CONTENTS 5/22/2020
Graduation Parade
Neighborhood Walk For Chalk Art
Unemployment Benefit Safety
Cooking Classes For Kids
Hosta Clearance
Hearing Aid Found!
Seattle Folklife Festival Online
Whatcom County Cloth Face Covering Directive
Costco Run?
Song: Canned Goods
GRADUATION PARADE
Calling all 2020 High School Graduates from Columbia!!! Since traditional graduation parties aren’t possible this year let’s start a new tradition: SENIOR PARADE! Think 4th-of-July Neighborhood Parade but the seniors will be driven in their personally decorated cars on Saturday, June 13th from 12:00-1:30ish. Meet at Mrs. Valle’s house at 2515 Kulshan Street at high noon to start the line up of vehicles The parade will snake up and down Columbia streets so that neighbors can celebrate our seniors in the safety of their yards. Seniors wear your 🎓 and gowns. Neighbors prepare to make some noise in celebration!! Thank you, ~ Natalie Wermus, 2527 Victor
NEIGHBORHOOD WALK FOR CHALK ART
Saturday, July Fourth, 2020
Each household is invited to create chalk art in front of their own house! That lets us handle social distancing. Risk equals proximity times duration. Since artwork takes lots of time, we also need lots of distance. Our house lots are 40 feet wide. That should do it.
If you don’t have a sidewalk, see if you can talk a neighbor into letting you use theirs. Or use Columbia School. (We’re invited.) If you can’t get down on your knees, invite your grandkids to create your artwork and cheer them on through the front window. If you have a big board fence, use that! If you have spare cash, hire a professional artist to do your fence or sidewalk. They sure need the work! (It’s your fence; you could even have them use real paint…)
If it rains, we’ll just shift to the next dry day. But it will be July so we’re probably fine…
Many families already have their own chalk. We’re trying to get a bulk price on chalk sets. You can go buy your own now. Supplies seem to be limited, so look soon. I’d love donations of either chalk sets or money to buy more so we can have them available for households that might need chalk. We don’t want money to get in the way of neighbors joining in!
There are some streets without sidewalks in our neighborhood. Blocks could apply to have their block closed and do art work on the streets.
I spoke today with the Principal of Columbia Elementary, and he says we can use the sidewalks surrounding the school, and maybe the playground too. He’s going to talk with the PTA, and send a notice to families in mid-June. I think it would be good if we had some volunteers at the school to help designate squares and make sure artists maintain distancing.
I’d love a team of roving photographers to get pictures of all the artwork, and maybe of the artists too. Are you good with a camera?
Let’s throw a party!!! Love/Fl!p
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT SAFETY
FYI, someone has filed for unemployment benefits in my name (it’s happening to A TON of people right now.) I just talked to an officer at the Bellingham PD and they said you should create a profile with the unemployment department, without making a claim. If you have claimed your info, then an identity theft will not be able to make a separate claim with your info. ~ Amber Hixson, Park St.
COOKING CLASSES FOR KIDS
From Common Threads: We joyfully garden, cook, and eat with 7000+ kids in schools across Whatcom County. ABC Salad and a Noodle Bowl. Kids ages 5 and up are invited to follow along with our food educators over Zoom to make simple, healthy, and tasty recipes. Parents are invited to join too!
Ingredient and supply lists are posted in the event description on our website – but don’t worry if you don’t have the exact items. Our Food Educators will offer ideas for substitution and creativity. Payment is on a pay what you can sliding scale. Please sign up no later than the day before the event. Once you’ve registered, you will receive an email an hour before class with a link to join. You can expect to see classes on Tuesdays and Fridays, and we’ll continue adding classes to the website as registration becomes available.
https://commonthreadsfarm.org/
HOSTA CLEARANCE
My husband Kurt is trying to get out of the hosta business this season, so he is selling mature, multi stem (most are dividable into several plants) hostas for $3 each. If you are interested in buying any, please get in touch with him directly by email kurt@treefrognight.com or text 360-319-3172. You can pick them up at his permaculture food forest, 4 miles from I-5 on the Mt. Baker Highway. Warm thoughts to all, Kara Black
HEARING AID FOUND!
Unbelievably we went back to the Squalicum Park trail today and Vicki FOUND her hearing aid on the trail!AMAZING luck!!! ~ Carol Oberton
SEATTLE FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL ONLINE
This weekend: May 23-25. Featuring 6 program channels and a virtual marketplace, this festival will bring together over 30 performances, 30 vendors, and YOU.
Music: https://www.nwfolklifestreaming.org/
Vendors: https://www.nwfolklifestreaming.org/virtualmarketplace/
WHATCOM COUNTY CLOTH FACE COVERING DIRECTIVE
http://www.whatcomcounty.us/3404/Directive-To-Wear-Face-Coverings
Starting May 22, 2020, everyone in Whatcom County is directed to wear a face covering while at any indoor or outdoor public space where you may be within 6 feet of someone who does not live with you. For more information about the Whatcom County Health Department’s cloth face covering directive, visit www.whatcomcounty.us/masks.
COSTCO RUN?
If anyone is going to Costco, I learned they have something seasonal in stock that I adore. ~ Love/Fl!p
SONG: CANNED GOODS
Greg Brown wrote this song about his Grandma. You might also like the 14 minute version with the story in the middle. Greg is a great story teller. You can find it on YouTube. My mom grew up on a farm and always made home-canned produce. She had a root cellar built under the 1950s suburban ranch house where I grew up. My folks had a small basement room dug out under the kitchen, accessed from outside. Rough concrete walls with a dirt floor. And shelves and shelves of pickles & peaches and pears…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb-0ZCqga48
Love/Fl!p 360-671-4511 cell/text flip@columbianeighborhood.org