The theme of this year’s Harvest Party & Music Fest is “Cultivating Community”. If you click on the above poster you can view a slide show of last years event.
Good Cheer believes in stressing the importance of understanding and strengthening our connection with food. We encourage healthy food choices and earth friendly cultivating techniques and the word is getting out! Organic farming is growing in response to the demand and that is a good thing for the community and the world.
Hunger in America touches more people than you can possibly imagine; hunger can be so close to home. It’s not easy to admit that you are in need. I did a post awhile back that had a short video on Hunger in America. Perhaps this is a good time to bring it forward once again. I can imagine that many of our clients at the food bank would like to convey their appreciation for helping them in their time of need.
Without your support we would find it difficult to be your steward in the fight against hunger in the community.
Thank you for being there. Just click on the thank you below to view the video.
Before I talk about the Harvest Festival it is important to give thanks to the community support that we recently received through Whidbey Island Bank’s Community Challenge in August. The total funds received, when added to the $5,000 matching grant from Whidbey Island Bank, plus an additional $5,000 match from an anonymous donor, will allow us to keep the Food Bank shelves stocked for the next three months!
Food is an ongoing need, though, so we are mindful that our upcoming holiday appeal is what will keep us going through the lean winter months of January through March. Let’s hope that the economy improves to the point that our record-number of clients begins to decline.
The Harvest Party and Music Fest is a time to celebrate the harvest; a time for the people in the community to gather and celebrate life! You’ll find garden workshops, local music, great food, a cook-off competition, raffles for the garden shed from Bob Bowling Rustics and the garden quilt created by the Trinity Lutheran Church Quilters. You can click on the links to find out more if you haven’t had a chance to read the past posts.
The Harvest Party and Music Fest is having a scarecrow contest and you’ll all have a chance to vote for the winner. Bunny was voted the top scarecrow in the staff scarecrow contest!
These types of events are special for the kids. Children can take part in Garden Bingo and win gift certificates, try their skill at a penny toss for glassware and crystal, and enjoy a crafts and reading tent with a garden story-time at 1 p.m. sponsored by the Sno-Isle Libraries.
Free Community Gardening Workshops:
9:00 a.m to 10:30 a.m.: Top Tips for Fall Planting (by Cary Peterson)
1:00 to 2:00 p.m.: Composting How-To Class
2:00 to 3 p.m.: How to Build & Maintain a Worm Bin (by JaNoah Spratt)
Local musicians (organized by Julie Pigott and emceed by South Whidbey’s “conductor of fun” Jim Freeman) will play sets between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Drawings will be held at 3 p.m. for the greenhouse/garden shed built and donated by Bob Bowling, and the garden quilt donated by the Trinity Lutheran Quilters. (Raffle tickets are available at all Good Cheer Thrift Stores and the Bayview site, with proceeds to benefit the garden).
Cooking teams from three local nonprofits will choose ingredients from the garden and the food bank (plus a surprise ingredient), then in a competition resembling “Iron Chef” and “Chopped!” create two out of three choices of an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert to be judged by the public for a dollar a vote. Cooking starts at 11 a.m. with judging beginning at noon.
This year’s festival artwork, created by local artist Kathy Marshall, will be auctioned off at noon.
You can view a complete schedule of events and musicians by clicking here.
Thank you to our Festival Sponsors!
Major Sponsors: Island Athletic Club • Nichols Bros. Boat Builders • Porter-Whidbey Insurance • The Star Store • Whidbey Marketplace and News •
Additional Sponsors: Music for the Eyes
Have a Happy Harvest Festival!
Good Cheer!
The Good Cheer Rack is having a grand re-opening this weekend starting on September 4th. A grand celebration; with barbecued hot dogs and hamburgers!
We wanted to have a larger site to display our goods and it was a necessity to have a “REAL” dressing room. Yes, it has a door:)
We’ve been moving into the world of social networking over the past year. The Good Cheer Blog and Good Cheer Garden Blog have been well received and is a great way to keep you informed of the happenings at the food bank.
We now have a Facebook site for the Rack in Clinton. This gives us the ability to show new arrivals and is just another way of having a conversation with the community on South Whidbey Island.
Play our Rack Bingo game, the more you shop, the more you save. You can turn in your receipt for our special hourly drawing and you could win a gift certificate good for half the total on your sales receipt.
Good Cheer!
Chef Carly the Good Cheer Garden Scarecrow
I hope you all have September 11th marked on your calendars! This is the day of our 3rd annual Harvest Party and Music Fest at the Bayview site. Harvest Festivals celebrate the time of harvest and this year our theme is Cultivating Community. The seeds of community support are as unique and healthful as the harvest that we will be celebrating.
