Creative Chats (With Guest Erykah Chanel)
You’re invited to Creative Chats! The event is a way to gather creative people face-to-face to mingle, hear a featured conversation on the topic of creativity and the creative life, and then engage in the conversation themselves in small groups.
Come to get inspired, to reflect, and connect.
All people interested in creativity are welcome!
Featured Conversation with Erykah Chanel: What Does Your Next Level Actually Require of You?
I’ll be leading a talk with multidimensional entrepreneur Erykah Chanel. She’ll share her own creative journey and her belief that your next level isn’t asking for more hustle—it’s asking for more truth, alignment, and courage. We all say we’re ready to elevate, but are we prepared for what growth actually requires of us internally?
Erykah Chanel is a visionary, multidimensional entrepreneur and transformational leader dedicated to helping individuals live, move, and lead with intention. As the founder of Life of E’s, she has created a lifestyle philosophy and movement rooted in ease, expansion, evolution, and elevation—guiding people to align their mind, body, spirit, and purpose in both life and business.
Through a powerful blend of wellness, movement, mindset, creativity, and strategic action, Erykah empowers others to embrace bold life pivots and step fully into their highest potential. Her work bridges structure and soul, offering practical tools alongside embodied experiences that spark clarity, confidence, and momentum.
The Life of E’s is more than a concept—it is a lived experience. From transformational coaching and immersive workshops to movement-based offerings such as cycling, dance infusion (coming soon), and community experiences, Erykah creates spaces where growth feels energizing, grounded, and sustainable. Her approach honors both discipline and flow, teaching that evolution does not require burnout, but alignment.
With a background that spans coaching, wellness, event production, creative direction, photography, and community building, Erykah brings a uniquely holistic perspective to transformation. She is known for her ability to translate big visions into actionable frameworks, helping individuals and entrepreneurs harmonize their passions, businesses, and personal well-being.
At the core of her work is one belief: transformation begins when we choose to live intentionally. Through the Life of E’s, Erykah invites people to release limitations, reconnect with their inner power, and design a life that feels expansive, embodied, and aligned—without sacrificing joy or authenticity.
Whether on stage, in community, producing events, or through coaching clients, Erykah Chanel inspires others to move with purpose, pivot with confidence, and evolve into the fullest expression of who they are becoming.
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Watertown’s Open: Storytelling and Marketing for Solopreneurs
Watertown’s Open is a series of live podcast events that bring local businesses and local business advocates together to share their stories and knowledge to help lift the entire business community.
The project is a collaboration between the City of Watertown’s Economic Development Planner, the Little Local Conversations podcast, and the Watertown Business Coalition.
Storytelling and Marketing for Solopreneurs: A Live Podcast Discussion on How Watertown Solopreneurs Can Share Their Stories and Grow
Join us for the next Watertown’s Open event at WCA-TV Studios at 30 Common St in Watertown. (See this page on their website for directions and parking info.) There will be a panel discussion with local storytelling and marketing experts that will feature two local business owners as they discuss their experience and foster a conversation on strategies for people looking to grow their one-person show.
Come to hear the discussion, learn how it might help your situation, and meet and mingle with other small business folks!
Panelists:
Sam Dudley, Watertown Business Coalition, Director of Communications and Engagement
Margo Guernsey, Time Travel Productions, Director/Producer/Impact Strategist
Ashley Rappa, MORE Advertising, Creative Director
Erin Rathe, City of Watertown, Senior Planner for Economic Development
Featured Solopreneurs:
Heather Caldwell, Caldwell's Miscellaneous Fancy Goods, Founder
Benita Chelagat, Coffee Plus 254, Founder
Free, but limited space! RSVP below. Thanks!
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Creative Chats (With Guest Marija Draskic Brancazio)
You’re invited to Creative Chats! The event is a way to gather creative people face-to-face to mingle, hear a featured conversation on the topic of creativity and the creative life, and then engage in the conversation themselves in small groups.
Come to get inspired, to reflect, and connect.
All people interested in creativity are welcome!
Coffee and other refreshments will be available to purchase at the MBar.
Featured Conversation with Marija Draskic Brancazio
Matt Hanna of Little Local Conversations will lead a talk with artist, musician, and community organizer Marija Draskic Brancazio. They’ll chat about how to engage the community through art, and discuss why it is important to create engaging and interactive art or spaces that allow people active participation in artistic endeavors.
Marija Draskic Brancazio is a Serbian artist, musician, and community organizer working in Cambridge and Watertown. She exhibits her work locally and internationally, while making music with her band Sapatnik. As a founder of the MCA Open Mic, she fosters the vibrant creative community in the greater Boston area.
RSVP below to let us know you’re coming! Thanks!
Watertown’s Open: The State of Development in Watertown
Watertown’s Open is a series of live podcast events that bring local businesses and local business advocates together to share their stories and knowledge to help lift the entire business community.
The project is a collaboration between the City of Watertown’s Economic Development Planner, the Little Local Conversations podcast, and the Watertown Business Coalition.
