First of the Season's Voices of the Community Event on Thursday

Straz Center's first Voices of the Community town hall event this season will happen this Thursday, Oct. 23 at 8 p.m, on the Straz Center Facebook page. Each of the four events will be live, virtual town hall events designed to uplift the community, and each one features local leaders, educators, and advocates in meaningful conversations about issues impacting Tampa Bay and beyond.

A different theme is chosen for each Voices of the Community town hall, all of which are held on Thursdays. This Thursday's theme is Creative Garden; panelists will explore the healing power of community gardening, with conversations on whole-body wellness, the impact of nutrition in relation to overall mental health, and the restorative power of growing and providing our own foods.

The next one - Environmental Envisioning - will be held January 29. Participants will come together to discuss the unique challenges and hurdles the greater Tampa Bay area faces during extreme weather occurrences, focusing on how we support one another with organizations that work to provide services and resources pre and post natural disaster.

The Spring event, March 26, will bring together educators from Hillsborough and surrounding counties to discuss Creative Educational Collaboration. Participants will explore the importance of sustaining arts education in schools, the risks of losing creative expression in classrooms, and how the public can help ensure the continuation of arts-focused curriculum.

Finally, on June 11, the Voices of the Community topic will be Bridge-Building for the Common Good. Professionals from diverse educational backgrounds, organizations, and sectors will explore the common ground that connects everyone. The discussion will highlight how collaboration and the celebration of unique perspectives strengthen collective efforts to serve the rich and culturally diverse communities of the Tampa Bay region.

To ask questions of the panelists and to sign up for our Community Engagement Events Newsletter, we are asked to click on https://forms.office.com/r/XaYanAydU. More info: www.strazcenter.org.