Give Fest 2023 - 4th anniversary party of having a physical space in ATX

Relateful Austin (The Artist Formerly Known As Austin Circling Studio) is thrilled to invite you to our grand giving experiment as a way to celebrate our 4th anniversary of having a physical space!

Give Fest is an opportunity to include the glorious art of giving and receiving as a more explicit and central value in how we relate with each other, inspired by Service Orientation as a spiritual practice 🙇 and as enacted in the beauty of the Burning Man ethic, Buy Nothing groups, and ineffable tugs in our hearts.

We see our Relateful community as a neural network where we can activate ever more interconnection between each of the nodes. It’s already pretty awesome. Let’s keep going. Let’s find out if there are low-hanging fruits in how we can help each other out that are win-win-wins—the giver, the receiver, and the world at large are better for it (as is already often the case, and has been at the heart of our pricing for example!) And let’s turn our attention to the wider world beyond “me” and “us” to “all of us.”

This event is free, family friendly (kids welcome!), and open to anyone and everyone.

How it works:
-From now until the party:
-You can inspire people and get ideas for what to bring by initiating giving in the discussion section of this event. We invite you to post a message on the Facebook event starting with the word GIVE and describing the offer. This can help inspire others who plan to attend Give Fest about items, experiences, etc. that they would like to offer.
-Get excited about what sorts of gifts are possible- think deeply about the inspiration of your gift(s) and what you’re offering into the world and community.
- You don’t have to decide until you arrive. It’s just fun to build up to it.
- You don’t have to give something. But it will be more meaningful for you if you do.

At Give Fest:
-Bring any physical items (objects, gift cards, etc) you would like to give with you to the venue: Relateful Austin 1205 W 42nd. We plan to be outside and really hope it’s not going to rain.
-We will have stickers available where you can tag the item(s) with your name, and you can also write the thing you’re offering on a sticker and put it on yourself.
-As you hang out at the party and meet people, you can chat freely about what you’re giving and figure out how you want to decide who you will give to.
-To give something away, you can hand the person the sticker with the item’s name on it, and then if you want you can put on a new sticker that says “I Gave!”
-Bask in the joy of giving, and have fun with each other at the party
-At the end of the event, everyone with space in their car can help take all leftover physical items to Goodwill
We also have a plan for a “reverse silent auction” where a local charity will tell us some things they need that people can “bid” to give. The person who wants to give the most will win!
What kinds of gifts?
Your imagination and your willingness is the limit. Here are some ideas to get you started:
-Physical objects. We gave away a couch recently, and plan to give away one of our rugs
-Services: Coaching, Massage, acupuncture, photography, a good home cooked meal, grief counseling, art
-Practical Support: Maybe you have a truck and you like moving furniture, or love painting walls or gardening
-Expertise: Perhaps you want to help someone with interior decorating,
Etc…

What about receiving?
There’s no limit to how much you can receive! and for some of you receiving will be way more difficult than giving. That’s welcome too!
Many spiritual practices note that “giving and receiving are the same;” we’re embracing this spirit, but highlighting the giving view because Jordan thinks it’ll be a nice balance for our practice community that already has a decent amount of skill in speaking from the personal wants/needs/longings frame.

A final note:
This is 100% experimental. Please come with an open mind, open heart, and willingness to help make it awesome. Let’s get excited about what this community can do for each other, and what wonderful surprises are in store for you / us!