BROWNSTONE SUPPER CLUBS
So many civic clubs were shattered during the lockdown mandate period, with friendships and even families torn apart. A part of the work of Brownstone Institute is sponsoring local supper clubs for discussion and friendship. These supper clubs have been essential in reconstituting relationships.
Starting in the depth of the Covid crisis, these clubs have sponsored 70-plus presentations in four cities with other clubs starting. These are attended by people from all walks of life, from academic scientists to business professionals to average folks. They can be for anywhere from 15 to 115 people depending on who signs up.
Purpose
The main goal of the supper clubs is the cultivation of community. The club should ideally meet monthly to develop the community. There should be plenty of time for socializing and talking. The speaker is nice but this is not a pay-for-entertainment event. Ideally, it should be able to function even without a speaker but rather just the host facilitating discussion.
Venue
Finding the right venue is absolutely crucial. Supper clubs can be anywhere between 15 and 115 and attendance will slide up and down again, mostly beginning slowly and growing by word of mouth. The venues have to be fine with this. They cannot ask for up-front payment or a minimum that demands maximum attendance.
It is up to the host to find the right venue, and negotiate costs with the venue manager, staying within the Brownstone budget. Ticket cost target should be approximately 3.5% below the price per head charged by the venue in order to offset Brownstone’s credit card fee per ticket. For example, if a ticket is $50, the venue cost inclusive of tax and tip should be no more than $48.25. Ideally the space is quiet and the food good.
We try to keep tickets at $50-60 range including food and beer and wine. That’s not easy but restaurants with spaces will go for it because it is a monthly and expected revenue stream that only grows their customer base. We’ve usually found that Mexican, Chinese, and Italian restaurants seem best for this.
Audio and Visuals
The best solution for any situation is to have two audio speakers placed in the room. Don’t stand in front of an audio speaker with a microphone. The microphone/presenter should be outside or behind the path of sound. Place any audio speaker as high as possible so there is nothing blocking the sound. Make sure the microphone is either wireless or has a long enough cord for the presenter to have some freedom to move around.
The presentation can be recorded if the speaker agrees. Not everyone wants their image on the Internet so organizers have to be sensitive to such matters.
Speakers and Topics
Speakers can be famous or not, local or not. We don’t usually cover travel, however. They cannot use slides or Powerpoint. Notes are fine but no speeches read from a podium. The topics can be anything covered in the pages of Brownstone Journal. Most Brownstonians were forged in the fires of lockdowns and the resulting lessons learned thereby.
Among the past speakers: Gigi Foster, Paul Frijters, Pierre Kory, Harvey Risch, Debbie Lerman, Bobbie Anne Cox, Tom Harrington, Aaron Day, Meryl Nass, Josh Stylman, Joe Nocera, Tiffany Justice, Mary Holland, Aaron Kheriaty, Chris Martenson, Tracy Thurman, Sheila Matthew-Gallo, Diane Soucy, Leslie Manookian, Amy Wax, Jeffrey Tucker, Robert Malone, Toby Rogers, Mark Oshinskie, John Beaudoin, Sarah Thompson, Charles Eisenstein, David Stockman, Larry Howard, Brooke Miller, Laura Delano, Steven Templeton, Brad Kershner, David Zweig, Bret Swanson, Jan Jekielek, Bret Weinstein, Retsef Levi, Kevin McKernan, Jessica Rose, Kim Witczak, Colin Elliott, Jeff Cohen, and Jackie Schegel.
Schedule
Supper Clubs typically meet on the same day each month (for example, every third Wednesday) and begin at 5:30 or 6:00 and last until 8:45 or 9:00 PM. A typical format is an hour of talking and mixing around followed by dinner, the speaker’s talk, and Q&A. The host gives announcements – perhaps early in the evening – and introduces the speaker and sets the tone for a convivial evening with great discourse. We don’t usually check tickets but that can be done. Nametags people fill out on their own.
Finances
The host usually pays the bill followed by a reimbursement the following day. If the restaurant allows it, Brownstone can also pay the next day with a credit card.
Promotion
Brownstone will list the event, collect money, and take care of all registrations, cancellations, and waiting lists. We will share event attendees with you after and you can maintain a list or we can do that too and send out event emails from our own email server. The event is promoted in our Monday email. The host is free to promote via their socials, email and through other channels locally.
Management
Brownstone has a slack channel dedicated to its supper clubs in which questions and discussion about all manner of club logistics takes place. We are a community and you can take advantage of this support.