Sustainable Ballard is hosting its 9th annual community holiday barter and celebration. This event brings together the community, encourages creativity and sharing, creates friendships and offers people a relaxing and enjoyable alternative to the more commercial holiday gift buying experience.

Skip Black Friday this week, enjoy a long weekend without shopping, then join Sustainable Ballard on Sunday, December 7th for a “shopping” experience that supports bringing our local community together.

Attendees are encouraged to bring anything home-made or home-grown...jams, chocolates, cheese, flowers, beer, scarves, mittens, aprons, artwork, jewelry, soap! Not a cook or craftsperson? Feeling crunched for time? Organizer of the fair, Jenny Heins: “You really don’t have to have made something ahead of time. There are lots of services people can offer, too. Just show up and make a certificate for an hour of dog-walking or garden weeding, a home-cooked meal, a session of yoga or fiddling. Any service or experience you can estimate a cost for is fair game.”

In past years, some interesting barter items have included:
•BBQ forks fashioned from golf clubs
•home-made truffles presented in a butter dish
•home-made Hawaiian Irish Cream
•refrigerator-cleaning service
•haircuts on the spot

The holiday party is also showing some of what local businesses have or what they can offer. Heins said there will be a raffle at the party for gifts donated by local businesses. The raffle will help pay for other Sustainable Ballard projects like the Reusable Cups Campaign, Free Letters Home, Sustainable Ballard Festival and Little Free Libraries.

Please join us – there will be food, drinks and music! Beer & wine will be donated by Sunergy Systems.

ABOUT:
Sustainable Ballard, a blueprint for Everytown, USA, educates, inspires, and engages neighbors to take action to live more sustainably both individually and collectively. Our vision is an inclusive, joyful, sustainable community co-creating a world for this and future generations where eco-systems are healthy and peace is inevitable.
www.SustainableBallard.org