Tryon Life Community Farm

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR MAKING BLOOM 2008 A SUCCESS!

You are invited to BLOOM at TLC Farm!

BLOOM 2008:Tryon Life Community Farm's 4th Annual Spring Benefit
SATURDAY APRIL 26TH, 2PM-MIDNIGHT

Sliding scale: $10 - $50; children 12 and under free
(worktrade is available; email workshops@tryonfarm.org for more information)

This is a No Alcohol Event

Please park at Riverdale High School: 9727 SW Terwilliger Blvd, PDX - 97219. A shuttle will be provided. Biking and carpooling encouraged. For more info, directions, schedule and general info, please Visit: www.tryonfarm.org/share/bloom-2008 or tryonfarm.org.

Join us on Saturday April 26th at Tryon Life Community Farm for an all day benefit celebration! At the forefront of turning vision into action, we will educate, celebrate, demonstrate, and co-create in this Permaculture haven and seven-acre preserved green space within the city of Portland. Enjoy live musical performances spanning genres of folk, world, and dance. Participate in educational workshops. Delight your senses with local, organic food, tonics, and desserts. Rejoice with friends and family the creation of an ecologically viable future within our community!

Schedule of Music and Workshops

• 2:15-3:00 Community Yoga with Lauren Turley - Come and Start off your BLOOM experience reaching for the trees and breathing with the forest and animals! Lauren will lead us for 45 minutes through some easy and simple yoga poses to set the tone for the day's events.
• 3:00- 4:00 Cassandra Robertson — acoustic conscious folk (www.cassandrarobertson.com)
• 3:00- 4:00 Ivy Basket Weaving with Kiliii - Join us for a 1 hour workshop on how to harvest English Ivy and make it into a beautiful basket or other creative creation. Kiliii Yu is a local hero when it comes to reintroducing people to their natural environments and will be leading this fun and creative workshop. ( dancinghawk.com).
• 4:00- 5:00 Zine Making 101 with Ari - Since the invention of the printing press (if not before), dissidents and marginalized citizens have published their own opinions in leaflet and pamphlet form, which in modern times is know as a 'zine'. Come and learn the basics of making a small 'magaZine' in this 1 hour workshop. Ari will be helping us assemble a zine in class and copies will be available shortly afterwards!
• 4:15- 5:15 Njuzu Mbira — Traditional dance music of Zimbabwe (www.cdbaby.com/cd/njuzumbira)
• 5:00- 5:30 Mushroom Walk with Jordan Weiss - Ever wanted to know more about mushrooms that grow in the area? Take a half hour walk with TLC Farm's mushroom guru and learn more about your local fungi friends and how to foster their growth.
• 5:30- 6:15 Calynco — World Fusion born out of Calypso and Flamenco (www.calynco.com)
• 6:15- 7:00 Dinner, "This is TLC Farm" by Jenny Leis
• 7:00- 8:00 SaraTone — Acoustic Soul Expression and Mystical Dub (www.sonicbids.com/saratone)
• 8:00- 9:30 Alpaca! — Dance your pants off! (www.myspace.com/alpacaband)
• 9:45- 11:45 Off The Grid — Electronic/NuJazz (www.myspace.com/offthegridportland)

Food

• Lulu's Raw Chocolate Alchemy is a small Portland chocolate company dedicated to bringing you chocolate as close from the tree to the table as possible. Lulu handcrafts all of her raw chocolate using fair trade, organic ingredients and sweetens it with agave nectar and lots of love. Lulu's Chocolate was born from a desire to eat pure, whole foods combined with a passion for gourmet chocolate. "I aim to please your palate and lift your spirit! " luluschocolate.com
• Olympian Falafels are created by Harold Clark and friends as a sustainable business idea for his course work at Evergreen State College in Olypmia, Washington. These creations will be made with as many local ingredients from the Pacific Northwest as possible. (After 4pm)
• Heartsong Herbal Brewing Company will be bringing an assortment of chai and pepper brews made in Ashland, Oregon from local and/or organic ingredients. "Raising the vibration of the nation through hydration!" www.heartsongchai.com
• TLC Cob Oven Pizzas - If you have been to the Farm before, chances are you have had a piece of tasty pizza from the TLC Cob Oven. These pizzas will be made to order and will offer a variety of fresh spring toppings! YUM!

This is a family friendly / alcohol-free event; food and drink not included in admission price.

