Transformational Socio-Ecological Grassroots Event to Nourish a City in Crisis - Press Release

Contact: Marianne Jaycox
646.678.7490
AlkemydiaCreative@gmail.com
or
Lewis Kofsky
917.952.6807
lewis@curiouspictures.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Transformational Socio-Ecological Grassroots Event to Nourish a City in Crisis
“Evolver Town Hall” Promotes a Thriving, Healthy, Funky and Green NYC

NEW YORK, New York - May 13, 2009 – On Sunday, May 31, 1:30 to 5:30PM, individuals, community groups, nonprofits, government organizations and local businesses will come together at St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery at East 10th Street and 2nd Avenue for “Evolver Town Hall,” organized by Evolver NYC and Thrive NY. Together, New York’s citizens will re-image the future and transform today’s ecological and social challenges into opportunities.

The expo will feature workshops, panels, information tables and music, all for a nominal entrance fee of five dollars. It will increase awareness about local ecological issues and their social and economic global ramifications. New Yorkers will have immediate opportunities to take action and strengthen efforts by connecting to the many different organizations already effecting positive change throughout the boroughs. Evolver Town Hall will also celebrate the beta launch of Evolver.net, a social network for conscious collaboration, and mark the beginning of their off-line community, Evolver NYC. Over 500 are expected at the event, the result of six month’s planning and outreach by a team of over 40 volunteers.

Topics include renewable energy and efficiency, green jobs, food justice, conscious health and living, locally supported agriculture, climate change, Do-It-Yourself art and re-skilling, rooftop and community gardens, activism and alternative currency. The opening keynote speaker is writer Colin Beavan, author of the influential sustainability blog No Impact Man, which aims to engage discussions on finding solutions to the environmental crisis and related concerns. Presenters include policy advisor to Al Gore and NYC Brownfield vacant land redevelopment specialist Ann Davlin; Dan Miner, Sierra Club NYC chapter Chair, Vice President for Long Island City's Business Development Corporation (LICBDC) and organizer of NYC Peak Oil Response Meetup; Doug Rushkoff of NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program and author of Life Incorporated: How the World Became A Corporation and How To Take It Back; urban permaculture designer and teacher Andrew Faust; Café Habana Eco Eatery’s Sean Meenen; Vertical Farms pioneer Dickson Despommier; EcoSystems Brand “cradle to cradle” designer Matt Tyson; as well as speakers from Catskill Mountain Keeper. The speakers will explain how people can make an impact through volunteering, lifestyle changes, civil participation and more.

“Our aim is to establish an ongoing network of movers and shakers who will collaborate with their neighbors to help realize a renewed resilience and prosperity in NYC,” said organizer Lauren Auricchio. “Each person will come away with the ideas, information, connections and contacts they need to get involved.” Event sponsor and organizer Amber Kusmenko explained, “New Yorkers are waking up to the ecological realities of the day, and they are ready for the next step beyond ‘change your light bulbs.’ Evolver Town Hall is different from other green events in that you aren’t just learning about problems and what other people are doing– you become an active and collaborative part of the solution. I think of this event like speed dating for groups or ideas with whom you might want to get involved.”

To RSVP and for more information, visit: http://evolver.net/event/townhall or email EvolverTownHall@gmail.com.

Evolver NYC is the force behind Evolver.net, a new social network for conscious collaboration. It provides a platform for individuals, communities and organizations to discover and share the new tools, initiatives and ideas that will improve our lives and change the world.

Thrive NY is a social network that connects individuals and organizations to raise consciousness and coordinate action for an ecologically sustainable New York.

# # #