2 Plus Years Going Strong!

The Hawthorne Laughter Club is still going strong! Very good, very good, yay! We have been at the current location, Hawthorne Wellness Center, for more than two years now. We are so thankful for the arrangement that allows us to laugh in this beautiful space (the studio look out on to this lovely garden space). We clean the studio each Sunday in exchange for free use of the space. We are blessed! The first obstacle in starting a laughter club is always finding an appropriate and reliable location for free or fairly cheap. This allows Laughter Clubs to remain donations-based and no one gets turned away. We are also thankful that this studio is wheelchair accessible allowing everyone to laugh with us!

Now that we are standing the test of time, we consistently have between 15 and 20 people each Sunday from 4-5 pm. We also have many regular club members who put in a lot of time, laughing, cleaning, donating and sharing great ideas. This year we have applied to participate in the famous Rose Festival Starlight Parade. We are hoping to get accepted and share the joy and laughter with greater Portland during this unique and fun-filled event. To keep up with our happenings you can join the Portland Laughter Yoga Meetup or follow Portland Laughter Yoga on Facebook. You can also check out the club manager, Laura Lou Pape-McCarthy's website for 1 Laugh At A Time. We would love to have you join us sometime!

Still laughing, a year later

The Hawthorne Laughter Club will celebrate its first anniversary on New Year's Day.

The Hawthorne Laughter Club has been filling the movement studio of the Hawthorne Wellness Center with peals of laughter since January 2011. At its New Year's meeting on Sunday, January 1, 2012 at 4 p.m., the group will celebrate its first anniversary at the Hawthorne Wellness location and also honor and thank the Wellness Center and all of its leaders and laughers, past and present, for support. All are invited to join in the fun.

The club is managed by Certified Laughter Yoga Leader Laura Lou Pape-McCarthy. Leaders Andrea Crisp and Tajha Whiteley also help lead sessions on a regular basis. The Hawthorne Laughter Club began, originally, as the Belmont Laughter Club and was started by Molly Dilg and Jamie Poster in the Spring of 2010. For scheduling reasons, during 2010, the club had to change hands and ultimately find a new home, so the celebration of the one year anniversary is a feat unto its self! Finding space for a laughter club is the hardest part of getting a club going. Hawthorne Wellness Center allows the generous use of its space and in return club leaders joyously clean the movement center after each laughter session.

The Hawthorne Laughter Club meets every Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Hawthorne Wellness Center Movement Studio, 3942 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland, OR. The club will even meet this coming Sunday, December 25th, Christmas Day. All are welcome, whether you come once or every time! Some members come alone, some in pairs and some with their entire family. But, they all enjoy the many health benefits of Laughter Yoga. The laughter club is free, but donations are gladly accepted.

The end of an era: Awakenings Laughter Club closes

This is a copy of the email announcement that went out to club members today:

After 2 ½ years, it is with laughter in my heart and a tear in my eye that I’m emailing to let you know that the Awakenings Laughter Club is closing, effective immediately. Attendance has been struggling since we took our two week break over the holidays. I’ve given it six months, but the time has come to move on …  I’ve spent many Tuesdays laughing alone or with just one or two other people. I began advertising it on Meetup.com in an effort to keep it alive, but the small numbers make it hard for new people to return and the time of day has never been ideal for myself or most others. However, I want to thank you for your part in the Awakenings Laughter Club, whether you taught me, shared with me or subbed for me, whether you helped it get its start, were there during its heyday or tried to help keep it going, you have played an important role. It was the first weekly Laughter Club in Portland to stand the test of time. The club helped me get my laughter leader feet wet in the beginning and it elevated Laughter Yoga in the Portland area, even getting a spread in the Oregonian last May. I could not have done any of this without my fellow laughers, without your support. And on top of everything I’ve meet fabulous & interesting people (all of you!) and I’ve made some great friends.

I am searching for a new location where I can hold a weekly, weekday evening club. I am putting the intention out there for a free space, with room to grow and a convenient location and parking. Meanwhile, there are still some options! Thanks to Laura Lou, the Hawthorne Laughter Club (formerly the Belmont Club) is still meeting on Sundays @ 4pm (I lead the 1^st Sunday of the month) and Molly still leads Monday evenings at Sprout. PCC Sylvania will be continuing with new volunteer leaders in the fall and there is even a new Laughter Club in Vancouver now! I’ll have details on my website for that soon. But the movement is still growing, only in its infancy. Thank you for being at the forefront of the groundswell! I could never have done this alone, so thank you for your part. Keep smiling and laughing and definitely keep in touch.

With love, light & laughs,

Andréa 

While I search for a new location to host a club, there are still options to laugh in Portland. Please follow the link to check out other Laughing Opportunities.