My Inner Harbour - Build Your Own Creative Practice: Community Room Edition

Build Your Own Creative Practice: Community Room Edition

28 Apr 2025 1:13 PM | Jessica Schafer (Administrator)

Feeling connected is critical to our well-being and yet we often don't prioritize our social needs. What if we just need to bring a little more creativity to how we get together?

What do you love to do? Who might be willing to join you?

One of the core concepts from @priyaparker's book "The Art of Gathering" is to be clear with yourself about what your hopes and goals are for any get together, no matter how big or small. Having clarity on what you want helps you shape an event that will actually meet your objective and lets your guests know what to expect.

For example, I really enjoy creating opportunities for meaningful conversation and I really love poetry. Plus, I have a beautiful backyard, so last summer I thought it would be fun to host a garden party with a twist. I decided to ask my guests to bring a poem along, with the idea that everyone would read the poem they brought and share why they liked it.

When everyone arrived, we settled in and helped ourselves to food and then I thanked everyone for being a good sport and bringing a poem and explained what we were going to do. We went around the table one at a time, reading our poem aloud and then briefly describing why we chose what we did. It was so fun to see what poems were chosen and deeply satisfying to hear the stories behind them.

Did all of my guests love poetry? Absolutely not, but they were all willing to join in and see where it would take us. That willingness to be creative together and do something out of our ordinary created a wonderful sense of connection.

What kind of gathering are you interested in hosting? It doesn't have to be big or elaborate, it just needs clarity and intentionality. Love puzzles? Host a puzzle afternoon. Love baking? Invite some friends for a taste-test party of some new recipes you're trying.

Need more inspiration? Check out @priyaparker's work and @jessjanz's Dinner with Strangers series!

My Inner Harbour
149 Wallace St, Nanaimo, BC
1-866-791-9454 or 236-312-7376
myinnerharbour (at) gmail.com

My Inner Harbour is committed to learning about and working toward reconciliation and decolonization. We acknowledge that our space is located on the traditional territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, specifically the Snuneymuxw First Nation.

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Build Your Own Creative Practice: Community Room Edition