Host Civic Saturdays

Civic Saturday is a spirited and ritualized gathering for friends and strangers to strengthen a sense of community.

A large group standing and singing along with a person playing the guitar in the front of the room.

We need ways to build trust, restore civic faith, and move through the challenges of feeling disappointed, scared, angry, checked out, or even hopeless and powerless to impact our communities or society. Many people lack places to connect and reflect on the opportunities, challenges, and responsibilities we need to embrace in public life.

Civic Saturdays are an antidote that spark inspiration, relationship-building, and meaning-making. They’re ways of gathering that bring together friends and strangers to strengthen a sense of community by exploring the values, practices, challenges, and benefits of being contributing members of society.

What happens at Civic Saturday?

On Saturdays (or really, any day of the week!) people share poetry, sing songs out loud together, read resonant and provocative civic texts, and take in what we call a civic sermon. If these elements sound familiar, it’s because Civic Saturday is designed as a civic analogue to a faith gathering. We recognize the power of coming together in this way — with a sense of ritual and structure — in service of deepening connectedness and belief. In this case, belief in democracy.

A person holding a printed program and singing. The flavor of gatherings vary based on what’s needed in a given place…

A joyful space to connect with neighbors and meet new faces
A forum for speaking honestly about what’s pulling the community apart — and what can bring folks together
A structure for reflecting on our role as citizens and what that role asks of us

Whether a civic starting point, a refueling station, a spot for sense-making or celebration, Civic Saturdays help break down a sense of separateness and connect our hearts, inviting us to consider what it truly means to “live like a citizen” — and to commit to doing so, together.

How can I host my own?

We’ve been equipping people around the nation to adopt and adapt this model for gathering since 2018 — and we’re excited that you’re interested in joining the movement!

A bit of history… In 2016, CU co-founders Eric Liu and Jená Cane hosted the first Civic Saturday gathering in a local bookstore in Seattle. After a seismic election, they knew the community needed a place to process, reflect, and figure out what to do next. These gatherings quickly became a regular civic ritual – and over the years, we’ve trained more than 300 civic catalysts to adopt and adapt the model to their own communities through the Civic Saturday Fellowship. From coast to coast, they’re orchestrating these gatherings in their own communities in ways that are authentic to the real people and textured places they’re part of.

Today… While we’re not currently offering our Fellowship, we’re excited to more widely circulate our Civic Saturday Planning Guidebook that leads you through the planning process. From reflection on what your community needs, to building your team, to planning your promotion, this resource walks you through all the steps. Fill out the form below to get the link to your very own guidebook!

How can I get more familiar with Civic Saturdays?

Watch gatherings on YouTube — explore our playlists of gatherings we have hosted — or those hosted by other motivated Americans across the country!

Explore other cities’ gatherings — see how Civic Saturdays have come to life in Akron, OH, at a library in Thornton, CO, and across the state of Nebraska.

Explore our blog posts full of examples and advice — click through below!