Welcome, Lunatics!

Today, ideas move faster than ever. But speed has a cost. Too often, ideas are consumed alone and forgotten just as quickly.We believe ideas don’t end when a film does, or close with the last page of a book. The real work happens between people.So we design experiences that create those in-between spaces: intimate, sensory, question-driven gatherings where people slow down, notice more, and come back into relation, with each other, with ideas, and with themselves.

What We Do

We partner with filmmakers, authors, and cultural organizations to transform their work into participatory experiences, catalysts for connection and exploration.In parallel, we're about to launch our Lunar Salons, intimate gatherings for playful, creative thinkers.

Our Story

Once a month in the late 1700s, a group calling themselves the Lunar Men gathered by moonlight to ask big questions about the world and to listen closely to what it was becoming. Known historically as the Lunar Society, they were inventors, makers, and thinkers who didn’t just trade ideas, they turned them into factories, canals, instruments, and machines.They collected things. They combined inventions. They treated experimentation as a form of play: curious, tactile, and often delightfully strange. Among their creations were early steam engines, technologies that once powered foghorns and reshaped how humans oriented themselves in the world.

They were also nonconformists, free thinkers and dissenters who questioned what was considered unquestionable. Willing to stand outside structures of authority, they made room for curiosity, disagreement, and ideas that didn’t yet have a clear place in the world.That spirit of inquiry and delight matters deeply to us, so from our little corners of the world in Austin Texas, and Antigua Guatemala, we started our own modern Lunar Society, one that grows out of that same curiosity about how humans question, experiment, and find their bearings in a changing world...

Robyn Metcalfe

I am drawn to the allure of an unanswered question, even if it means entering uncharted territory, promising the possibility of learning something new, that can change the meaning of something big or little, or nothing at all.A deep desire to learn, read, meet new people, travel somewhere,
anywhere, with other people who carry their own questions, draws me to explore the world, through writing books, making movies, and creating experiences.Years as an ultrarunner prepared me for the long-haul, being right with discomfort, knowing the slow way brings greater satisfaction, opportunities to get close to our world and other humans. Academia gave me a way to discuss my obsession with history, logistics, and storytelling.

Films

Books

Stefy Bolaños

My roots grow in volcanic soil. My branches reach through fiber optic
cables. I speak in local textures and global metaphors, always
translating one world for the other. I am both connected and homesick, grounded and drifting, trying to make sense of what it means to belong in more than one place at once.I build learning worlds that invite people to think differently about
how they can explore their curiosities, create, and connect. I believe that true learning is a rite of passage.I follow hunches, trace patterns, and collect clues from classrooms,
online playgrounds, and cobblestone streets. My work lives between pixels and paper, the digital and the analogue.

Books

What We Do:

Experience Design

Experience design is the craft of shaping how people encounter ideas: emotionally, socially, and sensorially. When experiences are designed with care, they don’t just inform, they transform. They make change possible because they invite people to live an idea, not just understand it.We design these experiences using empathy, worldbuilding, ecosystems (not just formats), game mechanics, orientation, storytelling, and all the senses...

What this looks like?

Shelf Life

A documentary about aging becomes a cheeseboard ritual where strangers share their life stories.

Humans in our Food

A book launches not with a reading, but a secret gathering full of memories and play.

Paseo Sonoro & Punto de Inflexión

A music album is released through strangers sharing personal stories, and a Sound Walk in Antigua invites guests to listen deeply...

Suitcase Museum

Participants create a novel museum, by contributing a small personal object to a permanent, yet mobile, museum...

Who is this for?

  • Documentary filmmakers frustrated by passive viewership

  • Authors craving deeper engagement than book tours allow

  • Creators who believe their work should spark dialogue, not just downloads

  • Organizations who care about meaning, not metrics alone

  • HR teams seeking human ways to explore culture, purpose, and change

Lunar Salons

Lunar Salons are for creative technologists, researchers, educators, artists, makers, scientists, optimists, rebels, and anyone who lives in the in-between.Once a month, we gather online or in person (Austin, Boston, Antigua, Maine…) to jam, prototype, and learn from each other.

How it works?

Each salon is question-driven. A member brings a genuine question they're wrestling with. Not a polished project or presentation, but a real inquiry that invites collective exploration.The question becomes the catalyst for:

  • Socratic dialogue and generous feedback

  • Hands-on making and experimentation

  • Unexpected connections across disciplines

  • Collaborative sense-making

What's in it for you?

Shared value: Access to diverse perspectives and points of view

Community: Long-standing relationships with kindred spirits who get your weird

Interesting people: Meet makers, thinkers, and doers across disciplines

Curious minds: Engage with others who ask "what if?" and "why not?"

Tangible takeaways: Leave every salon with something: insights, artifacts, connections, or clarity...