This year we are we are having a Chef Cook-Off Contest; yes very much like the TV Show “Iron Chefs”.
The competitors will be preparing two dishes (an appetizer, entree or a dessert) to be judged by the public for a dollar a vote. Cooking starts at 11 am. and judging will begin at noon. Winners will be determined by which team sells the most tastes and the judging should end between 1:30 p.m. and 2:00 pm.
The teams will use produce from the Good Cheer garden and food available in the food bank (plus a surprise ingredient) to create their dishes.
The Competitors:
The CMA Soup Kitchen
Whidbey Island Nourishes
Good Cheer Team
And the winner is?
We would like the cooking teams to have the same equipment so that competition is fair. We could use your help by providing certain items that we need. Of course, all will be returned to owners the following Monday:)
The items that we need for the competition are the following:
Outdoor camp stoves (like Coleman propane ones).
The burners from turkey deep fry sets.
Propane powered portable cooking equipment of all kinds (i.e., grills, outdoor ovens).
If you have any questions about what you may have to loan you can call the Good Cheer Food bank at 360-221-6454.
Good Cheer!
Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz – If he only had a brain.
Have you ever thought about making a scarecrow? Well, your time has arrived! We are having a scarecrow contest for the Good Cheer Harvest Festival on September 11th.
This is a change of pace from Harvest Festival Garden Quilt Raffle and Garden Shed/Greenhouse Raffle.
The Scarecrow Contest is a chance to show your creativity and to win a $50 gift certificate at the Good Cheer Thrift Stores and bragging rights on South Whidbey Island. You can click here to print out an entry form.
A scarecrow is a device, traditionally a human figure or mannequin dressed in old clothes (think thrift store), placed in fields by farmers to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.
Below you’ll find four scarecrows made by the staff at Good Cheer. You may have seen Chef Carly at the Good Cheer Garden and she will be used to promote the Chef Cook Off at the Harvest Festival. We will talk to that in a later post; she is not part of the voting contest!
You’ll find contributions from the Clinton Good Cheer Two Thrift Store, the Langley Thrift Store, the Good Cheer Garden and the Good Cheer Distribution Center.
The winning group will have a pizza party prepared by the other three groups!
Jim and Larry
Our names are Jim and Larry, we are the cutest scarecrows as we were modeled after two of Good Cheer’s cutest most faithful volunteers Jim and Larry. We wanted to be just like Jim and Larry because they bring GOOD CHEER to wherever they volunteer. They work at Good Cheer Two in Clinton, the Food Bank and the Distribution Center. They are best buddies so you can NOT vote for them separately as they are a team. When you vote for Jim & Larry you are showing your support for ALL of the Good Cheer volunteers which is the heart of the Good Cheer organization.
The real Jim and Larry!
Hi! I’m Lucky Louey. I used to be scattered in bits and pieces all over the Langley Good Cheer Thrift Store. When one day the good folks there decided to put me all together. They worked very hard and put in many hours to make me just right and made me the Scarecrow I am today!!! I get to meet and greet everyone as they come through the door of the store!!! I can really be a part of Good Cheer now!!! That’s why I feel like I am a VERY Lucky Louey!!!
Hi my name is Bunny, and you can visit me at the entrance way at Good Cheer Food Bank. I work in the Good Cheer garden keeping their food bank cooler and shelves full of fresh vegetable. Inch by inch, row by row, I help make the garden grow. All it takes is a rake, a hoe and piece of fertile ground. I was created in two afternoons by families of the staff and volunteers. So a vote for me is voting for family fun. I’ll see you at the Good Cheer Harvest Party and Music Fest on September 11th.
My name is Donation Dave ~ I came from all over the island I am completely made of donated items from Good Cheer’s distribution center; right down to the safety pins that hold me together. I feel like a clown most of the time showing my sad face because we all wish we could do more for the people using the food bank. Wanting to make Good Cheer the best food bank we can, NO money was spent in putting me together. Please vote for the “Best Scarecrow” ~ Donation Dave!!! Those who contributed to my creation were; Dave, Sean, R.J., Reva (the shoe lady), Gail (the linen lady) and Terri to name a few oops John too.
To vote for a particular Scarecrow all you need to do is click on response in the top right hand corner of the post. This will take you to a comment page; just indicate the name of the Scarecrow that you most appreciated. You can leave a comment if you’d like; just be kind. If the comments section says No Responses it means that yours is the first!
Thanks for participating!
Good Cheer!
It seems as though we have another angel supporting our cause at Good Cheer! We know that there are many of you and you bring happiness and peace of mind to many on this island of ours.
