The Community Cultural Development Committee and the Summerland Chamber of Economic Development and Tourism want to get people in the community talking.
The two organizations will hold a Conversation Cafe on Thursday, Aug. 25 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the IOOF Hall on Main Street.
The idea came after Barbara Thorburn, Linda Beaven and Margaret Holler attended Kelowna’s Cultural Summit Conference earlier in the year, where they participated in a workshop led by Paul Born.
Born, the president and cofounder of Tamarack, has experience helping communities and organizations develop ideas that motivate people to action and change.
Beaven said the cafe concept impressed the Summerland committee members.
“The Conversation Cafe is an informal and friendly way to get members of our community talking to one another about things that matter,” she said.
She added that similar cafe events are being held around the world.
Thorburn said the cafe evening is intended to help Summerlanders find the areas where they agree.
“People want to live and work in vibrant communities filled with creative people and economic, educational and cultural opportunities,” she said. “However, we all have different ways of thinking about these things.”
She said the similarities are more important than the differences.
“Your values are really similar,” she said. “Perhaps there are some common threads we can build on.”
She said the meeting will be informal, without a structured agenda.
“It’s like a big community coffee party,” she said.