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| Community/Creativity Catalyst |
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| Leita Hermanson Crossfield |
Welcome to Upside Downtown and the Sparks for Innovation Newsletter. Upside Downtown. Caring. Connecting. Communicating. Working together for humanity, community, and connection
in Everett and beyond.
(425)344-7599.
We publish a FREE e-mail Newsletter in coordination with the Upside Downtown
web site and we welcome your submissions. Copyright 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007. Leita Hermanson Crossfield. All rights
reserved.
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Whether you're a survivor or a loved one, dealing with PTSD can be a lonely journey. Fortunately, there is help. Click on
the image above for a great starting point in your journey. "My mission is to ensure that other people never have to be alone
with the pain of PTSD, struggling to heal without help or support." --Patience Mason
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Patience Mason publishes the website, patiencepress.com as well as books such as "Recovering from the War...", news articles,
and information about her and her husband's personal experience with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and how she and
they, found healing in their journey. This site and her written works have been highly recommended to me, and I have read
many, which have all been very helpful. Her most recent work is "Home from the War," which can be downloaded directly from
her website. Her site is full of information, and other useful documents which you can download as well, some for free.
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| Leita and Robert |
WHAT'S NEW?
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For more details on Jennifer R. Bartley's book, Designing the New Kitchen Garden An American Potager Handbook, click here.
Well, it's fall, almost winter, and while I did plant a garden, it didn't quite look like the one featured on the cover
of Jennifer Bartley's book. The four raised beds I created are now empty. The only thing remaining are the Sweet Peas, which
are still climbing up the back fence. I learned a lot this year, and relied a lot on Mel Bartholomew's book "Square Foot Gardening,"
which is excellent and a book I'd recommend to anyone starting a garden. Let me know if you have a garden, small or large,
even if it's just a few containers of tomatoes. I'll also be sharing information I've gathered from my own research into living
an organic lifestyle. I'd love to hear your news and stories, too. So stop in often, e-mail, or call me at 425-344-7599.DIV>
For more information about Kitchen Gardening and the International Kitchen Garden Day 2007, click here.
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SELECTED ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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FRIDAYS SATURDAYS. MUSIC AT ESPRESSO AMERICANO, At the Main Library branch, downtown Everett, 2702 Hoyt. 7-9 P.M every
Friday and Saturday night. No cover, no age limit, kids welcome. Espresso Americana is also now at the Everett Transit Station.
Same great coffee, freshly made sandwiches and salads, and, of course, great local artwork.
COLBY ARCADE ART AND DOWNTOWN SCULPTURE EXHIBIT features sculptures in the downtown core. The Colby Arcade leads from the
EverPark Garage to Colby, next to Renee's. The downtown art sculpture exhibit is sponsored in part by Craig Skotdal/Skotdal
Real Estate, John Haugen/Crown Photo Systems and Rodney Moody. Sculptures are for sale. For more information: Van Valey House,
2130 Colby Ave, Everett, WA 98201, (425) 257-8300.
EVERETT PUBLIC LIBRARY HOSTS MANY COMMUNITY EVENTS. From free children's plays to Puppet Shows, a Mother-Daughter Books Group,
and kids story times, the library has many activities to please all. Call 425-257-8030. Events are held at the Main Library
on Hoyt and at the Evergreen Branch. www.epls.org.
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QUOTES FROM READERS
“Hi Leita! I just wanted to drop a line to you to say I am so happy for you that your husband is home safe and sound.
This must be a huge relief to you, even in the midst of readjusting to life with your partner around. I bet Robert is pleased
as punch. I admire your strength and positive attitude through your husband's absence. Not everyone can handle those circumstances.
I'm glad you were rewarded with his safe return. This also keeps me grounded in the knowledge that not all strong spouses
get the same happy result - and they are in my heart and thoughts always,” MJ.
