The Spark Before the Movement | CIC 2025 Reflection
This year wasn’t about scale.
It was about feeling.
2025 was the year the Creative Industry Collective took its first breath — not as a company or an event brand, but as a living experiment in connection. No investors. No blueprints. Just belief.
What started as an idea between creative minds became a series of small, intentional experiences that proved something simple: people still crave meaning. They want atmosphere, not noise. Presence, not performance.
Three nights. Three lessons. One beginning.
Kuna Kulture — The First Spark
The first night was raw — beautiful in its chaos.
Kuna Kulture was the Collective’s unofficial debut. A creative experiment that transformed a simple Thursday night into something that felt different. No one knew what to expect. That was the point.
DJ Tanke, Greg Gibbs, DJ E3, DJ Vani, and Xtini helped set the tone. Espresso martinis were passed like conversations, and for a few hours, a green lawn in Downtown Fort Myers became something bigger than itself.
We had about 100 -120 guest — enough to feel the pulse, enough to see what was possible. The night wasn’t perfect. A DJ set went off rhythm. The lights cut too early. The energy rose, dipped, and found itself again. But that’s how the foundation was meant to be built — through honesty, trial, and tempo.
Kuna Kulture was proof of life.
It told us that there’s still a heartbeat in local culture, waiting to be curated — not just watched.
Written in Heat — The Second Flame
Then came the quiet one.
The night of smoke, sound, and slow-burning words.
Written in Heatwas the Collective’s soul speaking out loud. A poetry night wrapped in elegance — cigars, whiskey, and vulnerability all sharing the same air.
Forty people gathered at the World Famous Cigar Bar, but it felt smaller — like everyone was part of the same story. Poems were performed, a live song filled the silence, and something about it just… landed.
Valera Reserve brought the cigars. Johnnie Walker brought the warmth.
But it was the honesty that made the night memorable.
People didn’t come to watch. They came to feel.
That’s when I realized CIC isn’t about production — it’s about presence.
The magic lives in the pauses.
In the quiet nods between strangers who just heard the same truth and felt it hit the same way.
Verde & Ember — The Balance of Fire and Growth
By the time Verde & Ember arrived, the vision was clearer.
Hosted by Nathanael Perez, this night blended elegance and energy — feminine strength and gentle fire.
It wasn’t loud or extravagant. It was grounded. Alive.
The kind of night that reminded people why they fell in love with connection in the first place.
Live music carried the evening — the OTP Band covering songs that everyone somehow knew by heart. The restaurant stayed open, the laughter was unforced, the conversations natural.
Where Kuna Kulture had chaos and Written in Heat had intimacy, Verde & Ember found harmony. It became the bridge — between soft and strong, between past and future.
It wasn’t a CIC-branded event, but it carried its spirit.
And it confirmed something important: this movement is already happening — with or without the logo.
Reflections from the First Year
We hosted three nights.
Each one different. Each one necessary.
Kuna Kulture gave us proof.
Written in Heat gave us purpose.
Verde & Ember gave us balance.
None of them were perfect — but they weren’t supposed to be.
The imperfections are what made them real.
Every event taught us something about rhythm, emotion, and execution.
We learned how to pace a night, how to protect a vibe, and how to carry the essence of creativity without selling it short.
But most of all, we learned that people still believe.
They believe in culture.
They believe in storytelling.
They believe that art — in all its forms — still has the power to bring people together.
The Road Ahead — 2026
Next year, the Collective evolves.
We’ll build on what worked, refine what didn’t, and give this movement the structure it deserves.
The plan:
Curated poetry nights designed around emotion and storytelling.
Small-format events that feel like experiences, not productions.
Strategic partnerships that add real value — not clutter.
A membership model to bring like-minded creatives closer together.
We don’t need more noise.
We need spaces that move people.
That’s what 2026 will be about.
Closing Thoughts
The Creative Industry Collective started as a whisper.
Three nights later, it became a conversation.
And now, it’s becoming a culture.
To everyone who showed up, performed, sponsored, collaborated, or simply believed — thank you. You were part of the beginning.
The spark is lit.
Now we build the fire.
Follow the journey: @itsjlgmedia
