Are you ready to put down your phone this weekend and open your eyes to a crazy, imperfect, wonderful real-life world?
I'm pumped and very grateful to the creative school board directors in Centralia, Chehalis and Mossyrock who came up with the idea of the Lewis County Thriving Generation screen-free weekend — which has finally arrived! I hope it becomes a regular tradition at least once per season. I'll pump it up every time.
Speaking of which, my column last Saturday missed a lot of great things that will be happening this weekend. Life is so enjoyable in our small towns. Here are a few more select slices of how to connect with like-minded folks for fun, service or just to get out of the house.
- Maintain your bicycle: This Friday, April 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., visit Floral Park (across the corner from Centralia Christian School) for a workshop on bicycle repair with friendly folks from the Hub City Bike Shop. It’s part of a wonderful series of events from the Tool Bucket Library to help people connect, repair and succeed with the “stuff” of life.
- Earth Day Farmers Market in Chehalis: In addition to a fun city-wide cleanup this weekend in Chehalis, the Chehalis Farmers Market will be having a big event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Boistfort Street. They’ll have music, face painting, farm animals, a labyrinth, farmers with plant starts, and more.
- Stroll With Friends: In Centralia, my buddies at the Friends of the Seminary Hill Natural Area are holding their monthly “Stroll With Friends” hike this Saturday. The hike begins at 10 a.m. or show up early at 9:30 for free coffee and conversation. This is a great, easy hike with stops to enjoy nature. This monthly event normally happens on the third Saturday of every month, so mark your calendar for May 16, June 20 and every third Saturday in the months ahead.
- Screenagers: The Chehalis School District is hosting a free showing of "Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age." at the Midway Cinemas on Monday, April 27, at 7 p.m. This is a powerful, useful and inspiring movie that hits home for parents — while offering a practical path forward. Expect to have your heart broken a little at what has been lost by giving our kids phones too early — but you’ll walk away empowered to make the future better for your kid and family. This is a life-changing movie. Contact the Chehalis School District to reserve seats.
- A new look at the Centralia Tragedy: Historian and playwright Joan Kuder Bell will be unveiling “And Justice Wept,” a play based on her tireless review of the 1920 trial transcript of the men accused of murder in the Nov. 11. 1919 Armistice Day Tragedy. Bell will be in town for a table read of her new script at 2 p.m. at the Corbet Theater at Centralia College. Admission is free. I’m looking forward to this.
Whether or not you choose to put your devices down from Friday night to Sunday night, I encourage you to step out and take part in one or more of these great events — and let me know which ones I missed, or what is coming up later this year in your community!
But wait, there’s more
If you’d like to expand the love of real life, I’d invite you to take part in a similar but grander project: the annual Screen-Free Week project. It happens the first full week of May every year — which this year is May 4-10. Their website has a page of resources for families, schools and communities.
They also have a great idea for a weekly screen-free Saturday that includes a Bingo card with such ideas as:
- Sleep without your phone in your room
- Spend four hours outside in one day
- Offer to help a friend, family member or neighbor
- Start a journal by writing down what you would have posted online.
- Discover a new park.
Screens are easy but unsatisfying. Use them sparingly. Make them secondary to real life. You’ll be happy that you did — and just happier all around.
Brian Mittge is a community enthusiast who has written for The Chronicle since 2000 as a reporter, editor and columnist. He can be reached at brianmittge@hotmail.com.
