Love thy neighbour

St. James-Assiniboia

Charleswood

For a lot of people, a steaming hot cup of coffee can start a weekday morning right, but the majority of Winnipeggers are more used to taking those first few sips in the comfort of their own home.

A group of neighbours are throwing a wrench into that routine and giving it a new twist as they continue to offer the comfort of coffee in a community setting, encouraging folks from the St. James neighbourhood to get outside and take a few minutes to connect with the people who have been acting out the same routine just around the bend.

Since the last week of May, St. James Community Coffee has been meeting every Wednesday morning from 7 to 8:30 a.m. at the Portage Avenue entrance to Assiniboine Park, right next to the pedestrian bridge and across the road from Sargent Sundae. Every week, Tyler and Marlana Crichton, with the help of Jan Pederson, bring out their coffee cart, cups and brew and set up camp. There, they offer free coffee and conversation to anyone coming or going — as well as treats for any canine companions who may be along for the ride.

“To put it simply, it’s just trying to get neighbours and people connected again in the community,” Tyler said. “Come out, meet your neighbours, see who’s in your community, establish some connections. It’s been really great people coming by and being like, ‘Oh, hey, you’re so-and-so … I haven’t seen you forever,’ right? That’s the reason why we want to do this, (to) provide that space for people.”

The two were inspired by a similar idea in Alberta, and didn’t put much debate into starting it in St. James, in particular. Tyler grew up in the area, and although the two live in Charleswood now, they both consider themselves residents, in a way.

“There doesn’t seem to be as many third places,” Marlana said. “And so, we kind of were like, ‘well, we can make one.’”

The first edition was a success, bringing in a decent group of people who remain regulars as the weeks draw on. Immigrants from all walks of life, people in retirement or on their way to work, friends, strangers, and relatives. And, as previously mentioned, dogs.

“St. James kind of was craving this kind of thing,” Tyler said. “I just wanted to bring something back into St. James. I do a lot of volunteering, and I just wanted to put more of my effort back into the place that provided me a great place to grow up. I wanted to go back and give something back to the community that gave me so much.”

As well, many of the people taking part know each other already, even if they’ve never had a proper conversation. So much of a neighbourhood or a community is built upon walking by the same faces every day, Marlana said.

“People don’t understand how important those connections are until you start to lose them,” she said. “You go to brand-new neighbourhood and you feel so foreign there because you don’t have those familiar faces that you see all the time.”

The pair said that the hope is to keep the weekly tradition going until Thanksgiving. Then, it’ll be too cold to continue until next spring. The coffee provided is bought from Joe Black Coffee & Bar (2037 Portage Ave.) at a discount.

For more information or to keep in the loop, visit the St. James Community Coffee group on Facebook.