Hey Garden(ers)!

We are working hard on creating a Pandemic Resource Hub in Garden! We'd love to hear what you would like to see in it and if you want to help us in adding information.

Additionally, a few of us recently revisited this breathtaking discussion between journalist Marc Lamont Hill and Maurice Carney of Friends of the Congo. For those of you seeking resources to better your understanding, this one-hour interview outlines historical context of the West's involvement in the Congo alongside current realities and best practices for solidarity.

👀
New Events

⏲️Our events are typically listed in Pacific Standard Time (PST). Need help converting PST to your time zone? Check out this handy WorldTimeBuddy clock!

🐦Have you prepared for the Avian Bird Flu? Join us for a community meeting on the Avian Bird Flu Friday, August 9th at 5:30pm PST. This is an informal discussion to learn from each other on what changes we have made to prepare, or what we plan to do to prepare for the impending next pandemic. RSVP!

🧟‍♂️Horror Head Movie Marathon: The Sequel is happening Sunday August 18th from 12pm-8pm PST! Suggest a movie, or watch the trailers of already suggested movies and vote on them here! RSVP on the visit page!

✍🏾Want to learn tips on grant writing? Check out our Grants 101 session on August 24th from 1-3pm PST! RSVP here!

🎭It's the return of Improv to Garden! Come play games, learn scene work and the fundamentals of Improv at Non-Competitive Improv For All Levels: A Day Long Workshop with StormMiguel from 12-4pm PST on Sunday September 1st! RSVP here!

✊🏾
Black August Activities

Black August was founded as a form of prisoner protest in 1979 at San Quentin State Prison, when incarcerated folks, led by the Black Guerilla Family came together to honor the deaths of brothers Jonathan P. Jackson and George Jackson. Since then, it is a time to honor Black resistance and Freedom Fighters. Below are a set of events that we'll be hosting in Garden during August in commemoration of this time. RSVP for any of these events on Garden's visit page!

🪩The next Slooowww Dance Jam with Junia (for Black folks) will be Sunday August 4th at 3pm PST! Come ready to activate those hips and waistlines as we we continue with "Dark Femme Supremacy pt 2: slow whine edition". Check the playlist out here!

😷 Hang out, chill and play games with Black folks who take COVID precautions at the Bonfire in Garden! Every 3rd Saturday of the month from 5-8pm PST. The next Bonfire is Saturday, August 17th and will lead into the below session Krik! Krak with Skyriver!

🌿 Krik! Krak! Honors Bwa Kayiman: (for Black folks) Under the August full moon of 1791 the Revolution that changed the world started with a gathering in Bwa Kayiman in Ayiti. Let us gather to honor this special day and create the conditions for our own freedom through traditional and contemporary Haitian rhythms, movements, meditation and discussion. Let us connect. Let us recharge. Let us be free. :) August 17th from 6pm-8pm PST.

☀️All That DEI & Still No Reparations?!?! (Open to All) is a workshop on Reparations Frameworks for those invested in moving beyond conversations into actionable steps towards repairing harm against Black communities in the United States and will take place August 31st from 1pm-4pm PST. It will cover:
- Defining Reparations
- A History of Reparations within the US
- Understanding Reparations Frameworks
- Current Reparations Models
- Identifying Roles People of all Racial Backgrounds Can Play in this Work
- Mapping Out Implementation

📅
Ongoing events in Garden

🫁 Want to increase your lung capacity? Come to Breathing in the Knowledge Nursery! Every weekday at 9am PST. RSVP here!

🎥 Name That Movie (Night!) is Wednesday at 5:30pm PST! This week's movie follows a young Black girl surviving in a zombie world. Part sci-Fi, horror and Afro-Futurism (🎶There are Black people in the Future 🎶.) Think you know what it is? Come thru and find out!

🪷 Stretch it out as Caroline leads us in another weekly afternoon Yoga sesh this Friday at 2:15pm PST by streaming a yoga video from YouTube and following along. Videos will be between 25-45 minutes long between easy to moderate pace. Drop ins are always welcome! RSVP via the calendar on the visit page.

🫂The August sessions of Chronic Illness and Long Covid Support Group are Thursdays August 1st, 15 & 29th from 5:30pm-7:30pm PST with Chanelle! Navigating everything that comes with chronic illness can be difficult - from managing symptoms to experiencing grief over missing your pre-illness life. This is a peer support space where we can share our feelings about living with any chronic/long-term illness, including long Covid, during an ongoing pandemic. RSVP via the calendar on the visit page.

💻 Do you work from home and sometimes feel a little too isolated from others? Come Co-Work with us in Garden! We are a 24/7 drop in space for folks to join to co-work silently, listen to music, play a game or chat amongst each other in the chat box.

💌
Opportunities

✍🏾 The Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship will pay one US born poet $74,000 to live outside of North America for one year. Applications are due by October 15th.

🎸 Calling all musicians! We're looking for BIPOC musicians engaging in community care and pandemic safety to perform at our fall concert here in Garden on September 28, 2024 from 2-4pm PT/5-7pm ET! If you're interested, fill out the application by August 30th.

🖥️ Are you looking for remote or hybrid work? We're hosting a job fair here in Garden in the fall! If you're interested in attending, please fill out this form.

✊🏽
Announcements & Actions

🍉Centering Palestine has a zoom every Tuesday at 5pm PST, along with other resources to show up for Palestine available here.

🌻 We are looking to open Garden up to community orgs who would like to share space with us here. If you are part of an org that may benefit from office/event space here, please email info@meetatgarden.com

🪴
Vendor of the Week

🌱 This week, we are highlighting CreativeDevs! Have you enjoyed the look of the Enchanted Library, Movie Theater/Drive-In, Garden Restaurant and more? Those rooms were created in collaboration with the team over at CreativeDevs who offer an abundance of website, app development, branding, and design services! Check out their general portfolio here and their website here!

Until next our avatars meet!

😺 Gata & 🪻J Mase

PS: Have a one-time-event or a recurring event and need a place to host? Email us at info@meetatgarden.com!

Garden is a free 24/7 space, but it does cost money for us to maintain it on Gather.Town. If you'd like to donate to this work, consider throwing some money in the pot here. To send donations directly through our 501c3 fiscal sponsor, email us!