OLYMPIA, Wash.–For the third year in a row, cooperatives here will be cooperative at CO-OPatopia, a free, regional event aimed at promoting cooperatives, their products and their services to consumers and to other co-ops.
The event is being led by TwinStar Credit Union, with WSECU also participating. Other participants include Northwest Cooperative Development Center, Olympia Food Co-op, Northwest Construction Cooperative, Hidden Village, Seattle Massage, Pinchot University, New Moon Café, Yelm Food Co-op, Seafood Producers, the National Cooperative Business Association, Member Access Pacific, and Olympia Food Co-op.
According to its backers, the purpose of CO-OPatopia is three fold:
- Celebrate the community of co-ops.
- Help current co-op members identify other co-ops in the area.
- Educate non co-op users about the benefits of co-ops and how they can get involved.
CO-OPatopia is scheduled to be held in downtown Olympia on Oct. 2 from 5-10 p.m.
“This is our annual opportunity to bring together a variety of co-ops from across many sectors to not only show people the benefit of belonging to a co-op, but to encourage greater 'cooperation among cooperatives'—one of the core cooperative principles and something very unique to the co-op movement” stated Mary Beth Spuck, chief administrative officer with TwinStar Credit Union.