Editor,

This past February, I convened a community meeting at the United Methodist Church to discuss the future of Choochokam. My purpose was to inform the community that a path existed for bringing back a city festival like Choochokam on the second weekend of July, and that indeed there was no legal or formal barrier to using the name “Choochokam.”

Several dozen citizens and organizations attended including the Langley Mayor, a city council member and representatives from the Langley arts community, etc.

They engaged in a comprehensive and robust discussion exploring all aspects of bringing back Choochokam. It was a difficult conversation.

However, growing out of this community conversation is a determined effort by a local artist and organizer to resurrect Choochokam in 2020.

The effort will be local, organic and led by members of the South Whidbey community, within the structure of a nonprofit. Carie Elder, the catalyst of this effort, said that the festival will definitely be located in Langley.

It will start out small and local, probably much like the first Choochokam in 1975.

The vision is that it will grow organically, piece by piece with a focus on on-island artists. And it will likely be called “Choochokam.”

If you want to assist, and I hope you will, please know your energy and resources will be critical to standing up a new, revitalized Choochokam in 2020.

Contact Choochokam@gmail.com and be patient for a reply.

Craig Cyr

Langley