New downtown venue for Thursday's gathering!
Maren Souders
I am very pleased to announce that I have found a downtown indoor
venue for our meetings during the cool & rainy season. It is the
seating in the atrium adjoining the Purest Cafe, at 115 SW Ash St. (http://purestcafe.net
) The cafe is right on the MAX line, and just a few blocks away from
the bus mall. (And an easy walk to Voodoo Doughnut, if you need a
sweet treat afterward!) I met with the owner, Inty Bautista, and he
was very nice and gracious. He would like for the cafe, and its
adjoining seating in the atrium, to be a community space - and he's
looking to increase traffic to his business, of course - so for the
time being he is allowing community groups to use the space at no
charge. All he requests is that we not bring in any outside food;
therefore, our gatherings will not be potlucks for this season. He
requests, but does not require, that each attendee make a small
purchase at the cafe, such as a cup of coffee or tea, a piece of
fruit, or one of their unique Japanese crepes (which are unfortunately
not vegan, but they are gluten-free). He recognizes and appreciates
that most folks in this group are tight on money, so he emphasized
that it's a request rather than a requirement, and also that beverages
start as low as $1.50-$2.00.
I really appreciate his generosity and community spirit, and am
excited about holding our meetings in this space. The building itself
is a lovely historic building with lots of character. I first became
aware of it about a year ago, when I got involved with the NW
Documentary Workshop - their office is upstairs. I hope this location
will be convenient for everyone, and I hope we can continue to use it
throughout the season, until park weather returns next summer.
As always, the gathering starts at 2:00 and runs for an hour or two,
depending on how much we get to talking.
I hope to see faces new and old on Thursday! Come down and join us!
~Maren
--
"Everything you want is just outside your comfort zone."
R. Allen