Mar. 25, 2008 at 12:15am

Tonight at 6:00 pm *Go Local or Die* Re-Loaded

Due to popular demand, the second episode of "Live Local or Die" forum is being held tonight.

Tonight : Episode II : Live Local or Die

Topic: Innovative Co-working with arts, business, education, and urban living with Panel Members:

Where: Veritas Mortgage 762 Broadway in Downtown Tacoma

Date and Time : Today March 25: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Last month, Jim Diers and urban panelists Morgan Alexander, myself, Kevin Freitas and Patricia Lecy-Davis were on the first panel of the "Go Local or Die" Forum.

The place was packed.  There was a band.

Today, another panel convenes.  Jim Diers author of Neighborhood Power will return with a new presentation.  However, this time the program is scheduled to be more interactive.

Tonight, the band will be there again playing live for the people lucky enough to get a seat.

 

Well known urban personalities will be the panelists:

Amy McBride: Arts Administrator for the City of Tacoma

Derek Young: Founder of the Tacoma blog Exit133.com and Suite 133.

Roxanne Murphy: Community and Economic Development for the City of Tacoma

Justin Mayfield: Broadway Farmers Market / New Tacoma Neighborhood Council Member



Roxanne Murphy - City employee by day, neighborhood activist by night and weekend.

(Derek Young with fellow downtown luminaries)

Here's other people Paul Sparks has informed me that will be at the event tonight

Linda Dansforth:  Jet Artist Co-operative, The Gathering Place, Tacoma Art Place

Lisa Fruichante: Free Tacoma Project, Tall Ships Shore Leave, Fashion Writer Volcano

Michelle Regan: City of Tacoma Community and Economic Development

Amber Englund:  Tacoma Food Co-Op Steering Committee organizer

Sue Pivetta: 100 Monkeys Organizer

Drew Ebersole: Metro Parks Foundation, Music and Murals Festival

Ron Swarner: Weekly Volcano

Alexa Folsom-Hill: MLK Ballet School, Tacoma School of the Arts, Showcase Tacoma

Jennifer Kenny: Associate Planner City of Olympia

Daniel Blue: Urban poet, Loyalty Collaborative Fashion, contributor to the Volcano and Exit133.com

Julie Bennett: Founder of Coffee and Rhetoric, owner Urban X Change, Fashion collaborator

Paul Sparks - Local Life Tacoma

Duke Paulsen: Metropolitan Development Council, Fare Start innovator for Tacoma

Matt/Laura Ecklund: Co-founders of The Urban Arts Festival

Linda Honeck  Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, Urban Arts Festival, Hilltop Mural Projects…

Johanna Gardner - Co-creator Urban Arts Festival
Laura Malone - Owner, Monsoon Room
R.R Anderson - Web designer, Cartoonist
Marie Nelson - Veritas Mortgage - Tacoma Shop Talk

Liz Sparks - Veritas Mortgage - Tacoma Shop Talk

Here's the press release for the event I received:

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Paul Sparks
Local Life Tacoma
Phone: 253-569-9413
Email: locallifetacoma@aol.com

Go Local or Die 2008 – Innovative Co-Working Charrette
Innovative Co-working with arts, business, education, and urban living

Local Life Tacoma, Go Local Tacoma, and The Downtown Merchants Group are presenting a local charrette called “Go Local or Die”. After enduring through decades of disinvestment and disinterest, significant work has been done toward revitalizing the physical structure and community networks of downtown Tacoma. Yet, much remains to be done. To insure the future vitality of this great neighborhood, residents, organizations, and businesses will gather to discuss the immediate and long term benefits from living a more local and community based life.

The charrette will take place on March 25 at 6:00 pm. It will be hosted by Jim Diers, the former Director of Neighborhoods in Seattle and author of the book Neighbor Power. He is an international consultant on community mobilization and the son of Herman Diers, a noted community activist and Hilltop resident. Jim is well known for empowering Seattle’s neighborhoods in the 90s and has since facilitated productive action-oriented dialogues around the world.

This charrette will feature opening ideas and continued public dialogue with local innovators and leaders whose work has been valued in the downtown community.

Panel members will include Derek Young from Exit133.com and Studio 133, Amy McBride Arts Administrator for the city of Tacoma, Justin Mayfield spokesperson for the Farmers Market and member of the New Tacoma Neighborhood Council, Roxanne Murphy from the City of Tacoma Community and Economic Development.

This event is sponsored by urban lenders Veritas Mortgage Group and will be hosted at their office at 762 Broadway next to Tully’s in the Bostwick Building. It will begin at 6 pm and end by 8 pm. Appetizers will be provided by Veritas and admission is free. Space is limited. For more information or to RSVP email locallifetacoma@aol.com.

To learn more about Go Local or Die, please visit www.golocaltacoma.com.
For media inquiries please contact Local Life Tacoma spokesperson Paul Sparks at

253-569-9413

For more information, see

Local Life Tacoma

Commentary:

Paul Sparks is the only person I know in Tacoma who could manage to get this wide of array of the downtown movers and shakers to show up (non-virtually) in one place.  Together, they represent a large fraction of the originators of new ideas coming out of Tacoma.

Co-working is a great subject as it critical step for Tacomans to function and thrive in an urban environment.  One measure of the value of a downtown is how many uses and functions one can reach within a modest walking distance.  Co-working in any industry has the potential to increase the underlying value of the downtown itself as well as creating synergy.  I will leave more discussion to our expert panelists.

I would get there early for the event as seating is going to be very limited.

Question : Will co-working help Tacoma wake from its 40 year angst ridden slumber?

(RR Anderson's Tacomic of Daniel Blue)