Just Doing Stuff Festival

Imagine
neighbors helping neighbors to build a vegetable garden or a rainwater

harvesting system. Imagine neighbors discovering together ways to can and

preserve food, or repair clothing.  

Imagine
people sitting down together and talking proactively about what we can do in
the face of climate change, peak oil and economic contraction.  In

hundreds of neighborhoods around the world – a network that forms the

international Transition Movement – people are “just doing stuff” like this.

Rob
Hopkins, the UK founder of the international Transition Movement, is

coming to Los Angeles on October 13 and 14.  Hopkins is an inspiring

speaker, an Akosha fellow, and a veteran of TED talks, who has captured the

attention of British Members of Parliament.  Hopkins and the Transition

groups are recognized around the world as the potential dawn of a new era,

weaving localized lifestyles which could potentially be better than what we

have now.

Many of
the things modern life takes for granted right now -- from our conventional
food supply to our transportation system to our economy -- are very much
dependent on a cheap, plentiful, inexhaustible supply of oil.  Global

warming says we should shift to lifestyles which burn less oil.  Peak oil

-- the fact that humanity is currently burning its way into the declining

second half of the planet's oil supply -- means we're going to have to make

some big changes.

As we
delve into the harder-to-get-to, more expensive half of the oil supply, it is
bringing on economic shifts which are the ultimate enforcer.  The economy

says that big, big change is happening now.

And
Rob Hopkins declares that big changes can be delightful -- if we apply our

creativity to making them so.  His work inspired grassroots communities

around the world.  Today the Transition Network includes more than 1,100

groups in 43 countries, including local groups in Mar Vista/Venice, Culver

City, Pasadena, and Rancho Palos Verdes.  There are 18 groups around Southern
California which are working with Hopkins' ideas.

These
groups are building community gardens, as places to grow local,

transportation-free food.  They've hosted Cluck Treks to tour local

chicken coops, and helped launch a chain of Little Free Libraries.

They're setting up time banks and sharing networks, to provide economic

alternatives.  They're exploring local businesses in new formats and new

industries -- more appropriate for a world that is radically changing.

On
Sunday October 13, Transition Los Angeles will host Rob Hopkins in West LA.
The day's celebration will begin at 2:30pm with a free "Just Doing

Stuff" festival at the Emerson Avenue Community Garden, Emerson Ave at

80th Place, Westchester/LA 90045.  There will be live music, demos, and activities
for all ages.  Food will be available for purchase.

At
4:30pm the doors will open across the street for the speaker portion of the

event, to be held at the Westchester United Methodist Church, 8065 Emerson Ave,
LA 90045.  Rob Hopkins will hold a dialog with some of Los Angeles'

prominent activists, including Andy Lipkis of TreePeople, D'Artagnan Scorza of

the Social Justice Learning Institute of Inglewood, Joanne Poyourow of the

Environmental Change-Makers of Westchester, Meghan Sahli-Wells, Vice Mayor of
Culver City and a member of Transition Culver City, and moderated by Anneke
Campbell of Transition Mar Vista/Venice.