By Anne DeGrace
Socializing around food is as old as humanity.
Two million years ago we were gathering food and eating together; 800,000 years ago, we were passing the antelope around the hearth. By 130,000 years ago we were inviting our neighbours for dinner, and finding ways we were alike — a shared love of antelope — and different, because it turned out some liked it spicy, and some not so much. Folks a couple of valleys over preferred their plates full of nuts and berries, and their antelopes frolicking happily in the forest.
And the potluck was born.
The Nelson Library aims to bring newcomers to Nelson together — with each other and with locals — to share a dish, conversation, a smile, and an age-old tradition in a monthly “New to Nelson Potluck.” The first one takes place on Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. It’s a brain-child of Melodie Rae Storey, our Literacy Services Co-ordinator and a third-generation Kootenay girl.
“I wanted to reach out to immigrants in our community,” she told me, listing India, Japan, Syria, and Iran as some of the home countries of the new people she’s met in the library. “I began to see that these families don’t necessarily need more information — they need more ways to connect with the community.”
From there she realized that there are plenty of new arrivals in Nelson; whether from down the road, across the country, or across the pond, “There are lots of newcomers who would like to meet other people, and who enjoy good food. Locals who want to meet newcomers are also welcome. This is a fun, informal, social gathering where we share a dish with others, and a bit of Nelson culture, too.”
To that end, Melodie Rae has invited the West Kootenay EcoSociety to give a presentation about our fall salmon spawning spectacle, and she has ideas for future talks. Winter sports, history, gardening, theatre, yoga; there are lots of possibilities. She plans to feature a restaurant each month to prepare one special dish; this month, it’s The Outer Clove. Owner and chef Thomas Gabriel told her he is happy to be involved — he came to Canada as an immigrant himself.
Restaurants or presenters interested in participating should contact Melodie Rae at mstorey@nelson.ca or 505-5683.
Libraries are uniquely positioned to play a key role in combating the isolation that immigrants to Canada and newcomers to our community can experience. Language barriers play a big part in that, and to that end the library is a safe place to come with children, with parents and kids learning new words together in a safe environment. We can access books in other languages, so reading in a familiar language can offer a bit of relief. ESL tutors and their students meet here, and as a barrier-free, egalitarian institution, the library is a refuge. As for developing new friendships, it’s not such a stretch to gather around the library’s metaphorical hearth.
I’ve eaten my fair share of nuts and berries, Kootenay girl that I am, and yet I was a newcomer once, too. One of my first social food-related events turned out to be a rather immersive introduction to Kootenay culture.
The year was 1981. I was invited to a summer afternoon party and potluck in the valley where, upon arrival, I found I was, um, vastly overdressed (this was the era when UV exposure was not yet a concern). We did dress for dinner, once the sun went down and the mosquitoes came out. And some of the folks I met that day have remained friends more than three decades later.
Don’t worry! Clothing is mandatory at the Welcome to Nelson Potluck, but aside from that, a dish to share, goodwill and the desire to get to know some nice new folks is all you need.
Anne DeGrace is the Adult Services Co-ordinator at the Nelson Public Library. Check This Out runs every other week.