Kickstarter

We did it.  YOU did it. I am humbled and deeply moved by your persistence, patience, good humor and faith throughout this campaign to fund Cultivate. I'm out of words for now, but I found this poem by Mary Oliver. Those of you who know me well, know that she's my go-to girl when I need just the right words for big feelings. 

*******

Messenger

My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,
which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is

that we live forever.

******

thank you. thank you. thank you....

If you're in the North Country, or anywhere near, come visit!  The festival begins on Thursday, August 9 and runs through Sunday, August 12. Take a workshop, try something new, catch a performance, linger and mingle with the artists, find yourself alive in your body in a new way!  Here's a link to the schedule! Hope to share a dance with you soon!

yours in community, 

Katherine

I am blown away.  187 beautiful, bold, generous backers. I am so incredibly grateful for your generosity, and your willingness to see this thing through to its gorgeous successful completion. 

9 hours to go and just over $800 left to raise.  It's phenomenal. Thank you for being such an important part of making it happen.  Don't stop now...we are so so close!  

xo,

Katherine

1950.  The year Stevie Wonder was born. 

And also the number of dollars left to raise in the next 38 hours.  Go team Cultivate!!!

xo, 

Katherine

My friends, colleagues, neighbors and beautiful Cultivate Backers!

We are in the home stretch here.  56 hours to go and $2877 left to raise. 

The support and enthusiasm for Cultivate over the last few days has been amazing!  My dreams and vision for what Cultivate could be, and how it could work to nourish community are already coming to life!  Here's a great example: word is spreading that there are three wonderful workshops for kids and families that are offered FREE as part of Cultivate and the Bethlehem Art Walk, and parents are starting to sign their kids up.  In the process, they are reaching out to their friends and neighbors, who are then becoming Cultivate backers, and getting in touch with me to volunteer their time and energy to make the festival a success.  A beautiful momentum set in motion!

Here's another example: Because of all the excitement and buzz about the festival and the Art Walk, several young artists in town have been inspired to start taking themselves seriously and show their work for the very first time in public.  And as they are hustling to get their work ready, they are connecting with each other and finding community, encouragement and mentorship from the other more established artists in the area.  

These are just a couple of examples of Cultivate already working...supporting, encouraging, tending to the roots of community, bringing every one along and making room for everyone at the table.  I know you find this as moving and powerful as I do.  I know you can see the potential for transformation here, and how it happens, one small action at a time...

We are so close now to meeting our goal, but we are going to need a major push in these last two days of our campaign.  You've come this far with me, dear Backers...help me see this thing through to its gorgeous, successful completion! Here are some actions you can take right now to make sure we meet our goal in the next 56 hours!:

• Send an e-mail to the five people in your address book you think care about art and community as much as you do. Include a personal note, explaining why you became a Cultivate backer and why it's important to you.  Ask them to consider becoming a backer at the same level of support that you chose.  (tell them I say hello and thank you!!)
• Take a moment to post the pledge link on FB, Twitter and any other social media you groove with, and encourage folks to check out the project, watch the video and make a pledge.
• Take inspiration from fellow backers like Lena Lauer and Jen Green who have gone back in and doubled their pledges! It's devotion and support like this that makes my heart sing...and makes efforts like Cultivate even possible in the first place. 

I'll keep you posted about our progress over the next 56 hours. I wish I had words to accurately describe my gratitude to each and every one of you.  For now...please accept a simple and sincere: thank you... 

Happy Monday morning, dear Backers of Cultivate!

Do you know this poem by Gary Soto? I love it so much, and it's so fitting with this campaign and everything Cultivate stands for.  I wanted to share it with you as a way to say thank you, and acknowledge how every small action we make really does make a difference in our world.  Thank you for walking the talk with your generous pledge to Cultivate.

We've got 4 days left to raise just over $4000. Can you think of one person in your life who believes in the power of dance and performance to enliven and support community, as much as you do?  Let them know about this campaign. Ask them to match your pledge! Together, I KNOW we can make this happen!

I'm so grateful for you, and all you do to brighten the world.

yours in community, 

Katherine

How Things Work

by Gary Soto
Today it’s going to cost us twenty dollars
To live. Five for a softball. Four for a book,
A handful of ones for coffee and two sweet rolls,
Bus fare, rosin for your mother’s violin.
We’re completing our task. The tip I left
For the waitress filters down
Like rain, wetting the new roots of a child
Perhaps, a belligerent cat that won’t let go
Of a balled sock until there’s chicken to eat.
As far as I can tell, daughter, it works like this:
You buy bread from a grocery, a bag of apples
From a fruit stand, and what coins
Are passed on helps others buy pencils, glue,
Tickets to a movie in which laughter
Is thrown into their faces.
If we buy a goldfish, someone tries on a hat.
If we buy crayons, someone walks home with a broom.
A tip, a small purchase here and there,
And things just keep going, I guess.