Editor: Kudos to your newspaper’s support for the Sonoma Community Center’s annual membership drive. SCC is one of the few historic sites in the city that has actual every-day utility for our residents in the 21st century.
Originally a school where previous generations actually learned things, it has extra historical significance in a state where a decent education for kids can seem equally “historic” — i.e., a thing of the past. Without SCC’s rich programming and generous space for art, music, theatre, lectures, readings, recitals, election forums, schools, parties, religious gatherings, classes, free holiday meals, and the like (the list is endless and evolving), Sonoma kids frankly wouldn’t have much culture at all that isn’t well-marinated in the local beverage-of-choice.
While it welcomes visitors from near and far, SCC doesn’t bang the beggar’s bowl 24/7 shilling for tourist dollars, and that, too, is truly refreshing. Like our schools and hospital it serves those who actually live here
And it’s a bargain, too. Unlike Sonoma’s too-often “socially stratified” galas/balls/festivals/fundraisers/tastings and pairings, SCC events are inclusively within the reach of everyone with a few bucks in their pocket. In these times, that pretty much describes a lot of people in the Valley. For far less than the price of a last-row ticket to a single performance at a imported/corporatized/ taxpayer-subsidized “Jazz” Festival, an ordinary person can enjoy a membership in the SCC and help support its programming for an entire year. That membership includes price discounts for most SCC events, making them even more affordable.
For dog-lovers like me, though, maybe the best reason to support SCC is that, in a town sadly hostile to dogs in public spaces, SCC is very dog-friendly. Yes, we can take our well-socialized critters with us right into the building. Though they can’t attend every class or event held there (some require coat-and-tie), on any given visit we can encounter a tailwagger wandering the halls, snoozing under a desk or sniffing whatever was tracked in on a shoe.
And nothing says “Welcome” like a dog in the house. With well over 1,000 furballs in the city alone, being dog-friendly is important to residents, businesses and non-profits alike – just ask Freidman’s, Hopmonk and the Swiss. Why, if every dog in town became a SCC Member at the $40 (individual) or $50 a year (family) level, SCC could reach its membership goal faster than “Sit!”
All dog-lovers in the Valley owe it to themselves to visit sonomacommunitycenter.org/membership or stop by SCC the next time they walk the dog. To make membership even more worthwhile, Staff could probably come up with a tasty treat or two and maybe a really good belly-rub. For the dog.
Bob Edwards
Sonoma
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