ALL ABOARD | A standing ovation for Whidbey Island: Double wow!

To say that living here is heartwarming, even in the winter, would be an understatement.

So, without overdoing it, let me rephrase my understatement.

Whidbey Island wows!

Last weekend’s full moon Friday was a feast of colorful, community gatherings.

At the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts in Langley, an opening night reception and premiere of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” wowed.

In Greenbank, at the Rob Schouten Gallery, located at the historic and pristine Greenbank Farm, the art of Rebecca Collins wowed.

At the spaciously comfortable Open Door Gallery + Coffee, located smack dab in the middle of the multi-media mirthed Bayview Cash Store, the participatory artists who created one-of-a-kind pieces for the “Art, Hearts and Hammers” wowed.

Sandra Whiting and her artistic team of dedicated volunteers wowed the standing room only bidders with champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries and the greatest community spirit I’ve seen since all the national news headlines went dark.

When you take your next power walk, walk into the power of community that Goosefoot has created at the Bayview Corner.

As their neat, new brochure states: “When we connect as a community, we share knowledge, inspire great ideas, help our neighbors and transform our corner of the world for the better.”

Talk about connecting!

How fun it was to walk around the Open Door Gallery space bumping into community heroes, community leaders and community characters with the like-minded community consciousness of helping raise money for our community.

This may be the only redistribution of wealth that works for me.

How fun it was to add fifty bucks of money I did not have on me to Bidder Number 8’s already bid of $400 bucks that he did have on him.

Note to the concerned: Bidder 14 came up later to say he’d cover it for a cup of coffee next time we bumped into each other.

Talk about sharing knowledge.

After bumping into Bidder 23, we discovered that we both had graduated from high schools in Western Pennsylvania, crossing the border into southern New York on Friday nights to get our adult beverages.

We even shopped at the same markets in downtown Jamestown.

Talk about a pilgrimage!

My parents would be so proud.

I wonder, do they read the South Whidbey Record in Heaven?

I just heard a voice.

“Of course they do Jim, because Heaven is right here on Whidbey.”

Did I just hear a few moans?

OK, how about this?

If you want to know how much community fun we had last Friday at the Open Door Gallery + Coffee auction for “Arts, Hearts and Hammers,” head over to the Hearts & Hammers 16th Annual Spaghetti Feed

this Friday night, from 5 to 7 p.m., at the Langley Methodist Church.

Hearts & Hammers President Rob Hetler and fellow hammerheads Randy Hudson and Kevin Lungren will give you the skinny about the unanimous, spontaneous, community vote of gratitude for artist Kim Kelzer’s five hammers.

We’re still wowing about those!

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