Green happy hour movement arrives in Bangor
For the Bangor area, June 8 isn't just primary day. It's also the date of the region's second-ever Greendrinks event, an informal networking event for the environmentally minded. The Queen City is one of the latest to join the international movement that has spread to nearly 700 cities around the world since it began in London in 1989.
Tuesday's event, from 5:30-8 p.m. at Hampden Natural Foods, will feature appetizers from Bangor caterer Ann Marie's Kitchen, donated beer from Orono's Black Bear Brewery and Maine wines from distributer So Po Wine Co. Johann Sabbath, one of the 10 or so people behind launching Bangor Greendrinks last month, says the events are "special interest happy hours" for business, nonprofit and community members "who value the natural environment." Other organizers include Steve Rich, president and CEO of WBRC Architects-Engineers, Sen. Susan Collins staffer Jessie Logan and Keith Bisson of Coastal Enterprises Inc., according to Sabbath.
The first Bangor Greendrinks event happened almost on a whim May 4, when last-minute marketing managed to bring out 30 people to downtown café Giacomo's. "We threw up fliers and a Facebook fan page the day before," Sabbath says. The group will hold Greendrinks events the second Tuesday of every month.
Sabbath, who recently became the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce's director of program development and membership value, was in the city for a few weeks when conversations with friends prompted them to explore launching the event in Bangor. "Most of us had lived in different cities in the U.S. and attended Greendrinks events, and some had been to the events in Portland, so we got together to see if we could start it up here," he says. His involvement with Greendrinks is not related to his role at the chamber.
Maine has other Greendrinks events in Portland, which Sabbath says are some of the most well-organized and attended events in the country, and Rockport, according to greendrinks.org, the international website for Greendrinks. An attempt to launch an event in Orono fizzled in the past, Sabbath says, but he's hopeful the latest endeavor will help foster connections between environmentally conscious professionals. "Our hope is it becomes a successful, recurring event that builds community around the value of the natural environment."
The format for monthly Greendrinks events varies from city to city. At events Sabbath attended in Washington, D.C., about 25 or 30 people would gather in a bar, and it was always unclear which patrons were there for Greendrinks, he says.
He's hoping Bangor's events will go further to help promote local businesses, similar to Portland's monthly event, where one local business and one nonprofit doing "good green work" are featured at each event. "If it becomes a vehicle where the environmental community can promote businesses and organizations that are working toward sustainable values, that'd be terrific," he says. "The more these types of community gatherings happen, whether the interest is entrepreneurship, business or the environment, the better it is for everyone."
Kate Boehmer, co-owner of Hampden Natural Foods with her husband, Jon, said they decided to host the second event after coming out to the first. The store has been promoting the event with posters and fliers and expects about 50 attendees. "We feel really strongly about supporting the environment and local businesses," she says. "We're hoping our customers meet new friends, network a little bit, and people see the store for the first time who maybe didn't know we were here, and have a few drinks."
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