The State of Development in Watertown: A Live Podcast Discussion on What Businesses and Residents Can Expect for the Future of Watertown
Join us for the next Watertown’s Open event at Italian Design Interiors at 19 Spring Street here in Watertown. There will be food provided by Jersey Mike’s and networking before a panel discussion with Bob Airasian (Co-President Watertown Business Coalition, Coldwell Banker Broker), Andrew Copelotti (Principal at Boylston Properties), John Nealon (WJ Nealon Commercial Realty), Laura Portney (PCA Design Firm), and Gideon Schreiber (City of Watertown's Director of Planning and Zoning).
Free, but limited space! RSVP below. Thanks!
Creative Chats (With Guest Margo Guernsey)
You’re invited to Creative Chats! The event is a way to gather creative people face-to-face to mingle, hear a featured conversation on the topic of creativity and the creative life, and then engage in the conversation themselves in small groups.
Come to get inspired, to reflect, and connect.
All people interested in creativity are welcome!
Coffee and other refreshments will be available to purchase at the MBar.
Featured Conversation with Filmmaker Margo Guernsey
Matt Hanna of Little Local Conversations will lead a talk with Margo Guernsey, a documentary director/producer, impact strategist, and founder of Time Travel Productions LLC. They’ll chat about Margo’s approach to outreach and impact through discussing some of her recent projects, including THE OFFICIALS, a documentary about the work of US election officials.
Margo Guernsey (she/her) is a documentary Director/Producer, impact strategist, and founder of Time Travel Productions LLC. Her films include Councilwoman (America ReFramed 2019), No Time To Fail (America Reframed 2023), The Philadelphia Eleven (impact distribution 2023 - 2024 topping 500 screenings, American Public Television 2025), and THE OFFICIALS (TIME Studios, 2024). Prior to film, Margo worked as a union organizer, non-profit development director, and Spanish/English translator. Margo’s work has received support from Chicken & Egg Pictures, ITVS, Catapult Film Fund, GoodPitch, Perspective Fund, Ford Foundation, Surdna Foundation, and LEF Moving Image Fund among others; and she was a 2022 Film Independent Fast Track Fellow, and the recipient of a 2019 MA Cultural Council Artist Fellowship. She speaks both Spanish and English and holds an MFA in Film (University of Miami), an MA in History (UMass Amherst), and a BA in History (Brown University). Margo teaches producing as affiliated faculty at Emerson College and is a member of the Documentary Producers Alliance and Global Impact Producers Alliance.
RSVP below to let us know you’re coming! Thanks!
Creative Chats (With Guest Megan Ramette of the Watertown Zine Fest)
You’re invited to Creative Chats! The event is a way to gather creative people face-to-face to mingle, hear a featured conversation on the topic of creativity and the creative life, and then engage in the conversation themselves in small groups.
Come to get inspired, to reflect, and connect.
All people interested in creativity are welcome!
Coffee and other refreshments will be available to purchase at the MBar.
Featured Conversation with Megan Ramette of the Watertown Zine Fest
Matt Hanna of Little Local Conversations will lead a talk with Megan Ramette. Megan is a library worker, community organizer, and zine collector. She has worn pretty much every hat you can wear with Watertown Zine Fest since its inception in 2021- zine team member, fest promoter, zine cataloger, featured speaker, and zine marketplace tabler. The conversation will revolve around zines, their importance as a medium, and how people can overcome imposter syndrome and the challenges of a freeform medium to create zines!
RSVP below to let us know you’re coming! Thanks!
Watertown’s Open (Small Business Support Group)
Watertown’s Open is a series of live podcast events that bring small businesses and local business advocates together to share their stories and knowledge to help lift the entire business community.
The project is a collaboration between the City of Watertown’s Economic Development Planner, the Little Local Conversations podcast, and the Watertown Business Coalition.
Small Business Support Group: A Live Podcast Discussion On How Watertown Small Business Owners Are Collaborating
Join us for the first Watertown’s Open event at Get Lively Health and Fitness Studio! Get Lively owner Jan Taylor will be joined by a panel of small business owners that she’s collaborated with to share the story of how she’s used her studio to give a platform for others to start their own business as well as others that she’s creatively collaborated with on cross promotion and shared experiences. City of Watertown’s Senior Economic Planner Erin Rathe and leaders from the Watertown Business Coalition will also be providing commentary and sharing expertise.
Free, but limited space! RSVP below. Thanks!
Little Local Conversations at Faire on the Square 2025
I’ll have a booth at the Watertown Faire on the Sqaure this year. I’ll be recording short conversations with people who visit my booth to turn into a podcast episode, so if you have ideas and stories you’d like to share about Watertown stop on by and chat with me!
There will be a ton of other booths (over 120!) and activities going on from music to food (including cooking competitions) to kid’s activities. See it all at www.faireonthesquare.com.
Creative Chats (With Guests Jennifer Morsches and Tim Merton of the Sarasa Chamber Music Ensemble)
You’re invited to Creative Chats! The event is a way to gather creative people face-to-face to mingle, hear a featured conversation on the topic of creativity and the creative life, and then engage in the conversation themselves in small groups.
Come to get inspired, to reflect, and connect.
All people interested in creativity are welcome!
Coffee and other refreshments will be available to purchase at the MBar.