“Hi Leita, Thanks, as always for your newsletter. I went to the Neighborhoods section and noticed a couple of tiny
things that could do with some tweaking: On the right hand description part: the description of the neighborhoods says "Bayside
encompasses most of downtown". Oh boy, somebody from Pt Gardner might take exception to that. The boundary is Hewitt so we
actually kind of share the core and they have the train station and all of the industrial stuff around it. Also, Mary Ehrlich
is still showing up as the Chair - Elle is correctly mentioned on the left side. Keep up the good work. Thanks again.”
Valerie.
“Hi Leita!!! Thank you so much for what you are doing for our community! Your newsletter is wonderful, and I'm sure
it's making a big difference to the many events in our area!!!! I'm so glad that your husband is home safely. A big thank
you to him and to you for his service. I'm looking forward to seeing you again soon!” – Myrna.
“A special thanks from me to your husband for making sure that my family
is safe each and every day.” Mark.
“Hi, Leita: I enjoyed reading that your husband made it home safely and that Robert and he were enjoying doing ‘dad’
things together. Also, there's so much going on in Everett. I really believe you're making a difference by keeping everyone
connected and informed.” Keep up the good work! Llynda.
“Leita, I probably have stated this before but it deserves to be stated again. Thank you so much for the weekly updates
on the Everett happenings. It helps me to stay connected to Everett (since I have left employment in Everett). I am glad
that your husband is back home. Take care! Have a great weekend!” Tammy.
“Dear Leita Hermanson: Thank you for having me on your e-mail
subscription of Upside Downtown. I am a member of the
Bayside Neighborhood, which incorporates most of the
downtown businesses. I wanted to inform you and your
readers of a Neighborhood event that is coming up, Clarke Park Bazaar.” Aileen M. Langhans.
"Your e-newsletter is GREAT. I really caught up on what is going on in town!" David Shaw, Arts Presenting & Organizational
Development, Art Beat, 425.444.5052 phone-message-fax, www.artbeatshows.org.
| Your guide and webhost. |
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| Leita Hermanson Crossfield (click photo to learn more) |
CONNECTING. COMMUNICATING. WORKING TOGETHER.
Thank you for visiting Upside Downtown. Upside Downtown was originally created to provide relevant and helpful information
to help downtown stakeholders, businesses and organizations make connections and to spread the word about downtown Everett,
to be a catalyst to help make downtown a more vibrant place to live, work, learn and play. We've expanded our focus to include
healthy living, with a special focus on organic kitchen gardening and a simpler, more healthy lifestyle.
Please feel free to browse our site to learn about downtown Everett. If you're a visitor, click on our Visitor's guide where
you'll find a wealth of information especially for you. At this site, you'll find the important associations , groups and
businesses that make up our downtown; an online Visitor's Guide that features dining, shopping, entertainment, accomodations
and more; a constantly updated events calendar; important downtown news; important information to grow your business as well
as future plans, marketing opportunities and more. This site is constantly evolving, and we'll be adding more content all
the time. We also welcome your suggestions.
Our vision is that Upside Downtown can be the voice and the clearing house that downtown groups and others can tap into, so
that we can all work together to augment and support the efforts of the many non-profits, organizations, groups and businesses
that are all working in our city to make it an even better place to live, work, learn and play.
From riverfront to waterfront, together, we will choreograph Everett into a beautifully orchestrated community symphony. We
hope you will join us in these efforts, and thank you for your inspiration.
With warm regards,
Leita
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Friday, August 15, 2003
Will downtown be ready for Arena opening?
RE: Aug 14 Opinion page piece “In our view: Arena will bring ‘em in; will downtown be ready?
After reading the opinion piece in the Herald August 14, I felt it important to comment on the importance of downtown’s preparedness
for the arena opening and to share the ways downtown and the waterfront are preparing for the opening of the Events Center.
The work of building a city, of preparing for an event such as the arena opening, is much like preparing for a climb on Mt.
Everest: a slow, tedious and arduous task. (My husband’s friend Brent Bishop climbs Mt. Everest on a regular basis, so I
understand a little bit about the process.) Unlike the climb, however, the work in the city is never ending, with a continuous
“summit” not a single one, made up of many events, such as the opening of the new arena, followed soon by the County Campus
redevelopment project, and others, often carried out by different groups, sometimes working together, sometimes not.
