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Kava Culture New York Kava Jam

Would you attend a New York Kava Jam?

  • Total voters
    11
KavaKenji

KavaKenji

Kava Curious
I need your help!

My Story

I need your help in growing the Kava culture in my hometown of New York. Here's my story. My name is Kenji and in late 2011 I chose to pack up my things and backpack through Europe. My journey was inspired by two things: the first, a musician by the name of Ryuichi Sakamoto (great music to play while drinking kava) who was touring through Europe and second, a craving to find peace to offset the stressful lifestyle and fast paced city of New York. My job was a grind and my friendships were anchored on going out and getting drunk in an attempt to ease my anxiety. During my journey in going from hostel to hostel in Europe an Australian traveler put me on to knowledge of our wondrous root, KAVA, and my life changed forever! After about a month on the road I made my way back to New York with a new outlook from my travels, beginning a quest to discover what kava was all about. As a result, I took my last drink of alcohol on January 5, 2012 - since then I completely replaced my alcohol habit with a commitment to kava. One of the best decisions of my life! This brings me to the title of this thread.

Because of my life experience with kava I would like to introduce more people to the peaceful powers of the root here in my hometown of New York! My palate has touched many of the dry roots, instants, candies, extracts, and even tinctures and capsules. I have made the pilgrimage to Judd's Bula Kava House in Portland, introduced kava to friends during house parties in New York, and shared kava with friends in Utah. My dream is to begin growing the kava culture in New York because of the high levels of stress people have to deal with and also because it is such a big city that if people here learn to love kava like we do that it can possibly create a wave of interest that allows for kava communities around the U.S. to thrive. Makes sense, right?

New York Kava Jam is where I need your help! I have a few ideas that may work but since this is Kava Forums I bet there are some people who would want to contribute or even attend!

New York Kava Jam Experience

Kava
  • My preference is to Noble dry root kavas that come from Vanuatu but I am open to all that can be experienced in a group setting. I was thinking of starting out with a mix of heady and body. Any suggestions?
Ceremony
  • I have a special ceremony that I have been working on. You'll have to attend a jam to see :)
People
  • My professional background is in building communities - online and in real life. I take this very seriously. Curation will be of the utmost importance. Trust me. I prefer an intimate group when drinking kava - 10 people max.
Music
  • We all love good music. The idea with music for kava jam is to feature tunes that feel spiritual and set a mood for the kava to talk to you and through you. I'd love song or music genre suggestions.
Food
  • The food will be homemade gluten free desserts and snacks, yum! I love flavor and I can attest that you will not be disappointed.
Ambiance
  • Imagine a modern take on the nakamal that accounts for the city environment and the cooler autumn and winter weather. Cozy and clean is what I am going for here.
Location
  • The first NYKJ will be in my home, I know, crazy. But I really want to home grow this gathering. I see it traveling throughout NY by the spring time. I am open to new hosts!
Time
  • 3 - 4 hours so that there is time for arrival, introduction to how to respect kava, choosing of kava, and enjoyment of the ambiance. What do you think about the duration? Good? Less? More?
Exchange
  • Of course, I am doing it for the love. But I do want people who love kava or are new to kava to walk away with something they can use or share with friends. I was thinking of buying select kava products wholesale and having and selling after events for those that can't get enough!

Thanks for listening root heads and n00bs. We are all in this together. One day the world will be krunk and live in peace.

We are the way and the wayfarers!
 
D

Deleted User01

Welcome to the forum KavaKenji. That is a noble endeavor you are trying to put together. There have been some New Yorkers posting here and I think one was trying to open a Kava Bar. If we could find that thread and hook you up with him then I think you might have another hand to help you. I totally agree that Kava would be perfect in New York. It is so much nicer to go to your stressful job feeling relaxed and with a clear mind. I love alcohol but it in the long run it has a negative result. Hangovers, fitful sleep, weight gain, and on and on.
 
Vekta

Vekta

Notorious Lightweight
Review Maestro
For a "City that never sleeps" ya darn tootin they need a kava event! What cha think is going ta happen if you never sleep?Sheesh! :woot:

If i wasn't a broke college student with no job I'd go. I know a person or two in the new your area that I'd try to convince to come to.
 
