How to create community...

Using only a pig, some chairs, a game of Petonk and copious amounts of booze.

The answer is quite simple really. You throw a pig roast! This is what we did this weekend and it was a blast!
If you are going to throw a party, you must always have two main ingredients: Food and Drink.
And it you want people to stay long enough, The food must be good and the booze must be better.
At our pig roast this weekend, we have so many bottles of different wines, many cans of beer, and some type of booze that could rot your face off.
The food was excellent. We decided to go the pot luck route this year and it is amazing how different everyone ise when it comes to thier cooking styles and techniques. We had everything from an all vegitarian caserole to an all meat casserole as well and many types of pesto, mustards, and any other fixins' you coulr think of. The pig was cooked to prefection.

But the best part of creating community is inviting everyone and meeting new people. That person across the road, you don't know well.. but once you invite them to eat with you, you learn so much more! They open up over a plate of food and a glass of wine, they tell you stories of thier lives and you tell some back. You laugh with the person and they start to become more than just a simple person.. they become a friend.

More than friendships are made at festivities such as these. Business arrangements are made, playdates, even apprenticeships are started. The woman down the road makes pickles a certain way you like, and she offers to teach you how to make them. a man has a tractor that has a bailer attatched to it, he offers to do you field. A mechanic is there, you ask him to take a look at your car. It's more than just a good time, it's a time to reconnect with old friends as well.

You build yourself a community by feeding people, by enjoying yourself with them.

It's amazing at what a simple thing as a barbeque can do for not just you, but for everyone around you.
Tonight I learned that the reason for life isn't just to live with it, but to live IN it. To take whats around you and embrace it, the people, the flavours, the feelings and the joy.