Do you rent your land for campouts, festivals, weddings, or other events? Here are some long-term practices to help your place feel more welcoming, usable, and safe for a wider range of people, across ability, age, class, culture, and body. Thank you for reading this. Your consideration helps everyone know they belong! Best Practices & What’s the …
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Feeding a large group at an outdoor camp or any kind of gathering is a big task. It’s also a beautiful opportunity to create a sense of cultural inclusion and care. Food is one of the most powerful ways we can help people feel seen, nourished, and welcomed. In my interviews with folks about belonging, …
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At any gathering, whether a festival, retreat, or community event, kids aren’t just tagging along. They’re part of the village. How we welcome children shapes the whole culture of the event. We all carry belonging wounds and many of those are rooted in childhood experiences. So let’s use our gatherings to create wonderful memories and …
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A Resilience Space Created by and for BIPOC Gatherings with mostly folks of European descent can be stressful. If we care about belonging, it’s essential for Black and Brown folks to have a place to land, connect with another, and ease one another’s nervous systems. Having a space like this enables us to show up …
Every gathering, whether a festival, retreat, wedding, party, or conference, needs spaces where people can ease their nervous systems, reconnect with themselves, and build belonging in a way that feels gentle and real. The information below is what we’ve learned by having a Rest and Rejuvenation Station at Cascadia Song Rise, an annual gathering of …
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What Does Access Really Mean at Gatherings? When we talk about access, we’re really talking about care. We’re talking about creating spaces where people can show up fully, in their bodies, hearts, minds, and cultures. It’s important to remember that folks with more privilege often already have many of their access needs quietly met by default. …
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Tone and Framing Process Design Privacy and Dignity Power Awareness Community Solidarity View the full course: Kinship Tending Skills: How You Can Contribute to a Culture of Belonging (Festivals & Gatherings Edition)
People tend to become more open to examining their paradigms (how they see the world) when: 1. They feel emotionally safe. Openness rarely comes from being shamed or cornered. It blooms in relationship, when we feel seen and supported without animosity. Safety blooms when the inevitable ruptures are repaired. That said, if you can soften yourself …