Civic life – Page 2 – vander giessen-reitsma

Spending time outdoors

By Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma | July 31, 2020

As the pandemic continues into the summer, many of our usual patterns have shifted. We’ve had to cancel a lot of events we’d usually help organize, like storytelling nights and a summer festival, but the new farmers market has been thriving as a place for folks to get fresh food and also a little social time.

We were grateful to have a little bit of time visiting outdoors with Kirstin’s family at the lake this month, including an aunt and cousins from Georgia, uncle and sister and nephews and niece from Indiana, and Grandpa Duke. We’ve also had some nice socially-distanced outdoor visits with Rob’s parents. This time has really emphasized the importance of being intentional about connecting with loved ones.

Our community of friends who work and volunteer together at the Huss Project has been enjoying weekly outdoor gatherings, as well as a couple of days of workshops and conversations around our work in the community. As much as things have changed this year, we also feel like the relationship-building and food production we’ve been doing for years has prepared us to support each other and our neighbors in this difficult moment.

We’ve continued to enjoy many walks around our small rural city and the weather has been especially beautiful, with big blue skies reflected on the many waterways nearby. Kirstin probably has several thousand photos on her phone at this point, documenting the changes of seasons and the small moments of beauty. Oh, and we’ve started feeding the birds more regularly in the pandemic, which has been a very welcome addition for our cat!

Welcoming a new year

By Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma | January 31, 2020

A new year! After a nice break for the holidays, we kicked things off with our usual Friday night potluck at our *culture is not optional community house. The community house is where our interns, AmeriCorps members, volunteers, and visitors stay, and it’s also a space for building relationships and learning for our organization as a whole. 2019 was a pretty rocky year, with an unexpected move for our community house on top of some other major projects, so it was nice to celebrate with friends in a spirit of greater stability for the year to come. The historic three-story Victorian house we lovingly refer to as “the haunted mansion” has proven a wonderful asset for showing hospitality.

Potluck at the *cino community house — *Potluck at the *culture is not optional community house!*

In mid-January, Rob spent some time in Detroit for the Michigan Farmers Market Manager training, but came back in time to enjoy the opening reception for the annual juried art show at the Carnegie Center for the Arts, just half a block from our house. The Carnegie Center is a beautifully restored historic space—one of the original libraries Andrew Carnegie built around the country. Many of our friends had work in the show, including John, Gail, and Jonathon, who work with Kirstin at GilChrist Retreat Center.

*Carnegie Center juried show in downtown Three Rivers.*

We try to take things a bit more slowly in the winter, but one important annual celebration we participate in is a march, potluck dinner, and service in celebration of the life and work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Though it turned bitterly cold just in time for the march, we had a great turnout. The service featured live music from a number of groups, including the Brandenburg Concert choral group that Kirstin sings in, and some incredible, truth-to-power poetry from local poet friends. We look forward to this service every year as an expression of solidarity and diversity in our community, and Rob has taken on more a role in helping plan and organize along with a number of other community volunteers.

Unveiling the Imaginarium

By Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma | July 30, 2019

Well, it was a race to the finish line and we gave it all we had! The new community space, called the Imaginarium, came together about 95% of the way before our big annual community festival at the Huss Project at the end of July. While we wish we’d gotten everything finished, it was certainly enough for visitors to Future Fest to catch the vision for this vibrant new space.

Launching the Imaginarium was just part of Future Festival. Along with dozens of volunteers, we hosted a rummage sale, farmers market, bake sale, live music, an art show, and a Community Carnival with hands-on activities and free school supplies for kids and families. This was actually the tenth annual Future Festival, chaired by our good friend Julie. A lot of friends, both local and out-of-town, come together to make the Fest happen every year and it’s always an amazing celebration of creativity and friendship…and then we crash!

Category: Civic life