Global Dinner Party Participation Kit

WHY IT MATTERS?

Besides being a fabulous read, this book will give scholarships to some wonderful kids from the slums in New Delhi. 100% of the author royalties are being donated to send them to vocational schools so they have a chance at a different life. (I have actually met some of the early recipients.  rg) So far, $40,000 has been sent through a Rotary Club in Maryland to a Rotary in New Delhi who will vet and mentor the students. Imagine how many children’s lives we can help change together by buying books, spreading the word, and hosting dinner parties! Each party is important, and hundreds will attract media attention. So please, join us.

GETTING STARTED

• RSVP on the Female Nomad Fan Page on  (www.facebook.com/femalenomad). This is where we are trying to catalog all the participants and experiences. Please write the following information on the wall when you RSVP:
• Where you live
• How many people you are inviting to the party
• Any interesting details about the night like a theme, special guests, the recipes you are cooking (from the book and your own), and anything else you’d like to add.
• If you don’t have a Facebook account, please RSVP by email instead and send the above information to femalenomad@gmail.com.

PLANNING THE DINNER PARTY

• INVITE your guests as soon as possible.
• BUY BOOKS: Order your book right away and ask each guest to purchase a Female Nomad and Friends book.
• Encourage your guests to READ the stories before the dinner party. If your book doesn’t arrive in time (outside the     U.S. this may happen), you can READ STORY EXCERPTS and download a PDF of the OPENING CHAPTER. Then just have guests think about their own travel stories of connecting in the world.
• CHOOSE the RECIPES: Ask each guest to choose a recipe from the book to bring it to the party (it’s not required; we just think it would be fun!) or the host can prepare everything if preferred. You can supplement the dinner with your own favorite recipes. If you don’t get the book in time, go to the notes page on FACEBOOK or Rita’s BLOG (www.ritagoldengelman.com) where we have posted five recipes, and then add your own travel inspired favorites.
• SHARE your party planning, insights, favorite Female Nomad and Friends stories and recipes with others around the world on FACEBOOK. If you’re not on Facebook, send email with your thoughts to Rita at femalenomad@gmail.com. She can post it for you… on Facebook and on her site.
• MAKE SURE you have a camera and video camcorder to record the event! The host also might want to think about when the best time would be to take a group photo and video. Try putting the camcorder on a tripod so all guests including the host are in the photos and video clip.

IDEAS FOR MAKING THE PARTY FUN! (We know you can’t do it all and if you’d rather just wing it, that’s great too. It’s your party!)

• SHARE dishes and stories. If you’ve asked guests to prepare a recipe – whether from the book or one of their own – ask people to introduce their dish and explain why they chose to bring it to the Global Dinner Party.
• START A DISCUSSION with your guests to make this an interesting evening of good conversation and fun. Here are some ideas:
• Common themes throughout Female Nomad and Friends (based on the book’s Reading Group Guide found on page 333).
• Trust: overcoming fear, playing safe vs. exploring the unknown and trusting strangers.
• Taking risks: the positive and negative sides and what you have learned.
• Risks in the kitchen: creativity/experimentation, successes/failures, and trying new foods.
• Adventure: which stories made you laugh, cry; do you have an unusual travel adventure of your own to share with guests?
• Other possible discussion questions:
• How does food help you connect with people – at your party and in your lives?
• What are your favorite stories and recipes from Female Nomad and Friends and why? What memories or experiences did they evoke in you?
• What does it mean to you to make a difference in children’s lives?
• What are interesting and unexpected connections you’ve made in your life with people and places.
• If you had the means right now to embark on a new travel adventure, what would it be?
• How can you find adventure and connection right in your own backyard?
• Come up with your own discussion topics in the moment or plan ahead.
• Host could set up conversations by having each dinner guest take turns randomly taking a slip of paper out of a bowl (set on the table or put under their placemat before their arrival) with a question, and start a discussion based on what the slip of paper says (a question, a word, a quote from the book, etc.). If you don’t get to all of them, that’s perfectly okay.
• Other party considerations:
• Invite musical guests to bring their instruments, or the host can select an eclectic mix of international, background music to play to create a festive atmosphere.
• Invite guests to bring 1 or 2 snapshots (not albums!) of one of their favorite travel adventures and spend a few minutes sharing the story behind the photo(s).
• Host can encourage anyone with an ethnic costume or accessory to wear it and tell the story behind it, where it came from, or who gave it to them and why.

