In the Beginning...

PLC was created in Roanoke, Virginia in the end of 2008 by a couple of friends. There was Dan, who was interested in anarchist and subversive literature and groups, and Chewy, who was interested in being productive with friends and having his friends learn more about each other. Q was the social butterfly (and he will thank me for describing him as such). Together, they were tired of the same old bar, the same old drink, same old conversation. And so the Porchlight Collective was started. Though the focus remains slightly fuzzy, it has grown into a core group, slowly expanding and contracting throughout each season. Below is a brief summary of the events that took place in our first year:

In December 2008 the first PLC meeting took place at Dan and Julie's house. It was a comfort food potluck and then the group had a discussion about what PLC should be and future events. There was surprisingly a number of people that showed up and were interested.

In early 2009 the first "public" event took place. It was a music/art show featuring Red Clay River as the band and friends from Richmond, Fred and Katie Davis from Salvation Tattoo, showcasing prints of paintings, drawings, and wood etchings. The event took place at the Water Heater in Roanoke, was a lot of fun, and a big success.

In March 2009 Marcus and Kait gave a food demonstration involving Mexican entrees and vegan desserts. (It was yummy!)

In May 2009 Chewy held a Cinco de Mayo themed party. Again, it was a potluck (Mexican food of course) and there was a pinata and a tequila worm. Ok, this one was mainly a Mexican themed party, but it was fun and different than our regular.

In June 2009 Shaun and Kyle taught us about general car maintenance and up keep. Hobo hot pots were made on the grill at Shaun and Rebekah's apartment.

In late June a small group of PLCers took a day trip to Floyd,VA for a festival and then did a wine tasting at Chateau Morrisette.

In August 2009 we held a chili cook-off. We had SO MUCH good food.... it was awesome, with lots of variety. Veggie chili, buffalo chili, vegan, and black bean.... it was some good eatin'.

In October 2009 we had Q and Aaron teach us how to screen print. We screen printed shirts, jackets, and patches with PLC logos.

In November 2009, Shaun organized our first service event, which was serving food at the Roanoke Rescue Mission. Eight PLC members served dinner to shelter residents, residents in the recovery program, and homeless men and women off the streets.

In December 2009 we had a one year celebration home cookin' potluck at Ariel's house. We ate some fabulous food and then discussed what worked for us in the past year and ideas for future events.