By Susannah Kerest
Front Porch Forum hosts online newsletters in every town in Vermont, and now in some Upper Valley NH towns. Neighbors, nonprofits, businesses, and government officials can post messages, share news, get advice, make recommendations, announce events, sell items, and much more. It's all about helping neighbors to connect and build community.
This fall, Front Porch Forum is featuring Vermonters who excel at building community and offer tips for how to you can get started in your own town. Read it here in The Bridge Weekly.
Laurel and Steve have hosted singing parties at their house for the past 20 years. The evening potlucks are followed by sitting in a circle, taking turns suggesting and starting the songs, and singing together. Their goal is to help people connect. "The more community cohesion we can have, the better. And singing is one of the ways that happens."
Laurel grew up in a family that sang. "We never had a radio in the car; we sang. We sang at home, we sang when we were camping, we sang all the time. We were a singing family." Meanwhile, Steve attended an alternative high school in New Hampshire where most of the students sang every day, and there he learned the value of community.
This experience, plus a lifelong love for singing, prompted what's now been a two-decades-long tradition of hosting singing parties.
The Potluck & Sings are once a month at Steve and Laurel's home in Bellows Falls. They post invitations on Front Porch Forum and maintain an email list of people who have expressed interest. The gatherings involve friendly introductions - of both guests and the shared dishes - followed by singing, primarily from the 'Rise Up Singing' and 'Rise Again' songbooks.
"The last Potluck & Sing we had, there was somebody who'd moved to town less than two weeks earlier, had found out about Front Porch Forum, and read about our Potluck & Sing. They said, 'I want to know people in my new home.' So they came, and they're like, 'I'm going to be at the next one. And I'm going to bring a friend!'"
Have you ever thought about getting neighbors together around a shared hobby? Is there a song night, craft group, or card game in your community? Or, maybe you want to get one started! Post about it on Front Porch Forum.