GRAND OPENING AT COMMON GROUND FOOD CO-OP!
COMMON GROUND'S GRAND OPENING IS SCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3 THROUGH THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9. CHECK OUT THESE INCREDIBLE EVENTS!
ALL WEEK! Week-Long Matching Challenge: Mervis Industries and their subsidiaries, Marco Recycling and Advantage Recycling, challenge Common Ground shoppers the week of October 3-9 to Operation CO-OPeration: an effort to raise $2,000 for the Eastern Illinois Food Bank. For every dollar you donate between October 3-10, Mervis Industries will match it, dollar-for-dollar, up to $1,000. Join Mervis Industries in Operation CO-OPeration to feed the Food Bank. Donations taken at the register throughout the week.
ALL WEEK! FREE, reusable bags courtesy of Mervis Industries and their subsidiaries, Marco Recycling and Advantage Recycling.
Friday, October 3
3:30pm: Urbana Business Association ribbon cutting and press conference at the co-op
6:00-8:00pm: Co-op Appreciation Night! Please come out and help us thank the staff, board members, and community members that worked so hard to make this store happen! We'll have champagne punch and a giant cake (there will be a vegan one, too, of course!) as well as lovely cello music by fellow member and professional musician Alex McHattie. We'll be giving out silly awards and serious toasts to those that worked so hard to make our new beloved co-op home happen!
Saturday, October 4
11:00am-1:00pm: Live "roots" music on our porch by local band, Flyover Zone
1:00pm: Common Ground's 1st Annual Apple Pie Contest! Look for details on how to enter at the register in the next few days and on the website!
All day: Sales, sales, and more sales on tons of great products!
Sunday, October 5
12:30-2:00pm: Community Potluck! Bring a dish and get to know your fellow co-op supporters with music and great food. To be held on our porch if lovely out, or in the hallway behind the store.
2:00-3:30 pm: General Membership Meeting. Come take part in the democracy that is your co-op! Your board will be leading you through a discussion of what's next for your co-op, introducing you to those running for the three open board positions in October, and asking for your feedback. I'll be giving a short presentation on the financial picture of the co-op and fielding questions as well. Don't miss it!
Monday, October 6
Giveaway Day! We have lots of items that were given to us by our vendors to help celebrate our grand opening and we thought we'd give them away in a fun and unique way! We'll be placing special tags on the bottom of some items throughout the store and if you find one, you win a goodie bag with a free item or items in it. One will even have a $50 gift certificate in it! You can come in any time, all day long, to play. One win per customer though, folks. ;)
Tuesday, October 7
Local Foods Scavenger Hunt, Sponsored by Illini FS! Come in and pick up a scavenger hunt list in the co-op (there is one for kids up to 10 years old, one for kids 11 to 17 years old, and a different one for the rest of us old people) and find the local food items on the list. Fill out your scavenger hunt sheet correctly and get entered into a drawing for a prize - a basket full of kid-sized gardening goodies and a bug collecting set for the youngest entrants, a $25 gift certificate for the teen co-op members, and a brand-new rain barrel for the grown ups! The gift basket and rain barrel are being donated by Illini FS, we are grateful to them for partnering with the co-op!
Wednesday, October 8
Local Foods Barbecue Benefit for Eastern Illinois Food Bank! Sponsored by Mervis Industries/Marco Recycling/Advantage Recycling!
We'll be grilling out on the porch from 5 to 7 pm with local burgers from the Moore Family Farm, brats and pork burgers from Triple S Farms, lamb brats from Country Cottage Farm, and vegetable kabobs made with produce from Blue Moon Farm! Yum! The cost? Just a donation to the Eastern Illinois Food Bank! So come by and grab a plate, eat, and donate. A big "thank you!" to the folks at Mervis Industries/Marco Recycling/Advantage Recycling for sponsoring this event!
Thursday, October 9
Pumpkin Painting and Apple Cider Come on by the co-op porch between 4 and 6 pm for free pumpkin painting for the kids and free mulled local cider for all!