TLC Farm is a place to connect. As a forum for community sustainability, opportunities are endless!

A meeting, retreat, celebration, private class, spiritual event or other gathering at TLC Farm is something special. Here, the life of nature is woven into human experience: this place merges indoor and outdoor, living and artificial, wild and domestic. This program supports our work in bringing various communities and organizations into deeper relation with this beautiful place of the earth, and through it, each other.

You are welcome to hold your own event at TLC Farm; by bringing your own group here, you contribute to the fabric of the farm—sustainability to us is linking the many networks and threads of our social, ecological, political, economic and cultural ecology. Each group brings its own story, sometimes transforming a piece of TLC Farm, sometimes leaving information, sometimes getting others involved.

We are particularly interested in hosting multiple groups at the same time that can informally interact with each other, or gatherings that are focused on bringing different constituencies into closer and more meaningful interconnection. Let us know your ideas and needs!

Below is logistical information about sharing TLC Farm. Please contact the Forum Working Group at 503-245-3847 or forum@tryonfarm.org if you are interesting in hosting an event.

Spaces

Village Green: On the north end of the land is our lovely Village Green. This sloped, grassy area is surrounded by the sauna, fire circle, composting toilets, T-Whale, Outdoor Kitchen and stage. It's a great spot for picnics and games.

Sauna: A beautiful, handmade earthen sauna, this sacred space fits 15-25 people. Wood must be provided by event host, or otherwise arranged. The sauna takes about two hours to heat (and it does get hot!); a farm host must be present. The sauna can also be used as a "cave room" -- a cozy space without lots of light, great for healing practices or meditation gatherings. It naturally stays wonderfully cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Outdoor Kitchen: Facilities include an earthen, wood-fired oven (perfect for pizzas and other baked goods); a two wood-fired, super-efficient "rocket stoves"; another rocket stove built for a large pot; a two-burner propane stove; running water and sink; various counters; and electricity. There is also a heated earthen bench, and picnic tables are nearby. We have a stack of washable plates and cups available. Wood must be provided by event host, or otherwise arranged. Depending on the amount of propane you use, we may ask for reimbursement. The Outdoor Kitchen will be undergoing improvements throughout the fall of 2008, and at times may not be available.

T-Whale: This whimsical teahouse was originally built for the Earth Day Celebration at Sunnyside Elementary School, and was soon thereafter adopted by TLC Farm. Made into the shape of a whale, the body provides an organic space for 10 people to sit and the tail is a fun spiral tower, great for kids! Between the body and tail is a small tea serving area.

Stage: Our 144 sq. ft. carpeted and covered stage is the perfect place for bands, theater, or just a nice flat spot to sit!

Yome: This rustic yurt/dome (16-17 ft. diameter) is nestled into the forest on the west end of the land. It comfortably holds 10-20 people for a gathering, and is a versatile space that can be set up to fit many needs. There is electricity and a wood stove; wood must be provided by event host, or otherwise arranged.

Barn: Built in the 1920s, this rustic space provides a covered, versatile area for many activities. The barn has electricity. In the fall of 2008, the barn will be undergoing remodels and may not be available. Afterwards, however, the barn will be insulated for winter gatherings.

Maple Grove: Eight big leaf maple trees in a circle form this sacred space, and a wonderful spot for intentional conversations, meetings or ceremony. Bring special items for the two alter areas.

Lower garden areas/edge of forest: The eastern edge of the land is the wild boundary between farm and forest, and contains many niches for gathering.

Forest: TLC Farm is surrounded by Tryon Creek State Park, with 700-acres of secondary forest and miles of trails. TLC Farm's trails connected directly into the Park.

The residences and other structures on the land are not available for use (they are part of Cedar Moon, the intentional community at TLC Farm). Composting toilets are available in the Village Green.

Services

Services are offered by our talented community members based on availability, and therefore may not be available at all times. We pay our service providers a living wage stipend of $13/hour, and ask that you cover this cost.

The following are typical services we offer, though we are also open to new ideas!

Building/maintaining fires for the yome, sauna or outdoor kitchen: Please provide your own wood or reimburse us for ours.

Making pizzas in the earthen ovens: We can help with the logistics of baking the perfect cob pizza! We will teach you how to build the fire, bake the dough and cook the pizzas, or we can do it all for you and your group.

Catered Food: We have a variety of on-call cooks who can create fabulous menus for your group. We specialize in vegetarian, vegan, raw, or local/in season meals. And/or, we can arrange to have your event catered by local restaurants in our community.

