BIG Weekend!!!

December is generally a busy time of year, filled with many events and special occasions... The weekend of December 14-16th was a trio of such events at the Tree.

The weekend started off with the saying, "third time is the charm" in bringing Truck Stop Souvenir to the Shaky Tree stage. After being scheduled for two other occasions and being foiled by illness, and vehicle breakdown (you can't really call yourself a musician unless you have car trouble along the way)... we were finally treated to the pleasures of listening to this married duo. I particularly enjoyed hearing other "coast dwellers" (they moved to Iowa from Seattle) talk about the joys that could be found in rural Iowa life.

The next night I was blown away by the presence and depth of performance by Noah Earle. Chad and I met Noah's brother this summer in Portland, and he mentioned that Noah played Iowa a fair bit and we should get him up to the Tree... I did not know at the time we would be in for such a show. We also didn't know that when we rescheduled Truck Stop Souvenir and Noah for the same weekend, that they knew each other. This was a highly anticipated weekend that lived up to its billing in every respect. Both nights of music pushed me to want to elevate my own music. I am continually amazed at the amazing talent I have heard while in Spencer.

To round out the weekend we had a "caucus-know-how" night. Growing up in the NW, I had never caucused... nor did I really understand how it worked. As this "circus", known as the Iowa campaign, progressed I found I was not alone in my lack of understanding about the caucus. There are many who have lived here their whole lives and have never caucused. So, we got some of the campaign organizers from the different candidates in town, and we put together and evening to educate people about the process. This was not a night about Obama, Hilary, or Edwards (or any other presidential hopeful), but rather deciding the important race for which Shaky Tree drink should represent the Tree. The goal was to have a non-intimidating environment to understand the caucus, and hopefully make it more accessible to those who might not seek out the normal political channels. I also wanted to get people together (campaign organizers included) and do something "fun", and recognize no matter which side you are on (party, candidate, even nation)... we all need to be on the same team at some point... we are a community of people in need of many things, and the only way those things will happen is if we work together as people.

Results: 27 people turned out to caucus (on a cold Sunday night during the holidays... pretty good). Coffee had the most supporters (by one), but will be sending the same number of delegates (4) as Chai Latte (who picked up the Tea supporters when it was clear that Tea would not be a viable candidate). Latte had the remaining delegates (3) after bringing Hot Chocolate supporters on board. There was some great campaigning for drinks, "Coffee fueling the American worker", the "Health benefits, and Popularity of Tea around the world". All in all it was a fun night, and a great community event at the Tree that I was proud to be a part of.

Check out our article in the Spencer Daily Reporter.