A Cry for Help and the upcoming events at Rockhoppers

A long time ago I read a biography of Vincent Van Gogh. The biography talked about a cafe that he and several authors of the day and several other artists and musicians used to meet at. They would sit for hours and discuss issues of the day. "Among his new friends Vincent counts the painters he refers to as the "artists of the Petit Boulevard" -- Toulouse-Lautrec, Signac, Bernard, and Louis Anquetin-artists who are younger and not as famous as the Impressionists. He organizes a group show of his and his friends' paintings at a Paris restaurant. The artists often gather at Père Tanguy's paint shop, where Vincent regularly sees Gauguin. Tanguy, who generously advances supplies to many young artists, occasionally displays Vincent's paintings in his store window." I loved this concept and when I purchased Rockhoppers it is something that I envisioned happening here. It hasn't really happened that way but I am still working toward that goal.

So with this idea in mind, I came up with the idea of having coffee klatches. These would be set up so the public and leading figures of the day could sit and share ideas and visions over a cup of coffee, tea or beer and wine. The coffee klatches I have set up for the next month or so include local candidates running for office. The first coffee klatch scheduled is next week. Here is the list of coffee klatches that have been scheduled:

Thursday, July 24 4:30PM Sarah Hart

Saturday, July 26 4:00PM Tim Knue

Wednesday, July 30 7:00PM Helen Price Johnson

Saturday, August 2 2:00PM Reese Rose

Wednesday, August 6 6:00PM Kurt Gordon

Thursday, August 7 5:30PM Patricia Terry

Wednesday, August 20 6:00PM John Dean

I hope that you all will consider attending these coffee klatches. They are intended for a meaningful dialogue and discussion of ideas and visions that we share or don't share with candidates we will vote on in November.

As a way of getting more customers, we have also started opening our doors at 8:00AM every day now. We are serving a variety of breakfasts and lunches. So please stop in and see what we have to offer.

We will be opening 7 days a week as well as earlier in the morning starting the 28th of July. This is a big step for us and we hope it will help bring in more of you. As always we would like you to consider us when scheduling birthday parties, showers, card games, or any small gatherings. Give me a call and lets see what we can do for you.

Rockhoppers has had it's fair share of hard spots lately and the current construction on the building has been devastating for our business. It has forced us to change our schedule around so much and then the fact that construction was going on has made it impossible to draw in visitors. We are seeing this occurring again next week and we have been told that the construction will probably be continuing on into August. The poor economy, the lower number of visitors and whooping cough have all contributed to making it very difficult for us to survive. So I am putting out the word... If you would like to see Rockhoppers stay alive and in this community.. I need your help. Stop for coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert. Buy some art or furniture, and help support our shop. Rockhoppers loves its customers. Many of you have become friends. We need your help and your support. Thank you.

Trying to stay alive on Whidbey Island