June 11, 2021
CHALK FESTIVAL!
Chalk! Live Music! Crafts! Plants! Costumes!
columbianeighborhood.org/chalk.
Please join us on July 4th to play with chalk on the sidewalk in front of your own home. This is for all ages, from pre-schoolers to adults, beginners to professionals. No skill is required.
Chalk in the morning. Last year we had everything from hopscotch squares to vivid peacocks & dragons. There were vines clear down the street, house to house.
At noon, a group from the Bellingham Community Band will play at Elizabeth Park. Socially distance, please.
And then we can all dress up and tour the neighborhood for the afternoon and early evening to see our fun creations! Musicians are encouraged to play from their front porches. Crafters, artists, gardeners etc can sign up to display & sell their wares.
How to get on the map: Click on the link to columbianeighborhood.org/chalk. Scroll down and click the button to fill in the sign-up form. This will collect your contact information (which we will only use to coordinate with you and will never share or exploit in any way), and the location where you plan to chalk/play music, etc. We will add your location onto the map, and we’d love a description if you’d like to add one.
Last year we found that the more houses on a block signed up, the more folks came to see what was happening there. Invite your neighbors and sign up together!
Chalk: There’s a place on the sign-up page to request chalk if you need it. Please try to provide your own chalk if you can, since we have a limited supply. There will be volunteers from the neighborhood association distributing chalk on Saturdays at the Share Shack, 2000 W Connecticut, between 1:00 & 3:00 PM. You can also get chalk from Flip. Phone or text 360-671-4511 to set up a time.
The Chalk Walk Promenade: Dress up! Decorate your bikes, trikes, wagons, and your sweet selves! We can have a socially distanced tour, and we ourselves can be an important part of the Event. As we view the Chalk, we can also view each other. Use your vehicle as a float. Decorate! Celebrate!
This is a community project. We can use folks to distribute flyers for starters. If you have ideas of how to make this better or would like to get involved, email Fl!p Breskin: flip@columbianeighborhood.org
WHERE’S FL!P?
Both my blog and my health crashed the first week of March. I’m working on recovering both. My health is slowly improving. My stomach got tied in such knots back in January that I stopped being able to digest food. And then in early March I fell and wrenched my back. My back and hip are now largely recovered and I have just completed a physical therapy course for Fall Prevention. I actually gained half a pound last week. Lost it again, but it feels like a light at the end of the tunnel. I can at least eat. I’ve begun swimming again this week now that I’m fully vaccinated.
I need to put together a small support team for the blog. Today, when I send out this first single post, I may (or may not) get hundreds of bounces. I got flagged as a spammer in early March, which was the last straw for me. I hit automatic limits: I was sending to too many subscribers (over 3000), too often; with too many subjects & too many links. And I got hundreds of bounce messages right after I fell, when I had barely eaten in a couple months.
I hope to start posting again on a far more limited basis as my health allows. But it is also possible that this post will be the only one because of the spammer flag. It’s now safe again to click on the website link any time, to see what’s up. I will at least post as we prepare for the Chalk Festival.
I would love your help to check in with your neighbors to see if they got this message. If not, they can subscribe again on the blog. It’s easy. Or they can ask you for the news.
SOUP BRIGADE
Both donations and fresh cooks dwindled away when I stopped posting. That was the hardest part for me. Unsheltered neighbors are being driven away from wherever they try to rest. And they can’t leave their tents because a tent can’t be locked. So there is still hunger. Outreachers are delivering about 35 meals a day to folks sheltering in woods and fields. There are hungry mouths for 100. We could use more cooks, and donations for supplies. Also, if you’re willing, I would love permission to share your contact information with Lorelei Bowers, who has taken over coordinating meals. We’re mostly making casseroles. There’s a place to sign up to cook here:
https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/qm4vz8
RADIO FREE Fl!P
McKAIN LAKEY: CICADAS IN THE TREES
McKain started taking guitar lessons from me when she was 12 years old. Over half her lifetime ago. She’s gone on to be a professional musician, and I am honored to have gotten to be part of her journey. She’s playing a live local concert the evening of June 30th. Email Neal for reservations. Vaccines required. nlharold@gmail.com. This song is beautiful!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnmszHyi1Yk
BOB BOSSIN: PASS IT ALONG
Transatlantic session. Wait till you see who’s playing! And what a wonderful song…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNj7LyHqwFE
Love/Fl!p