Events · Nothing Day
Four hours. No schedule. No talking required.
The one day a year when the whole program does Nothing together, outdoors, in a park, with a bell at the start and a bell at the end.
- Date
- Aug 2, 2026
- Time
- 8 a.m.–12 p.m.
- Place
- Mt. Tabor Park
- Cost
- Free
Nothing Day is exactly what it sounds like and slightly more organized than it sounds. We meet at the Mt. Tabor amphitheater at 8 a.m. A staff member rings a bell, explains the three rules, and then we do nothing for four hours. People arrive and leave whenever they want. There is water. There is a table with fruit. There is no program.
The rules
- No talking, including whispering, from the bell until the second bell.
- No screens, books, or activities. You may walk, sit, lie down, or look at things.
- You can leave whenever you want. Leaving quietly is part of the practice.
Who comes
About 300 people last year: kids, parents, staff, dog walkers who wandered in, and one man who thought it was a meditation class and stayed anyway. Ages 6 to 84. Roughly 40% of attendees are not connected to STENCH at all, which is the point of holding it in a public park.
What happens afterward
At noon the bell rings again and we have a very brief closing circle where anyone who wants to say one sentence can. Most people do not. Then there is coffee and a table of pastries, and everyone talks at once, which is the loudest 30 minutes of the year.
I brought my daughter because I thought it would be funny. We stayed four hours. She did not complain once. I complained twice, silently, and I think about that a lot.
Do nothing with us
August 2, 8 a.m. to noon, Mt. Tabor amphitheater. Free, no registration, no talking.