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  December 8, 2007 - Daybreak Third Annual Cookie Bake
See the Photo Album for more cookie bake pictures. |
December 2, 2007 - Daybreak Social
November 29, 2007 - Parents Social at Old Wive's Tales
November 12, 2007 - Social at Chapel Pub
November 10, 2007 - Vision Workshop with Mike Winer
November 9, 2007 - Sharing Supper
Terri, Sterling, Karen and Rich (!) cooked up some Mediteranean delights and Elissa's dessert topped-off the
celebration of 2 birthdays!
November 4, 2007 - Social at Ecomotion
Ecomotion was a terrific host for our Sunday Social. We had some
new guests and saw some faces we hadn't seen in a while! A short presentation on what makes Daybreak a sustainable form of
housing with sustainable design elements led to good discussion. Our guests offered some great insight into what would make
our presentation even better.
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November 3, 2007 - Portland Farmers Market at Portland State University
 Great
weather graced the Market! Bonnie & Roger, Chris & Sterling and Tiffany offered information on cohousing and
enjoyed sharing our dream.
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October 26, 2007 - Sharing Supper
Sterling hosted our second sharing supper. Much of the talk focused on Portland's vibrant arts scene.
October 14, 2007 - Victory Wine Bar
 Several new people joined us for lively chat at out social at the Victory Wine Bar, from as far away as Vermont and as close
as St. John's in North Portland. Kristin brought a scale model of our new home that helped us to envision our future
life together.
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October 12, 2007 - Sharing Supper
Tiffany hosted our first sharing supper. 2 old friends, Jeff and Liliane, were part of the evening's treats! Lot's of cheese,
good food and great company!
October 7, 2007 - Social at Ecomotion
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social at Ecomotion, the new "green" car dealership in NE Portland, attracted many new people, including four
families with young children, some of whom entertained themselves drawing on a blackboard. The new scale model of our
future home generated lots of questions and excitement, too. Several new people found us on the Internet, at the Alberta
Street Fair, and through friends of friends.
One comment overheard: "We always figured we'd check out cohousing at some point...what's the best
way to get to the Overlook neighborhood?" |
September 28-30, 2007 - Retreat at Lost Valley
Nearly everyone made it to our first annual retreat. It was at Lost Valley, an intentional community east of Eugene. Except
for the Bocce ball casualty, all enjoyed spending time as a community, experiencing living as a community. Check out the photos
in the Photo
Album.
September 25, 2007 – Chapel Pub
We enjoyed another cozy evening at Chapel Pub with friends. Erik impressed us with his music knowledge. Quote of the evening:
“Cohousing, it makes so much sense. And yet it is hard to let go of our supposed independence and
come together to make it happen. I’m impressed with what Daybreak is creating.”
September 15, 2007 - Alberta Street Fair
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Fall was in the air at the Alberta Street Fair and as we engaged in yet another busy
day of outreach to the community. Many people expressed an interest in the socially and environmentally sustainable
lifestyle that cohousing provides.
We also met people from several other cohousing communities including one as far away as Tucson, Arizona. |
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September 12 & 13, 2007 - Interstate Farmers Market & Portland Farmers Market at Eastbank
When we go to the farmer's markets, we tell people about all of the cohousing communities
in the Portland area.
There were so many community-minded people at Interstate and Eastbank farmer's markets this week that we heard as many
stories as we told! |
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September 9, 2007 - Daybreak Social at Pause
Our social at Pause, a cafe on North Interstate Ave., was a great success! People came from near and far to meet us and talk
about the rare opportunity Daybreak provides to live in community, sustainably and in an urban setting. We were happy to
meet 10 new people who were coming to a social for the first time.
September 8, 2007 - Belmont Street Fair
We had a beautiful day for meeting people at this event and a non-stop stream of folks
coming to our table to find out about Daybreak. We met families, people interested in sustainable living and many who
have dreamed of living in community.
It was great to connect with the Belmont community on such a beautiful day. |
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August 25, 2007 - Oregon Symphony in the Neighborhoods
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Daybreak received a warm welcome from our neighbors and other community members at
the Arbor Lodge Symphony in the Park. We were delighted at how many people said, "I've heard about Daybreak" or "I
read an article about cohousing in the newspaper."
The word is spreading! |
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August 23, 2007 - Social in N. Portland
It seems that construction is not just in our near future. Our planned Patton Square
Park gathering was thwarted by a chain link fence erected to support some long-planned park renovations. So, Terri,
attired in her Daybreak T-shirt, "manned" the fence with our Daybreak banner and steered folks to Pause, a
nearby cafe.
