The Longest Table 2024
Friday, September 27
5 pm: social hour
6 pm: dinner
Howard Community College | Rouse Company Foundation Building
Purchase tickets

Everyone is welcome at our table.

Since 2017, Howard County Library System, in partnership with Howard Community College, has produced this event bringing people together for dinner and powerful conversations about our community. Through the support of sponsors, a number of free tickets* are available for high school and college students.

The Longest Table is a communal meal designed to build new relationships, encourage conversations, and increase civic engagement. It begins with a social hour, then guests are asked to sit at a table with people they don’t already know, helping to create a wide variety of experiences and ideas at each table. Using provided discussion questions, table hosts facilitate conversations around substantive issues and community building. 

Gathering for meals is a beloved custom around the world. And no matter our differences – where we grew up, how much money we have, or the color of our skin – we all need to feel welcome and included. When we eat together, we connect and share in the joy of being. Our need to be seen, known, and belong is satisfied. In a world of disconnection, there is no more powerful place than the shared meal.

Everyone, high school age and up, is welcome.

LOCATION

• The dinner will be held inside the Rouse Company Foundation (RCF) building in the cafe on the first floor. Social hour will be held on the patio outside the cafe, weather permitting (indoors in case of inclement weather).
• Free parking is available on campus.

MENU (forthcoming)

SPONSORS

• Platinum: Friends & Foundation of Howard County Library System
• Gold: Columbia Association
• Silver: Howard Hughes Corporation
• In-Kind: Howard Community College

*Want to join but that’s not in the budget right now? Email communityengagement@hclibrary.org to get free tickets.