Across cultures all over the earth, people have told stories about Elders, eaten and drank from their flowers and fruit, and made dyes, musical instruments, and other objects of use and beauty from their parts. The relationship between humans and the Elder tree runs deep: they mark village sites and underground aquifers for many Indigenous Californians, and have been planted near homes in northern Europe for their perceived protective qualities. Flutes made from hollowed out Elder stems are said to retain the trees’ magic, with music emanating from them reaching realms beyond our own.

Their magic is as potent as the tasty juice and dye from their berries, used by humans for millennia to make everything from elderberry wine to gorgeous deep purple basketry dye utilized by Indigenous Californians. Elderberry Meditation is a deep dive on many layers of this special plant, hosted by Erin of Berbo Studio and Kylie of Kitchen Sink – join us for a day among the Elders sharing stories, plant science, delicious food, and colorful dye! Kylie will prepare food and drink from fresh elderberries (like elderberry syrup or curd, and elderberry cider) and Erin will brew up a dye pot, sharing the color-shifting, pH-sensitive dye from the berries’ rich anthocyanin content.

By telling their stories, tasting, and dyeing with them, our hope is to deepen our connection with the Elders around us. This includes sharing about foraging ethics, as Elders are an essential source of food and habitat for many members of our more-than-human community. We hope you’ll join us on Saturday, July 9, 10am-2pm in Mount Washington (LA) – bring your own jar to take some of elderberries’ deliciousness home with you, and leave with a silk scarf dyed with their colors!

More information, including meetup location, will be emailed to attendees on the week of the event. Please ensure your email address is correct when checking out. Thank you!