The Spovangelist

There once was a rag tag group of young folks that sought to carve out a bit of quality time to share updates about their mutual interests. They often felt overwhelmed with obligations to multiple jobs, transitions between living situations, the impossible number of worthwhile community events that take place in Spokane on any given day, and a heap of volunteer involvement that would make any sane person’s head spin.

It was a shame that life seemed too full to be around the very people they shared most in common with, and so meetups at a bar became a regular ritual. At the very same time large numbers of environmental enthusiasts were gathering monthly for networking and causal conversation under the popular Greendrinks umbrella.

In a burst of uninspiration, the moniker Greener Drinks was born. Not meant to imply that the spin-off was “more green” than the mothership, “greener” was intended to denote a lack of worldly experience in terms of years.

The fledgling group was hoping to become an informal organization that could develop direct actions related to environmental outcomes that were fun and easy for large numbers of people to participate in directly. Then it was pointed out that unsuspecting bystanders were getting the two activities confused and so a name change was in order.

Enter Lilac Mob. After several rounds, dozens of emails and a Vimeo video, the name Lilac Mob was born. One direction for the group was to become a not entirely consumer-oriented version of Carrotmob in San Francisco.

Then one agriculturally-oriented organizer pointed out the existence of another group called Crop Mob.

Crop mob is primarily a group of young, landless, and wannabe farmers who come together to build and empower communities by working side by side.  Crop mob is also a group of experienced farmers and gardeners willing to share their knowledge with their peers and the next generation of agrarians. The membership is dynamic, changing and growing with each new mob event.

The direction of Spokane’s own Lilac Mob is uncertain, but the future is ultimately bright. If you would like to help contribute to the life of this group, the next meetup is tomorrow night at the Viking.

• RSVP on Facebook for the Lilac Mob meetup.

Tags:   Community · Experimentation · Sustainable Development · Videos · Young People4 Comments