31840 Sun Oct 03 16:39:04 -0700 2004 14 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 140187 I was filling out this Slow Food membership form, but it asks which convivium, and there seem to be a lot of them in the area. Does it make a difference which you join? Sun Oct 03 16:39:04 -0700 2004 0 Robert Lauriston 1 140196 I am a member of the Bella Berkeley group. Among all the bay area convivia, Bella Berkeley is one of the most active and I have enjoyed all the events that they have organized in the last couple of years. dudesinmexico Link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BellaBerkeley/ Sun Oct 03 19:04:58 -0700 2004 140187 0 dudesinmexico 2 140199 hey robert- I have been a member 2x of SF and 1x Bella & a visitor to one of the Sonoma Conv. San Francisco seems more wine conscious-perhaps b/c the main guy who runs the events is a wine distributor or something. East bay(bella i forgot) Eh, self absorbed. Went to a few events and felt like it was sort of pretentious and people were more interested listening to themselves speak than having a conversation. But definitely lots of activities. Sonoma Valley (I think) was pretty cool mostly b/c the stuff I went to was totally artisinal(sp) and on farms, etc. I was a SloFd member for four years and didn't bother to rejoin this year. Not enough stuff to do & none of the convivia seem to want to gang up over a 100mile radius to maximize the memberhip for those of us lucky enough to live here. Have you checked out the SlwFd big high quality mag with terrible English editing? Is there any plan for a NORCAL convivia ? Sun Oct 03 20:57:26 -0700 2004 140196 0 michelle 3 140243 The San Francisco one sucks. This has come up before on this board. I would love to see another SF one that would actually do things and have events, if anyone is interested in starting one. (BTW, is anyone going to Slow Food in Torino this month? I had planned to go but work has intervened.) Mon Oct 04 15:16:28 -0700 2004 140199 0 Morgan 4 140349 anyone can start a convivium. there is an application process, or there was a few years ago, that feels a bit like applying to undergrad. it is a time consuming job and although I went through the process my money making time consuming job got in the way. if you want aqua terra's 411 let me know. Tue Oct 05 12:03:03 -0700 2004 140243 0 sailorbuoys 5 140358 That's good to know. Thanks for the Aqua Terra offer, but North Berkeley would be hard for me to get to--I had to give up my car last time I moved. Tue Oct 05 12:39:44 -0700 2004 140349 0 Morgan 5 140360 That's good to know. Thanks for the Aqua Terra offer, but North Berkeley would be hard for me to get to--I had to give up my car last time I moved. Tue Oct 05 12:40:00 -0700 2004 140349 0 Morgan 6 140361 Oops, sorry for the double post. And on second thought, please do post the info--I guess I can always BART! Tue Oct 05 12:40:30 -0700 2004 140360 0 Morgan 7 140530 email me directly and I will give you the leader's email address. as far as I know we do not meet in N berk, that is just where the leader lives. the point to it is that it accepts everyone, unlike soe of the "closed conviviums" run by superstar chefs.... Wed Oct 06 23:52:23 -0700 2004 140361 0 sailorbuoys 1 140205 Aqua Terra Based out of N. Berkeley, but covers anyone who wants to join in the entire bay area. Farm tours, talks on the intricacies of very slow food processes, invites to other convivia events, open minded, amny of your "friends" already belong..... Mon Oct 04 01:05:55 -0700 2004 140187 0 sailorbuoys 1 140393 I'm in the SF Convivium. So far, I'm unimpressed. I love the 'idea' of the movement, of course. But, most of the activity notices I've received of late have been for pricey fundraisers. That's needed, and I was hoping for a more community-type experience when I joined. I echo the concerns in the posts here. It'd be great to have a community (Bay Area) that would meet, have conversations, share food, philosophize, take part in Slow-activities like supporting local artisans, filling the Ark, educational stuff with kids, etc. Perhaps I need to involve myself in a different convivium. Tue Oct 05 16:18:48 -0700 2004 140187 0 tom in sf 2 140394 Is the SF convivium the one that's more or less run by Villa Italia, the wine importer? Tue Oct 05 16:39:30 -0700 2004 140393 0 Robert Lauriston 3 140398 Yes. Tue Oct 05 17:35:07 -0700 2004 140394 0 Pssst 2 140401 My experience as well. Plus, I found a number of the members to be too...umm..."top drawer" to quote Gloria Upson. Ultimately, I decided that since there are so many food obsessed people in the Bay Area, it was easier to just do stuff and invite people. Tue Oct 05 17:39:23 -0700 2004 140393 0 Pssst 1 140705 You may join any one of the convivium and you may still engage in any of the other events as well. Don't lose sight of what Slow Food stands for. If you have issues with what your convivium is doing offer suggestions and even sponsor an event yourself. If you want a sit-down to share ideas offer to have one and see where it goes. You might be surprised. FYI, am going to Terra Madre and the Salone de Gusto in Turino, will report. Thu Oct 07 22:08:25 -0700 2004 140187 0 runningman