Eight folks joined five community members at the Plan B location. Part of the discussion revolved around the enormous
value of the common house in cohousing. Shared amenities such as guest rooms and workshops make it possible for people
to live in smaller private units. |
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August 18, 2007 - Hawthorne Street Fair
We shared space with a circus workshop - how many hula hoops can you spin at one time?! Many visitors to our booth seemed
acquainted with the idea of cohousing, but did not know that there were so many existing cohousing communities in the greater
Portland area. Since we were close to a kids' event, we saw more families and were able to share with them about the features
of our project that make it family-friendly.
August 16, 2007 - Arbor Lodge Neighborhood Fair
We had an information table at the Arbor Lodge Neighborhood Association Fair at Peace Lutheran Church. It was a lively event
with food, music, information boths and face painting. Daybreaker Sterling got a sunflower painted on his cheek to start out
the event. Alex and Tiffany joined in for a lovely evening at this yearly event in our next door neighborhood. We had many
enthusiastic visitors come talk to us, including people who had connections to existing cohousing communities, and people
keenly interested in the idea.
August 5, 2007 - Overlook Park
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Eleven "guests" came to our Sunday afternoon social in lovely Overlook Park, not
far from our future home. We shared the park with a softball game in a faraway corner, and picnickers. Tiffany organized
games for the kids, Alex spoke about the Daybreak Vision Statement and there was lots of engaging conversation, as usual.
One overheard comment: "We've been looking at the idea of cohousing for years, and finally it's coming
to North Portland!" |
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One of many conversations... |
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...a kid-powered bubble machine! |
August 3, 2007 - Living Earth First Friday
Tiffany and Dave shared the Daybreak story at a Living Earth First
Friday picnic. Dave, one of Daybreak's founders, first learned of cohousing at a Living Earth event several years ago. In
the discussion about cohousing, people talked about how they were reminded of the importance of past community experiences
in their lives. Some spoke about how excited they were to hear of our goals and progress!
July 28, 2007 - Division/Clinton Street Fair
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We met some interesting folks and saw some familiar faces at the Division/Clinton
Street Fair. Plus, our new red canopy protected us from the sprinkles and sun! |
July 17, 2007 - Overlook House Gardens
A throng of newcomers--26 to be precise--attended our mid-July social in the lovely
garden of the Overlook House. After an enthusiastic recap of our project, we spoke one-on-one with our guests. A comment
heard many times was, "I've been looking for a community that matches my values. This seems like the one!" The
regard our community has for families was demonstrated by the time some of our members spent with our "smaller
guests" while their parents were engaged in conversation. |
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July 15, 2007 - Daybreak's Annual Picnic
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What is it? The Second Annual Daybreak Picnic! We gathered for good food, good friends
and twisted games designed by Terri. |
July 14, 2007 - Mississippi Street Fair
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The Mississippi Street Fair was hot! We met many people interested in Cohousing and
living in community. We had fun! |
July 1, 2007 - Chapel Pub
We filled the Chapel Pub conference room with enthusiastic conversation and several
first-time visitors. New faces included Ken and Scot, who live in North Carolina but plan to move to Portland. A new
3-D graphic of our beautiful future home was shared. We talked about how great it will be when we can socialize every
day in our common house! |
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June 22, 2007 - Wine and Cheese Cohousing Mixer
Daybreak joined other cohousing communities and advocates at a friendly mixer that was sponsored by Unitarian Universalists
attending the national General Assembly in Portland. We enjoyed learning from each other and sharing our cohousing experiences.
June 15, 2007 - Alex & Tiffany's house
June 13, 2007 - Interstate Farmers Market
Daybreak hosted a community table on cohousing at the Interstate Farmers Market
in North Portland on June 13. We had information from the Cohousing Association of the U.S. as well as brochures and
leaflets from all of the cohousing communities in Portland. We received such a positive response! |
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Many people had heard of cohousing and wanted to learn more, while "cohousing" was
a new word for others. We were glad to meet so many of our future neighbors. |
June 3, 2007 - Chapel Pub
It was so good to see families at this social. There were two families with four children and many new faces as well. We talked
about intergenerational living and how everyone benefits from it. Quote of the day: It takes a village to raise a child.
May 18-27, 2007 - Village Building Convergence
We had a great time at the Village Building Convergence our table was up for
all nine days. We met so many people (local and from out of the area) who were enthusiastic about cohousing and glad
to see a community like Daybreak coming to urban Portland. |
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Several of us participated on work sites during the day and enjoyed listening to
speakers and talking with folks about cohousing at night. One person left a note on our table:
cohousing = community = sustainability |
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May 21-23, 2007 - Dynamic Facilitation Workshop
Every Cohousing community knows or learns that effectively facilitating group process is essential to building a healthy community
and Daybreak Cohousing has made a commitment to developing that skill set by supporting professional training and development
in facilitation. In May, four members of the community (Adin, Karen, Kristin and Terri ) participated in a Dynamic Facilitation
Skills workshop by Jim Rough & Associates. They will be seeking ways to integrate the goals of Dynamic Facilitation to "elicit,
sustain, and enhance self-organizing change" and encourage "choice-creating" instead of decision-making when and where they
can be effective.
