Let’s go beyond buzzwords to the real stuff of life. To food, to happiness, to being able to make a freaking honest living here on the island we love.

OK, you say, that’s a dream, but how do you get there?

In bits and pieces.

And a big bit is coming up. The Cape Breton Centre of Craft and Design is hosting a gathering of people (also known as a conference) in two weeks, in Sydney. It’s three days long. There will be speakers from all over the continent coming in to give talks and generally be inspiring.

Yes, conferences can be boring. They can be draining. They can be expensive. “Is it worth my money? Is it worth my time?” These are valid questions.

But conferences are also a fantastic chance to shake hands and share real conversation with people who will matter to your life. People like fellow artists or business-people, fellow citizens of your community. It’s only through sharing ideas and figuring out how to make them become real that we can take some of the shit we’ve been dealt, as an economy, and turn it into fertilizer.

What was it that Margaret Mead said, and that has stood the test of time?

Oh right. It’s: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

I’m going to be at this conference, alternating between meeting new people and talking about ideas, and spending some time by myself, thinking and resting. I hope to meet you there! Do come up and say hi if you see me, I always love meeting readers.

You can find out more about the conference, including agenda and pricing, here. Or you can pick up the phone and call Lori Burke at the Centre at (902) 539 7491, ext 115, or email her at lori@capebretoncraft.com, OR or you can drop in to their physical location at 322 Charlotte Street, Sydney.

xo Leah