Our final topic of the month for 2022 is a very appropriate one for December (at least in Western/Christian countries) – inclusive gatherings. This time of year is a traditional moment for all kinds of get-togethers for family, work and (of course) community. Once we have communication and connection. some hosts and some meeting places, the next thing is clearly to invite people to come together. This is what our Village Builders Handbook has to say on the subject:
Having established the importance and desirability of getting people from all walks of life together from time to time, the next thing to think about is what kind of event will attract people to come out and get involved. Not every kind of event will appeal to everyone, but it’s a good start to think about broadly appealing inclusive gatherings.
Broad inclusive appeal
These events can turn into milestones in the year which happen on a continuing basis. A summer street party, a music weekend, a Christmas Fayre, a New Year / Hogmanay (as we call it in Scotland) event, a garden party, an open gardens weekend, a BBQ. It all depends where you are, what the traditions are, and what you think will get people involved and enjoying themselves together.
Lara Celini is an experienced village-builder in the Willowbrae district of Edinburgh. Some of the events she and her team have organised include:
- A ‘big lunch’ with the street closed to traffic – which has become an annual event
- This can also include things like making bunting sessions as part of the preparations
- A #PetsofWillowbrae hashtag on social media so that people learn the names of all the pets
- ‘Viral kindness cards’ for people to pick up, seek help and offer support
- Decorating windows (a popular thing in the COVID lockdown here in Edinburgh, pictures and teddy bears are popular) – see the Window Wanderland website for ideas
- Sharing food events work very well – lots of people can contribute and enjoy!
- Ceilidhs, barn dances and other formats which involve learning the dances which get people interacting. (Very popular in Scotland!)
- Lantern procession – perhaps culminating in the dramatic burning of the lanterns!
- Quizzes and other events – keep them fun (though there is definitely a place for serious quizzing too!)
- Making ‘kindness cards’ for the local Care home, getting the children involved and engaging with seniors
- Other creative projects such as decorating cotton shopping bags to take away and use (instead of plastic bags)
- Jumble trail – people put out things they no longer want, and everyone roams around collecting
- Community weeding events (‘Willowbrae Weeds You’) to maintain community ground and streets.
You can hear more from Lara on Village In The City podcast #2 – click on the link here.
In the past, churches used to also be broadly attended and bring people together. They still do, though in UK settings this is increasingly a minority interest. Village-builders should be looking to engage churches in their work – they have a role to play and can be very useful partners. There are definitely benefits to coming together from time to time to sing, hear inspiring stories, reflect on the difficult questions of life, and meet others. The Sunday Assembly movement is one organisation who support such meetings on an inclusive basis.
We heard from Rev Nick Bowry on a Village In The City call that churches are often very interested in helping to build flourishing communities and lives, whether that’s for church-goers or the wider population. In general ministers are accustomed to going out to look for partners with whom to work – if you arrive on their doorstep with an inclusive mindset and a collaborative stance, they will likely be delighted.
More focused events
Along with these broadly inclusive events, a good Village In The City will look to be offering chances for people to meet based on particular needs or interests. Examples include:
- Newcomers get-together – a chance for new arrivals in the village to come together, meet each other, find out about local events and possibilities and say hello to the village building team
- Laptop Wednesday – a day in the week for homeworkers to gather, work in the same space, and support each other
- Play Street – some places support the closure of local street to allow children and families to play safely
- Film club – a monthly chance to watch an interesting film and discuss it afterwards over a drink
This is a very short starter list! We hope to add more as the project progresses. In general, the more specific to the locale, the better the event will be. I used to live in St George’s Avenue in north London, where the people held a street party every year on… St George’s Day!
Look for ‘excuses’
One good thing to be doing as your village comes together is to look for ‘excuses’ for events and gatherings. Although I terms these ‘excuses’, they are actually important local things or events that are worth noting, celebrating, marking, and generally getting people out for. Particularly in the British context, people love an excuse to celebrate, to get together, to suspend the usual rules of keeping oneself to oneself. So when something useful comes along, it can make very good sense to seize the moment and declare some kind of one-off event. You then have the option of considering doing it again next time/next year/whenever (or not). And… these kind of local ‘excuses’ can be a good part of starting to build an identity for your place.
Mark McKergow has found a good excuse in his own neighbourhood of Edinburgh West End – the West End Coorie! More about this in a future blog post here.
You can download the whole Village Builders Handbook (pdf) free here.
