Events

Victoria Urban Village is hosting an event this Saturday June 12, 10:30 am – noon. One of our OUV members, Kathy Sayers will be discussing Canada’s first ‘cohousing lite’ community.

When Kathy’s group thought about launching a cohousing community in Vancouver, 3 things became apparent immediately.

• They would need to guarantee a loan on up to 7.5 million dollars to secure the 3 lots usually required for cohousing.
• They would need to make all the hiring, marketing and design decisions to build it.
• And, most cohousing efforts fail (up to 80%).

Kathy will talk about how they searched for a less risky and time-consuming way to build an urban cohousing community by partnering with an innovative developer who already owned land. Her talk will cover how they found their developer, built a trusting relationship, overcame hurdles and roadblocks, and discovered what worked and what didn’t. She will also explore how they differ from traditional cohousing and the tradeoffs we had to make.

If you’ve imagined yourself in cohousing, here’s your chance to learn more about our unique brand (first of its kind in Canada). We’re breaking ground SOON and still have units available. Contact us to find out more about our community.

Contact Victoria Urban Village to RSVP.

The Calgary European Film Festival in partnership with the Austrian Cultural Forum is bringing a unique documentary about the co-housing movement in Austria to Canada!

Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On is a documentary about self-organized and self-managed housing projects in Austria, which formed in the 1960s. Through interviews with participants and residents of these individual housing projects, the film examines their social and economic demands, sociopolitical significance, and insight into the small and large daily conflicts, discussions and benefits of life in a collective.

The film will be streaming Canada wide as part of the 9th Calgary European Film Festival Online Edition from November 7 to 15.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Calgary European film festival website

Fall is upon us, so this month OUV will be meeting up for a pumpkiny good time at Southlands Heritage Farm in Vancouver.

We’ll be attending rain or shine, so come dressed for the weather.

Friday, October 9th – 5:30-6:30

We recommend purchasing tickets in advance here: Southlands Heritage Farm October Pumpkin Patch

Presented by the Cohousing Association of the United States, this online event will discuss the systems that make our communities work. Everything from budgeting, to work day planning, capital reserves, to paying for common meals.

Save the date now for a full day of “how to”s and cohousing stories. You won’t want to miss this informative event.

This event will take place online via Zoom from 9am – 3pm PST.

Visit the cohousing.com website for more information and to register.

We’re growing into a tight-knit community, and we’d like to bring our next six households into the fray as soon as we can! If you’ve toyed with the idea of engaging: get to know us at a social event, a low-key way to see if the community might appeal to you.

Saturday, June 27 – 4:00-6:00pm
Quilchena Park – at 33rd Ave and the Arbutus Greenway – find us near the playground.
Socially distanced / please BYO food!
If you plan to attend, please RSVP to ouvmembership@gmail.com.

If you haven’t been able to meet us at one of our past events, or perhaps you did but want to know more, please join us at our February social. We will be sharing a meal, potluck style, from 6 – 8pm, on Thursday February 20 at 1068 West Broadway.

Kindly bring anything you want to drink and some food to share with the group. Children are encouraged to join! 

If you plan to attend, please RSVP to ouvmembership@gmail.com.

This years cohousing conference will be held on Friday May 8 to Sunday May 10 at the Croatian Cultural Centre on Commercial Drive. The 2018 conference was hugely successful and sold out fast. This year’s expanded format is in a larger venue and includes two days of workshops and seminars.

Attendees can expect to learn about budgeting and bylaws, making sustainability work, how to set up car sharing, planning common meals and many other topics related to cohousing. You can find the full schedule here.

Along with our partner Tomo, OUV will be leading a session and describing how their partnership evolved and flourished. If you’ve been curious to know how cohousing is leading the charge in devising creative ways to establish environmentally and socially sustainable communities, look no further than this conference to learn and find out.

Early bird tickets are now available. We hope to see you there.

Come join us to learn about our project and how to become a member:

Sunday, Feb 9 — 10am-12pm
133 E 8th Ave, Vancouver

RSVP to ouvmembership@gmail.com

You’re welcome to arrive at your convenience — there will be opportunities to meet with our community members and discuss different aspects of the project throughout the session.

We’re a family-friendly community; child minding will be available within the room.

Our Urban Village is a multigenerational, family-friendly cohousing community about to break ground on our new home near Main & 41st. We’re recruiting new members!

Cohousing is a community centred around social connections. We privately own our individual units, while our shared common house and courtyard are the social heart. We’re committed to regular shared meals. We value inclusivity, diversity and enjoying our vibrant urban neighbourhood.

Planning to attend? Please RSVP to ouvmembership@gmail.com so we can know to expect you!

Who doesn’t love tacos? Join OUV for a casual weeknight dinner at kid-friendly Sal y Limón. Meet our villagers and learn more about the project. Come find us at a table by the kids’ play area!

Thursday, January 9 – 5:30-7:00 pm
Sal y Limón Mexican Restaurant (701 Kingsway – at Kingsway/Fraser)
RSVP appreciated but not necessary: ouvmembership@gmail.com
Formal child care will not be available, but we can help field your kids while you learn about the project

On December 8, we’ll be meeting at Main Street Brewing Co. for a brewery tour and beer tasting. If you are interested in joining the OUV community or interested in finding out more about cohousing, then this is a great opportunity to meet some of the members over a tasty brew.

We’ll be meeting at the brewery (261 E 7th Ave, Vancouver, BC V5T 0B4) at 12 noon for the tour which should last about 40 minutes. This will be followed by a flight of beer in the tasting room. Cost is $19 each. Kids are welcome.

If you are interested in joining us for this event, please contact us.