LEWISTON — Community Plate, a new nonprofit dedicated to facilitating connection and creating community through shared meals and stories, is partnering with LA Arts to bring a Story Sharing Potluck Supper to Lewiston.
The event is set for 6-8:30 p.m. Saturday, March 2, at LA Arts, 168 Lisbon St.
The theme of the supper is “To Lewiston With Love,” in honor of the postcard project spearheaded by LA Arts after the tragic events in Lewiston last October, according to a news release from Community Plate Executive Director Karl Schatz.
Story Sharing Potluck Suppers are free public events that bring people together in the familiar setting of a community potluck, structured with intentionality: each attendee brings a dish, their recipe, and a story to share about what they brought. Over the course of the meal, led by an MC, and structured around story prompts, participants are encouraged to share stories and make connections. During coffee and dessert, practiced storytellers entertain guests with tales they’ve prepared in advance. In the weeks following the meal, each attendee receives a mini cookbook containing the recipes and stories that were brought to the event.
Co-founders Schatz and Margaret Hathaway began Community Plate as a way to bring their work in the Maine Community Cookbooks off the page. “When we put together the Maine Community Cookbooks, we saw firsthand the incredible power that sharing recipes and food stories can have to bring people together. We wanted to create a series of in-person events that would bring this work into communities around the state,” Hathaway said.
“When we read the Surgeon General’s 2023 report on America’s epidemic of loneliness and crisis of disconnection, we began to understand that this work could have a larger impact than we’d first imagined,” continues Schatz. “Intergenerational connection over shared food is a time-honored way of building and strengthening community ties.”
Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline invited Community Plate to host a supper in Lewiston after he met Schatz at The Corner, a monthly storytelling event in Lewiston, also held at LA Arts. Sheline will be one of the after-supper storytellers at the event along with Lewiston-born artist Charlie Hewitt, creator of the “Hopeful Project.”
The supper is free to attend, but reservations are required as space is limited. To make a reservation visit storysharingsupper-lewiston-2024.eventbrite.com.
Other suppers include Orono on March 9 and Brunswick on March 28.
or more information, visit communityplate.me, email community@communityplate.me, or call Schatz at 207-337-6101.
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