Business Alliance for Local Living Economies -- annual conference

From another list:

People might be interested in the upcoming conference of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), May 31 - June 2, held this year in Berkeley, CA.

BALLE has more than 50 networks throughout theUnited States and Canada working on economic development through sustainable, local business development and support. This year's conference highlights include:

* Keynote speeches from Van Jones, Paul Hawken, Judy Wicks, and others

* Breakout sessions on topics including "Growing Local Food Systems," "BigBox Stores, Jobs, and Politics," "Financing Your Community-Based Business,"and "New Vehicles for Local Investing."

* All day pre-conference seminars on May 30 on topics including localized economic development strategies, sustainable manufacturing, local currencies, and Buy Local First campaigns.

The BALLE conferences are wonderfully inspiring and also tremendously fun. Complete details are on the website.