Tag: group meal

Picnic in the Park

Socialize in-person with others interested in cohousing at TCCN’s annual picnic held in St. Paul, MN.

FREE to attend
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Como Park picnic shelter
6:00-8:00 PM

Image shows a gathering of people at a hexagonal gazebo picnic shelter at Como Park near trees, grass, picnic tables and grills.
Shelter photo by St. Paul Parks and Recreation

Bring your favorite picnic foods, beverages and utensils for a picnic with Twin Cities Cohousing Network volunteers and other cohousing supporters and share in an evening of connection and fun at a quaint open-sided picnic shelter in St. Paul’s Como Park. (Map of west picnic shelter location.)

Look for TCCN’s banner at the picnic area on the west side of the park located at 1300 Midway Parkway, east of Hamline Avenue, near the mini golf course and children’s playground. Bathrooms are located near the picnic shelter. Picnic parking is first come first serve.

Families, friends, and children welcome! Meet and greet others with an interest in building and living in cohousing communities in Minnesota.

Register

So we know to expect you and can alert you in case of inclement weather.

Event Schedule

5:30 — Begin to gather at picnic shelter #50. Bring your own food, beverage, and utensils. Water will be available. (Share food items with others if you feel comfortable.)

6:00 — Picnicking and conversation. Discuss existing cohousing and efforts to start new cohousing communities.

8:00 — Clean up.

A child making a giant bubble at the Como Park picnic shelter 2021 event.

Rental costs for the picnic shelter were provided by our supporters. Twin Cities Cohousing Network is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization.

Fall work party and shared meal at Monterey Cohousing Community

Front of Monterey Cohousing Community building during fall with colorful leaves and grasses in the yard.
Monterey Cohousing
St. Louis Park, MN.
Photo by Rick Gravrok.

More than 20 volunteers completed a wide variety of repairs and other fall projects at Monterey Cohousing Community (MoCoCo) in St. Louis Park on Saturday, October 22. Volunteers included residents of MoCoCo, supporters of Twin Cities Cohousing Network (TCCN), and members of Cedar Cohousing, a group working to create a new cohousing community in the Twin Cities area.

After a deep clean of the kitchen, which was one of the work tasks to be completed, a shared vegetarian meal was organized by Becca Brackett (Cedar Cohousing, TCCN secretary) and cooked with the help of volunteers from MoCoCo and TCCN as other volunteers completed work tasks outdoors.

Two men kneeling on a sidewalk with tools on the ground around them adjusting a latch on a fence post.
Paul Wehrwein (TCCN volunteer) and Fred Olson repairing a gate latch and post. Photo by Rick Gravrok.
A group of four adults and one child sitting at a round table enjoying a shared meal cooked by volunteers after outdoor work tasks were completed.
Enjoying a shared meal in Monterey Cohousing Community’s dining room. On the left are Jon Haftek, his partner and child, MoCoCo resident Ellen Thomas in back, and Becca Brackett of Cedar Cohousing group on the right. Photo by Rick Gravrok.

TCCN picnic report in the news

TCCN’s July 20th summer picnic was attended by local writer John Horchner who wrote about his experience talking with attendees about their interest in creating and living in cohousing communities. His commentary, “Can cohousing solve Twin Cities’ economic inequality,” was published in the September 2020 issue of the Park Bugle, a local newspaper serving a number of St. Paul’s neighborhoods near the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus.

The picnic was attended by about forty people who included representatives of newly forming groups, groups that have been meeting for a while, and people who were interested in learning more about cohousing.

For more information about cohousing groups forming in Minnesota, subscribe to TCCN News, an almost-monthly electronic newsletter.

Author John Horchner with TCCN volunteer Paul Wehrwein at TCCN’s summer picnic.

Midsummer Social on July 20

You’re invited to the Midsummer Social of the Twin Cities Cohousing Network (TCCN) on July 20. TCCN is hosting a casual meal and time for socializing. The kitchen crew will be preparing a cohousing-style, family-friendly buffet meal. Sign up now  to attend!

It was last summer when a group of local cohousing people re-energized the Twin Cities Cohousing Network (TCCN). Join us as we relax and celebrate our progress of the last year. 

Please register and pay in advance so the cooking team knows how much food to buy and prepare. Here is the link. We encourage you to share this information. Invite a friend, neighbor or relative who is exploring housing alternatives, and share our Facebook event with your networks.

Doors open at 5 pm for setup…come then, if you wish. The buffet dinner will be served at around 6 pm. If you have time and would like to have the satisfaction and camaraderie of volunteering to cook or clean up, please indicate this on the registration form.

National cohousing conf highlights, dinner, story circles+ on May 25 | Register now!

Several Twin Cities Cohousing Network members are attending the national CohousingUSA conference in Nashville. Come hear them share what they saw and experienced. The kitchen crew will be whipping up a spring meal, and registration is open. You can sign up here if you plan to attend.

It helps our team of volunteers when you register and pay in advance. That way, the cooking team knows how much food to buy and prepare. Here is the registration link.

We encourage you to share this information with a friend or relative who is exploring housing alternatives, and to share our Facebook event with your networks.

Doors open at 5 pm for setup and conversation; dinner runs from 6-6:45 pm and then the program starts. If you have time to volunteer to cook or clean up, please indicate this on the appropriate section of the registration form.

By the way, if you’re going to the national conference, too, we hope you’ll bring a story to share, too.

Save the date – May 25th, in the evening

For the next Twin Cities Cohousing Network gathering, our star kitchen crew will cook another group meal, cohousing style. Our meal will again be followed by an update from the local cohousing core groups, other announcements, and then a story circle session at each table.

Details and registration will be available soon. Please check back, and sign up for the monthly TCCN News e-newsletter to be informed about this and other events.

Next community meal + program | Feb. 2nd

For the next Twin Cities Cohousing Network gathering, our star kitchen crew will cook another group meal, cohousing style. Our meal will again be followed by an update from the local cohousing core groups, other announcements, and then a story circle session at each table.

For details and to register, click here.

Please note that registration and payment in advance is strongly encouraged so that the cooks know their budget and how many to plan for. Cost covers food and a share of the room rental. There is a maximum charge for families to make it easier to bring your children.

Also, if you’d possibly like to join the cooks for chopping, baking, and other kitchen tasks, and are able to arrive around 4 pm, please contact Becca to get the details.

ecbrackett [at] cohousing [dot] org

Community meal + program Dec. 1st | we cook for you

For the next Twin Cities Cohousing Network gathering, our star kitchen crew has cooked up a menu for a group meal, cohousing style.

For details and to register, click here.

Please note that payment in advance is strongly encouraged so that the cooks know their budget and how many to plan for. Cost covers food and a share of the room rental. There is a maximum charge for families to make it easier to bring your children.

Also, the cooks could use one or two more people who enjoy chopping vegetables, baking, and other kitchen tasks, and are able to arrive around 4 pm. If that sounds fun and you’re available to help, please contact Becca to get the details.

ecbrackett [at] cohousing [dot] org

people in a large room listen to a speaker
At the Oct 20th cohousing potluck. Photo: Lynn Englund