Naramata Slow – The Power of the Picnic Table 💚

The Power Of The Picnic Table

So it was the summer of 2016, when a few folk gathered around a picnic table at Village Grounds and wondered about how to make the Citta Slow designation come more alive and out of that was created the Long Table Dinner and the Naramata Citta Slow Society.

Then in the summer of 2019, when those same folk, plus a few more, gathered around a picnic table, this time outside Columbia Hall. Someone was heard to say – “the plans all sound great but it would suck to lose part of the beach – do you think the community could look to buy it?” Last week on Friday, February 26, the transaction closed, money changed hands, and the community became the owner of a treasured beach & park.

With gratitude for people willing to ask a question; for people willing to commit to an idea and see it through; for people willing to live out the Citta Slow values of valuing the land, the community and the values we all treasure.

So to each of you a deep thank you whether your support was the $10 that you could spare or all the way up to our major donors at $100,000 – we are grateful to each and to all. You helped us wrap the village in green ribbons and showed on doors and on gates how much you cared!

One of the classes at the Naramata School created this thank you video and a special thank you to Olivia Grant for editing and adding in all of our donors so you can see the true impact of this project. Please watch and enjoy!

Naramata Citta Slow team

PS. Apologies for any spelling errors in donor’s names. There will be a formal recognition event in late Spring (depending on Covid restrictions) to officially mark this important event. Stay tuned for more information.