On Thursday, Nov. 2 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Mobile Plaza in Downtown Florence, residents are invited to gather with their neighbors and enjoy lunch together at an event known as 1 Table.
The idea for 1 Table came from a group of friends who saw a news article about a similar event. The group, which included Brittany Ashley, Chelsea Wassner, Kristin Husainy, Bevin Thomaston, Scarlett Lyons and Katrina McCreless, intended to go the next year, but the event was never held again, so they decided to create something similar in the Shoals area.
Starting from scratch in 2017, the group had to formulate ideas about how they would carry the idea out. Downtown was a perfect location, acting as a combination between being big enough to seat a large number of people and being small enough that it felt cozy and welcoming.
One of the hardest parts of organizing the event was finding where all of the food would come from, while still keeping the event cost-effective. During the first year, Jill’s Sweet Memories made the food for $1 a plate, which helped cut back on costs and keep the event free for the public. Since then, community donations go toward paying for the food for the event.
“That first year, the weather was absolutely perfect,” said Brittany Ashley, one of the founders of 1 Table. “It was a beautiful day, and we had close to 500 people, which was crazy.”
The goal of the event is to sit people from the community down at one long table and allow them to have a meal while meeting their neighbors. The tables are covered in paper, with crayons sat out for people to draw or write messages for others to see.
Each year, putting on the event is a community effort, as 1 Table is funded entirely through donations and volunteer efforts. After posting sign-up sheets on Facebook, the spots fill up fast, as those in the area are eager to help. Seeing the demand, 1 Table shortened the time slots for volunteers this year, meaning that more people are able to help out, and those who help are also able to participate in the event.
Chad Mackey, a volunteer for 1 Table, loves getting involved in the community, and he finds this event to be the perfect opportunity. Having attended the event every year, Mackey volunteered last year and is volunteering this year as well, helping to clean up both times.
“After seeing the whole event, with such a long table and all the community of strangers and new friends, and then cleaning up, it’s like family,” said Mackey. “It’s like when you go to your family’s house for the holidays, and you actually help clean up and are a part of it.”
By running the event entirely on a volunteer basis and by offering meals free of charge, 1 Table has the unique ability to bring the community together with no incentives.
“There’s no other event where there is no cost, no catch, no agenda,” Ashley said. “It’s not put on by any one group or any one source. There’s just no agenda. It’s solely to have a pure time, side-by-side, face to face, with our neighbors and with our town. I think it’s a good reminder of who our neighbors are and who we live with. There’s not many times where we’re put into a situation where it’s promoted for us to interact just for the sake of being kind, and getting to know each other and broadening our horizons a little bit.”
Because the entire town is invited to participate, 1 Table brings people from all walks of life and from every demographic. The time together is designed to help everyone to realize the importance of spending time with one another.
“We need that boost,” Ashley said. “We need that time to sit down and reflect in the beauty of each other and the beauty of our town. There’s a lot going on, and we know we’re not solving world hunger or the homeless crisis by having this event, but we do feel like we’re keeping that spark alive and helping people put faces to names or situations. When you can put a face to a name or a face to a scenario or an experience, then you feel a little more of that, and you have a little more compassion. I hope that this is a good reminder and a springboard for being a good neighbor, for showing kindness and for being open to interacting with people who may be a little different from you. There’s still so much beauty to be found in embracing people from different walks of life.”
Ashley hopes to see many people from the community attend this year’s 1 Table. In the future, she would love for other towns to start events like this in an effort for residents to get a chance to simply spend time with one another.
“I feel like there’s a lot of beauty in the most simple things,” Ashley said. “We over-complicate a lot of things, or we try to make things too fancy and too programmed, but usually, if you just sit back, relax and embrace what’s around you, a lot of beauty presents itself naturally. That’s what [1 Table] is. There’s just a unique spark that comes about naturally. When you make your mind up to be kind and positive and act out of genuine care for each other, it just makes magic.”
