Movement
Stretching, walking groups and simple balance practice, led by someone suitably trained if we can find them.
Events and activities we would like to host
Ideas for a year at Alpine Brook Harbor, drawn from conversations while planning. There is no calendar yet and no event is booked.
Ideas, not a programme. Dates, guests, costs and places are all open. We list ideas by season so you can tell us which ones you would actually come to.
What each season might bring
Spring
Opening the gardens
Raised beds are dug, seedlings swapped, and anyone who wants a plot says so. A walk to look at the blossom on the nearest path, with tea afterwards.
Summer
Evenings outside
Long light after dinner: music on the open-air steps, a film on a bedsheet, a shared table in the garden. Cooler mornings for walking groups.
Autumn
A harvest table
Whatever the beds produced goes onto one long table. A small show of residents' handwork, with nothing to win.
Winter
Indoor gatherings
Singing, board games and a year-end meal. Warm rooms and slow afternoons, with the garden resting outside.
Everyday activities
Between the big occasions
Most days would be quiet ones. We expect the daily rhythm to matter more than any festival: a class that meets on Tuesdays, a card game that has run for years, somebody who always saves you a seat.
What actually happens would depend on who lives here. We will not publish a list of activities as though it were a guarantee.
Art and craft
Open sessions for painting, handwork and printmaking. Materials and tutors are yet to be arranged.
Music
A singing group and a space for anyone who plays something, however rarely.
Games
Cards, shogi, go and board games, with a corner kept for people who like to play seriously.
Cooking together
An occasional kitchen session where people cook something from their own region or childhood.
Digital skills
Help with messaging apps, photos and video calls on request, at the pace of the learner.
Traditions
Festivals people choose for themselves
Japan's seasonal calendar, with cherry-blossom viewing, summer festival evenings and the year-end meal, offers natural starting points. We would like to ask residents which occasions matter to them and add others that people of any background wish to share.
We have not planned any religious service, and we would not tie an event to a belief. A celebration here would be an invitation, not an obligation.
Who decides
Residents would have the say
Our preferred model is a small residents' committee that proposes events and tells us what to budget for. Whether that works depends on how many people live here, so we will decide it together once there are people to ask.
Ask us
Tell us which ideas you would join
Which of these would you come to, and what is missing? A short message is plenty.