Community Mingling: 2nd Creative Social Hour

Photo Credit: Puyol Yoon

A place where creatives connect is perfect for the community of Minot, North Dakota. Many people say there isn't much to do and it's boring. Well, they aren't looking hard enough! You have to make an effort and find what cool stuff is going on in town. The Creative Social Hour is a way to get out, dress up, and connect with others.

The 2nd Creative Social Hour was hosted by 62 Doors Gallery & Studios and myself last Friday. Over 60 people came to mix and mingle with other artists and entrepreneurs. Flapper dresses and fancy suits filled the venue. Everyone looked absolutely stunning. There was cheesecake, cookies, and cupcakes paired with wine and sparkling water for everyone to enjoy.

Photo Credit: Darrel Magpali

At 8 PM, people started trickling in and wrote their name and creative profession on a name tag, then pasted it to themselves. The first half of the event consisted of create talk and a fashion display of my Tori Dany Designs. The models stood on platform boxes and acted as works of art. Their job was simply to stand there and look pretty! You could only imagine how I felt to see my designs in the middle of the gallery for people to admire.

Three live painters did their thing throughout the night and later that night, Rick Watson performed with his guitar. He sang and strummed his original pieces. The Project X dance group did a little dance number. It was something new for Minot, and I thought it was a hit. Amadis Amaya, DJUnivrse, played a set with some of his experimental hip hop. A rap battle closed the event with some good laughs and rhymes.

With the help of many who shared the event on Facebook, the turn out was beyond amazing. KMOT TV, MSU Red & Green, & KMSU Inside Out came to cover it for their news platforms.

Planning the Creative Social Hour has created some awesome connections between the community and I. I look forward to working with more artists and other community members in the future. Each person has their own talents to share with others and the Creative Social Hour event and Facebook group is the place to do it. Models, painters, musicians, actors, writers, and more have come together to share their talents. The sky is the limit for creatives in Minot.

-- Tori