See you at the Bash on Wabash!

Overflow will have a booth at this year's Bash on Wabash, a street festival in South Loop.  We'll be spreading awareness about our mission to change the world one cup at a time and selling products from our new fair trade artisan store, South Loop t-shirts, and coffee beans.  Here are the details for this year's Bash:

Saturday and Sunday

August 25 and 26

11:30am to 10:00pm

on Wabash Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Place

Benefiting the Greater South Loop Association, this lively festival mirrors the South Loop’s vibrancy, offering something for everyone.  The theme is Sweet Corn Chicago.  Fresh roasted corn and beer and wine will be available.  There will be a kids’ area and a Corn Bags Tournament throughout the weekend.  To top it off, revelers will enjoy a variety of live music, including some of Chicago’s hot local acts.

More info and a music lineup at http://greatersouthloop.org/bash/.

As a special thanks for being loyal fans, mention coupon code "Cash-At-The-Bash" and we'll give you $5 off any purchase of $12 or more.

Black Gold Film Screening & Discussion

August 30, 2012 at 7pm

Suggested Donation: $3

RESERVE YOUR SEAT NOW!

WATCH THE TRAILER.

About the Film
Multinational coffee companies rule shopping malls and supermarkets, and dominate the $80-billion-plus coffee industry. But, while Americans continue to pay for luxury lattes and cappuccinos, the prices paid to coffee farmers remain so low that many have been forced to abandon their fields. Black Gold tells the complex story behind an attempt to make globalization work for the producers of the second most valuable traded commodity for developing countries in the world.

Nowhere is the disparity of the coffee industry more evident than in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. Tadesse Meskela manages the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, representing more than 74,000 coffee farmers. The union buys coffee from 101 individual cooperatives, spread across southern Ethiopia. Black Gold follows Meskela on his mission to save struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy. As his union’s farmers strive to harvest some of the highest quality coffee beans on the international market, Meskela travels the world to find buyers willing to pay a fair price — a better price than the one set by the international commodities exchange.

Against the backdrop of Meskela's journey to London and Seattle, the film reveals the enormous power of the multinational players that dominate the world's coffee trade. Since the International Coffee Agreement — which regulated the supply of coffee on the world market — collapsed in 1989, the price paid to coffee farmers has fallen to a 30-year low. But in the same time period, retail sales from coffee have increased from $30 billion to $80 billion a year. Today, four multinational corporations dominate the global coffee market: Kraft, Nestle, Proctor & Gamble, and Sara Lee.

Black Gold exposes how New York City commodity traders, the international coffee exchanges, and the double dealings of trade ministers at the World Trade Organization all challenge Meskela in his quest for a long-term solution to pay coffee farmers a living wage.

Discussion Afterward
Tim Taylor, our coffee roaster, will be on hand to lead discussion and share more information about the coffee industry and how it's changed since this film premiered in 2007.

Schedule
7:00 - Pre-screening Networking.  Bring business cards and get to know the other people who'll be watching the film.
7:30 - Welcome and Introduction.
7:40 - Film begins.
9:10 - Film concludes. Bathroom and coffee break.
9:20 - Discussion facilitated by Tim Taylor.

Transit/Parking While we encourage the use of public transit (Red Line, #29, #62 and other buses are close), limited parking is available in the rear of the building on a first come, first served basis.  Bring $3 for your spot.  No one will be in the lot to take it.  You can pay at the ticket check-in table.

Daystar Center Now Enrolling

Enrollment is now open for fall community classes at 1550 S. State! 

The Center is adding some exciting new classes and continuing some old favorites.  Click here for a complete schedule. New classes begin September 4, 2012.  Some classes have already begun and you can jump in anytime.


Tip: When you highlight the Classes tab on the Center's website, you'll see an option for demos.  Use this option to try a class for FREE before deciding whether to sign up

The Daystar Center is in the same building as Overflow.  They provide opportunities for educational growth and cultural engagement to adults and children.  They are a nonprofit organization.  If you need space for an event or gathering, they also rent their spaces.

We're Expanding Our Mission and Our Impact

Overflow's mission is to give South Loop residents, students and workers the opportunity to change the world.  We now have a new way for YOU to change the world one artisan-crafted item at a time!  

Overflow Coffee Bar is now a retailer of products from Ten Thousand Villages.  Ten Thousand Villages is a fair trade retailer of artisan-crafted gifts, home decor, jewelry, personal accessories, textiles, art & sculpture from across the globe. Featuring products from more than 130 artisan groups in some 38 countries, we are part of a network of more than 390 retail outlets throughout the United States selling Ten Thousand Villages products. For more than 60 years, Ten Thousand Villages has been establishing long-term buying relationships in places where skilled artisans lack opportunities for stable income. All artisans are fairly paid for their products.

For more information about Ten Thousand Villages at Overflow, please contact Amanda at amanda@overflowcoffeebar.org.  Ten Thousand Villages products will be available on Saturdays from 8:00am to 6:00pm.  As sales increase, we'll add new hours.

For the month of August, we're donating 5% of all gross sales from these new products to the Greater South Loop Association to help make the Bash on Wabash a success.  We'll also have Ten Thousand Village products available at the Bash on Wabash, August 25 and 26.

The South Loop now has a place for you to find interesting gifts or unique items for yourself at a convenient location.  Support local business, make global impact.