Important Announcement!

Dear Friday Night Live Faithfuls...

This Friday, October 29th, because of a variety of complex scheduling issues, there will be NO Friday Night Live. The SW Commons Coffeehouse Bookstore will be open though from 8:30am - 6pm.

FNL will resume with exuberance in November, so stay tuned for an updated list of performers! (yes, there have been changes to the line up too, so...) 


Our Friday Night Live program is vibrant and growing, with a great assortment of local talent asking how they can get involved. Watch for more information as we get things firmed up.

A Moment in Time

Most of us lead busy lives. We fill our days with either school, sports, band and homework -- or getting the kids ready for school, making lunches, picking them up, and dealing with after-school issues – and/or working to make ends meet, maintaining the house, planning for retirement – or dealing with chronic or crisis health care issues, adjusting to a fixed income, taking care of a “bucket list,” and just making the most of life at a slower pace.

Regardless of our spot in the timeline of life, we are constantly moving, and it can be hard to pay attention to individual moments.

But then there are special moments, when time seems to stop for a bit and we are able to really, deeply see what is happening all around us.

I had such a moment yesterday.

It was the Open House for the South Whidbey Commons. For days, the Board, Staff, AmeriCorps Team, and VOLUNTEERS had worked to set the stage. And on Sunday morning, they turned on the lights!

Volunteers from 12 – 45 walked into the Commons and set about their work alongside the others. Middle school students, high school students, adult professionals, all stepped up to clean the house, prepare food, brew coffee, greet guests, refill platters, and tell the story of the Commons.

What skills did this take? And understanding of food safety, an eye toward minimizing waste, an ability to work with a large team in a small space, a willingness to do the same thing over and over again for 3 hours, a voice to represent the story they had lived as a trained volunteer, a sense of comfort in guiding peers of different ages through the motions of a complex event, and a desire to have fun through it all.

Too many words? Let’s cut to the chase. Yesterday, I saw the volunteers at the South Whidbey Commons ROCK!!!!! They gave forward to their community, knowing that it was a good investment. They practiced food handling, cash handling, customer service, and community building with every interaction they engaged in.

And they did it in celebration of a small space in Langley that has been shaped into a home for Community. They did it in partnership with a Board that has been driven by passion and a hunger for connectedness between the glorious individuals who live on south Whidbey. They did it because they had a sense of ownership in the Commons.

Turns out, the guests had this same sense of ownership too! During the Open House, the volunteers overheard them bragging. That’s right, bragging.

“This is where I offer SAT prep classes.” “This is where I host financial planning classes.” “I put in THAT window.” “I painted THAT room.” “I played music in this room.” “My writing group meets here.” “ I worked in that garden.” “I sit here to work on my book.” “I donated three bags of books for the bookstore.” “I come in three times a week for coffee and a scone.”

It was a very good moment. For a lot of people.  It was a celebration of community, in every sense of the word.

We hope you were a part of it. If not, don’t worry. Come by anytime. The moment is always there to be enjoyed. You just have to slow down long enough to see it.

We’ll be waiting for you!

OPEN HOUSE!

On Sunday, October 24, from 2-5pm, something special will be happening in Langley...the South Whidbey Commons is having an OPEN HOUSE! While it's not uncommon to find lots of activity going on at the Commons Coffeehouse Bookstore, the event will definitely crank up the energy level.

First of all, there will be FOOD! Open House refreshments will highlight our new menu items, like the featured quesadillas, hummus, bagel chips, and Tree Top baked goods straight from our oven.

And of course, there will be coffee, hot chocolate, and tea.

But to make the event super special, we'll have a sampling of the kinds of community-based activities that the South Whidbey Commons supports throughout the year...music, poetry, crafts, legos, art, and more.

Why do an Open House now? Even though there is still work to do before we can say the remodel is completely finished, The Commons is so proud of how the community has come together to reinvigorate the building. We want to show off the progress, and encourage you to see it as YOUR place...one belonging to the community as a whole.

So, just to be clear, YOU are invited. And so are your friends and neighbors. Make sure they know by passing along this info :)

See you on the 24th! 2-5pm. 124 Second Street, Langley.

What a Week!

It's been hoppin' around here! We've introduced some new menu items, stepped up our volunteer training program, kicked off our advertising for the upcoming Open House (mark your calendars for Oct. 24, 2-5pm!), made some extremely cool nametags (check out the photos in the photo album!), and got in some more fabulous used books for our customers. And it's only Thursday!

Life here at the South Whidbey Commons is always fun, but for some reason it feels especially exciting right now. My guess is it's the people who are spending time with us. Gena is always phenomenal, and Tracie and Darcy are making AmeriCorps proud with their genuinely happy attitudes and sharp wit...but it's the volunteers and customers who seem even more engaged and energized this week.

I wish I could say that better. As I type, Gena and I are sitting here with our coffee, wishing there were more words in the English language, especially more words that add meaning to "happy." Maybe "jovial," "joyful," "exuberant," "deeply moved," "ecstatic," but we worry that people wouldn't take such words seriously.

The point is, people ARE HAPPY around here this week! And we see no reason that's going to change anytime in the near future. So please, come join the fun. Coffee's on :)

Friday Night Live

The fun continues! Friday Night Live serves a couple of purposes. It furthers the Commons’ mission of providing a “community living room,” it offers a couple of extra business hours each week which is always helpful for a non-profit, and it attracts a wide variety of personalities and talents to the Commons that introduces more and more people to our programs over time.

Here’s what’s on the calendar right now…please come join us! There is no charge to get in the door, but we gently encourage you to arrive early enough to grab some coffee or tea and a goodie, and performers always welcome tips :)
     
October 8 - Jack deYonge, reading from his book Boomtown Boy
October 15 - Don Bille & Bill Haglund - music
October 22 - To Be Announced- music
October 29 - Story Circle - storytelling
November 5 - Nicole Ledgerwood - music
November 12 - Wake Up Laughing - Improv (note change...Kurt Hoelting had to move to a later date, so stay tuned!)
November 19 - Uncommon Characters - comedy
November 26 - Wake Up Laughing - Improv
Shows start around 7pm.