Food, Memory and Nostalgia: Collective Writing Workshop

What are the smells, tastes, and textures of food that brings you comfort? Who prepares and shares the food, and what remains after its consumption? What does nostalgia taste like for you?

Join huiyin zhou and Laura Dudu, co-directors of Chinese Artists and Organizers (CAO) Collective 离离草, for a collective writing workshop on food, memory, and kinship. Guided by queer feminist ethics of care, this workshop starts with a collective meditation and somatic grounding practice. Then, in response to individual and collective writing prompts, participants will have both private journaling time and the option to respond to other people’s writing on a large piece of calligraphy paper. The workshop will wrap up with optional sharing or reading, reflections and conversations about the foods so central to our lived experiences, identities, and memories.

This workshop is part of a SEEK Raleigh public art project, Ciba Punch 女拳手打糍粑. A participatory food-making performance, the Ciba Punch invites community members to punch steamed sticky rice into ciba 糍粑, a southern Chinese rice cake. It explores rage, grief, and love as a collective labor of transformation and healing.

The workshop will be mainly facilitated in English, but participants are encouraged to write/doodle/journal/converse in whichever language(s) they feel called to.

Artists request that participants wear a mask (KN95/KF94 or medical mask), and free masks will be available.

Tickets

While free to attend, space is limited. Registration is required.

This program is free thanks to Dix Park Conservancy donors.

Directions & Parking

This program takes place inside the Chapel.

From Western Boulevard, enter the park at Hunt Drive or S. Boylan Avenue.

From Lake Wheeler Road, enter the park at Goode Street or Umstead Drive.

Follow signage to the Chapel.

Parking is located in front of the Chapel and in Lot C.

On weekdays 6am – 5pm, do not park in spaces labeled NC DHHS Parking Only. On weekdays after 5pm and weekends, all lots are available for public parking. To locate public parking lots, visit the Dix Park Parking Map.

With the opening of Gipson Play Plaza in 2025, Dix Park is expecting a significant increase in visitors. This increase will likely affect parking availability throughout the entire park. Parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Nearby parking cannot be guaranteed.

Weather

If we need to postpone or cancel due to inclement weather, we will communicate through Eventbrite email. Staff has the right to cancel programs onsite if severe weather impacts the class or poses a safety risk.

Accessibility

Dix Park continues to strive to be accessible and welcoming for visitors, including those with disabilities. Currently, portions of Dix Park, including some areas where programs and events occur, have uneven surfaces and are not fully accessible. Accessibility is a primary focus for early park improvements and all future planning and development.

Parking: Accessible parking spaces are available in all lots.

Restrooms: Accessible temporary restrooms are located at the Big Field and Flowers Field. Indoor accessible restrooms are available at Gipson Play Plaza, under the Superintendent’s House at the Stone Houses and at the Chapel during hours of operation.

Programs and Events: Raleigh Parks Inclusion Services works with community members to support participation. To request a program modification based on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), please complete and submit the Accommodation Request Form or contact Inclusion Services staff at 919-996-2147 or ParksInclusion@raleighnc.gov.

Questions?

Contact Dix Park Staff at 919-996-3255 or events@dixpark.org

Liability Waiver

City of Raleigh - Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department

Release, Covenant Not To Sue, and Indemnity Agreement

I understand that participating in Dix Park Programs and Events (hereinafter “Program”) involves risk of injury. These risks include, but are not limited to, inclement weather, accidents while traveling, equipment problems or failures, contacts with and actions of other participants, spectators, or volunteers, slips/trips/falls, and musculoskeletal injuries, among others. I choose for myself, for my child, or for another participant who I am enrolling, to participate in the Program despite these and other risks.

By registering for this Program, I acknowledge all risks of injury, illness, and death, and property damage, and affirm that I have assumed all responsibility of injury, illness, death, and property damage relating in any way to the Program. I also agree for myself and for any child or other participant who I am registering herein to follow all rules and procedures that may apply to the Program and to follow the reasonable instructions of City employees and other supervisors of the Program. In return for the opportunity to participate in this Program, I agree for myself and for the child or other participant I am registering, and for our heirs, assigns, executors, and administrators to release, waive, and discharge any legal rights that any one of us may have to seek payment or relief of any kind from the City of Raleigh, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and the State of North Carolina, their employees or their agents for injury, illness, or death relating in any way to this Program.

If I am registering a minor for the Program, I agree that I am a parent, legal guardian, or am otherwise responsible for the minor whose application I am submitting and that I release, waive, and discharge any legal rights on behalf of that minor. If I am registering an adult, I agree that I am authorized to do so and do hereby release, waive, and discharge any legal rights on behalf of that adult participant. I, along with any participant I register herein, also agree not to sue the City of Raleigh, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, or the State of North Carolina, their employees, or their agents and agree to indemnify the same for any and all claims, damages, losses or expenses, including but not limited to medical expenses and attorney’s fees, if a suit is filed concerning an injury (to person or property), illness, or death to me or to any participant I am enrolling that relates to, or results from, participation in the Program.

I have read this waiver thoroughly and understand that by registering for this program I am waiving legal rights.

Photo Release

Pictures or video may be taken of participants at this Program or Event for use in Dix Park publicity. By registering for the Program, I hereby grant the City of Raleigh, Dix Park Conservancy, and program partners permission to use my likeness in a photograph, video, or other digital media (“photo”) in any and all of their publications, including web-based publications and digital platforms, without payment or other consideration. I hereby irrevocably authorize the City of Raleigh, the Dix Park Conservancy, and program partners to edit, alter, copy, exhibit, publish, or distribute these photos for any lawful purpose.

I have read this release thoroughly and understand that by registering for this program I am waiving legal rights. If I am registering a minor for the Program, I agree that I am a parent, legal guardian, or am otherwise responsible for the minor whose application I am submitting and that I affirm consent on behalf of that minor.

Email Consent

By Registering for this Program, I consent to receive emails from Dix Park and Dix Park Conservancy about park news, community engagement, opportunities to support the park, as well as upcoming programs and events. Participants can unsubscribe at any time.