After living in Everett for the past three years, I have been exposed to the wide variety of creativity this city has to offer. Everett is busting from the seams with musicians, painters, photographers, designers, makers and so much more. And while the city offers plenty of opportunities for artists to shine, each “type” of creative has its own space here, separate from the others.

Creatives here are playing in shows or debuting and selling art in formal settings because that’s what they love to do (and how they make a living), but where can they simply stand back and feel embraced by the creative community as a whole? Everett needs a place for creative people of all types to gather, explore, and chill. No competition, no networking, no pressure.

That’s where CreativeMornings Everett comes in.

CreativeMornings is a once-a-month meetup for creative people in our community. Whether you are a maker, musician, painter, designer, writer, or any other profession YOU deem creative, the CreativeMornings mantra stays the same: all are welcome.

However, Everett isn’t the first city privy to this kind of meetup. CreativeMornings is a large-scale global community founded in 2008 on the east coast by Tina Roth Eisenberg (@swissmiss) born out of a desire for an accessible event for her creative community. Sound familiar?

Today, there are over 200 cities in over sixty countries with CreativeMornings meetups filled with creatives being themselves over free, monthly breakfasts. I think it’s about time we joined them.

So here’s how it all goes down: Once a month on a Friday morning, creative folks from all around Snohomish County will meet at a cool location, get some free coffee, partake in a free breakfast (donuts anyone?), and listen in to a live speaker. Afterwards, you can get outta there like a true introvert (respect) or mingle a bit and get to know people.

Yes, you read that right. Free coffee. Free breakfast. Free talk. Forever and always, no matter what.

Before you get too excited over that free cup of joe (and the community, that’s important too), there’s a teensy snag in this whole plan. In order to start a chapter here in Everett, the folks at CreativeMornings headquarters need to approve our city’s application. And one of the most important parts of that application is making sure this community is ready for this kind of event.

So tell me, are you ready? No seriously, tell me.

Here’s a quick Google Survey asking a few questions (most of which are optional) to get a gauge of the level of interest this community has in becoming a better creative community (yup, that was a sly guilt trip). It will also ask if this is an event you would like to volunteer at, sponsor, or donate food to. This is a free event (forever and always) and is 100% volunteer run. Even the event organizer (that’s me) doesn’t get paid.

When I was a freelance graphic designer, I struggled finding a community of creative people to bounce ideas off of and gain friendships. By creating a neighborly environment where creative people can be themselves and find other people who think like them, we can empower each other to take chances! Make mistakes! Get messy!

Will you join me in cultivating this community?

take the survey here.

Know someone who might be interested? Share the survey!

Anna is a print designer based out of Everett, WA. When not planning CreativeMornings Everett, she enjoys walking her dogs along the Lowell River Waterfront and grabbing some donuts from Despi Delite Bakery (or newcomer A1 Donut!)