I knew it was going to be a fun event when someone at the grocery store said it would be a beautiful day. Peter Ruddock and I set up the tables with lots of help from others and Common Ground, and those helping and doing demos (Herb Moore, Willi Paul, Wendy Breu, Tom Kabat, Annette Isaacson, Katherine Wong, and more!) started setting up as well.

On this particular beautiful, sunny Sunday, we had a lot of wonderful new treats beyond either the usual Garden Share or Craft Swap. Our almost-regular Herb Moore set up Scrapophony, creating music with interesting scrap materials ranging from PVC pipe and gears to glass jars wrapped in rubberbands. We gathered as Herb conducted us from a slow low pitter-patter to a thundering rainstorm, up and down, until the last crescendo and finale.

Tom Kabat, along with Trevor and Katie, was repairing and testing out bicycles and even scooters, riding figure-eights through the parking lot with bells ringing.

Tables were set up for sharing the usual garden produce (this time including a wide variety of seeds and greens, eggs, gorgeous blooms, and lots of summer produce) and craft swap items, but we had more tables: books, toys, and clothes as well. Kids played among the toys and set out their cherished baby items, and many of the items were eagerly snatched up as their stories were told. I took the opportunity to find a few gems myself.

Willi Paul set up near the garden tables with his video camera, a screen, and a chair – making videos of people’s stories and histories of coming to the expo, their association with Transition, and their thoughts about the impending future. You can see his post on his blog and watch these first ever Transition Tales here or above (the presenters include myself, Patricia Becker, Peter Ruddock, Romola Georgia, folks from Transition Cupertino, and first-time visitors to the share).

Wendy Breu did a delightful demo on making stunning lavender wands from fresh lavender from the garden, weaving colorful ribbon among the stems to make a keepsake, to keep moths away, and to enjoy the fragrance for years.

Valerie showed up unexpectedly with a massage table and gave complimentary massages to sharers. Several people brought food as well, unasked, and shared other items that were in excellent condition and useful. Many remaining items were given to the library, a local garage sale to raise funds for charity, or other local charities. In all, over 100 people attended the event, and many told me they hoped for more like this in the future. All these were wonderful new additions to our sharing and truly made it reskilling and sharing in multiple senses of the word. Thanks to the community for making our soon-to-be-great event really great!