on. The room was not packed, but full enough to make me proud of our work. The roads held up for us, and we drove safely there and back without so much as a slippery spot.

And now ... The snow has almost melted away. Gone faster than it came.

At least now I can harvest my rosemary for the Ten Mile Lunch....

Camping Updates from lollybloggers

Hello World!

There is a term out there in the "Blog" world called lollyblogging. It's used to describe people who only occasionally take the time to blog.

I think that might be me! It might well be all of us at the ecovillage that blog. I popped in to see where we were at for website hits after our SECOND airing of the "Behind the Beaded Curtain" radio show on CBC and am not at all surprised to see that our last post was July 25th. Our apologies- it's just way too much fun to live here to always get online to brag about it!

Truthfully we're all enjoying our summer right now. I am only a neighbour-in-waiting (waiting for my home to be built) and my normal home is still in Edmonton but I'm here camping for three weeks with my three kids. So let me tell you what has been going on around here!

Let's Move!

Five (count them FIVE) families are in the final stages of moving into their homes. Beverly and Mathew have been installing flooring, Yonas and Julia have been seen packing. Maureen and Ken carried ceiling fans into their place the other day. Beverly made a great analogy last week... She's 9 months pregnant with her house! So ready to move in- but not quite there yet and sick of everyone asking when it will happen.

Speaking of babies,

Linda and Jamie are now officially past their due date and ... no news yet.

Tent City Weekend

We had an amazingly fun camping trip with neighbours in waiting, neighbours considering, and residents. Even some of the people with houses onsight surprised me by setting up tents and sleeping in them. Next year if that happens I'm going to sneak into their houses and sleep in their empty beds!

Camping highlights include;

-Every Meal we had.
-Midnight Laughter coming from the group playing adult pictionary over beers. (The boys lost and still owe the Women a dip in the creek!)
-The night the kids got to make supper- stone soup cooked over the camp fire and then served to the adults as though they were in a restaurant
-Leo's birthday party, which took place in the air conditioned gym at the community school
-Jumbo Marshmellows on the camp fire
-The kids playing the Red Paper Clip game; each started with a gold pin and traded for hours until we were all trading random things from our houses.
-Quiet cups of tea and lemonade in our makeshift barn kitchen.

Potential New Neighbours:

We've been giving very successful tours lately. It seems that the radio program was well heard this time by people who really understand what we're doing. I had the extreme pleasure of touring two of the families myself. (Families with little girls my own daughters age! YAY!) and I enjoyed them both. How much fun I have walking through the farm, telling the stories of this place, showing the floorplans and introducing neighbours.

I love being the one to answer the question I once came here with. "We have normal jobs is that okay?" (yes.) "Do we have to farm" (no.) "Is there a religious affiliation?" (no- but most of us believe in something.) "Can we own our home?" (yes.) "Can I dry my clothes outside on a clothes line" (sure can!) "I still want to be able to shop at Superstore would that be okay?" (yes) I see in the people that come here the same awe and excitement Paul and I had when we realized that this place was real. Real and normal people just like us who wanted a better sense of community and a lighter footprint when possible. I would say both families I toured around would be a great fit here. I'm excited by their excitement all over again!

I'm here until August 20th. I'd love to tour you around too. After that I'll hand the tours back to Ann and Beverly and drive sadly back to Edmonton until my house is finished.

Slow Food Cycle Tour

It was a (the?) beautiful sunny day: spending it at the Blue Heron Reserve with hundreds of organic-farm-loving cyclists was perfect!

Garage sale proceeds to Hope International

Our Garage Sale raised more than $300 for Hope International. We are a third of the way towards a well for a village in Cambodia.
Thank you to all donors and buyers. Items not sold were taken to our local MCC Thrift Shop to raise funds for their good work. If you hurry, you may still be able to buy your favourites back so you can sell them in our next garage sale. :>)

Open House and Radio Show a HIT!

I can't tell you how good it felt to sit around an old radio with my neighbours to listen to Behind the Beaded curtain on CBC Radio One. Of course you know I'll try.

We had an amazing day. Myself and so many neighbours were up early in anticipation of the Open House. We set up tables and tents in case of rain. We put out flags and parking signs and garage sale items. People cleaned things and opened doors in anticipation of friendly faces that might come to see what we're about.

And they came! I think I can safely say we had over two hundred people through over the course of the day. There were farm tours, and home tours. For my kids a highlight was the treasure hunt hosted by one of the Dads. People had yummy smokies and Hot dogs from the deli. Every where you looked people were happy and relaxed. I was supposed to be at the Garage Sale table all day- but I got tied up in so many great conversations with fantastic people who really get what it is we're about.

I had to laugh at times as I answered questions I once asked myself. "Is this a Commune?" (no.) "Do you have to work on the farm?" (no.) "Is there some sort of religious affiliation?" (no.) "Can you own your own home?" (yes.) "Do you like it here?" (yes!) All good questions. Important things for people to figure out if they are looking for something they've never really seen before. That was my husband and I but a short year ago. It seems silly to me now to think I'd have asked these questions. We haven't even managed to move here yet (my house is next in the pipeline) but it feels so much like home here now that I can't imagine living anywhere else.

And then the day was nearly done when the radio came out. As people finished up with their clean up they slowly gathered in the bunker silo we use as a temporary Community Building. Tea in hand, we sat and listened. There were laughs, and knowing smiles while the (amazing) Hostess of the show Willow Yamauchi wove her magic. In the end we were proud. Shayne and Joel did an amazing job representing who we are; normal people from all walks of life who are willing to really know their neighbours.

If you've landed on this site because of the Open House- thanks so much for coming out! If you've come because you heard about us on CBC- I really hope you'll swing by and meet some of my neighbours! I have to say they're really great people, and an even better group.

