The Social Forest

KRUST for Kids &
More Community Workshops!

As we wind down the year, I thought it would be appropriate to not only look forward to the workshops planned in the New Year but also reflect on some of the community workshops from the past couple months.

Upcoming Community Workshops!!!

I'm excited to announce my collaboration with Bmore Transform: KRUST: Kids Roleplaying Uncomfortable Situations Together at Red Emma's on Sun January 26 from 10:30am to 12:00pm. I've been impressed with the work Bmore Transform does with the monthly Comic Book Cub at Dreams & Make-Believers bookstore that my kids attend. I've also wanted to start doing more anti-bullying workshops again and so they seemed like a natural fit for a partnership. Click here to register.

I'll write more about this next month but for now I'll say its based on the Forum Theatre practice that is wonderful for building confidence, mutual understanding, and community in groups of kids.

Community of Communities is back! We've had two successful sessions so far and look forward to a third at Red Emma's on Sunday, February 23rd from 12:30 to 3:30pm. The first session in August used interactive exercises for participants to learn from each other how they build community. The second session in November was a time for all of us the process the election and election results by building a real supportive community amongst strangers.

The Winter session will continue those themes of experiencing and co-building community, sharing how we build community in our lives, and working within community to confront the entrenched power in our current social, political, and economic climate.

Why so much talk about community?

Because so many of us have forgotten what it feels like. We think community is a place (digital or physical), but it's not.

It's a verb.

It's a feeling.

It's a bastion against fear.

It's the substrate for all we do.

We have to talk about it and name it to see it. We have to experience it to know how to practice it. If any of this sounds intriguing or worthwhile, come to one of these session to better understand.

Looking Forward & Looking Back

One of my plans for the new year is to begin writing report-backs and reflections on the sessions I organize or co-organize. The intent is to share the process and what went into developing it as well as report back the group's wisdom so others can integrate it into their own lives.

So keep an eye out for more and let me know if there are other ways you'd like to get involved or collaborate.