Friday, May 18 from 7:00 – 11:00 pm

St. John’s Church, 2640 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 (a.k.a. 2640)

$10 or BN10

Join us for a dance party to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of Baltimore’s local, green currency—the BNote. Beer & wine will be available, we’ll be giving away raffle prizes from many of our awesome BNote businesses, and there will be cupcakes, flying fish, and much more!

FARMAGEDDON: The Unseen War on American Family Farms

Mon, May 21 at 7:00 pm

at breathe books, 810 W. 36th St, 2nd Floor, Baltimore, MD 21211

Admission: $8 or BN8
$5 or BN5 for urban and Baltimore-area farmers

Americans’ right to access fresh, healthy foods of their choice is under attack. Farmageddon tells the story of small, family farms that were providing safe, healthy foods to their communities and were forced to stop, sometimes through violent action, by agents of misguided government bureaucracies, and seeks to figure out why.

Wed, May 23 at 7 pm

at Liam Flynn’s Ale House, 22 W. North Ave, Baltimore, MD 21201

Come out and mix it up with BGCA! Meet the BGCA Team, enjoy great pizza from Joe Squared, and talk with us about the BNote, local currency, Time Banks,* or anything else that’s on your mind! No RSVP required – just show up.

* Not familiar with Time Banks? Learn more

Download the new BNote Business Network directory and take it with you wherever you go! Just click on the image below for a printable PDF file with over 130 local businesses at which to use your BNotes.

Imagine a thriving local economy that works for everyone in our city, where everyone can contribute value to their community and have the means to support their family. Even the first steps toward creating an alternative local economic system could have profound positive effects for Baltimore’s residents and small businesses.

We believe in this vision and are willing to keep working hard, just as we have over the past 18 months, to make this a reality for Baltimore. We are an all-volunteer team and we need your help. Read more>>

A recent study in Grand Rapids, Michigan has produced some incredible figures on the enormous power of local purchasing. The key finding: A modest change in consumer behavior – a mere 10 percent shift in market share to independent businesses from chain stores – would result in 1,600 new jobs, $53 million in wages, and a $137 million economic impact to the area. .
.
.Check out the study (PDF): Local Works! Examining the Impact of Local Business on the West Michigan Economy
.

This is the kind of change we’re putting into effect with the BNote. Chain stores like Wal-Mart rob communities of the collective wealth they could be building by channeling their money back into local businesses. Wealth that builds on itself, creating new jobs and new possibilities. Wealth which could be used for community projects – gardens, playgrounds, tool-sharing, art projects, recreation centers, block parties – help our neighborhoods become more social and support us better. The effect is real, and it’s up to each of us to think local first and enable these kinds of changes here in Baltimore. .

Find more studies on the effect of thinking locally.

Join Baltimore Green Currency and the Evolver Social Movement as we host a conversation with Charles Eisenstein, whose new book, Sacred Economics, is due out this month. Subtitled “Money, Gift, and Society in the Age of Transition”, it describes the transition now underway from a money system of Separation to a money system of Reunion; from an economy that stands in flagrant exception to nature’s laws, to an economy that is an extension of the ecology. It also explores the personal dimensions of this shift: the evolution of our attitudes and habits into alignment with the new world.

His 2007 book, The Ascent of Humanity, is an insightful look at the history and future of civilization. More than anything, it is about how to create the more beautiful world our hearts tell us is possible.

Suggested donation is $5 or BN5 (5 BNotes), but no one will be turned away for lack of money. BNote exchange will be available, and breathe books will be offering copies of Sacred Economics for either dollars or local currency.

Read more on his Sacred Economics blog, or catch a preview from Community Currency magazine. We hope you can join us on Sunday, July 24th from 4pm to 7pm for this inspiring and much-needed discussion!

The number of Baltimore businesses accepting BNotes continues to grow quickly, and we are very pleased to announce the 100th BNote business: Dogwood Cafe! Dogwood is as concerned with social justice as it is about using sustainable, local ingredients, and we are proud to welcome them to the BNote family. They are currently accepting up to BN20 on each table’s check. Visit them on the web, or better yet, in person!

Of course, we couldn’t have made it this far without all of the merchants and service providers who are with us. The newest places to spend your BNotes – or ask for some as change – are:

Tenpachi Salon
Bohemian Coffee House
Greenbuilders, Inc.
Christopher Schafer Clothier
Heckel Hoops and Heckel Farm School
Three Stone Steps
Harlem Gardens Pharmacy
Andrea Wenger, RD, Nutrition & Wellness Coach at SEEDS
Civilization Systems
Meet 27 Restaurant
Towson Super Market
See Potential – Life Coaching
Diana Keener, Acupuncturist at Ruscombe Mansion
Hour Haus
Pinnacle Plumbing
Perfect Brew Services
ABFAB Design, and
Liam Flynn’s Ale House (opening July 9th on North Avenue)

Get BNotes at any of our cambio locations, and use them to support your local economy today!

Over 60 local businesses now accept BNotes

Well, we promised you a new, profile-style directory of all the businesses in the BNote network, and here it is!

Featuring detailed, up-to-date location and contact information, it’s a great way to figure out where to spend those BNotes in your wallet. What? None in your wallet? Check out our cambios page to see where you can get some. BGCA will also be running its own cambios at events throughout the year – we’ll be posting details here as dates are firmed up.

The Baltimore Green Currency Association kicked off official BNote exchange yesterday just before Noon at “Localize It!”, their joint event with the Baltimore Free Farm. In a street festival atmosphere, amid Free Farm tours and workshops, acoustic music, and a “Chilibrew” chili and beer judging extravaganza, people lined up to exchange their dollars for BNotes as the new currency entered general circulation in Baltimore for the first time.

One young Baltimore resident exchanged the coins he had saved up for a BNote, and used it to get himself some chili (above). Jack Arnold of the Baltimore Green Forum was the first to use his BNotes at a retail store, using some of them to make a purchase at breathe books on the Avenue in Hampden. Total circulation at the end of the first day stood at BN2470, exceeding Green Currency planning members’ expectations and underscoring the strong support the new currency is receiving from residents and business owners alike.

On Saturday, Baltimore Green Currency Director Jeff Dicken presented Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake with one of the first BNotes, serial #1002, at a mayoral press conference in Druid Hill Park. Over 55 local businesses now accept BNotes, and they may be obtained at any of the three active cambio locations in Hampden and Fell’s Point.