I received this press release from Heidi Bergman of Think Local First. It is going to be an interesting discussion:
Think Local First will unite Grass Valley and Nevada City residents and business owners at the Nevada Theatre for a screening of the documentary Fixing the Future, with the goal of educating residents and spurring action toward strengthening local economies.
On July 22, Nevada City and Grass Valley will join dozens of other communities across the country that have shared the film with the goal of jumpstarting local, sustainable economies.
Featuring the screening of the documentary Fixing the Future, the region’s event will take place at the Nevada Theatre in Downtown Nevada City. A live discussion panel featuring local economy influencers and experts from western Nevada County will follow, preceded by a pre-recorded onscreen discussion panel featuring:
•Bill McKibben: Author, environmentalist, Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College
•Majora Carter: Peabody Award winning broadcaster & Urban Revitalization Strategist
•Mike Brady: CEO, Greyston Bakery & social entrepreneur
•David Brancaccio: Host, NOW on PBS
NATIONAL CAMPAIGN
The event kicks off Nevada County’s participation in Fixing the Future Across America, a national campaign led by JumpStart Productions, Area23a and the media strategy organization Active Voice.
Think Local First is one of more than 50 groups around the country participating in the campaign, using Fixing the Future to encourage American communities to create resilient, local economies through innovative approaches to job creation.
Fixing the Future Across America also links together a national network of business groups and community-based organizations working to improve their local economies.
This community as a whole gets Local as an idea, but aren’t exactly sure what to do to be ‘Local’,“ says Think Local First’s board member Heidi Bergman. “This screening is a great opportunity to raise awareness about some ways we can strengthen our economy. It’s a sharing of ideas and way to get people involved. It’s down to earth, a real look into a do-it-yourself economy.”
Sierra Cinemas has generously agreed to screen the film at their Nevada Theatre in partnership with Think Local First and the event’s other co-hosts: BriarPatch Co-op, Sierra Commons and Green Life Eco fest.
In Fixing the Future, host David Brancaccio (of public radio’s Marketplace and NOW on PBS) visits locations across America that are using sustainable and innovative approaches to create jobs and build prosperity, inspiring hope and renewal amidst economic collapse.
These issues are particularly relevant to western Nevada County where unemployment remains above the state average and the threat of economic drain from out-of-area chains looms.
ABOUT THINK LOCAL FIRST, NEVADA COUNTY FOOTHILLS
Since 2008, Think Local First has worked to build a just and sustainable economy in the Western Nevada County region by connecting, promoting and strengthening locally owned, independent businesses which seek to serve the needs of customers, employees, our community and the earth. Learn more at localfirstfoothills.org, or on Facebook at facebook.com/localfirstfoothills.
ABOUT FIXING THE FUTURE
In Fixing the Future, host David Brancaccio (of public radio’s Marketplace and NOW on PBS) visits locations across America that are attempting a revolution: the reinvention of the American economy. By featuring communities using sustainable and innovative approaches to create jobs and build prosperity, Fixing the Future inspires hope and renewal in a people overwhelmed by an economic collapse. Fixing the Future was produced by JumpStart Productions. www.fixingthefuture.org
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While I agree with the idea of buying local, the problem is that unless you’re ok with paying more for your goods, it’s nearly impossible. My family (and many of my friends) can’t afford to pay tourist prices for everyday items. Also, many of these same businesses that want the community to buy local are not paying their employees enough to have that luxury. I love Nevada County, have lived here all my life, but I have no choice but to turn to finding deals via online shopping when it comes to making at least 60% of my non-food purchases.
Even trying to take our children to local events is too expensive for a family of 4. Just to give an example, for the last 2 years my husband and I have taken our kids to Auburn for the 4th of July. Why? Because my husband is a (disabled) Veteran and only Active Duty Military is admitted free to the Nev. Co. Fairgrounds. Auburn has free admittance for all, free parking AND it takes less time to get home (downtown GV) from there! I’d much rather celebrate freedom for free.
In these tough economic times, I do feel for the local business owners, but if they want to earn the business of the lower income residents, they need to offer much more competitive pricing to make their goods and/or services available to more than just the middle class and up. I for one, can’t justify paying up to twice as much to shop locally just to support the community; keeping a roof over my kids heads and food in their stomachs is much more important than keeping my hard earned dollars local.
I don’t mean to rain on anyone’s parade or by any means state that shopping local is an all around bad idea; it’s not. If someone can find a way for lower income families to “Think Local First” without breaking the bank, I’d be all for it.