I met Carli Dixon shortly after my birthday, in March of 2018. She and Hamilton were finishing up the Brightside bar and a mutual friend connected us because we needed a place to hold the first storytelling event, a #metoo event in partnership with Story Slam Dayton and Dayton Most Metro. I had never produced, hosted, coordinated or created anything like this before and Carli was supportive and helpful.
And more than that, Carli welcomed me into her circle. I am not sure what I did to earn that honor, but I can honestly say that I am honored to be here. Since March of 2018, I have hosted at least half a dozen events at the Brightside with Empower Her and LORE and I have attended private and public events hosted by other organizations seeking a beautiful event place in downtown. And during that time I have shared, witnessed, laughed, cried and been truly blessed by this friendship with Carli.
Carli is one of those rare people that is both a visionary and gets her hands dirty. She saw the absolutely filthy, abandoned building on Third and Keowee as the gem it is today when everyone else saw a dump. And in order to bring her and Hamilton’s vision to fruition, they put in the hard work. For example, one evening, while an event was happening inside the building, Carli was scraping paint on the outside of the building, getting ready for paint the next day. She does what needs to be done.
She will admit that it isn’t always easy, but Carli almost always has something positive to say and that is why people want to be around her. People want to work with her. People want to be her.
So come to the LORE Mainstage: Hunger event at the Brightside Music and Event Venue and witness the masterpiece that Carli and Hamilton created.
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