SANDPOINT — One table celebrated the community's mountains: pine cones, wooden lanterns and candles.

The other paid homage to its rivers, lakes and beaches: river rock, lush greenery and wooden fish.

A nearby "wall" was lined with twine and clothespins holding memories of what makes the community special: "The drive across the Long Bridge always inspires me with its beauty;" "the Green Monarchs;" and the "Cedar Street Bridge."

But most of all, Sandpoint Community Hall was filled with conversation and laughter as families gathered around the table for a meal.

"We just wanted it to be really representative of the community," said Leslie Gerstlauer, program manager at IdaHope Families, which hosted the Longest Table event Sunday, Sept. 13.

When searching for a place for that Sunday dinner, Gerstlauer said she was excited to learn Sandpoint Community Hall was available. One of the community's iconic buildings, the rustic log structure was built as part of a Works Progress Administration federal project and has been home to everything from Boy Scout meetings to square dances to town hall meetings, as well as USO dances when thousands of sailors were training at the former Farragut Naval Training Station.

"Sandpoint Community Hall is such a focal point of the city," Gerstlauer said of the building, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. "It really represents the main things that we love about it here: the lake, the outdoors, Schweitzer Mountain and the greenery and flowers."

The "log cabin feel" of the building offers the perfect backdrop for the two long tables, with each celebrating the two main parts that make the community special: the mountains and forests, and the lakes and rivers.

It didn't take long after seeing the Innovia Foundation's call for grant submissions for the organization to submit an application.

Funded through an Innovia Foundation grant, the initiative is designed to bring people together around a shared meal and create opportunities for meaningful connection.

From the start, Gerstlauer wanted the event to bring the community together for a Sunday dinner as a way to connect and bond.

"I love the idea of being at a table," she said. "In our home, a family dinner is really important, and so I think when you're building community and you're getting to know neighbors, sharing a meal together is such an important moment, a chance to be able to sit down across from someone you've never met before and to share food and share fellowship, and it's just an important way to come face to face with neighbors."

Family dinners are about connection and bonding; food brings people together and binds memories together, Gerstlauer said.

"People always say, 'Let's grab a coffee' or 'Come over for dinner,'" she said. "It's a way to make that connection special and I think it also ties it to memory. How many times do you think back and you're like, 'Oh remember that special moment and we had that amazing dinner or that birthday cake that you just don't forget."

Taking inspiration from Innovia's suggestion for a potluck dinner with each person sharing a special dish, about 60 people attended the dinner, with strangers quickly finding a spot and getting to know others at the table.

To inspire conversation, cards offered suggestions: "What is something about Sandpoint that you hope your children or future generations will experience?" "What is one place in Sandpoint that feels like 'home' to you and why?" and "What is a Sandpoint tradition you hope never disappears?"

The idea, Gerstlauer said, was to offer a starting point for community members, giving them a chance to enjoy good food and create great memories with new friends.

The evening quickly became the kind of gathering organizers had envisioned, with attendees sharing meals, stories and memories around the tables.

For Tonya Sherman, the Innovia Foundation's regional engagement manager for Bonner and Boundary counties, seeing the vision of the community dinner come to life was amazing.

"This is the best," Sherman said. "You get to actually see the great things in our community, which are all of the new people who care and they show up and learn about each other. That's what drives our community forward positively. This is the best of us."

Among those who took part in sharing dishes and conversations were Dave and Nancy Britton, who said the Longest Table Sunday meal was a chance to connect and meet new people.

"I wanted a chance to meet new people who I wouldn't typically get to run into," said Dave Britton. "I was sort of hoping to make more friends and find out about more stuff with more people."

The Brittons, who moved to Bonner County five years ago, said they love how welcoming the community has been but wanted to get to know more people and find new places to volunteer.

Having heard about the Longest Table event, the couple figured it would be the ideal place to meet a diverse group of people.

"It's an amazing idea," Nancy Britton said. "To come and contribute and do potluck is like sharing your own family's recipes and history."

The couple said they love that IdaHope Families picked up the challenge to host the event and wanted to recreate the feeling of a family gathered around the table for a Sunday dinner.

Looking around, Gerstlauer smiled as she took in the dozens of people lingering long after they finished eating, sharing, talking, laughing and getting to know one another.

"People seem happy," Gerstlauer said. "They're chatting, and I love looking around and seeing people sit across from someone they don't know, and maybe, you know, just sharing a story. And it seems like it's been a great opportunity for people to communicate."

    Leslie Gerstlauer, left, and her mother, Linda Bewley, share a moment at Sandpoint's Longest Table event on Sept. 13.
  

    Nancy and Dave Britton look for a spot to add their memories on a wooden wall filled with cards about what makes the community special.
  

    A few cards from the dozens of memories of what makes the community special are seen on a wooden wall at Sandpoint's Longest Table event