I'll do my best to get the Radio Show link up soon and pictures will follow!

This is Vivian playing a balloon game with feisty ecovillage kids at the Open house. The game was supposed to involve carrying the balloons between their knees back and forth through an obstacle course. The funny thing about free range kids is that they have their own ideas about what fun is and aren't scared to share them. After a round or two of putting up with the obstacle course the kids quickly changed the rules of the game until every balloon had been played with, sat on and squished. Popping balloons makes kids giggle. What can I tell you?

Open House May 23 10am to 3pm

Be sure to come to our OPEN HOUSE this Monday 10am- 3pm
Rain or shine there's lots to see and do! Tour houses, farm and creek.
Refreshments served. Garage and plant sales too! Fun for kids!

and listen to CBC Radio One on Monday 4pm to 6 pm to hear some of our voices on a fun programme about new back-to-the-land community life-styles, We're in the last half hour.

Are you gathering for Garage Sale May14th?

Saturday May 14th is Chilliwack's district-wide Garage Sale day. You're welcome to put up a table along side ours, or share with one of us. Also you may donate items to the Hope International funding-raising table. (We're working towards providing a well for a village in Cambodia.) And we're looking for help at the Hope and the refreshment tables.

For more info- email welcome@yarrowecovillage.ca and I'll pass you over to Viv - the Sale diva

Plant sale until 3:00 this afternoon

They'll be here at our open house on Victoria Day too!

Mark your calendars, Ready, Set , Come!!

Open House- Victoria Day – Monday, May 23^rd

We’re welcoming Interested folks, newcomers, old-timers, neighbours, friends and lookey-loos to tour homes and farms. We’ll have displays of our plans to show and we’ll answer questions. You can poke around .... why not go down to the creek to see the latest plantings that are restoring natural beauty?

This gathering of people will give you a chance to feel our collective energy. Together, we rock! The village is no longer pie-in-the-sky; it was never pie-in-the-face ... it’s ‘I Fly for Pie’ ... a delicious slice on a plate, perfectly warm and ready to eat! I Fly for Pie is a café at the Chilliwack airport and serves the best pie in the world. Last week, I had rhubarb and raspberry. But I digress.

Welcome Weekend Camping

—August Long Weekend July 30, 31 and August 1^st.

Bring your tent, sleeping bags, kids and geeeeetar. Whooo-hooo! This time, you’ll be able to relax with us and feel what a more ordinary everyday life is like in our village. We’ll have the summer kitchen up and running for shared meals and cooking. It’s covered and out of too much rain or sun. Some of us residents will be out in tents too, so if you fancy a real bed, there’ll likely be a spare one for you in a house. And we’ll be rustling up some entertainment and fun for both adults and kids. There’s been a lot of interest in buying homes, so ... wouldn’t it be a fun exercise to put stakes out where the new buildings will be ... and perhaps one of those homes will be yours?

Come for a Tour!

* Tours for prospective residents (and curious neighbours!) on Saturdays : February 12 at 2 p.m. and February 26 at 10 a.m. (RSVP!)

* Extend your tour and stay for a night! Very simple lodging available: $20 per night. (Arrange via welcome@yarrowecovillage.ca)

* Groundswell community meetings on Sundays at one o'clock: February 13th and 27th, March 20, April 17, May 15, June 22

* Community dinners for future and current residents on Tuesdays and Thursdays: RSVP for time and place

* 13 homes built or under construction + 6 homes spoken for = room for 12 more households in Groundswell

Yarrow Ecovillage = Groundswell (intergenerational cohousing) + Yarrow Central (multi-use commercial including future mature adult-oriented cohousing above some shops) + the farms

More details at www.yarrowecovillage.ca

Would you like to visit?

* Tours for prospective residents (and curious neighbours!) on Saturday mornings: January 22 @ 10 a.m. and February 26 (RSVP!)

* Groundswell community meetings are on the third Sunday of the month: January 30 (an exception to the 3rd Sunday rule), February 20, March 20, April 17, May 15, June 22

* Community dinners for future and current residents on Tuesdays and Thursdays: RSVP for time and place

* 13 homes built or under construction + 6 homes spoken for = room for 12 more households in Groundswell

Yarrow Ecovillage = Groundswell (intergenerational cohousing) + Yarrow Central (multi-use commercial including future "we're not seniors!" cohousing) + the farms

Everything you need to know about Chuck’s Design Closure Workshop - August 26-29

Charles Durrett –www.cohousingco.com – Planner-Designer Extraordinaire of our Village since Jan 2010

Chuck is here to finalise and affirm plans for our site, our common house, and private homes.

Friday August 27th

10am --- Tour of Ecovillage (RSVP if coming!)

Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, August 21 @ 7:00

Come celebrate ten years since the founders began meeting and eight years since the land was purchased! The concert and celebration will be upstairs in the old barn at 7:00.

Community Intensive at Yarrow Ecovillage

[caption id="attachment_665" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Marjanne and the tea"][/caption]

The sixth community intensive for Tree Bressen's BC cohousing students was here in Yarrow. The weekend was heavy and light: we're feeling more together as we push forward with more building and more decisions.

I'll let others write about the deep and meaningful stuff. I especially enjoyed Linda's amazing food and singing under starlight with cohousers from all over BC. Daniel's guitar was magical, and I am hungry to learn all of Dorothy's songs.

Ann took loads of pictures.

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Otesha this Monday

Otesha will be here on Monday (not Sunday), July 5. Here's a link to their site: http://www.otesha.ca/.

It's going to be a great show at 7:00; supper will be a potluck (Indian food theme!) beforehand. Come on by!

Yarrow Days Pictures (Link)

There are loads of pictures to be seen here.