Benched

To be benched in sports is not a good thing.  It means you've been taken out of the game and "sat down" for whatever transgression you made on the field of play.  Sports photographers love capturing images of disgruntled players throwing tantrums or pouting on the bench.

Well, we're getting benched and we love it.  The second round of the Greenbelt Art Benches is coming alive in less than a month.  LBRs recall last year's long-running Art Bench Saga.  Carrie S. orginally planed 20 of the benches but the wounded economy only allowed her to find sponsors for ten at a cost of $3000 each.  Those benches were installed in September while Susun was in San Diego.

Carrie is a real dynamo of the first order so in the spirit of "Undaunted Courage," she proceeded on and found another ten people to pony up $3000 each to sponsor the remaining ten benches.  The artists have done their gig and almost all of the benches are finished and have been delivered to a city warehouse for safekeeping.  They will be installed prior to the formal dedication May 20th.  (Hopefully, they won't all be flooded away before then!)  The Art Bench project is easily one of the most fun volunteer projects I have ever been a part of.  It's exciting, entertaining and educational.

Carrie is currently the acting Executive Director of the local Symphony until the new guy comes on board.  She wants to meet with me this morning at 9 am down at Great Harvest bakery to discuss how to stage the dedication.  I chose Great Harvest because of the aromatherapy value of the place--the smells of fresh bread baking there are overwhelming and intoxicating.  I can hardly wait to hear what she has in store for this phase of the project.  You can click here to see the original blog she used as a sale tool to find sponsors.

If you ever get a chance to come and visit us here, we guarantee that we will drag you down to the Greenbelt for a variety of sensory delights there.  Besides the Star of The Show (The Snake River), the Greenbelt Art Benches now practically glow with attractiveness.  They've brought a whole new meaning to getting benched!

Cheers, jp