Autumn Gathering 2024
Cross Quarter Club is a creative seasonal living club for gardeners and nature lovers based in York County, Pennsylvania. Founded in the winter of 2022 , CQC cultivates spaces to come together, slow down, embrace the season, learn something new, and just to be. There are no entry or membership requirements to join. Our events are rooted in the neo-pagan Wheel of the Year, and we affirm that living in close connection with the rhythms of the natural world is part of our universal shared heritage as humans. CQC is a secular, welcoming, inclusive group for women and non-binary people of any age, race, religion, or sexual orientation.
Our fourth gatherin of 2024 was held on Sunday, November 3rd at the pavilion at Yoe Park in Yoe Borough, Pennsylvania. This season, we poured our own soy candles into vintage vessels with instruction from Lindsey Dohm from This Little Light of Mine, LLC. Read on for a complete recap!
Welcome + Introductions
Once everyone had arrived, we took a moment to ground and orient ourselves in the season with a short reading from Fiona Cook’s lovely book, The Wheel of the Year: An Illustrated Guide to Nature’s Rhythms. Samhain is the midpoint between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice and is the last of the three harvest festivals and for the ancient Celts a celebration of the new year. Calendar custom across Europe feature celebrations with themes of gratitude, veneration of ancestors, and preparation for winter and the darker half of the year.
Next, we took a few minutes to get to know each other! As an introvert, I am not the biggest fan of icebreakers, but I cherish this time for Cross Quarter Club! For our introductions, we share our name, where we’re from, how we spend our days and one thing we’re excited about this season. I love hearing what everyone else is passionate about, and there are always interesting connections that come from taking this time to learn more about each other.
Pouring Soy Candles in Vintage Vessels
Lindsey then led us in our candlemaking workshop. When we arrived, we each got to choose a vessel off of an adorable vintage metal display rack Lindsey brought. Some were ceramic, some were glass and a few were wood! We then gathered around each of the melting stations, first choosing our fragrance oils, melting our pre-portioned wax, placing our wicks and pouring the mixture into our vessels. While our candles set, we enjoyed snacks and drinks, before coming back to decorate the tops of our candles with dried botanicals, pressed flowers, small crystals, pincones, spices, gold flakes, and more. Each person’s candle was a completely unique and one-of-a-kind creation!
Seasonal Snacks + Drinks
A beautiful spread of seasonally-inspired snacks, baked goods, and drinks has become a Cross Quarter Club tradition! On the menu this autumn was an assortment of charcuterie, whipped ricotta dip, brown butter sage and squash soup and cornbread made by Christie Altland from Flourish Sacred Space Holding. Dessert was delicious gluten-free pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese icing made by my sister, Stormi Barona.
The Sharing Table
We conclude each Midseason Gathering with The Sharing Table, where we put our club values of reciprocity and community care into practice. Each person is encouraged to bring 1 item for the table, but it’s not a transactional thing — it’s no issue if someone doesn’t have anything to share, just like it’s no issue if someone has an abundance to share! Everyone gets a chance to “shop” the Sharing Table before they leave. Our official theme was a houseplant swap, but other items have always been welcome too. More and more we are leaning into this practice, bringing whatever we have to share, whether that’s books, plants, produce, homemade bath & body products, a favorite recipe, or home decor items. The Sharing Table really is an evolving ritual we have created together and something that I really treasure and enjoy!
Read my blog post: The Story of the Sharing Table
Thank you to Sara Hummer of Hemlock & Hellebore for creating this stunning autumn tablescape! Also, thank you to Anya Peters of Hedgerow Photography, who is capturing all of our Midseason gatherings this year. You’ll notice in the photos we have a new club banner, crafted by Dusty Pennants! This is all thanks to a Bloom Grant that we received from the York County Economic Alliance. Thank you to the team at YCEA for believing in what we are doing here with Cross Quarter Club!
