Yesterday’s Books is Closing

An Ode to Good Bookstores

“It happens to us once or twice in a lifetime to be drunk with some book which probably has some extraordinary relative power to intoxicate us and none other, and having exhausted that cup of enchantment we go groping in libraries all our years afterward in the hope of being in paradise again.”
Jeff Deutsch, In Praise of Good Bookstores, 58

In Praise of Good Bookstores published in April 2022 by Princeton University Press explores the important social-cultural role of the local bookstore. While it appears on the surface to follow the usual mold of commerce where inventory is stocked, sold at a profit and stocked again, the local bookstore, beyond this veneer, is a markedly different animal.

The store goes beyond a commodity sold. Deutsch runs the Seminary Co-op bookstore in Chicago, the first-ever non-profit bookstore that exclusively sells books. In his book, Deutsch distinguishes between “the economy of the gift” and the “economy of the commodity.” Most booksellers, cannot turn a great profit, or sometimes any profit at all, unless they stock their shelves with bookmarks, socks, notebooks, calendars and the like, alongside books.

Books are expensive to produce and so the profit margin is relatively small.

It seems natural that large-scale booksellers like Barnes and Noble and Amazon exist. Buying in bulk means being able to sell at a discount. Selling books marked 30% off shifts the buyer’s perception of the value of the book.

Our perceptions further shifted when Amazon, the unavoidable elephant in the world of bookselling, shifted books to a loss leader, intentionally taking a loss on their sales to attract traffic towards more profitable items.

Add inflation. Add the higher cost of living. Add all the things that make us shudder at spending $14.99. We order, we reserve, and we’ve lost the art of browsing.

A necessary art

When browsing we slow down, meander the stacks and discover something unexpected. The art of the bookseller is stocking one or two copies of different titles and organizing them for that serendipitous find. The shelves cannot hold everything. The best bookseller will have a mix of new and old, cutting-edge and classic. The best bookseller stocks curated shelves.

Yesterday’s Books

Before there was Lightly Used Books, our only local, secular bookstore was Yesterday’s Books. I was in junior high when my father began taking me there.

In college, friends and I looked for low-cost destinations. For that, there were bookstores, and so I dated my husband and Yesterday’s Books. I told this to Paula Kiss, the woman who has owned Yesterdays Books for nearly 15 years. After working there for 17 years, she purchased it from Larry and Kathleen Dorman, the original owners.

On October 26, 2022, Kiss informed the public that she has decided to close Yesterday’s Books, a result of rising operating costs and lost sales that never returned to pre-Covid levels. Immediately, “overwhelming loving” responses of “shock and sadness” poured in, which Kiss said she is ‘hoarding those little stories like a dragon horse their jewels.”

Through social media comments, emails and in-person conversations people are sharing those stories with her. One patron told Kiss how she and her daughter would come in, shut their eyes and pick a book at random to purchase. Kiss never met them before hearing this story, but remembers seeing them in the act more than once.

The closure of Yesterday’s Books, one of the few books stores left in Stanislaus County, is a loss to the community.

When asked what Kiss thinks a bookstore brings to the community, she responded at first by saying, “everything.”

“We have generations of people that come. I have people telling me, ‘this is where I would come, when I was feeling anxiety, feeling stressed because it was calm, and I could come and sit and, get lost in the stacks.’” Kiss continued, “I think books are friends.”

Kiss sees a community bookstore as a safe space, a source of friendship and love.

How can we ensure these spaces are not lost in our community?

I propose, just by making the drive. It’s easier to order online. It’s easier to order used online than ever. But when we drive to our local bookshop, browse the stacks and stay a while, we slow down, contemplate, and discover. It’s an art that we need more in life, where the stacks are low and the rewards are high. It’s healing, it’s creative, and it builds relationships.

We may not be able to save Yesterday’s Books. But if you have a story, reach out to Kiss and share it with her.

When you visit a new town, see if there is a bookstore you can visit and make a purchase.

Consider shopping locally before online.

And see what a difference it can make.

Previously published in the weekly column, “Here’s to the Good Life!” in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch.

