SANDPOINT — The idea is centered around a simple, yet powerful idea: Gather together, share a meal and connect.

"As our nation marks  the 250th anniversary of its founding, this initiative offers a meaningful opportunity to reflect on where we are today—both as a country and as a region—and to imagine the hopes and possibilities we hold for the future," Innovia Foundation officials said of the movement.

The organization recently awarded a series of microgrants to bring The Longest Table to communities across Eastern Washington and North Idaho — including Bonners Ferry. 

The event, held as part of America 250 celebrations, will be held Saturday, Aug. 15, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Boundary County Fairgrounds. Organizing the local event is the Boundary County Fair Board. The celebration will take place in the form of an ice cream and frozen yogurt social.

"Longest Table gatherings transform public spaces into welcoming places of connection, where strangers become neighbors and neighbors become friends," Innovia Foundation officials in a press release. "By coming together around the table, participants are invited into conversation that fosters understanding, reduces isolation, and strengthens trust across communities."

Communities used the microgrants — which were up to $2,500 — to pay for organizational costs, promotional materials, youth activities and more. The initiative offers a chance to reflect where America is today, both as a country and a region, and to imagine the hopes and possibilities we hold for the future. 

"Four years and tens of thousands of people later, we've learned something," organizers said in a video on the initiative's YouTube channel. "This simple, joyful idea — one as old as time — isn't just nice, it's necessary, it's foundational because you can't solve problems without trust."

The meals, or in Bonners Ferry's case, builds that trust on a hyper-local level in communities and in neighborhoods.

"Trust is that quiet force that everything else depends on," officials said in the video. "Without it, nothing works."

As the nation marks 250 years, Innovia Foundation officials said The Longest Table initiative offers an opportunity to reflect on where we are today — both as a country and a region — and to imagine the hopes and possibilities we hold for the future. 

In that spirit, Longest Table participants are invited to participate in a region-wide flag mosaic project. The mosaic is created through photo submissions responding to the prompt: “What is my America at 250?” View the mosaic and submit a photo at innovia.org/250-mosaic. 

“Innovia is honored to launch this impactful initiative in communities across our region,” Shelly O’Quinn, Innovia Foundation CEO, said. “Bringing neighbors around the same table and sparking conversations is a powerful way to reduce isolation, promote belonging, and strengthen social trust.” 

At the event, magic happens: 89% meet someone new, 83% feel less lonely, 87% feel better about their neighborhood and 81% wanted to get involved in their neighborhood.

"Each table, it's proof," Longest Table officials said in the video. "We have what we need to rebuild trust, community and a sense of share responsibility, and to rediscover connection and joy."

By sitting down together and connection, Longest Table gatherings transform public spaces into welcoming places of connection, where strangers become neighbors and neighbors become friends. By coming together around the table, participants are invited into conversation that fosters understanding, reduces isolation, and strengthens trust across communities. 

"The truth is simple," officials said in the video. "We can face anything, but only if we face it together. Because sometimes that nice idea, that one that seems small or too simple, it's actually the most radical. We can't fix anything alone."

The Longest Table is presented in partnership with STCU. Learn more and apply for a grant at innovia.org/the-longest-table.