Mar, 16, 2008
Artists co-op, shoreline plans sprout during Blainestorming
Retired principal mobilizes community to advance ideas
Theme: More harbor activities
1. Canoe and kayak club.
2. Decorative banners on light poles.
3. Giant graffiti wall.
4. Farmers market.
5. Paint the water tower.
6. An old-fashioned movie night/day.
7. Commercial diving school at the marina.
8. Jazz group prior to the July 4 festival.
9. Musicians who play for the three weeks at Bellingham Festival of Music might be enticed to Blaine during the first three weeks of July.
10. Hold a community auction.
11. Hold a community garage sale.
12. A small-boat day at the harbor.
13. Kite festival.
14. Decorate fish totes, then race them (like bed races).
15. Blaine pier fishing derby (no boats required).
16. Apple pie eating contest.
17. Street dance.
18. More things for dogs.
19. Beauty/fashion show.
20. Tractor and horse day, where those who have horses, carriages and tractors come to town, with special discounts for those who ride into town.
21. Same as #20, except with bicycles.
22. Same as #20, except with motorcycles.
23. Hay rides ending at an old-fashioned hoedown with music and dancing.
24. Battle of the bands in Marine Park.
25. Festival with nautical theme.
26. Decorate garbage cans.
27. Crab races.
28. Slug races (for charity).
29. Oyster shucking contest.
30. Salmon derby.
31. Coffee shop on top of proposed lighthouse.
Theme: Turn an empty Blaine building into a working artists’ co-op
1. Ceramic studio and art school.
2. Continue with the arts and crafts theme that was started at Winterfest during the past three winter holidays.
3. Quilt show.
4. Kite festival.
5. A holiday art contest (posters, etc.). The top 10 entries by students become glass paintings on Blaine store windows.
6. Fill empty stores with art, etc.
7. Decorative banners on light poles.
8. Partner whenever possible with White Rock.
9. Annual cross-border day with Blaine and White Rock.
10. Canada Day in Blaine, with special events and discounts for our international friends.
11. A dress-up holiday dance (not in a bar). Perhaps New Year’s.
12. An all-you-can-eat pizza night sponsored by all the pizza shops in the area, and held at a community location, such as the school or the new artists’ co-op. Could also be a dance.
13. A place for the Blaine theater group.
14. A festival with a nautical theme.
15. Broader publicity mechanism for both regional and national reporting of Blaine news and events.
16. A short story writing contest for students. The top winners get published in the Northern Light. The theme: A Blaine experience or remembrance.
17. This could be an activity for adults, too. Perhaps a once-a-month short story in the paper on the same theme.
18. A beauty or fashion show.
19. A giant graffiti wall.
20. An old-fashioned movie day/night.
21. Decorate the garbage cans.
22. Decorate fish totes, then race them (like bed races).
23. Professional concerts presented by the Pacific Arts Association.
24. A jazz group prior to the July 4 festival.
25. Musicians playing for the three weeks at the Bellingham Festival of Music might be enticed to Blaine for the first three weeks of July.
Contact Ron Snyder and Cathy Taggett at 332- 8082 or circleoftrees@mac.com.
Brainstorming — the unfettered raising of ideas by members of a group, to solve a problem or to compile fresh suggestions.
Blainestorming — brainstorming ways to make Blaine a better place to live, work and play.
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DEAN KAHN
THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
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As the energetic principal of an alternative school in Seattle, and as a former PR man who persuaded business people to roll up their sleeves to help schools, Ron Snyder is familiar with the notion of brainstorming.
You get a bunch of people together and start offering ideas — with a rule against snide comments, groans, eyerolling and other comments or reactions that might stifle the flow. Then you sift through the ideas for themes, and pick the best ones to work on.
Now retired, Snyder and his wife, Cathy Taggett, settled in the forested hills outside of Blaine four years ago to pursue their art — painting and ceramics, for her; brooms and, in the future, whirligigs, for him — and to become active in the community.
They’ve already helped organize an alliance of northcounty artists to sponsor a Mother’s Day studio tour and to stage the annual Winterfest arts and crafts show in Blaine.
It was at the last Winterfest that Snyder came up with the idea of hosting a brainstorming session on ways to boost Blaine. After some initial contacts and publicity to spark attendance, Snyder and Taggett moderated the first session last month at Blaine Library.
About 15 people showed up, including artists, local officials and other residents, including a youngster who came by for the snacks and hung around to add several good ideas. The group generated 92 ideas in half an hour, then used stickers to narrow the field to their 11 favorites.
About a dozen people came to a follow-up meeting to identify two themes from the top 11 ideas, then plucked ideas from the original 92 that fit under the themes. The top themes? (1) More activities at the harbor, and (2) turn an empty Blaine building into an artists co-op.
“The maritime and the arts,” Snyder said. “That’s where we’re headed.”
Not such outlandish ideas. Blaine is already focusing on its most appealing amenity, its shoreline location, by building a downtown view boardwalk and by changing its zoning to promote development of the waterfront. In addition, Snyder is helping to start summer sailing classes in Blaine for kids and adults.
Debbie Harger, Blaine’s coordinator for community and tourism development, attended the first brainstorming session, and says the list of waterfront ideas might spawn new activities and events.
“It was a very worthwhile process,” she said.
Richard Blackburn, a retired construction worker whose wife, Guo Cheng, is an accomplished knitter and crocheter, plans to research possible funding sources for an artists co-op.
Meanwhile, Bonnie Venture, a potter, has begun checking out buildings in Blaine to see if one might be available for artists’ studios, a gallery, and maybe space for classrooms and theatrical performances.
“The more people we talk to, the more are interested,” she said. “We see it as a positive for the town as well as the artists involved.”
In addition to generating ideas, the brainstorm sessions also resulted in a list of two dozen people willing to help.
“If you provide the people,” Snyder said, “the rest will come.”