Catholic Pop-Up Markets on the Rise

Local Church News

The Rise of the Pop-Up Shop

Visit a town or church festival and you’re likely to shop a bit. In 2020, community events were put on hold. The livelihood of those who relied on selling at those events became uncertain. In 2020, the area saw a rise in stand-alone vendor events, also called pop-up markets. Markets were held on neighbors’ porches, church parking lots, or backyards. Entrepreneurs began to organize events separate from larger institutions.

That move built on an existing trend that Forbes identified as a result from rising real estate and e-commerce. When the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated shutdowns closed so-called non-essential businesses, artists and makers turned more than ever to social media to sell their work. Eventually, groups began organizing informal pop-ups and used social media networks to spread the word.

But with California’s high cost-of-living, more Catholics are building side hustles or sole-proprietorships. This allows them to work flexible hours from home. And many of these business owners are women.

Traditionally, parishes follow the church bazaar model. Parishioners donate or collect items to be sold at the event, with all proceeds benefitting the parish or program itself. The Christmas Fair on November 19 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Sonora follows this model. There, visitors will find jewelry, crafts, gift baskets, religious items, Christmas items, and baked goods for sale.

So as vendors are finding and making opportunities to sell their products through pop-up shops, Catholic vendors are asking for ways to get in the game. The opportunities for distinctly Catholic products sold by for-profit companies remained slim.

Catholic Pop-Ups

On July 30, Holy Family Catholic Church in Salida hosted a pop-up event to raise funds for the church’s building project.

In the coming weeks, Our Lady of Fatima in Modesto and All Saints University Parish in Turlock parishes will host pop-up markets.

Our Lady of Fatima’s Vendor Event

For two days, Our Lady of Fatima Parish will hold its first Fall Vendor Fair. Over thirty vendors will set at the event hosted by the Modesto #110 Young Ladies Grand Institute, a Catholic women’s organization.

Kathy Paioni first began organizing vendor events with her husband when they began the Salida Town and Country Parade and Festival. After 16 years of chairing the festival, she knew the events were lucrative. Vendors pay a registration fee. Event organizers provide the space and audience. Vendors set their prices and keep their profits. Paioni looked for a way to use this model as a fundraiser for YLI.

At Our Lady of Fatima’s Fall Festival, proceeds will go to different causes. Vendor fees will support the Golden Jubilee Burse for the education of seminarians. Rather than allowing outside food and drink vendors, YLI will hold a bake sale and sell chili with cornbread muffins. Bake sale proceeds will support the YLI Grand Presidents Program for ALS, Lou Gherig Disease. Chili and cornbread profits will go to the Sisters of the Cross, a cloistered convent in Modesto.

The YLI Institute keeps only 15% of its profits. That’s all they need to financially support the work of the small institute, Paioni said. Modesto #110 Young Ladies Grand Institute is associated with Our Lady of Fatima, St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and Holy Family.

In the past, Paioni organized events like the Vendor Fair at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church but said over the years she finds it increasingly difficult to find parishes who want to host a pop-up style event. She said several locations were unresponsive, dismissive, or asked for space rental fees that significantly reduced the funds YLI could raise. That was not the case at Our Lady of Fatima, led by Fr. Ernesto Madrigal. “They know the good work we’re doing,” Paioni said.

For questions or to sign up contact Kathy Paioni at kpaioni@sbcglobal.net.

The Bethlehem Market

At All Saints University Parish, Leslie Sousa is organizing The Bethlehem Market. The Bethlehem Market is an Advent artisan market focused on drawing Catholic vendors who sell arts and crafts.

Sousa said her vision for “The Bethlehem Market is to bring the community together during a season, Advent, that is supposed to help us draw closer to Jesus.” She laments that Advent “often becomes four weeks where we stress to buy all the gifts we need, decorate our homes, and figure out a family plan for the holidays.” Sousa said she hopes the opportunity to buy religious items for Christmas will help shoppers “remember the real meaning of Advent and Christmas.”

In her marketing, Sousa’s emphasizes the importance of shopping local. She thinks it “makes a big difference to know exactly what our money that we spend on presents will be supporting. Is it going to a big corporation, or is my money supporting another Catholic family and business in the area?”

Follow The Bethlehem Market on Instagram @TheBethlehemMarket. For questions or to sign up, email TheBethlehemMarket@gmail.com.

Good for Parishes. Good for Businesses

Catholic pop-up markets offer a unique opportunity in non-profit fundraising where organizations are seeing a decline in volunteerism. They support those laypeople, who may not be working traditional day job but have instead opted out of the traditional workforce. Attendees shop local and connect personally with business owners, strengthening the Catholic community as a whole.

Church News is an independent off-shoot of “Here’s to the Good Life!” a weekly column considering the beauty and challenges of a flourishing life.

A Creative Play by The Merry Beggars

The Merry Beggars began out of quarantine to support those artists whose livelihood suddenly disappeared in the face of the COVID-19 shutdown. They ran a contest in which writers could submit 10-minute radio plays. The response, they say in their introduction, was overwhelming. And so in 2020, they ran five quarantine plays.

From eerie futuristic storytelling to touching moments of too much or too little isolation, the tales run the gambit. I look forward to listening to more.

They released “The Dailies: Art and Culture to Refresh Your Soul” in Spring 2021 and “Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol,” an audio advent calendar, on December 1.

These artists are making it work, and in the process, they are making something new.

Over twenty artists, makers and entrepreneurs united by their Catholic faith came together for two outdoor markets just outside of Hughson. In towns across the region, pop-up markets became the new trend, whether on front porches or outside businesses.

When community events were canceled, I went to the garden and my therapeutic hobby grew into a spring and early summer business.

When we make it work, something creative, energetic and beautiful emerges out of the process.

Change creates tension. The tension requires energy to work through. It also requires energy to fight against. When we dive in and actively work through the tension of change, we emerge smarter, stronger, and more creative.

When we resist, dig in our heels, we use just as much energy, but come out weakened and exhausted.

If we lament the life that was, rather than trying to work with the life that is, we miss all the good things in store now. We miss the new possibilities, the new avenues waiting to be explored.

A radio play borrows from the past and fits right into with today’s internet-based podcast-centric, play-on-demand listening sphere. It keeps its social distance but uses raised funds to pay actors from the stage whose theaters were shut down.

The changes and anxieties of this world do not have to dominate us.

What do you have control over? You may be called to activism in those areas that move your heart and spur your desire to do something, but you cannot change the world on every issue. You must give yourself permission to step back and consider what is your sphere of influence. And then act.

Some professions might have been crushed by the shutdowns. They lacked the security of other fields. The steadiness of their income is based on the reputation, reliable contacts and a body of work built up over time. If they stopped working altogether, they risked losing all the ground they gained. So they pressed forward, finding a way. And the community came forward, ready to support them.

Those artists, makers and entrepreneurs were recommended left and right by those who knew them. Word of mouth gained greater ground as we sought out who needed support and what they were about. Many grew weary of the dominance of big-box stores that could remain open and we wanted a way to support the little guy.

At the end of November, my husband, reindeer-loving son and I attended the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Christmas concert. After opening with “Rockabilly Christmas,” lead singer Scotty Morris greeted the Gallo Center audience by saying,

“Thank you for doing whatever it was you had to do to get in the door to support live music.”

Wherever the adversity comes from, this is the potential of the moment, this is the chance we have to become more who we are meant to be and discover the unexpected.

We were all a little rusty getting back into it. But it felt good to be back.

Thank you for doing what you had to do to make it happen.

Previously published in the weekly column, “Here’s to the Good Life!” in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch.

Gift Guide to Local Christmas Shopping

We probably all know, at least intellectually, that it’s better to shop local. Here in the heart of the Golden State, you can find so much in your own backyard. Behold, your local gift guide for Christmas shopping.

Let’s start with foodstuffs. In our consumer age, a lot of people have more than they need and a lot of people we love spent decades acquiring their collections of possessions and do not need one more teacup or tie from us. Consumable items to the rescue!

