Today was the official kickoff of Coffee Parties in the United States. Here in Connecticut, three coffee parties were listed on their website. One party was scheduled for 3 PM at Mocha Coffee House in Sandy Hook. Twenty-nine people signed up to attend this event. A second event was scheduled for 2 PM at Port Coffeehouse in Bridgeport. The third event was schedule at Fiddleheads Food Coop in New London at noon. Thirteen people signed up for this event. The locations were generally chosen as good places to have coffee and talk about politics and not necessarily because the owners of the venues were supporting the Coffee Party movement. Other people have discussed organizing coffee parties in other parts of the state and may do so at a later time.

Fiona, Kim and I decided to drive out to the Coffee Party in New London, since we had other things we wanted to be doing at that end of the state today. It was a fairly diverse crowd, bringing in people from Common Cause, CCAG, various peace and justice groups, people concerned about health care, and people who had really never been involved in politics other than simply voting. People went around the room, introduced themselves and spoke briefly about issues that matter to them. Kim spoke about the importance of making sure that the Connecticut Citizen’s Election Program is fixed so that it is maintained in our state, and others spoke about the importance of the national Fair Elections Now Act, and other acts before Congress to address the Citizen’s United ruling.

The group decided to stay in touch via email and to plan another gathering in the near future. Did you got to a coffee shop today? If so, how was it?

Update:

For more information check out the CT Coffee Party Website, Facebook Group, and Google Group.