Yellow leaders Stephanie Walters and Anita Patel speak at CreativeMornings’ October meeting at The Garage VB. Courtesy of CreativeMornings Virginia Beach
By Jim Roberts
Kate Pittman, the executive director of the ViBe Creative District in Virginia Beach, offered a friendly warning at the beginning of CreativeMornings’ October meeting: “This is like church,” she said. “Turn your program over!”
Then Rachel Jaffe, one of the event’s volunteers, led the 40-some participants in a choral reading of the CreativeMornings Manifesto:
“Everyone is creative.
“A creative life requires bravery and action, honesty and hard work. We are here to support you, celebrate with you, and encourage you to make the things you love.
“We believe in the power of community. We believe in giving a damn. We believe in face-to-face connections, in learning from others, in hugs and high fives.
“We bring together people who are driven by passion and purpose, confident that they will inspire one another, and inspire change in neighborhoods and cities around the world.
“Everyone is welcome.”
For the next 40 minutes, guest speakers from Yellow, Pharrell Williams’ educational non-profit, talked about their challenges and triumphs as creatives and waxed philosophic on CreativeMornings’ October theme: vision.
“Don’t let your job or your title define who you are,” Stephanie Walters, Yellow’s director of engagement and communications, said. “I think sometimes we get so attached to those things … but you are somebody outside of that. If there is a vision that you want to do, do it.”
Anita Patel, Yellow’s special projects lead, added: “My takeaway would be to not compromise. … Not compromising your creativity is really important because it speaks to who you are. Creativity is character—it’s who we are. And it’s an act of love.”
CreativeMornings, founded in 2008 in Brooklyn, touts itself as “the world’s largest face-to-face creative community—a global breakfast lecture series serving local creative communities in over 200 cities.”
Pittman established the Virginia Beach chapter in 2023 with Robert Fiveash from BrandFuel and Tessa Hall Duquette from The Garage VB, which hosts the meetings for now but may soon be too small for the quickly growing audience.
Pittman said the success in first year has been validating.
“We knew this was something that was going to be exciting and a real convening authority in the ViBe District,” she said. “Having something like this that brings people together once a month just to see each other, to give those hugs and high fives … it’s a real unique opportunity for the ViBe District and even people from other cities in Hamptons Roads.”
Almost as important as the creative aspect of each meeting is the morning element. Because the meetings start at 8:30 a.m., coffee and breakfast are an essential part of the experience.
“It’s really important,” Pittman said, “for people to come and have that breaking bread mentality of sharing a cup of coffee and having a little snack with people as they talk and get to know each other and then enjoy these amazing speakers.”
Arthur Klepchukov attended for the first time in October.
“I first heard about CM in San Francisco, where I lived and they had a vibrant scene of professional events,” he recalled. “I love the idea of starting the morning with people and a jolt of energy and ideas. It’s the same reason why I frequent coffee shops as places to work and host my own creative writing meetups. I enjoyed the space, coffee and company of the first meeting. Happy to go again!”
Pittman said CreativeMornings’ growth over the last year is a reflection of the region’s “cultural capital.”
“We are so rich in these amazing creative entrepreneurs and these amazing cultural professionals,” she said, “but we’re not doing enough to really promote and encourage people to highlight that as an asset of our region. So I hope CreativeMornings can be a platform for that.”
Jim Roberts worked at two daily newspapers before turning to public relations and corporate communications. He freelances for Veer Magazine, the Princess Anne Independent News and other local publications.
