GO LOCAL GROUP HUG >>>

For the second year, The Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center will be home to an event aiming to help businesses, individuals and communities discover ways to aid sustainability and promote healthy LOCAL business practices. Go Local Tacoma's Shift Happens daylong event will feature seminars, food and booths from local businesses beginning at 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. Attendees will have the opportunity to eat and drink local products, as well as tour booths representing each local business. Shift Happens will also, once again, include a State of the City address delivered by Mayor Marilyn Strickland. A section representing local arts will also be in the house.

Learning from last year's traffic jam with food vendors, and the mayor's address competing with networking, Go Local will reorganize the flow of the event. Seminars and workshops will fill the Center from 1-4 p.m. From 4-6 p.m. local restaurants and food vendors will serve food and drinks just outside the main room in a happy hour, networking atmosphere. The main program, including the mayor's speech, will commence at 6 p.m. in the main room. Afterward, the local business booths will be open, er, for business.

The Shift Happens event is just one of the many programs Go Local Tacoma has launched to connect local independent businesses to consumers and resources in an effort to build a more prosperous community.

For more information on Shift Happens and Go Local programs, click here.