News & Happenings from Sunward Cohousing
Mask Making Magic
Jan 13, 2010. A crafty evening of mask making swept through our Common House dinning room. Kids of all ages poured over the mountain of art supplies, tools and mask forms brought by folks. Enthusiasm and creativity oozed along with the glue guns as we prepared our costumes for the upcoming Masquerade Ball ...
Musical Magic From New Orleans
June 12, 2009. David Leonard and Roselyn Lionheart returned to Sunward with their soaring vocals accompanied by guitars, banjo, mandolin, harmonicas, trumpet, African finger pianos, rhumba Box. Joining them for this house concert was special guest Arlee Leonard, aclaimed jazz and soul singer. About 50 Sunwardians and friends gathered in our Common House for the party.
Tropical Dance Party!
January 17, 2009. Our friends, The Dorkestra, along with special guest performers including the Nomadic Jewels Tribal Belly Dancers, and the who's who of Washtenaw county world percussion graced us with their 2nd Annual Tropical Dance Party. Many friends of sunward joined us for a full house and filled the dance floor into the night, shaking off our winter blues.
10th Anniversary
Fall 2008. Sunward is celebrating our 10th anniversary of living in community on our land together! In September we had a two day party, dancing to live music on our piazza, feasting, telling stories, circling up for drumming, playing games and delighting in the company of members, friends, and alumni.
4th of July Parade & Celebration
July 4, 2008. Ann Arbor's parade include a cavalcade of cohousers on bikes, skates, scooters, smart car, foot, and paw, marching along with a 14' tall fantastical puppet dubbed 'the spirit of cohousing'. Sunwardians with our friends from Great Oak and Touchstone were warmly received around the downtown parade route under the sunny sky. A picnic and grilling party on our piazza gathered folks together and built excitement for George's traditional firework performance.
Reiki Healing Studio Grand Opening
February 2, 2008. Eden Winter welcomed her community, friends, and clients to an open house celebrating the Grand Opening of her Reiki Healing practice located at Sunward. Hot tea and well chosen hors de'overs accented reconnection of old friends and deep conversations among new acquaintances in Eden's Reiki studio.
Musiq Convivium
February 1, 2008. Douglas Lane Allen & Abigail Alwin brought their multi-instrumental and vocal talents to an intimate performance in our community featuring their original music from the brand new recording, Music Convivium. Tasty food and liquid refreshments added to the sumptuous, sensory feast!
Sooj Returns
October 28, 2007. SJ Tucker (Sooj) charmed with an afternoon concert at Sunhouse 21. With several instruments, and a tremendous vocal range, Sooj, took us on a mythic musical journey which included ferocious church mice, manticores, diplomatic zombies, and profound relationships.
Greg Greenway
October 5, 2007. Greg Greenway brought his powerful singer/songwriter talents to our Common House for an intimate evening of beautiful, spirited, and spirit-lifting music. Closing with 'Free at Last' and 'In the Name of Love,' he brought forth tears and standing ovations. Happy hour and scrumptious snacks before the show made it a lively social event. We're delighted that Sunward's concert series continues to bring rich culture right into our home.
Is It Utopia Yet?
May 12, 2007. 25 seniors from Otterbein College visited Sunward as part of their class, "The Search for Utopia" with Drs. Michele Acker and Andrew Mills. They spent a good portion or their visit working on helpful projects including washing our Common House windows, planting trees, and making dinner for the community. They interviewed us on topics such as community building, decision making, and children in community.
Garlic Mustard
May 2007. The great Sunward garlic mustard eradication extravaganza is underway once again. Members and friends are combing our woods to carefully pull out this aggressive invasive species by the bagful. Rowena has marked off designated pulling zones in conjunction with the prescribed burn of the woods. Special Sunward T-shirts reward those pulling multiple bags this year. Trillium and other native plant delights are doing well in areas we are keeping clear.
SJ Tucker in Concert
March 9, 2007. Our friend SJ Tucker returned for an evening of her Musical Storytelling at its Mythical Finest in our Common House. Sooj had several new songs for us as well as treating us to favorites such as the "Wendi Trilogy", depicting the true tale of Peter Pan's friend.
An Inconvenient Truth: Live!
March 2007. An Inconvenient Truth. Peggy Graces-Cortelyou of The Climate Project presented a Al Gore's slide show featured in the movie, An Inconvenient Truth. We met in our common house with Sunward members and friends and explored Global Warming and what more we can do about it locally. We identified a number of ways to improve energy efficiency of our common house. Our Common house solar energy team was invigorated to push their project forward - stay tuned!
News from 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001...1999, 1998, 1997
“Never doubt that a small group of commited, thoughtful people can change the world - indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead
