To the editor:

The Choochokam team is once again humbled by the amount of support our community poured forth for Langley’s annual arts festival last month. The festival was well-attended and those who did come supported our merchants, restaurants and exhibitors heartily.

We would like to thank our sponsors: Langley Chamber of Commerce, Whidbey Telecom, Whidbey Island Bank, Puget Sound Energy, Port of South Whidbey, Allikat Records, 90.7 KSER, Sequoyah Electric and Whidbey Seatac Shuttle & Charters. We would also like to thank Rich Bacigalupi and John Lawson for wrangling volunteers; our returning street crew; our construction crew of Tim Leonard, Alan Chalfant, Russell Sparkman and Eric Richmond; our check-in/check-out volunteers: Karen McInerny, Greg Hein, Bruce Allen and Patricia Friedman; Sandey Brandon and the Island County Fair Association for the use of their benches; Whidbey Children’s Theater and Northwest Language Academy for their time in the family area; and boothsitters Annette Jacobs and Robin Edgeman and Marc Esterly for overseeing the beer and wine garden.

We are always thankful for the great working relationship with the city of Langley and the Langley Police Department. Acting Chief Randy Heston experienced his first Choochokam without incident and we are appreciative of his leadership and the professionalism of Langley’s officers.

Saturday night’s street dance saw an amazing crowd of locals and visitors. You danced your heart out, and in turn, the Honey Badgers played right through the mounting blisters on their fingers. We have to thank the merry band of flash mobbers, who executed a Langley-only style Age of Aquarius mob. What a fun addition to the night.

And mostly, thanks to our team: Gwen Jones and Celia Black of Allikat, who oversaw the music and managed the stages; Mary Ann Mansfield for jurying the art on the street; and Joe Menth of Fine Balance Imaging, for getting our new graphics up and out when we needed him to spring into action.

We’ll see you next year. Mark your calendars for July 7-8.

SHERRY JENNINGS AND TOM T.L. MOORE

Co-Directors

Choochokam Arts Festival