Hey Garden(ers),

Happy Labor Day!

Okay, okay -part of the title is a little click-baity. but stick with us a sec! As y'all know, Rest is Resistance, and Garden has been going hard 24/7 since New Year's Eve. So, beginning this month, Garden will close for one day a month to give the admins time to rest and recharge. Garden will be closed for the following dates in 2024: Sept 15th, Oct 13th, Nov 10th and Dec 15th.

Updated COVID vaccines are here! Have you signed up to get your vax? If you live in the US you can use this locator tool (it's still being updated, keep checking throughout the week). Novavax was just approved this past Friday 8/30 and may take another week or so before they roll out.

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New Events

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

🍃We've combined our monthly community Avian Flu discussion with a Disaster Prep follow up meeting. Our next meeting will be September 14th from 12-2pm PT. We will spend the first hour discussing the latest we've learned with the bird flu and how we are preparing for it. The second hour and a half will be a space for planning general disaster prep supplies, kits, etc. The second portion is a follow up to Ariana's Disaster Prep workshop (on 8/17) meant to help provide a space for people to begin planning out their disaster kits. RSVP here!

😷Now that mask bans, and resistance to them, are on the rise, let's take some time to share strategies we are witnessing, updates from our neck of the woods and help keep each other safe! RSVP for Mask Bans, Now What, happening September 22nd from 12-2pm PT.

🎃Spooky Season is upon us and we will be revealing the details of our Halloween Party in the next couple weeks! RSVP in advance for the Oct 26th & 27th festivities here!

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Ongoing events in Garden

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

🥣 Grab your favorite cereal for dinner and watch anime & cartoons with us at Monday Night Cereal! Join us every other Monday. September 9th at 5pm PT, we're watching people's grandpas and little brothers get stolen for the sake of a children's card game. Your move! Read more about the event here.

💃 Looking for a movement break in the middle of the day? Come co-tWERK with us on the beach Tuesdays at 2:30pm PT we will be stretching and picking songs to dance to. Folks are welcome to move within their comfort zone, or just hangout to listen or watch.

🎥 Name That Movie (Night!) is Wednesday at 5:30pm PT! This week's movie is a 2024 thriller about a man taking his 12 year old daughter to a special concert, that may be his last. Think you know what it is? Come thru and find out! RSVP via the visit page.

🪷 Stretch it out as Caroline leads us in another weekly afternoon Yoga sesh this Friday at 2:15pm PT 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 September sessions of Chronic Illness and Long Covid Support Group will be Thursdays September 12th & 26th from 5:30pm-7:30pm PT 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.

🦾 Saturdays at 6pm PT, Caroline hosts a Self Defense Discussion Series which includes reading, discussion and (potential) movement on self-defense principles. In these politically challenging times, it is especially important for our collective liberation and self-care to learn self-defense. RSVP and reach out to Caroline via the visit page!

😷 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 PT. The next Bonfire is Saturday, September 21st! RSVP here.

💻 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.

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Opportunities

📕 The Printed Matter Publisher Work Grant is a new program awarding three unrestricted grants of $10,000 USD to three independent artists’ book publishers. Printed Matter will also extend a featured exhibitor presence at a forthcoming Printed Matter’s NY or LA Art Book Fair to selected presses. The deadline to apply is September 9, 2024. Learn more and apply here.

🪡Dem Bois Inc. offers financial assistance to trans men of color to help cover the costs of gender-affirming surgery. The deadline to apply is September 15, 2024. Learn more and apply here.

🪩 Bring your dancing shoes, LA! Air Orgy: A COVID Safer Dance Party will take place in Los Angeles, CA on Friday September 27th at 4:30PM PT. Our very own Gata will be DJ-ing on the 1s and 2s, and facilitating a beginners merengue workshop! Accessibility: Outdoor location, wheelchair accessible, high filtration mask required at all times, pre-testing and trace testing required. Click here to RSVP.

🎭The Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Deaf Arts Grant is an annual program providing financial support for emerging and established artists to further advance their careers. Deaf Spotlight inspires and showcases Deaf Culture and Sign Languages through the arts. For 2024, Deaf Spotlight will award $1,000 each to 4 recipients. The deadline to apply is September 30, 2024. Learn more and apply here.

🖥️ 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.

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Announcements & Actions

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

🌻 We are looking to open Garden up to more 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

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Vendor of the Week

🌱 This week, we are highlighting Raychelle Ordoñez! Raychelle Ordoñez (Ray-shell Ordone-yez, she/her) is a queer femme Filipina-American illustrator & tattoo artist based in Seattle, Washington. She aims to combine dreamy aesthetics, vibrant colors, and cultural significance to both her tattoo and her illustration work. Raychelle’s work includes themes such as (but is not limited to): identity, queerness, language, symbolism, composition, pops of color, contrast, love, visibility, transformative grief, and Filipino culture. Book her via Sorry Sorry Tattoo here! Find her & Sorry Sorry on IG!

Until next our avatars meet!

🌻Al, 😺 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!