Join After Hours [AH]
The Idea:
The idea of After Hours is to provide open space and time to do as you please (within reason), solo or with friends. In addition to providing the space, we work to find resources and opportunities for members, centralizing a whole lot of information that can be hard to find otherwise. We also collaborate with local organizations and individuals to put on low- or no- cost programming that aligns with member interest.
Bring what you expect to find – a community garden
Involvement in After Hours is meant to be like a community garden. The community garden provides the plots for gardeners to use and general maintenance, but ultimately it’s the gardeners who choose how often they show up to tend that garden and what they grow.
We provide the space and the opportunity, and invite you to show up, engage, and experiment. You should not expect to get much out of coming if you only plan to consume. Commit to creating and exchanging, whatever that means to you. Admittedly, it takes time, energy and a bit of courage, but we counter with “Why not?”. Come f**k around and find out.
Conduct:
To create a space where everyone can explore and have fun, we all need to contribute. We expect members to model curiosity, respect, and good will and we ask that everyone enter the space with good intentions and positive vibes.
Beyond those basics, how you choose to show up and take up space is entirely up to you.
[AH] Membership FAQ
Why? Because young people need spaces where they can exist that are uniquely theirs. We welcome our greater community to get involved as a mentor or program leader — see “Support” page
TBA… Eventually, we will have an official membership structure with sliding scale dues but until then, we invite you to just show up on a Wednesday and check us out.
Access to the space and equipment needed to f**k around and find out. Below you will find our current offerings but we have lots of exciting ideas about what perks an After Hours membership might eventually include (you can chat with us if you’d like to know more).
A physical place to gather, work, make things, hang out, hold meetings, etc.
Our home base is Lower Cape TV (LCTV).
LCTV is a community access television station housed in a 1,700 sq ft facility just a 10 minute walk from downtown Orleans. The large central space, originally designed for the printing press for The Cape Codder, now serves as flexible space that can be used for an endless number of activities.
Upstairs, there’s a small lounge area, office and half-kitchen. From the building’s other past life as Fitness Revolution Gym, there’s a yoga studio on the main floor that doubles as a conference room. The space also boasts a fully-equipped broadcasting studio, editing room, and audio recording booth (not great for music, but we know a guy).
Lower Cape TV opens its doors to us every Wednesday night which we use to do all kinds of fun things!
Equipment, tools, knowledge, practical support
Useful resources are everywhere. Unfortunately, “everywhere” isn’t a particularly convenient place to look…
Resources reach us through a mess of different channels. They’re scattered between organizations, businesses, newsletters, brochures, websites, social media, bulletin boards, and people who just happen to know about them. Some find their way to us. A lot don’t.
Our feeds are good at figuring out what we want to consume, but not always what we don’t know what to look for. The people offering useful resources are often too busy doing the work to make sure we know about them.
Often, the resource already exists. What’s missing is the connection.
After Hours brings resources together in one place—and, importantly, a real place. Things to read, use, borrow, or learn from. People to ask. Some you might have been looking for, others you might not have known existed.
Have a resource you’d like to share? Let us know!
info@afterhours-ah.com
Programs of all types, low- or no- cost, driven by member interest
We host programming that aligns with the interests of our members and supports the growth of young people.
From practical to whimsical, very few kinds of programming are off the table (mainly those involving power tools).
We encourage and support members in organizing or leading their own programming by putting them in touch with our community partners, connecting them to local resources, and providing the space to meet.
After Hours organizes programming throughout the year as volunteer time and energy allow.
Why
We’re doing this for a lot of reasons but most simply put, we want to take some space back and give ourselves the opportunity to explore.
The idea for After Hours came from a personal desire to connect with people my age in a space that was more flexible, affordable, and intentional than the convenient spaces available on Cape Cod (namely bars, beaches and coffee shops). I was tired of the stark divides between places where I could meet my social needs, engage in learning, and develop professionally. It felt to me that there was an unnatural separation between work and leisure, which implied that we were supposed to meet with others to play but were meant to grow alone.
After Hours is my response. A vision for a high-quality gathering space where connection happens through engagement in shared interests, collaboration on projects, and community-lead programming – designed for people to grow together (while having fun too).
I returned to Cape Cod to be a caregiver, a path I would not have chosen for myself. While I couldn’t change the circumstances that brought me home, I decided I did have a choice about how I would spend my time here.
I decided that I wanted more. More chances to explore, to challenge, to grow, to fail, to win, to question, to connect, and ultimately, to enjoy. I want it for me and I want it for anyone else who’s decided they want more too.
So,
After Hours. It’s easy, it’s fun, it’s more.
xx Emma