Wanting to provide a Valentine’s Day alternative for their overlapping clients, the neighboring establishments of non-profit fair trade store Greenheart and Yoga Now have teamed up to host the Chocolate and Yoga Valentine’s Progressive. Starting with a raw, vegan, fair-trade-chocolate-truffle tasting and ending with a detoxifying ninety-minute yoga class, the Progressive “provides something you haven’t done every other Valentine’s Day,” says Talia Hagerty, outreach coordinator for Greenheart. While the Progressive does involve exercise and healthy treats, it is not something to be immediately dismissed. Organic free trade wine will be provided and participation doesn’t demand a complete alteration of world-view. “I wouldn’t say that we were out to oppose the consumerism of Valentine’s Day, but that we are out to promote responsible consumerism every day,” Hagerty says. “You don’t have to be a total left-wing environment hippie to enjoy this event.”