“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”
Buddha
“You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
It all started with Whidbey Island Bank and now other candles are being lit!
We have until August 31st to do good and we thank you in advance for your kindness and support.
You help us to keep the candles burning!
Whidbey Island Bank is truly a community bank and it happens to be the only bank that still has a headquarters on the island. The bank was started by a group of Whidbey Island business people in Coupeville back in the early 1960s.
Today, the bank is one of the largest employers on Whidbey Island. This is a bank that cares about the community and how it does the business of banking.
Last year the bank earned a 5-Star rating from Bauer Financial for financial strength and stability. Nice to know that we have one of the strongest banks in the nation right here on the Island.
Whidbey Island Bank has a challenge for you!
Whidbey Island Bank is sponsoring a Community Challenge Matching Fund Drive from now through August 31st to help raise needed funds for the Good Cheer Food Bank in Bayview. The bank will match donations from the community up to a total amount of $5,000. The matched fund potential of $10,000 will help Good Cheer keep food shelves stocked through what continues to be a time of increased needs owing to the continued recession.
We are all at our best when we are helping others!
According to Pam Bickel the manager of the Langley Branch, “The idea of a fundraiser began with an article in the South Whidbey Record in June about the increased use of and decline of monetary donations for the Food Bank. Whidbey Island Bank feels very much in partnership with the communities it serves and wanted to help in some way. The bank felt it could maximize a donation by matching contributions made by our community members during a month-long campaign up to a total amount of $5000.00. Part of being a good neighbor means stepping up when the community meets challenging times.”
We are very grateful to Whidbey Island Bank for their leadership in this matching fund drive. They continue to be strong supporters of Good Cheer in terms of both donations and employees who volunteer at Good Cheer.
Donations are being accepted at all Whidbey Island Bank locations on South Whidbey:
Clinton Branch - Branch Manager Candy Anderson at 360-341-5238
Freeland Branch – Branch Manager Anne Bobinac at 360-331-5868
Langley Branch – Branch Manager Pam Bickel at 360-221-0203
Donations can also be made at all Good Cheer Thrift Stores and the Food Bank office in Bayview. You can mail donations to Good Cheer Community Challenge / PO Box 144, Langley WA 98260 or click here to contribute online.
Donations should be identified as “Community Challenge” in the memo area on checks and online.
Good Cheer!
The Island County Fair is sponsoring a Half-Price Thursday event to benefit the Good Cheer Food Bank. Anyone bringing in two items for the food bank will be able to purchase their admission tickets at half price. This offer is valid from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. on August 19th.
If the timing on Thursday doesn’t work for you remember that the Good Cheer Food Bank is inviting children and their parents or guardians to dress as a healthy food item and march with them in the Island County Fair Parade, Saturday morning, August 21st. Every costumed adult, teen, and child (along with parent/guardian) in the Good Cheer parade group will receive a free admission pass to the Fair that day, plus a gift certificate for $10 good at Good Cheer Thrift Stores.
Bring some food with you and drop it off at the Good Cheer Food Barrel at the Langley Thrift Store.
Since 1920, the Island County Fair has been held on the south end of Whidbey Island, mostly in Langley. At that time, the County Extension Agent asked all the communities to host a Fair. Only residents of Bayview were willing. A year later it was moved to Langley and a year after that to the schoolgrounds next door to the present Fairgrounds. The first parcel of the Fairgrounds was acquired in 1934 for $300 and consisted of a five-acre chicken ranch.
Over the years they have acquired more land and built more buildings, but the intent of those first fairs still inspires the fairs of today.
It’s all about being an old fashioned county fair!
You can get all the information that you will ever need by following this link to the Island County Fair Website.
Horses, cows pigs are typical of a county fair.
The entertainment promises to be very good
Thursday 6:45 p.m. the Islanders Steel Drums followed by Carrie Cunningham & the Six Shooters at 8:30 p.m.
Friday at 6:30 p.m. Knut Bell & the Blue Collars followed at 8:00 by the Timebenders.
Saturday 6:45 p.m. starts off with Cee Cee James followed by the DooWah Riders at 8:30.
We wrote a nice piece on Cee Cee James; you can click here to view it.
The shows on Sunday end with a little magic from Sterling at 5:15 p.m.
Entertainment starts everyday at 9:30 a.m. I’ve just highlighted a few of the great groups that will be entertaining you this coming week.
Thanks for your continued support and enjoy the fair!
Good Cheer!
The Good Cheer Food Bank invites children and their parents or guardians to dress as a healthy food item and march with them in the Island County Fair Parade, Saturday morning, August 21st. Every costumed adult, teen, and child (along with parent/guardian) in the Good Cheer parade group will receive a free admission pass to the Fair that day, plus a gift certificate for $10 good at Good Cheer Thrift Stores.
