First a Concept,
Becoming a Place
and a Movement
We intend to face the past history of harms, to openly talk about where and how it hurts, to begin healing, to generate ideas for change and growth, to make a new way, to become free…
November 17th Community Compass Dinner
Join us for a special dinner on Tuesday, November 17th at the Central United Methodist Church in downtown Asheville where we’ll collaboratively identify the community issues that are most on our hearts and minds for the coming year. We'll compile those concerns, questions, and aspirations into a working document we're calling the People’s Agenda for 2027, a list of the topics that we want to better understand and organize around together.
Different Strokes 369 Monologue and Short Play Festival part 4: Get Up STAND UP
Join us for a special People's Place theater outing on Saturday, October 17 at 7:30 pm as we attend this special performance by the Different Strokes company, which excels at creating thought provoking and entertaining theater. We've purchased 8 tickets at the group rate so a bunch of us can go see the performance together.
WE (WERE) OPEN - AND WILL BE AGAIN SOON
Phase III: People's Place AVL Mini-Museum and Gift Shop @ 58 Broadway
Our mini-museum and gift shop at 58 Broadway was open from January to November. We were invited to lease this space by Mountain Housing Opportunities. They were planning to sell the building, and expressed a strong interest in seeing it go to a community-oriented organization like us, rather than just put it on the market to be snatched up by a developer. Unfortunately, their plans shifted, and in the end they decided they weren't open to a long-term arrangement but needed a cash sale.
We’ve learned some valuable firsthand lessons about the complicated dynamics between landlords and tenants. And like so many, we are feeling the ripple effects of how the storm continues to impact so many good intentions, favoring profits over people as the driving force for change.
This is only the end of one chapter in our story. We’ve built some momentum towards the kind of people-powered change that we all want to see in WNC and are confident that will only grow in the years to come. Stay tuned for all that comes next as we turn the page...
WE'VE LAUNCHED
Phase II: Building the Dream
We are in the second phase of realizing a collective space for learning, imagining, nourishing, healing, and engaging in meaningful conversations. We are in the process of showcasing the many offerings that will be contained with The People’s Place building. We started with a delicious demonstration of The People’s Place Cafe, featuring the culinary genius of B.J. Dennis of Charleston, South Carolina, and a panel discussion around cultural foodways. Over the course of 2024, we will be unveiling other aspects of The People’s Place, by collaborating with others in Asheville’s social justice ecosystem.
WE STARTED OUT R.A.W.
Phase I: Resiliency At Work
This was our first phase of realizing a collective space for learning, imagining, nourishing, healing, and engaging in meaningful conversations. The People's Place grew out of a series of gatherings (EAT – Engaging in Antiracism Together) for anti-racist activists who regularly met to share and contemplate experiences, to breathe and heal, and to just BE with one another AND it was always over a meal.