May 20, 2007 - Greener Homes & Gardens Expo
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Terri is again at a loss for words when it comes to community!
Thanks to members of Trillium Hollow and Cascadia Commons who joined us to talk Cohousing. |
May 14, 2007 - Overlook House
We met at Overlook House and sat outside on the lovely lawn while we enjoyed perfect spring weather and the setting sun. People
came who were new to the area, in life transitions and who were just plain interested. It was great to get a feel for our
new neighborhood!
May 13, 2007 - Consensus Workshop with Tree Bressen
Consensus decision making takes commitment, skill, and practice. Some
really good training helps too! Daybreak hosted a consensus training workshop with Tree Bressen (www.treegroup.info)
on May 13 for members and friends. Since Daybreak uses consensus, future training will be offered as the community
grows. |
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Daybreak eats it up! |
A breakout session. |
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May 6, 2007 - Social at Chapel Pub
April 21, 2007 - Earth Day
We had a wet, but wonderful time at the Earth Day 2007 celebration in April. Over 130 people stopped by our information table and spoke with us! We had a 3-D rendering
of our future home and details on the sustainable features. Rain might have dampened the crowds but not the enthusiasm for cohousing that was present.
 Photo courtesy
of Portland Ground
April 19, 2007 - Victory Wine Bar
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The Victory Wine Bar on SE Division Street turned out to be a fun place for a weeknight Daybreak social. Conversation was
lively, as usual, and the food and beverages generated many happy faces. A gaggle (okay, a lot...) of Daybreak members and prospective members showed up, including
several people who were new to Daybreak or returning to visit us again. Overheard were getting-to-know-you conversations, talk about our community, about Daybreak
membership efforts, about green design and the design process now occurring for our project. |
April 1, 2007 - Tiffany / Alex's house
March 19, 2007 - Chapel Pub
March 4, 1007 - Social at Tiffany & Alex's house
February 21, 2007 - Chapel Pub
We enjoyed another evening with friends at the Chapel Pub Wed night, February 21. Gathering in the “conference
room” was a great way to balance meeting in a fun, public place while having a sense of privacy and intimacy. Had to interrupt plenty of lively conversation
to hold brief introductions.
Each of us read a fortune we selected at random and noted how we thought it applied to living in community together. It was a quick and fun way to get a glimpse
into each other. 20 people attended, with members and prospective members in the majority. We relished the chance to get to know several people better and
to meet those who joined us for the first time. |
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February 4, 2007 - Alex & Tiffany's House
On February 4th, twenty folks gathered at the home of Alex and Tiffany for tea and community conversation. We were really pleased with the turn out. We tried something
new and took a break from conversation to do a round of introductions. In addition to saying our names and whether we were members of Daybreak or not, each person
said something about why they were interested in co-housing. A partial copy of our vision statement was posted and that sparked a lot of conversation.
January 20, 2007 - Chapel Pub
We tried out a new place, closer to our new property, to get a feel for the neighborhood. We met at the Chapel Pub in
their west wing. Five new people joined us for the first time! We enjoyed talking about community and what we have accomplished so far.
Good discussions about the considerations and tradeoffs that have to be made in the design process were had at one end of our table.
We also let folks know that Daybreak has now consensed on a Membership Policy. The policy wasn't available at the Social but will be soon. For
those of you interested in membership, please watch your e-mail! |
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January 11, 2007 - Powell's Bookstore
On Thursday, January 11th, at Powell's Books, we held an informal, round-the-table social. Twelve guests joined seven Daybreak members for some one on one conversation
about community in general and about the development of Daybreak. Topics discussed by different small groupings included: what it means to be a community and
also open to your neighborhood; why people are drawn to co-housing but don't always stick with it; what accessible design means; and, what we want the community
we live to be and what we want to offer it. It was a delightful mix of topics and people. A suggestion was made that at at some future socials, we try
to accommodate having everyone meet everyone else there--it is easy to get into a captivating conversation at one part of the table and not meet those at the other
end!
December 30, 2006 - Dave & Terri's House
Daybreak Cohousing turns 1!!! We had a lovely dinner at the home of Dave Forslund and Terri Huggett to mark one year since the inception of Daybreak. Terri and
Dave had been exploring co-housing and had started down that path together at least two years ago. Then Kristin and Richard Wells joined them--a friendship cemented
over an Indian dinner. That dinner was the birth of Daybreak. For the celebration, Terri cooked a fabulous Indian dinner, complemented by terrific dishes
and beverages brought by the dinner participants.
Conversation about life and love and who we want to be flowed. We began with a moment of silence while holding hands around the table--a way to honor the connection
each of us has to our beliefs and to our belief in community. It was a great chance to enjoy each others' company.
For past events, click here!
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