A Fair Trade Invitation

You are cordially invited to attend Vermont’s First Forum on Fair Trade Business on Saturday, October 17, 2009, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Burlington City Hall, Contois Auditorium.

This event is sponsored by the Burlington Fair Trade Town Initiative Committee, a group of 15 businesses, retailers & wholesalers, schools, places of worship and individuals.

There will be a panel discussion of six experts from UVM, Fair Trade retailers, coffee roasters such as VT Coffee Company, GMCR, and Equal Exchange, and will be moderated by Michael Moser of UVM and the Vermont Honduras Partnership. Coffee farmers from Guatemala may also be visiting, courtesy of GMCR.

In addition, there will be time for a few of our political attendees to make brief statements. Mayor Kiss has been asked to announce that Burlington has completed the 5 criteria established by Fair Trade Towns USA, making Burlington the 12th official Fair Trade Town in the United States! Brattleboro VT was the 2nd. Our next goal is to make Vermont the First Official Fair Trade State in the nation!

City Market/Onion River Coop is catering the event. This is an opportunity to thank all our local Vermont businesses and organizations for their support and involvement with Fair Trade. Our motto is “Buy Fair Buy Local”.

Please RSVP to one of the following:
Courtney Lang at 802-861-9753 or clang@citymarket.coop
Melinda Haselton at 802-881-2775 or info@dolmadesigns.org
Sandy Wynne at 802-343-9289 or sandywynne@comcast.net

Below is a detailed schedule of the event: October 17, 2009 Saturday, Burlington Contois Auditorium:
4:30 Viewing time for displays of Fair Trade Activities with free food & beverages courtesy of City Market
4:45 Introductions and brief statements by some attending politicians
5:05 Mayor Kiss declares Burlington a Fair Trade Town
5:10 Committee member announcement of next goal
5:15 Opportunity to view displays, network and enjoy free munchies
5:25 Michael Moser introduces panel
5:30 Panel members offer personal stories
6:00 Public questions and comments
6:30 Visiting farmers, panel members and public interact
7:00 End of Event