A month after our harvest day and jarring and canning workshop, we’re sharing some of the “joy we jarred up” in these sweet photos. It really felt like we were preserving the energy of the day, saving it up for a future time when we need some extra love, care, and the strength of community.

Congress Square Park, Portland, ME

“What Do You Stay Alive For?" is a showcase and resource hub advocating for suicide awareness.

This event was a collaboration with Maya Williams and the Portland Poet Laureate Program, with support from the Portland Public Library, Congress Square Park, and Maine Humanities Council.

Thank you to Julia, Thai, and Tony for cooking for us and sharing your stories about connection, community, and care. We're grateful to Jonah & Burd for sharing their space with us, and we appreciate everyone who joined us!

Feeling so grateful to Mihku Paul for welcoming us to her magical homestead, sharing her wisdom, and guiding us through a workshop about seedlings!

Malik Black led us through a workshop to build raised garden beds as we prepare for our second season of growing food at the Good Soil Garden in Durham.

Food sovereignty advocate Jazz Thompson-Tintor led us on a walk through the woods where we foraged for nettles, trout lily, fiddleheads, and dandelion, then prepared a meal together of moose meatballs, cream of fiddlehead, a salad with wild edibles, and acorn flour cookies (acorn flour connecting us back to Parable of the Sower).

Under the guidance of Kiran Chapman of Soma Metalwork, we immersed ourselves in the art of blacksmithing as part of our Radical Nourishment series.

It is a really difficult, grief- and anger-filled time for communities of color in Maine and around the world as we witness and are affected by mass-violence on multiple scales. Given all that, it was an immense gift to spend this weekend fishing, sharing, and dreaming in our Radical Nourishment space. 

Congress Square Park, Portland, ME

Good Soil was the first event in Radical Nourishment: Food, Soul & Community for the Future, a series of gatherings designed by and for BIPOC organizers to deepen our connections with each other, our relationship with the land around us, and the power we need to survive and transform the conditions we are rooted in.

Tender Table’s Food & Art Fair is a celebration of Black and Brown joy and community featuring local food and drinks by Công Tử Bột, Yardie Ting, MARI: A Mini Bakery, Moonday Coffee, Little Easy Snoballs; art for sale by Jenny Ibsen, Future Juju, A Clearing, Loquat, Fireball Bookbindery; music performance by Kafari; tarot readings by LaLa Drew; a braiding circle facilitated by Veronica A. Perez; and a family-friendly art corner hosted by Love Lab Studio.

“Swish in the mush and gush of the journey to your destination!” This and other blossoming wisdom planted by Maya Williams carried us through a breezy afternoon of poetry and conversation about what we stay alive for.

Eastern Prom, Portland, ME

Congress Square Park, Portland, ME