RECORDING THE PARTY AND CONNECTING WITH OTHERS

• CREATE a VIDEO during the party that captures Connecting Through Food and any highlights from your party. Be creative and have fun! We’d love to see as many videos as possible!
• A few criteria:
• Video should not exceed 4 minutes edited
• Include a sweep of the attendees (video must include host and/or guests if you want us to post it on the Female Nomad FACEBOOK site)
• Tell us where you are and give us a sense of the location
• Show us the spread of food
• Film the video during the party (it would be great if the host or a guest could narrate a quick intro to the party)
• An optional idea:
• Besides an overview scan of the party and table of foods, video tape each guest individually making a 15-30 second statement about the dish they brought, the book, the Global Dinner Party, their experience, etc.
• TAKE PICTURES that capture your fun and connections throughout the night! We hope you’ll share these with us too!
• Send them to us that night if you want! You can either email photos directly to Rita at femalenomad@gmail.com or create your own Global Dinner Party photo album on Facebook and send a personal message to Rita Golden Gelman on Facebook to share your album with her.  
• Either way, please let us know the location of the party and who the host is, and make sure to give us permission to repost some of the images onto the Female Nomad Fan Page on Facebook and Rita’s blog site if that’s okay with you.
• SPREAD the word that night about your Global Dinner Party experiences and about Female Nomad and Friends through blogs, Facebook, tweets, and more! Remember to hashtag your dinner party tweets with #femalenomad so we can follow your event online.
• SHARE dinner party anecdotes, insights, favorite Female Nomad and Friends stories and recipes with others around the world in the moment on the Female Nomad Fan Page on Facebook or email Rita your thoughts at femalenomad@gmail.com.

WHAT TO DO AFTER THE EVENT

• SPREAD the word about your Global Dinner Party experiences and about Female Nomad and Friends through blogs, Facebook, tweets, and more!
• SHARE dinner party anecdotes, insights, favorite Female Nomad and Friends stories and recipes with others around the world on FACEBOOK or email Rita your thoughts at femalenomad@gmail.com.
• SHARE YOUR VIDEOS
• Remember to edit your videos so it doesn’t exceed 4 minutes in length!
• Optional: Create a text intro to the video with the title Female Nomad and Friends Global Dinner Party, the name of host, the location of the party, and the date, June 18, 2010.
• Optional: If guests shown on the video didn’t mention their name, you can add text to display guest’s name when editing the video clip.
• The dinner party host or at least one of the guests will need to create a YouTube account, if you don't already have one, and upload your edited Global Dinner Party video segment to your YouTube account.
• Make sure to tag your event with: Female Nomad Global Dinner Party [Your location].
• Share your video with Rita. Make sure to give permission to post the link or video on the Female Nomad Facebook site and Rita’s blog.
• Share the YouTube video link with Rita by sending the URL address to femalenomad@gmail.com.

• You can also send the video directly to femalenomad@gmail.com.
• We can only upload your video to the Female Nomad FACEBOOK site and Rita’s BLOG if:

• The video is under 1024 MB
• The video was made by you or your friends
• You or one of your friends appears in the video
• POST YOUR PICTURES
• You can either email photos directly to Rita at femalenomad@gmail.com or create your own Global Dinner Party photo album on Facebook and send a personal message to Rita Golden Gelman on Facebook to share your album with her. 
• Either way, please let us know the location of the party and who the host is, and make sure to give us permission to repost some of the images on the Female Nomad Global Dinner Party PHOTO ALBUM and on Rita’s BLOG if that’s okay.
• WATCH other Global Dinner Party videos and check out photos from around the world on the Female Nomad Fan Page on FACEBOOK or on Rita’s BLOG.

HAVE FUN! We look forward to connecting with you during this exciting event!