Hey all!

Thank you so much to those that joined us for our first meet and greet event at Checkerspot Brewing! We had some good drinks, tested some of the southern style menu, and used a quick moment of self-reflection to see what kind of beer we would be personified. And cheers to the crew that decided to hop over to Idle Hour for one last cocktail before we called it a night.

Feedback

As I mentioned before, I started this group more for connection and community than getting in depth on the intricacies of craft brews and spirits. From those I met, it sounded like this was a similar vibe to use food and drink as the glue and to explore some of the "third places" Baltimore and beyond has to offer. We'll keep using those places to set the stage and each time I will look into themes or ideas to continually thread our group together.

Please feel free to reach out to me with any ideas or feedback you have. Historically, I am an engineer, musician, and girl dad - so event planner isn't my forte. I'm a quick learner though. 🙂

Activities

We tested out a few early traditions and activities.

• If I were a beer. On our name tags, I asked for two things beyond name and pronouns... favorite beer and what kind of beer you would be based on your personality.
• Cheers to that!! Later in the evening, we did a round table sharing of recent good news or good feelings. It's designed to share positivity and celebrate those moments of joy with others. It was enlightening and joyful. It needs to be tweaked a bit because the flow was a bit awkward and we missed a few people who left before we closed. We'll do this earlier when more people can participate and glasses remain fuller.

Reflection

Sometimes connection is all about opportunity. Creating that space is important and I'm grateful to those that move outside of their comfort zone to try something new. Though no one believes it, doing things like this for me has been hard. I'm the kid who sat alone at the lunch table in high school playing Pokémon on his Gameboy.

I started this as much to challenge myself as I did to create something for others to connect and know there are others out there curious about who you are and your stories. In a single night, the potentials were many. A backgammon challenge. Karaoke at Shotti's Point. Setting the stage for a brewery tour in the Spring. A spot for a good cigar respite. Befriending an aspiring pilot. Motivational inspiration. Cocktail crew with a soon to be PhD. And the realization I am AWFUL at guessing ages.

Next event

Our next event will be at Peabody Heights Brewery on January 29th.

Thanks again for being an early part of the experiment.

Cheers!!

PK

B'more Brew'd