November 2009
Previous issues can be found in the newsletter archives.
President's Message - The Times They Are A Changing
Just in case you don’t want to read this entire message, I’ll give you a synopsis up front: “The Times They Are A Changing”. In the cycle of American life it is important that we go through hard times together. The lessons learned during hard times stay with us longer than lessons learned during times of ease.
My heroes are those people that face difficult situations but can look forward past those situations to a better day. People that see positive opportunities in negative spaces. And that is what we are working towards in the Cotati Chamber of Commerce. For the past six months we have been actively engaged in a plan to assist Cotati during its current financial crisis. We ask that you take a look at our project and sign on to assist us. The plan is called THE COTATI ARTS PROJECT.
The Cotati Arts Project or CAP brings together business, non-profits serving children and families, and the art community in an effort to improve the aesthetic nature of Cotati and invite businesses to relocate into our existing empty business spaces. If we are able to fill the empty shells created by the economy, we can improve the tax base available to the city and assist the city in reaching a financially breathable space.
Before I go on, let me just say that I congratulate the citizens of Cotati for choosing a responsible and good City Council. I ask that you trust your current City Council. They are really good people and need your support.
Overseeing the Cotati Arts Project is a twelve person Board of Directors whose only job is to bring as much art to Cotati as possible… all forms of art: Music, Theatre, Painting, Sculpture, Performance, and Literary. Project after project after project to be located all over town – in businesses, in the street, and in the La Plaza Park. The projects will be different and imaginative. There will come a time when you will not want to miss these happenings for fear of missing something incredible.
The first project is the celebration of the 100th Year Anniversary of the building currently housing Congregation Ner Shalom, formerly the Cotati Cabaret, formerly the Cotati Women’s Club Building. The Chamber of Commerce and the Cotati Arts Project is assisting with this event held on April 25th, 2010 at 12:30. If you love Cotati, you will not want to miss this event whose name is “Ten Decades.”
Our second undertaking, The Piano Project, is an example of the imaginative nature of our events. We have attained six old upright pianos which are currently being turned into works of art by six non-profit organizations and six artists. On May 22nd, these pianos will be placed all over Cotati, OUTSIDE, for people to play at their leisure. The pianos will be relocated to la Plaza Park on Saturday, June 19th, the 30th Anniversary of the Cotati Jazz Festival. By the way, the Jazz Festival is FREE!
The following day, Father’s Day, June 20th, the pianos will be relocated to The Piano Drop Picnic at Larsen’s Feed on the corner of Highway 116 and Stony Point Road. You will not want to miss this old-time community picnic. Bring your family, your extended family and friends. The cost to get in is only $5 per person and children under 18 are FREE! Bring your own picnic or purchase food from our on-site vendors. Why is it called The Piano Drop Picnic? Because we are going to drop a piano from a crane over 120 feet in the air. The kids are gonna love it. Just in case you’re wondering why we’re dropping a piano from a crane, it is to symbolize what happens to the non-profits that provide essential services to our community if the community lets them down. The picnic will also have old-fashioned games like Pie Eating Contests, Horseshoes, Potato Sack Races, Egg Tosses, Egg Races, and many other events. Safety issues will be overseen by one of our sponsors – the Rancho Adobe Fire Department. Proceeds will benefit SCAYD, Rohnert Park-Cotati Boys & Girls Club, Rotary Club of Rohnert Park-Cotati, Cotati Kids Day Parade & Festival, Thomas Page School PTA & YMCA, and the Cotati-Rohnert Park Education Foundation.
Our fourth project is called The Sculpture Project and The Cotati ArtWalk. Our goal is to place seven new sculptures around town. The majority of these sculptures will be in place for one year. At the end of the year, they will be replaced will all new works of art. We will use these sculptures to create an ArtWalk which will bring tourists to our town to see the new art. We will also publicize this art in travel magazines highlighting Cotati’s commitment to the arts. This will also create two new annual fundraising events: The Artist’s Dinner, to celebrate those artists assisting us in this endeavor; and The Changing of the Statues, a party to celebrate the installation of the sculptures each year.
The fifth project is The Cotati Community Theatre, a volunteer theatre which gives local writers a chance to place their plays in production. This effort will be housed in Temple Ner Shalom, formerly the Cotati Cabaret. CCT will also feature poetry slams, dance, garage band competitions and other imaginative performances.
And this is just the beginning of the projects currently in production for the City of Cotati. The Chamber is also dedicated to placing an incredible amount of energy into our Open Houses for local businesses. The Open Houses are for new and existing businesses alike. We will attempt to make each of these an epic event which will serve as a form of free advertising for the participating businesses. If you are interested, call Suzanne and sign up for an Open House date. We will assist you in designing and advertising the event that you would like… and our services are FREE.
So how does this all relate to filling open business shells in our community? We will use the positive message created in the press to actively attract and invite businesses to join us. Once those empty business shells are filled, the tax base will increase and the city will experience financial breathing room.
But in order for this to work, we all need to work together. The times require that we come together and work on a fun project that everyone can get behind. We can and will get this done, and in doing so, create a community made happier by pulling together and making our city a beacon on a hill, an example of what happens when you inject positivity into the equation. Please come help us neighbors. We need you. If you’d like to volunteer, please call Suzanne in the Chamber office – (707) 795-5508.
It’s gonna be a fun year!
Andre’ Morrow, President
Cotati Chamber of Commerce
Published: March 01, 2010
