Community Plate’s first story sharing supper in Portland was so popular the nonprofit has opened registration for a second round of “Stews & Stories” on Feb. 27.

More than 80 guests at the Jan. 30 supper at Mechanics’ Hall unpacked charcuterie board makings and carried in towel-wrapped slow cookers of baked beans and soups, baskets of fresh-baked bread, bowls of slaws and potato salads, and tins of cookies and cakes. Over the next three hours, they got to know each other.

“It’s such a simple idea but so impactful both in the one-on-one conversations over the meal and then also listening to the stories people share,” observed Sara Eddy of Portland. “It’s a meaningful way to gather people.”

Since Karl Schatz and Margaret Hathaway of Gray founded Community Plate in 2023, the nonprofit has hosted 27 storytelling suppers in 12 Maine counties, with Knox, Waldo, Hancock, and Aroostook counties on the wish list for 2025. The goal is simple: to bring people together and foster community.

“This is a really big potluck,” Schatz said, looking over three long tables set with tablecloths and an eclectic mix of reclaimed china. “We’re going around the state working with community partners to put on these public suppers. They are always either free or pay-what-you-can because we feel that it’s important that community not have economic barriers.”

Mechanics’ Hall Board Chair Bill Stauffer warmed up the audience with a story he wrote that afternoon in which he imagined a soldier receiving a letter from home on his way up to the Hall’s clerestory, which served as a mess hall during the Civil War.

“Sharing a story and sharing a meal together is a modest gesture that creates an outsized impact,” said Stauffer said. “I think the people who walked these halls 150 years ago would think this is so cool.”

Gail Gross, a Community Plate storytelling workshop participant from Brunswick, debuted a tribute to her late mother. “I can still remember the day that I opened up the very last jar of stewed tomatoes that she put up,” she said. “For the last time, I made her homemade chili. Ground beef, browned in a pan, a can of dark red kidney beans, and a jar of stewed tomatoes cooked into a mélange and served over Minute rice. I can still conjure that taste.”

Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association staff member Timothy Boston came to the dinner because he hopes to collaborate with Community Plate on an organic supper. But, when a story sharing slot unexpectedly opened up, he shared a piece titled “A Love Letter” that speaks to the vulnerability of relationships. “We haven’t said ‘I love you,’ but I think we do,” he said. “Love has welled up inside me on more than one occasion, but it’s not a word one should throw away.”

Bill Hinderer, a veteran from Peak’s Island, kept the supper audience spellbound with a Vietnam story about, of all things, the miracle of receiving a Valentine’s Day card from his wife. “Just for a moment, there was no roar of diesel or bark of Howitzers, just Neil Diamond singing a sappy love long,” he said. “And just for a moment, there was no stench of cordite or diesel exhaust, just the aroma of Miss Dior. And just for a moment, there was no dirt brown and Army green, just a bright red Valentine’s heart on a pure white card. And just for a moment, there was no war.”

Bryan Franco, a Brunswick resident with a book of poetry titled “Everything I Think Is All in My Mind,” shared an ode to brisket he called “Why the Greek Gods Hired Jewish Mothers as Personal Chefs.”

“This,” he said, his arm sweeping around the historic ballroom, “takes two things I love — being able to read or tell stories and sitting down to eat together — and creates community.”

Upcoming Community Plate story sharing events and partner collaborations include:

• Feb. 13, “Unexpected Love” storytelling dessert potluck with The Corner, 168 Lisbon St., Lewiston, 7-9 p.m.
• Feb. 27, “Stews & Stories” at Mechanics’ Hall, 519 Congress St., Portland, 5:30-8:30 p.m.
• March 9, “Spring Forward” story sharing supper at The Community Kitchen Space, 35 Cottage St., Norway, 5:30-8:30 p.m.
• March 14, “Pi(e) Day” pie-themed potluck at Wolfe’s Neck Center, Freeport, 5:30-8:30 p.m.
• March 22, “Sappily Ever After” storytelling supper at Wescustogo Hall, North Yarmouth, with Prince Memorial Library, 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Registration is at communityplate.me.

Bonus: If you wish you caught Hinderer’s Vietnam storytelling, he’s offering a free performance called “It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times” at Peace Gallery, 112 Main St., Damariscotta on Feb. 15 at 2 p.m.

Amy Paradysz is a freelance writer and photographer based in Scarborough. She can be reached at amyparadysz@gmail.com.