The 2009 Good Cheer Parade Group
There were a wide variety of costumes at last years parade. Here again is an opportunity to show your creativity and support a good cause. Many people look for our group in the parade, and the kids love being cheered on as they show support for our community food bank.
The Grape theme
Musical farmers and carrot people
Strange creatures lurking around the parade grounds
Pretty girls
Hot dogs, not sure how healthy they are, but it looks like good fun!
You can find childrens registration forms by clicking here. Adult forms are here. They will also be available at the Good Cheer Thrift Stores in Langley and Clinton, plus the Food Bank in Bayview.
Participants should meet in costume for the parade at 9 a.m. in front of Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley.
Come and march with us!
Good Cheer!
Painting for the Good Cheer Food Bank was an idea that Tina Beard initiated. This is The Paint Escapes’s 4th Annual Good Cheer Fundraiser. The fundraiser will run through the summer until Memorial Day.
Paint an Animal Mug for $10 or a selected plain mug at full price and the Paint Express will donate $5 to the food bank. Since this is a fundraiser; coupons can’t be redeemed on coffee cups.
Tina Beard’s, The Paint Escape, has raised $1360 over the last three years.
Tina Beard purchased the store from Stephanie Zea who is the bookkeeper at the Good Cheer Food Bank. She purchased the store 4 years ago and moved into the current location in Freeland two and a half years ago.
Paint for Good Cheer began in 2007 with piggy banks, 2008 was soup bowls and last year night lights.
Tina’s goal has been 100 pieces each year and she has been very close to meeting that goal every year.
This is a great experience for all ages. You can enjoy a fun and relaxing pottery or glass fusing experience at The Paint Escape studio in Freeland on lovely Whidbey Island. A great bonding experience for you and your children; maybe there is an artist hidden within one of you?
You will find a large selection of unfinished bisque (unglazed porcelain white ceramic ware) and over 70 beautiful paint colors to choose from. You may choose from over 40 colors of glass and idea books are available. Their friendly staff is always available to guide you through the process.
Tina tells me that she has had wedding parties where the couple picks out the dishes and the family members come in and paint them. That’s a personal touch that will create many memories.
There are a thousand ways to design a piece of pottery. They offer stamps, stencils, and examples for inspiration. A wonderful way to make hand made gifts and have a great time. No experience required. Everyone can do this!
Great fun for a birthday party!
Just an opportunity to explore your inner artist?
Tina was showing me how they do fused glass. The flower piece above; shows how you use a base glass and then stack glass pieces on top. The flower on the right has been fused in a kiln. The bowl at the top is an example of a fused glass piece. Slumping the glass allows the artist to change the shape of the piece.
Kiln used for fusing the glass.
The Paint Escape is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 pm.
Friday Family Night 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday Ladies Night 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Special Events By Appointment
1664 E. Main St
Freeland, Wa
360-331-3166
Good Cheer!
The Langley CMA church will be supporting the Good Cheer Food Bank at their community outreach event. This coming week from Tuesday July 20th through Thursday July 23rd (9:30am to noon) they will be holding their annual Vacation Bible Study for students K- 6th grade.
Events: bible stories, skits, prizes, games, snacks
Cost: Free
Where: CMA Church in downtown Langley
503 Cascade Ave and Langley Road
360-221-6980
At this event they will be collecting monetary donations as well as non-perishable items (focusing on Peanut Butter and Tuna).
You may find some young visitors at you door this week:)
Thursday from approximately 10:30 until 11:30am the 5th/6th grade students will be going door to door in Langley to collect non-perishable food donations.
Thank you for your support!
Good Cheer!
Wondering what the word “Choochokam” means? Choochokam is a Hopi word which roughly translates as “a Gathering of Stars.” Our “stars,” a diverse group of several hundred local artists, inspired by the early organizers to create what we now know as The Choochokam Festival of the Arts.
The Festival, which began as a dream, has been a reality for the past 35 years! This years event was a wonderful mix of art and music; the weather was just perfect. The Choochokam Arts Festival has become a stage for our community artists and one can see that it is a true reflection of the richness and depth of talent found on the island.
On a warm sunny day what better than a root beer float!
Kay Stanley (pictured on the left) is a member of the board for the Good Cheer Food Bank. She headed the committee that put together this effort to raise money for our organization.
Kay organized 20 volunteers with shifts that included 3 volunteers per shift.
Good Cheer was spread through-out the weekend Food Bank fundraiser.
Total income from the event was $1090.55.
Another step in creating a hunger-free community.
Good Cheer!
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