HeadHodge

HeadHodge

Bula To Eternity
Don't know if this helps, but at our annual Kavacon on my Kavamaran I was sharing some shells with @kavadude and for some reason I said "this is the first time I've consumed kava with another person" and he replied something like "come to think of it, me to". I thought it turned out pretty well. It was fun and relaxing for me and would definitely do it again. @nemo is the only one I know for sure who socializes a lot with other kava drinkers.
 
TheKavaSociety

TheKavaSociety

New Zealand
Kava Vendor
Yep, I can confirm what @Deleted User01 wrote. I run a small (but growing) kava club. Initially it was just me and a couple of colleagues who would meet up to try different kavas after work. It has now grown to be more like a kava appreciation association/social club. We have quite a lot of members and even more people willing to join. We meet once or twice a week, drink different kavas, eat some good and light food, listen to some music and discuss everything from politics to tv series. We have also become a bit more ambitious and are now aiming also at spreading the knowledge about good kavas and kava culture. The thing is though that in NZ pretty much everybody has heard of kava and many people have tried it while travelling around the Pacific. So it is relatively easy to make people interested to join us. In fact, there are now more people willing to join us that I am willing to accept due to logistical issues.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
KavaKenji

KavaKenji

Kava Curious
Deleted User01 said:
Welcome to the forum KavaKenji. That is a noble endeavor you are trying to put together. There have been some New Yorkers posting here and I think one was trying to open a Kava Bar. If we could find that thread and hook you up with him then I think you might have another hand to help you. I totally agree that Kava would be perfect in New York. It is so much nicer to go to your stressful job feeling relaxed and with a clear mind. I love alcohol but it in the long run it has a negative result. Hangovers, fitful sleep, weight gain, and on and on.
Click to expand...
I am humbled. I will connect with the other New Yorkers on the forums. I owe KingKava a call about the bar he wants to open. Peace is the unshakeable relaxation that can not be interrupted by external factors like a stressful job. Kava helps get into this peaceful state of mind. What kava would you recommend for the kava jam?
 
KavaKenji

KavaKenji

Kava Curious
Doobie Doo said:
@KavaKenji: Interesting idea. Never actually drunk Kava in a social setting, so I can understand the inspiration for this.
Click to expand...
HeadHodge said:
Don't know if this helps, but at our annual Kavacon on my Kavamaran I was sharing some shells with @kavadude and for some reason I said "this is the first time I've consumed kava with another person" and he replied something like "come to think of it, me to". I thought it turned out pretty well. It was fun and relaxing for me and would definitely do it again. @nemo is the only one I know for sure who socializes a lot with other kava drinkers.
Click to expand...
There are many people (including myself) who drink kava alone. I have found that my experience is amplified when I have company, of course, there are times you just want to meditate on the kava in isolation but life is about options. What kava do you guys recommend for sharing with others?
 
KavaKenji

KavaKenji

Kava Curious
Vekta said:
For a "City that never sleeps" ya darn tootin they need a kava event! What cha think is going ta happen if you never sleep?Sheesh! :woot:

If i wasn't a broke college student with no job I'd go. I know a person or two in the new your area that I'd try to convince to come to.
Click to expand...
Where are you based? What if it was a kava potluck and all you had to do was show up?
 
KavaKenji

KavaKenji

Kava Curious
Henry G. said:
Yep, I can confirm what @Deleted User01 wrote. I run a small (but growing) kava club. Initially it was just me and a couple of colleagues who would meet up to try different kavas after work. It has now grown to be more like a kava appreciation association/social club. We have quite a lot of members and even more people willing to join. We meet once or twice a week, drink different kavas, eat some good and light food, listen to some music and discuss everything from politics to tv series. We have also become a bit more ambitious and are now aiming also at spreading the knowledge about good kavas and kava culture. The thing is though that in NZ pretty much everybody has heard of kava and many people have tried it while travelling around the Pacific. So it is relatively easy to make people interested to join us. In fact, there are now more people willing to join us that I am willing to accept due to logistical issues.
Click to expand...
I'd like to learn more.
 
D

Deactivated Account

I'm in NY in feb for about 10 days (I've never seen snow so it better damned well be cold) would love to know if I can buy kava there at a shop.
 
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