Featured Conversation with Jennifer Morsches and Tim Merton of the Sarasa Chamber Music Ensemble
Matt Hanna of Little Local Conversations will lead a talk with the co-Artistic Directors of the Sarasa Chamber Music Ensemble. They’ll chat about the process of combining local history and classical music along with the question of how to engage different types of audiences, especially with regards to their programming with incarcerated teens.
RSVP below to let me know you’re coming! Thanks!
Creative Chats (With Guest Arto Vaun)
You’re invited to Creative Chats! The event is a way to gather creative people face-to-face to mingle, hear a featured conversation on the topic of creativity and the creative life, and then engage in the conversation themselves in small groups.
Come to get inspired, to reflect, and connect.
All people interested in creativity are welcome!
There will be coffee and light bites to perk up those non-morning types too!
Featured Conversation with Arto Vaun (starts at 845am)
The conversation will be with Arto Vaun, musician, poet, and Executive Director of the Project Save Photograph Archive. Arto will be discussing the relationship between grief and creative practice, as well as what it means to continue making art during times of personal and collective loss. And ultimately, how the act of creating remains essential, even when the world feels overwhelming.
RSVP below to let me know you’re coming! Thanks!
Creative Chats (With Guest Julie Fei-Fan Balzer)
You’re invited to Creative Chats! The event is a way to gather creative people face-to-face to mingle, hear a featured conversation on the topic of creativity and the creative life, and then engage in the conversation themselves in small groups.
Come to get inspired, to reflect, and connect.
All people interested in creativity are welcome!
There will be coffee and light bites to perk up those non-morning types too!
Featured Conversation with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer (starts at 845am)
The conversation will be with painter, printmaker, and collage artist Julie Fei-Fan Balzer where we’ll chat around a question that Julie has been spending time pondering on within the topic of creativity and the creative life.
RSVP below to let me know you’re coming! (It’s free.) Thanks!
Creative Chats (With Guest Cat Bennett)
You’re invited to Creative Chats! The event is a way to gather creative people face-to-face to mingle, hear a featured conversation on the topic of creativity and the creative life, and then engage in the conversation themselves in small groups.
Come to get inspired, to reflect, and connect.
All people interested in creativity are welcome!
There will be coffee and light bites to perk up those non-morning types too!
Featured Conversation with Cat Bennett (starts at 845am)
Cat Bennett’s career spans making animated spots for children’s television, illustrations for many publishing clients, and now art for exhibition as well as teaching art to adults.
RSVP below to let me know you’re coming! Thanks!
Creative Chats (With Guest Kristen Kenny)
You’re invited to Creative Chats! The event is a way to gather creative people face-to-face to mingle, hear a featured conversation on the topic of creativity and the creative life, and then engage in the conversation themselves in small groups.
Come to get inspired, to reflect, and connect.
All people interested in creativity are welcome!
There will be coffee and light bites to perk up those non-morning types too!
Featured Conversation with Kristen Kenny (starts at 845am)
The featured conversation will be with Kristen Kenny, artist, arts organizer, and Chair of the Watertown Cultural District. We’ll chat around a topic that Kristen has been spending time pondering on within the topic of creativity and the creative life.
RSVP to help me know how much food to get! Thanks!
Little Local Conversations Anniversary Event!
Little Local Conversations Podcast Anniversary event!
Come celebrate one year and 50+ episodes of the Little Local Conversations podcast and help support two local nonprofits!
Tuesday, March 18th 2025
5:30 - 7:30 PM
Mosesian Center for the Arts
321 Arsenal St, Watertown, MA
Suggested $20 Donation
Proceeds benefit:
The Mosesian Center for the Arts
Watertown Community Foundation
LIVE PODCAST PANELS WITH PAST GUESTS
LIGHT BITES & CASH BAR
Creative Chats (With Guest Jamie Kallestad)
You’re invited to Creative Chats! The event is a way to gather creative people face-to-face to mingle, hear a featured conversation on the topic of creativity and the creative life, and then engage in the conversation themselves in small groups.
Come to get inspired, to reflect, and connect.
All people interested in creativity are welcome!
There will be coffee and light bites to perk up those non-morning types too!
Featured Conversation with Jamie Kallestad (starts at 845am)
The featured conversation will be with Jamie Kallestad, a singer/songwriter and the Communications and Design Specialist for the Watertown Free Public Library. We’ll chat around a topic that Jamie has been spending time pondering on within the topic of creativity and the creative life.
RSVP to help me know how much food to get! Thanks!
Creative Chats! #1
You’re invited to the first ever Creative Chats! The event is a way to gather creative people face-to-face to mingle, hear a featured conversation on the topic of creativity and the creative life, and then engage in the conversation themselves in small groups.
Come to get inspired, to reflect, and connect.
All people interested in creativity are welcome! (There will be coffee and light bites to perk up those non-morning types too!)
Featured Question with Liz Helfer (starts at 845am)
Matt Hanna of Little Local Conversations will lead a talk with Liz Helfer, professional sculptor and Public Arts and Culture Planner for the City of Watertown. They’ll chat around a question that Liz has been spending time pondering on within the topic of creativity and the creative life.