Hey Garden(ers),
As fascism continues to rear its head, Haymarket Books is sharing free e-book copies of texts on abolishing borders and the police. As we continue to share resources and care with each other, how we talk about these moments in time matter. This post honors why terms like "peaceful protest" can cause harm to our movements. Are you observing folks in your immediate community being targeted? This zine, Primer on De-Arrest, may help folks better visualize some tactics communities may engage to protect our folks.
💋Deanne and Nath will be streaming a Cantonese Queer Movie: Twilight's Kiss (叔叔 Suk Suk), Hong Kong 2020. Two closeted gay men in their twilight years contemplate a possible future together after unexpectedly falling in love. Runtime = 92 mins. We will have a 15 min break halfway. Join us for the film! RSVP here.
🎨 Skyriver will be guiding us into Imagination & Creative Space, an open space and time to work on creative projects, and crafts every other Saturday. The next session is Saturday June 14th at 12pm PST. Finish an old project, start a new skill, follow the offered prompt or do your own thing. Joy is resistance. Imagination is the path to liberation. RSVP here!
☀️ Our 24hr Summer Solstice festival, happening June 21st/22nd! Want to invite a BIPOC friend that isn't already a Garden member? The registration for Summer Solstice Day Passes (for Non-Garden Members) is here! Find our tentative schedule and RSVP here! 🪩 Get ready for solstice partying! Caroline is putting together a dance playlist on Spotify. Can you help? You can add a total of 6 tracks: 2 of your favorite summer songs, 2 songs with your intentions or vibes for this summer, 2 of whatever you like!
💒 The Queers are back at the Ultimatum, a Netflix dating show centered around couples and their marriage ultimatums. Gather around and grab your popcorn, we will watch the first two episodes of this season on Thursday June 26th at 5pm PST. RSVP here!
✨Need something else to do on a Friday night? Skip the noise and join Deeda for Salon Night Part 2: A cozy, creative evening of makeup play, self-care, and connection. 💄 They’ll be sharing *cute*, COVID-safe, mask-friendly looks and good vibes. 😷✨ Salon Night starts Friday July 4th at 5:30pm PST. RSVP here!
🎨 Craft & Yap 🦜 will take place Sunday, July 20 at 11am PST. Come hang out and make stuff! Whether you’re journaling, stitching, collaging, or just vibing, this is a space for creativity and connection. Bring a project or come to get inspired and maybe learn something new. All crafts, all Gardeners welcome! Hosted by Deeda. RSVP!
🫁 Want to increase your lung capacity? Come to Breathing in the Knowledge Nursery! Every weekday at 9am PST. RSVP here!
🥣 Grab your favorite cereal for dinner and watch anime & cartoons with us at Monday Night Cereal! Join us every other Monday at 5pm PST. Tonight we're watching Yu-Gi-Oh- the second season. Your move!
💃🏾 Join Caroline for Co-Twerking on Tuesdays at 3pm PST! We will follow video(s) with a warm-up and cool down sequence, with dancing in between. This is meant to be an aerobic exercise, so bring water and items that will provide you comfort while dancing your butt off! Video suggestions welcome. Duration: ~30 minutes. RSVP here.
📔 Quiet-ish Reading Club / Connect (QRC) 💜💛📚 meets Tuesdays at 6pm PST! QRC - Garden Edition is where we chill together in mostly quiet company of 45 min reading blocks. Bring your own: book, audiobook, article, magazine, comic book, training manuals, graphic novel, paperwork/forms, poetry, etc. anything you’d like to or need to read. Most of the time will be us practicing sustained silent reading (SSR) in cozy, quiet company together. We will take occasional breaks to chat and socialize - mics optional. Learn more about QRC - Garden Edition. Like to be kept up-to-date on QRC meet-ups in Garden? Fill out this interest form. RSVP here
🎥 Name That Movie (Night!) is Wednesday at 5:30pm PST! This week's movie is a 2020 documentary about a summer camp for teens with disabilities and the alumni who have been sparking radical changes! 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 Fridays at 3pm 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 next session of Chronic Illness and Long Covid Support Group will be Thursday June 19th 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 here!
