Before the Parlor — *There is always a seat at the table for you.*

Join us 2 pm, Saturday, March 22nd at the Anacostia Arts Center for the first salon of 2025. The CommuniTEA Salons are a mix between conversation, dreaming, memory making and playdate. In our March 2025 salon, Melani N. Douglass and our guest Courtney Dowe will lead a series of activities to help us

Build a Dreamt Reality

It's time for new dreams, new prayers, new psalms, new songs, new thoughts. It's time for bold creativity that can break the loop of this nightmare we have all barely survived. Our existence is the miracle. Our dreams will turn a beautiful tomorrow into a today. It is time to pull our dreams into reality. Time to make a dreamt reality.

Where do we start:

By dreaming together.

Dreaming in real time.

Dreaming while awake.

Sharing our dreams.

Sharing our vision.

Combining visions.

Dreaming in the face of a nightmare.

For a few hours on Saturday, riding the energy of the Spring Equinox and the planetary conversations happening in the universe - Courtney Dowe and I will be in conversation about building a dreamt reality. Gather with us and others who are ready to bring a collective yet expansive dream into reality. Bring your journals. Bring your sketch pad. Bring your favorite mug. Bring your voice. Come comfortable. Come cozy and let's get into creating this dreamt reality.

Pillows, back jacks, vibe, meditation, tea and more are provided.

This is a phone free event. Put the nightmare on mute.

The cost? Courage and care and a love for community. Monetary donations are welcomed. If you make a donation, please select a ticket as well.

This one is going to require you to be brave. You are going to need to believe in yourself and others. Sounds like a lot? No worries. Come because you care. Come because you care about what exists after the fall and you need care while it's all changing. If you have just enough courage and/or care to show up - that is all that is required at the front door.

Also, mark your calendars for the next CommuniTEA Salons:

April 26: We OUT - sign the mailing list for details.

May 10 - The Art of Mothering - A community Practice

June 14 - Fathering Wellness

June 22 - Dreaming Reality - Summer Solstice Edition - details loading!

See you there.

About the CommuniTEA Salon Series

This immersive gathering blends meditation, tea, art, and conversation to create a space for deep reflection and collective wisdom. We begin with a guided meditation to quiet the mind and invite stillness, followed by a soothing tea ceremony to center the body. Through thoughtful discussion, we will explore how peace of mind is essential to building a thriving home and a strong community.

Inspired by the salons of the Harlem Renaissance, the Combahee River Collective, The Colored Conventions, and the legacy of Black organizing spaces using the home as a place for transformation, this salon is a modern gathering rooted in history, wellness, and empowerment. Together, we will listen, share, and co-create a vision for a more mindful and peaceful future.

This event is made possible by the Andy Warhol Foundation Wherewithal Grant, Valley Place Arts Collective, Washington Area Community Investment Fund, The Family Arts Museum, and MĀK Apothecary.