About Town by Joyce Coulson

11/22/2022

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My Big Saturday About Town

On Saturday, November 12th, I decided to take in some fun local events---a reading at Liberty Theatre Café by Lara Messersmith-Glavin from her book of essays and the Pray for Snow Block Party put on by Blue Mountain Outfitters.

Sizing up the situation after having decided that my two events kind of dovetailed, I figured it would be best to walk—it is only about five or six blocks from my house to each event. Granted, it was just a tad chilly but, hey, no problem, I grew up in the Midwest.

Clad in my winter garb, I first ambled over to the Pray for Snow Party hosted by Blue Mountain Outfitters and organized by McLaughlin Events and Marketing. It was incredibly lively with folks chatting, visiting the food and beer vendors (Side A, Raul’s, and Terminal Gravity), and wandering through the newly refurbished and thoughtfully arranged Blue Mountain Outfitters with live music provided by Fading Sage, a Pendleton-based cover band performing rock covers from the 1970’s to the early 2000s. There was even a vintage snowsuit contest! Owners Mike and Trier Craig have done a grand job with the ambience and choice of products.

Take a look at the store on their website at https://bluemtnoutfitters.com/ and drop by 1124 Adams for a browse through the spacious display areas and well-curated products.

After checking out the EOU Outdoor Adventure booth and chatting with the folks from Anthony Lakes, I headed over to the Liberty Theatre Café to check out Lara’s reading from her book of essays, SPIRIT THINGS. Lara’s mother, Stephanie, is a friend of mine and, having have heard so much about Lara and her talents, this was a not-to-be-missed event.

As a writer, it’s always nice to see what your fellow wordsmiths are up to, so I availed myself of some of the Liberty Theatre Café’s delightful pastries and a triple breve and settled in with a crowd of about 50 masked people. Lara read one of her essays centering on her growing up on an Alaska fishing boat and related this to objects around her at that time. She then led the audience in a self-describing exercise choosing an object on their person that was particularly meaningful to them. The woman sitting next to me had a lovely necklace composed of multiple parts that were all individually meaningful to her. And what did I have? My Fitbit. I managed to extract some tangentially meaningful things from it, but among this spiritually connected crowd, I did come off as a bit of a detached techno geek (which I am not—just a person without jewelry, meaningful or otherwise). Afterwards, Lara held a meet and greet, as well as a book signing.

All in all, this was lovely evening, connecting with friends old and new. The diversity of things to do in La Grande for all ages and tastes was readily apparent. McLaughlin Events and Marketing and Blue Mountain Outfitters put on a fantastic event, with even the weather cooperating, and all of the outdoor enthusiasts attending had a great time! The Liberty Theatre Café is the ideal venue for events like author readings with tasty food and warm drinks available in a serene atmosphere. I am looking forward to attending more artist-related happenings there.

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