Tim Near

We moved here 18 years ago from Warsaw. For work and for community, we wanted to move to Goshen. My son was a newborn at that point and we had some friends here, so there was some community. We also had some connection to a church at the time in Elkhart. I worked at Goshen Health too. So, we had a lot of interest in moving in this direction.

When we moved here, we started to explore Goshen. At that time, the Goshen Farmers Market was long in place already. And that was really our first connection to a pretty diverse group of friends, some of which we still have to this day. We went there to buy vegetables, and Goshen did that thing that it does well, which is that it provides community.

I think the first thing that struck us was that our son was young and people just came up and asked, “Can I hold your son while you go and shop for vegetables?” In a non-creepy way. They were just offering help. Of course, as new parents, it was like, “Wow, this is amazing!” It was a very warm community in nature, and to this day we have friends that we routinely cross paths with that started in that manner.

We like First Fridays, and even before that, artists would have studio open houses on the weekend. That kind of introduced us to the creative expression that is in this area. There are lots of potters. Along with some of that exploration many of those potters have become good friends with my wife and I. That artistic creativity in Goshen is pretty special. There’s a camaraderie among the artists. I think that is something that really benefits the community and makes Goshen a great place to be.

We like the Michiana Pottery Tour. It feels like every year that we go to some of these arts events, we cross paths with all kinds of people from all over this region and beyond. It’s clear that these things are growing. So, those are some of our favorite things around here to do.

I collect local art. Not formally, but we certainly have done that. It’s been something that we really enjoy when we buy art to make a connection to the region even if it’s just generally speaking to the Midwest. There are certainly many in Goshen though that have captured our interest. The most rewarding part of that for us is the relational aspect of the artistic community. They’re engaging, so as an art lover, it’s very rewarding that these are now some of our friends in this diverse community.