Common Ground gatherings
Common Ground Gatherings bring together people who understand self employment and the events industry without you having to explain. They’re a place where you can enjoy the company of people you might not usually see outside of a field, an exhibition hall or a hotel function suite and solidify the friendships that are initiated by shared experiences.
You can sign up to our mailing list to be the first to hear exclusive announcements about future gatherings.
Upcoming gatherings
Common Ground @ The Event Production Show
Join us at the Event Production Show’s brand new Community Hub.
Supported by The PIE Network and BrewCo Marketing, we’re delighted to be one of the hosts for the inaugural Community Hub.
If you’d like to join us, first you need to register for the Event Production Show, which you can do here and then tell us you’d like to come hang out with us by registering here.
See you there!
The first gathering
Join us at our first Common Ground Gathering.
Be surrounded by people with whom you share common ground.
Join us for 24 hours in the company of people who understand you. Everything you’ll do at Common Ground Gatherings is curated to spark shared experiences and create memories with those around you. Most importantly, it’s a relaxed environment where you’ll be surrounded by people with whom you share common ground.
Before you even arrive, we’ll sound you out to see if you want to car share with someone else traveling from near you, or give you a heads up if another attendee will be on the same train as you or wants to split a taxi from the station.
Once you’re with us, you’ll get to the heart of what we’re about in our focus session Conversations That Inspire led by Debbie Tembo, founder of Change Collab. A fireside chat and Q&A with nutritionist Emily Donovan will give you tools on how best to fuel yourself for the demands of the event world. The first twenty bookers will also get their own mini branding photoshoot with hotshot photographer, Karina Lyburn.
Wellbeing is built in to every part of the agenda, whether in the shape of downtime back in your room or sensory contrast in our relaxing sauna and cold plunge pool area. On top of that, if you need to take 15 minutes away our partners EventWell will be supplying a Wellbeing Hub throughout the event.
You’ll be accommodated in one of Wildes Inns’ insanely comfy bedrooms - single occupancy is standard but there are other ticket options if you want to share with a pal or a partner. Lunch, dinner and breakfast are included, along with refreshment breaks throughout and welcome drinks in the evening. Plus there will be music and entertainment in an agenda that keeps you busy but also gives you plenty of time to build the foundations of new relationships.
Lastly, you’ll be invited to membership of our first Common Ground Gatherings alumni WhatsApp group so you can carry on your new friendships easily post-event.
What your ticket includes
Accommodation in Wildes Inns’ insanely comfy bedrooms
Access to all of our activities
Lunch, dinner and breakfast, plus refreshment breaks during the day
Welcome drinks in the evening
Membership of our WhatsApp group of our first Common Ground Gatherings alumni so you can carry on your new friendships really easily after the event
AND the first 20 bookers will also get a mini photoshoot with incredible brand photographer Karina Lyburn. You’ll be allocated a slot on day 1 for a mini shoot on site so you’ll come away with 3-4 new headshots post-event.
Our Ethos
We don’t want to be the same as everyone else. As well as creating something new for our friends and colleagues, we want to be the change we want to see in our industry. So at Common Ground Gatherings you’ll find:
No lame water option if you’re not drinking alcohol. As much effort goes into our 0% selections as those for people who do enjoy an alcoholic drink or two.
BSL interpretation of our keynote speech. No, not because one of our attendees has told us that they’re D/deaf but because we should all be seeing BSL interpretation as a standard.
A quiet space available throughout the event. No matter how relaxed we aim to make things, we know that people might still feel overwhelmed. Want to take 15 mins of peace and quiet? Go for it, in a space designed and staffed by trained providers.
Organisers who properly CARE. We do this because we are our own target market. We want to make working for yourself more enjoyable, less lonely and better supported.
FAQs
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We’re Abi, Harriet & Holly, three events folk with nearly 40 years of events experience between us. We are all freelancers / small business owners and we all believe that there’s a gap in the market for something that makes that way of life a bit less lonely.
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Common Ground is the new community for people who, like us, want to find people they can turn to when they hit a bit of a stumbling block and just need some advice you don’t want to have to pay your accountant / business coach for! Common Ground Gatherings are where we all get together to share some of the burden of self employment and spread that weight across friends who totally get it.
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The first Gathering will take place 22-23 January 2026. You can get ticket info here.
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It’s a community. It’s a movement. It’s a change. It’s a Gathering that puts people first. It’s our Common Ground.
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We are, first and foremost, a community of self-employed event professionals. However, we warmly welcome anyone who identifies as part of the creative industries.
The only requirement is that you are freelance, self-employed, or a small business owner, as our goal is to foster connection and community among those who don’t already work within large corporate/permanent teams.
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No worries! We’re committed to making this event as accessible and inclusive as possible.
Wildes Inns has a number of accessible bedrooms if you have physical accessibility requirements and the communal and event spaces all have flat access throughout.
We’ll have a Quiet Space available throughout the event if you want a little time out.
Our focus session will have BSL interpretation and we can work with you for additional interpretation if you require.
We can also provide you with a familiarisation pack before the event to help you feel more confident about the environment.
Please drop us an email if you have questions about your specific requirements and we’ll do what we can to help.