😷 Hang out, chill and play games with Black folks who take COVID precautions at Bonfire in Garden is every 3rd Saturday! The next Bonfire will be a special meetup during Summer Solstice on June 21st at 4:30 pm PST. RSVP here.
🐣 Are you a parent looking to connect with other parents? Parents Group will be meeting this Sunday July 6th at 11am PST! RSVP here!
🎥 In the spirit of "Nothing about us without us" the For Us By Us film club is an opportunity for Black members of Garden to watch and discuss films made by Black film makers from around the world. Join Skyriver every first Sunday of the month. The next date is July 6th at 2pm PST. From comedy to documentary, horror to romance, indie to mainstream we'll share the many facets of Black storytelling. RSVP here!
❤️🔥For those of you excited to release your rage, or watching the mayhem, we still want more applicants for Mo's Garden’s Roast Wanted: A Night of Roasting! 👺 The roast has been moved to July 6th to give more time for folks to percolate! Wanna roast your homophobic relative? The concept of time? Politicians who keep fucking up your life? A celebrity you have petty beef with? COVID deniers? Pitch a topic that you can complain about for 15 min or less by June 22nd at 11:59pm PST!
📺 Join us every 3rd Saturday of the month at 11am PT for Garden Ghibli, where we view a Ghibli movie and attempt to make our way to watch all the magical Ghibli movies! The next meetup is on Saturday July 19th. RSVP here!
🦾 Self Defense Discussion Series with Caroline will be Sundays at 8am PT. Each group 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 via 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.
🖼️ Visual Art Open 2025 is open for submissions until June 11th for their international artist call and Prize Fund. Entries must fall under one of 6 categories: Painting & Mixed Media & Printmaking, Illustration & Drawing, Sculpture, Photography / Digital Art, Student Artists (Proof of Student Status Required) and Art Educators.
🌿 Garden Members are invited to participate in Practice Progress's 5th Anniversary UNtensive which is in partnership with ARCOS Dance and Garden. June 20th-22nd! This 3 day virtual gathering is for movers, teachers, artists, organizers and anyone seeking accessible creative community to liberate time. This year’s theme of Making T I M E, is an invitation to refuse urgent reactivity and turn towards the brilliance of ancestors and contemporaries whose resistance work has already mapped the course. Register here!
🌈 Accessible Virtual Pride 2025, a collaboration between Calling Up Justice, One Free Community & MouthWater will be taking place July 4th-6th on Zoom and GatherTown! Volunteer to help make the magic happen, or register as an audience member here!
🪩 Bring your dancing shoes LA folks! Air Orgy LA: A COVID Safer Dance Party is back on Saturday August 23rd at 4:30PM PT. There will be DJ sets, speed friending, Yall Masking? Photobooth and more! Accessibility: Outdoor location, wheelchair accessible, high filtration mask required at all times, pre-testing and trace testing required. RSVP required, please read the policies and procedures document before RSVP-ing. For questions, ask Gata or email airorgyla@gmail.com.
📖 Garden Desk Decorating Contest 🏆: Show off your Creativity & possibly win a $25 prize! All Garden members with desks and build permissions (excluding admins) are allowed to enter this contest. Everyone attending the Summer Solstice on June 21st and June 22nd will be allowed to vote for their favorite desk.
📅 Date: Have your desk decorated by June 20th.
🎯 Theme: Summer 🌻 decorate your desk thinking of what summer represents for you!
🏆 Prizes: The two desks with the most amount of votes by the end of June 22nd will receive a $25 prize!
🎉 Winners will be announced in the newsletter!
Check out our building agreements blog here
🍉 Centering Palestine has a zoom every Tuesday at 5pm PST, along with other resources to show up for Palestine available here.
😷 World Health Network has a weekly call to organize community members against mask bans every Friday at 12pm PST.
🌻 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
💌 Don't forget, we can design and host non-Garden virtual events too.
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!