Childcare: We have a group of on-call childcare hosts and lots of fun places for children of all ages to play! We even have a pack of small children (under ten years old) living at the Farm who are often welcoming hosts for other kids.

Meeting facilitation: Our facilitators specialize in consensus-based processes and can facilitate groups of all sizes.

Shuttle driving: See the section on transportation for details.

Publicity: If appropriate, you are welcome to post your event on our online events calendar and/or list it in our monthly update, going out to 3000 people. (free)

Farm Tour: Guided tours are a great way to learn about TLC Farm's sustainability demonstrations, inspiring history, and ongoing community success stories. Tours can be from a half hour to two hours in length; recommended time is one hour. (free)

Workparty facilitation: If your group wants to get down and dirty, we can facilitate workparties in the garden, native habitat restoration or a building project.

Educational Programs: TLC Farm offers a variety of educational opportunities -- please see our website for details.

Farm Host and CoCreated Agreement

Your link to TLC Farm is the Farm Host, and is coordinated through the Forum Working Group. You and the Farm Host will work out all necessary details for your gathering. If your event is ongoing, than your host might only need to be there just the first few times, or until you “learn the ropes”. Alternatively, we can train you to be your own Farm Host.

The CoCreated Agreement is a written document that outlines the details of the event, our agreed upon exchange, and TLC Farm’s guidelines. We will ask you to sign this (we will too).

Parking and Transportation

Parking provides us with our biggest opportunity for creative fossil fuel independence. We encourage people to get to TLC Farm via bikes, public transit, hikes through the park or carpooling. As an incentive, we will reduce the per hour rate of using the farm by $5/hour if you use zero or one parking spot! Directions for bus, biking, hiking and driving are on our website.

Bike: Definitely the most fun way to get to TLC Farm, biking takes about 45-55 minutes from downtown and only 30-40 minutes back!

Hike: During the day, you can park at Tryon Creek State Park Visitor’s Center on Terwilliger Blvd. and hike 15-minutes across to TLC Farm. Beautiful!

Bus: The #38 bus has a stop at our doorstep, but only runs M-F during rush hours. The #12 bus runs up Barbur Blvd, within two miles of TLC Farm. And the #39 runs from the #12 to Lewis and Clark College, a 25-minute hike through the woods from the farm.

Cars: We have four parking spots for visitors, and if your gathering will require more parking areas then we suggest carpooling or shuttling. Want to know our secrets for these successful car dances? Read on:

Shuttles: Have people park in a nearby lot and then jump into a shuttle vehicle (usually someone’s personal car or van). The shuttle can drop of/pick up at the top of the driveway. We like to think of the shuttle as a great way to begin and end a gathering–an enjoyable few moments to make new friends and prepare for or relax after an event. You can run a shuttle throughout the event or set specific times. Riverdale High School is 3/4 mile away and if your event is large (20+ cars) we can help you arrange a permit to use their parking lot; otherwise, we would suggest using the Barbur Transit Center.

If you want us to run a shuttle for you, we would charge the cost of a van rental (we rent from a partner group that provides a veggie-oil powered vehicle), plus $.45/mile, plus a stipend of $13/hr for the driver.

Carpools: Arrange to have your group meet at someone’s house or the Barbur Transit Center (two miles away) and then share cars. It’s fun to carpool!

Absolutely NO ONE should park in our neighborhood or in the State Park parking lot. We are very respectful of our impact in the surrounding area and ask that you be as well. As an event host, we will expect you to ensure that your event participants respect this request.

Guidelines

Animals: Friendly dogs are allowed but must be kept on leash at all times (we often have children, chickens or goats browsing the land).

Cleanup: All cleanup from should be done immediately following the event. The Outdoor Kitchen sink may be used to wash dishes. Recycling and compost containers will be provided by TLC Farm; please plan to carry out your trash.

Noise: Part of TLC Farm’s work is to be a good neighbor, and as such, we do not allow extended drumming or amplified music without prior consent of our closest neighbors. Quiet hours begin at 10pm.

Smoking: There are two places to smoke cigarettes at TLC Farm: at the top of the driveway and at the bottom of the driveway, in the parking lots.

Alcohol: If kept to a central area, alcohol can be consumed in a respectful manner (and of course, for over 21 only). Alcohol cannot be sold without an OLCC permit.