January 10th, 2019

The Turquoise Table

The Turquoise Table movement was started in Austin, Texas by Kristin Schell in 2013 and has reached homes around the globe. One day, Kristin decided to have the delivery service leave her picnic table in the front yard instead of the back and proceeded to paint it her favorite color, turquoise. Kristin soon noticed that people started stopping and talking and that there were so many neighbors she had not met or did not know as well as she wished she had. The table became a social meeting place that brought together everyone and helped form a community focused on family, friends and most importantly, hospitality. Kristin realized she had stumbled upon something most Americans were missing, authentic and meaningful conversations with the people around them and their families and therefore pushed the movement forward to help create a “throwback to another time” and less of the modern day acceptance of having our faces in our smartphones.

The concept is simple, and the rewards are priceless. Purchase a picnic table, paint it turquoise and put it in your front yard. The Turquoise Table movement has linked with ReWork Project to help the homeless in Austin learn skills and responsibility by providing work for them to help them get on a better path. You can purchase your table through them at https://reworkproject.org/product/turquoise/. Regardless, be sure and register your Turquoise Table at https://theturquoisetable.com/register-your-table/.

It really is as easy as putting some food out and knocking on doors with a friendly invite to come and join. The table seems to have some magic of its own and begins to develop a variety of engaging ideas but just in case you are in need of a few, here are some of the ways in which you can use the Turquoise Table movement:

Front Yard Fridays
Host a family-friendly meal or happy hour and socialize

Special Gatherings
Holidays always bring fun crafts to the table, bring them to your Turquoise Table

Book Clubs
Engage with your bookwork neighbors over a bottle of wine at one of your tables

School Projects
Fundraisers, extra credit or the variety of drives your local school district holds can have a meeting place

Bible Studies
Designate a day and a rotational schedule for faith focused meet-ups