With support from a Neighbourhood Small Grants award, we hosted a series of Solidarity Socials—monthly, low-barrier craft gatherings that ran through the fall of 2025. These events were designed as simple, welcoming spaces where people could come together to make things with their hands, share conversation, and strengthen community connections during Gabriola Island’s quieter, rainier months.
Each Solidarity Social focused on a different hands-on practice rooted in care, creativity, and collective learning. Over the course of four events, participants explored book-making, natural dyeing, fabric printing for patches, and rope-braiding. Every gathering included a short demonstration, shared materials, and plenty of room for experimentation, curiosity, and conversation. Events were free or by donation, with snacks provided to help create an atmosphere of ease and hospitality.
One of the highlights of the series was a special weekend-long community event called Refugia. Over two days, participants collectively braided rope—working side by side, talking, and returning at their own pace. At the end of the weekend, the rope was transformed into a finished basket, offering a tangible symbol of what the project was about: individual contributions woven into something sturdy, shared, and useful.
The grant funding was used entirely for practical supports that made the project possible: hall rentals and simple advertising materials to help spread the word. All facilitation, planning, and labour were offered voluntarily, underscoring the community-driven nature of the project.
Across the four events, between 75 and 110 people participated. Attendees ranged widely in age and experience, with many people trying a craft for the first time or reconnecting with practices they hadn’t touched in years. The low-pressure, welcoming format encouraged people to linger, talk, and return for multiple sessions. New friendships were formed, skills were shared informally, and familiar faces became part of a growing web of connections.
The Solidarity Socials demonstrated that small, thoughtfully supported gatherings can have an outsized impact. By offering accessible creative activities in a warm, communal setting, the project helped bring Gabriolans together at a time of year when social isolation can easily set in. The series affirmed the value of making things together—not for productivity or polish, but for relationship, resilience, and shared joy.