The fact that this work is an ongoing effort where results are sometimes incremental, sometimes slow and hard to see, presents
one of the greatest challenges to our revitalization efforts, especially in a fast paced society that seeks and demands instantaneous
gratification. It is easier to get a group to mobilize around an event as important, exciting and nationally recognized as
the USS Abraham Lincoln homecoming, far more difficult to sustain a level of interest necessary to carry out the often mundane,
day after day tasks of keeping a city vital and alive. While the actual arena opening is extremely important, a sustained
effort, with good first impressions happening for many on an ongoing basis as new groups arrive for a wide variety of events,
will be vital for the arena’s ongoing success, and for downtown.
Until now, Everett has not had a cohesive force of downtown businesses that is reflective of our entire downtown, through
which to leverage or prepare for opportunities such as the opening of the new arena. Because we do not have a true, cohesive
force of downtown businesses, even preparing for the historic homecoming was challenging. We lacked an efficient way to communicate
with the downtown businesses, to help them prepare for this event, and, to become more involved than they were.
Thankfully, for the homecoming, and many other events, a small group of downtown stakeholders mobilized to take action on
a totally volunteer basis, as was the case when a volunteer group successfully lobbied to keep the county campus project downtown.
But these volunteer efforts lack sustainability and therefore over time cannot offer the level of support necessary to meet
the demands of our dramatically changing city, which is nearing 100,000 people and projected to grow by 40,000 or more. This
is why I launched Upside Downtown.
Upside Downtown, a downtown marketing alliance, was designed specifically to assist downtown businesses and the various stakeholders
(such as our DEA, DEAC, and the city) to rally behind projects such as the new arena, and to augment the work that many organizations
have started, so that we can carry the momentum of our revitalization efforts forward, into the future. By working together,
we can sustain these efforts and overcome the challenges that will present themselves far into the future.<BR>
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On August 22nd at 8:30 a.m. the first public meeting of Upside Downtown will be held at Lombardi’s Restaurant. Kim Bedier,
the general manager of the Event Center, will discuss ideas to help businesses prepare for its opening. Daryl Bertholet, from
the City of Everett Mayor’s office, will speak to supporting downtown businesses. Upside Downtown is working with the downtown
businesses to help them prepare for the arena opening, and much of this work is documented on our website. I believe downtown
will be ready for Everett’s new game and the many opportunities that will follow.
To learn more about Upside Downtown please peruse our website or better yet, please attend our meeting on the 22nd.
11:19 pm est
Friday, August 1, 2003
Oh those Blue Angels
Welcome to the first day of August. I must admit that it's always hard for me to concentrate on work (or anything for that
matter) during the first part of August. That's because it's the time of year when the Blue Angels rock the sky, and, being
a huge aviation fan I find myself looking up to the sky longing for a ride. I've come close to the thrill, getting rides in
a Christian Eagle bi-plane, a Stearman, a Pitts Special, and a P-51 Mustang over the Mohave Desert (after a trip to the Reno
Air Races) where the pilot simulated pilon turns at 300 miles per hour and also performed every aerobatic maneuver on the
list, to my delight. My first office was located, conveniently, at Boeing Field in Seattle, and the day I moved in was also
the day the Blue Angels were practicing for their show that coming weekend. My favorite site was seeing number 5 drop to the
side, flying so low it appeared as though the wing were scraping the runway. Needless to say, I did not get a lot accomplished
as far as hauling boxes up stairs that day, was concerned. The closest I've come to the Blue Angels is knowing a team member,
an old boyfriend of mine from highschool was on the team for a few years, but you've got to be a recognized media star to
get a ride in one of those F-18's.
9:35 am est
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Copyright 2007, Leita Hermanson Crossfield, Upside Down. Upside Downtown is a program of Upside Down, PO Box 1945 Everett
WA 98206. (425) 344-7599.
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