Formats

Each salon takes a different form based on the question at hand:

  • Book clubs: Deep reading and discussion around a shared text

  • Artistic workshopping: Feedback on creative projects-in-progress

  • Teaching experiments: Workshopping how to teach or explain something complex

  • Experience facilitation: One member facilitates an actual designed experience for the group

  • Field trips: Exploring a site, museum, or space together through a curious lens

  • Walking tours: Moving through a city or landscape while in conversation

  • Scavenger hunts: Playful quests that combine discovery with collaboration

  • ... and other formats we invent together

Attend a Lunar Salon

August 27 & 28, or August 29 & 30, 2026
Whitehead Island, Maine
$150

Once a month in the late 1700s, a group calling themselves the Lunar Men gathered by moonlight to ask big questions about the world and to listen closely to what it was becoming. Known historically as the Lunar Society, they were inventors, makers, and thinkers who didn’t just trade ideas, they turned them into factories, canals, instruments, and machines.They collected things. They combined inventions. They treated experimentation as a form of play: curious, tactile, and often delightfully strange. Among their creations were early steam engines, technologies that once powered foghorns and reshaped how humans oriented themselves in the world.This is where we come in. We started a modern Lunar Society, one that grows out of that same curiosity about how humans sense, listen, and find their bearings in a changing world.We’d love for you to join us!
We have two different dates: on August 27 & 28, or August 29 & 30, 2026 for a special experience on Whitehead Island, Maine, once the site of a foghorn that is now forever silenced…

Save your Spot!

Details

A one-day, immersive gathering hosted by the Lunar Society, shaped around fog, sound, attention, and what it means to orient ourselves when things aren’t fully visible…

  • We’re inviting 40 friends that we admire

  • Space is limited to 24 participants, first come, first served.

  • The experience costs $150

  • Includes food and overnight lodging on the island

  • Participants are responsible for their own travel

  • Your spot is confirmed once payment is received

  • Please reply by June 31st

Already in?

Access all the details of the experience here:

Getting there & good to know

Getting to Whitehead Island

Whitehead Light Station sits about a fifteen-minute boat ride off the midcoast of Maine. We depart from Emery Wharf in Saint George (19 Emery Wharf Rd, Saint George, ME 04860), where you'll be met by us. The wharf is roughly 25 minutes south of Rockland, the nearest town with bus and air service. From Boston, plan on the better part of a day to reach the wharf.

Three ways to reach Emery Wharf:

🚍 BUS

  • Concord Coach Lines (formerly Concord Trailways) runs daily service from Boston to Rockland, with pickups at South Station and Logan Airport.

  • About 4–4.5 hours in, it drops you at the Maine State Ferry Terminal, 517A Main Street, Rockland.

  • From there it's a 20–25 minute taxi to Emery Wharf.

  • Schedules & tickets: Concord Coach Lines website

  • Taxi — Flagship Taxi: 207-222-3108.

✈️ AIR

  • Cape Air operates daily nonstop flights from Boston Logan (BOS) to Knox County Regional Airport (RKD) — about 75 minutes in a small plane, with some of the best views in New England.

  • From RKD it's about a 20-minute taxi to the wharf. Reservations: (800) 227-3247 or capeair.com

  • Flying from further afield? Portland (PWM) has more options; from there, connect onward by Concord Coach Lines or rental car (~2 hours to the wharf).

🚗 CAR

  • From Boston, I-95 north to US Route 1, then up the coast to St. George — roughly 3.5–4 hours without stops.

  • Rental cars are available at both BOS and RKD.

The boat departs during a single arrival window at 2pm on Day 1. Because of tides, weather, and the nature of the island, we won't be able to make additional trips for late arrivals.Please plan to arrive at Emery Wharf no later than 1:30 PM.
We strongly recommend arriving in Rockland (or Boston) the night before. Coastal weather and regional transportation can be unpredictable, and having a buffer makes all the difference between catching the boat and watching it disappear into the fog.

What to expect on the island

Whitehead is remote, quiet, and off-grid. There is no cell service. No Wi-Fi. No endless stream of notifications waiting for you. For many people, that ends up being one of the most memorable parts of being there.Before you leave home, let anyone who may need to reach you know you'll be offline for about 24 hours, and bring along any essentials you rely on.Pack layers. Maine in late August can be sunny and warm one moment and wrapped in fog the next. We'll send a complete packing list with your invitation kit.

Care & safety

Part of Whitehead's beauty is that it remains a genuinely wild place.We'll have trained staff on site throughout the experience, including someone with first-aid training. If additional care is needed, we'll coordinate transportation to the mainland and onward medical assistance as appropriate.The cost of any outside medical care is the participant's responsibility. We collect an emergency contact and any medical notes through the participant form.

A short code of conduct

This is a small, intimate gathering, and much of what makes it work is how we are with each other and with the place.

  • Be present. Much of this lives in attention and listening.

  • Care for each other. Look out for fellow participants, ask before including someone, and give people room to experience things their own way.

  • Move at the group's pace. Some moments are timed to tides, boats, and the light. Staying together keeps everyone safe and keeps the experience whole.

  • Tread lightly. The island is a co-host. Leave no trace, stay on paths where asked, and treat the lighthouse, the land, and the gear with care.

  • Come curious. This is a playful. There's no wrong way to listen.

Your Tasks

A few important reminders as you get ready for August...

  • Book your travel to Emery Wharf. Aim to arrive the afternoon of Day 1, no later than 1:30 PM at the wharf.

  • Fill out the participant form by June 19th. Dietary needs, access or medical considerations, emergency contact, and the waiver everyone signs before boarding. → Participant Form

  • Watch for your invitation kit in July, and follow the instructions inside. A few things in it need doing before you arrive (we won't spoil them here).

Got questions?

Can't wait to see you soon! If you have any questions, email us at
hello [at] lunar-society.coRobyn & Stefy
The Lunar SocietyThe Lunar Society is a rowdy and creative collective of filmmakers and experience designers that use their curiosity to launch enduring conversations about complicated questions.

We'd love to hear from you!

Send us a message and we'll get back to you!