Bainbridge is home to a lot of cool ideas, but Green Drinks started on a different island—Great Britain. Some environmentally minded Brits found themselves talking shop over a few pints, and in time Green Drinks had become a regular thing. Since its humble beginnings in 1989, the Green Drinks concept has spread virally (in the best sense of the term), imported by communities all over the world, each taking the idea and interpreting it uniquely, often making up their own logos.
The common denominator of Green Drinks is ecominded people gathering socially over drinks (nongreen, except perhaps for St. Patrick’s Day) and snacks to meet, network, and, well, have fun.
Bainbridge Islanders Joe and Tammy Deets got excited about Green Drinks after attending a Green Drinks Bremerton. With other Sustainable Bainbridge members and enthusiasm from Rebecca Judd, who agreed to host an inaugural Green Drinks event at the Bainbridge Library, Green Drinks Bainbridge Island was launched in April of 2010.
Kat Gjovik, who now organizes the gatherings, said that first event at the library drew about 150 people. Subsequent monthly Green Drinks Bainbridge have drawn between 25 and 80 people.
When I asked Gjovik what kinds of people show up, she said, “we see people who practice green building . . . ; people who are working on transportation, energy, water, food/farming, and community resilience; people from the business community working to strengthen our local economy, “think local first,” and adopt sustainable business practices; activists and community organizers working on large environmental, economic, and social justice issues . . . ; and people involved in politics (although Green Drinks isn’t for campaigning or commercializing).”
According to Gjovik, Green Drinks Bainbridge is an evolving entity, with new community-building connections being made each time: “While one would think that, in a community the size of Bainbridge Island, most people interested in ‘green’ would already know each other, we notice, every month, many new people and the buzz of first-time introductions and “aha moments” about common interests.” Frequently collaborations and further discussions over coffee ensue.
The next Green Drinks Bainbridge is this Friday, October 28, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sponsored by Go Solar Bainbridge, it will be hosted by Roosters Cafe, where joiners can “cozy up to the bar for a beer or glass of wine and a complimentary cup of pumpkin/butternut squash soup, bread, and scrumptious brownies.” Kids are welcome if accompanied by parents.
Photos courtesy of Kat Gjovik and Green Drinks Bainbridge Island.