Jars of Delicious

You cannot do better for canned preserves than buying from Jars of Delicious. Feeling feisty? Try her cactus pear jam. Feeling traditional? Strawberry Rhubarb. Want to pretend you are on a private island? Pineapple Mango. The list goes on and on. Basically, every flavor is delicious (a whole jar of delicious, really) and I particularly fancy her jar of cherry pie filling because when it comes to pitting that many cherries, as they say, “ain’t nobody got time for that.” Her regular-size jars cost $7.

Nutty Gourmet

Jam is great for your scones, morning yogurt, or fancy latticework pie, but if you’re buying for a child, consider this, who doesn’t love peanut butter and jelly? That’s right, these core ingredients come at a premium for my children. Consider a loaf of bread, a jar of delicious and a $5 jar of nut butter from Nutty Gourmet. The sky’s the limit when it comes to flavors and, like Jars of Delicious, it’s a Hughson-born business and we like to support our own.

J.J. Ramos Farms

But maybe you need to be a little fancier than a PB&J gift basket (but why? I ask). Head over to J.J. Ramos Farms for a truly impressive selection of locally made items from olive oils, dried fruits, nuts, meat, eggs, milk— oh sorry, thought I was making my grocery list. You get the idea. And as I understand it, you might just get a little help putting together your fabulous gift box or basket from their staff. They’re located at the corner of Whitmore and Geer in Hughson.

M&J Farms

Still among the list of consumable items, as in, items you use up, are the adorable sheep milk soaps by M&J Farms. Milk-based soaps are basically the best. You can wash your hands over and over again without cracking your skin and make hand-washing less a chore than a healthy ritual and moment of silence away from the chaos of the world. $6.

Miss Potts Attic

May be an image of christmas tree and indoor — from http://www.facebook.com/MissPottsAttic

If your gift recipient is a collector and not a minimalist, visit Miss Potts Attic on Tully Rd for a wide variety of items from antique to relatively new pieces on consignment. I stopped by to buy a ring for my daughter’s birthday and left with four very well-priced vintage rings, a jewelry box to hold them, and a $4 chandelier. The staff was amazing at helping me shop and find the best item for her. Whether artwork, glassware, furniture, novelty items, there really is something for everyone. Help the environment by not buying new or shipping from Amazon; help a local business by giving them business, help yourself with a one-stop shop and the joy that comes with finding the perfect gift via serendipity rather than an algorithm. Win-win-win-win.

Lightly Used Books

Buying for a book bug? You could go to Yesterday’s Books in Modesto (new and used books), which is excellent, but I prefer to go to the slightly closer Lightly Used Books in Turlock. Used book stores can often special order new books from publishers so you can avoid Amazon altogether and thus support authors and local bookshops in one fell swoop.

Investment items

There really is so much more out there. For high-end items, see Shoebridge & Co. on Etsy for handmade furniture (made locally near Hughson)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ShoebridgeAndCo

or wind chimes by Casey Music Service for perfectly tuned custom chimes (full disclosure, this Casey is my husband). The Harry Potter chimes are a favorite but I am personally fond of my F9 chord set.

20171214_130122 — From http://www.caseymusicservice.com/chimes

Happy shopping and Happy Holidays!

Malls were meccas for Black Friday shoppers back when Valley View was new

Let’s bring the joy back to gift-giving by making the shopping experience itself a treat for ourselves and others because as you may have heard, every time you purchase from a small business, the owner of that business does a happy dance.

Previously published in the weekly column, “Here’s to the Good Life!” in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch.

P.S. I know not all readers here are from or near Hughson, CA. You can use these sellers’ websites or visit your local vendor events to see whose selling what in your area.

Spring Gift Guide – Father’s Day Gift Guide

Join us May 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for The Loreto Market

While you shop for yourself, your home, for Mother’s Day, check Father’s Day gifts off your shopping list after a visit to the Loreto Market. While many of our vendors feature lovely items with feminine appeal, we haven’t forgotten our fathers or the men among us. In this Year of St. Joseph, at the Loreto Market, you’re sure to find something for the father figure in your life.

Order a custom set of windchimes or music lesson package by Casey Music Service

Casey Music Service offers lessons for children and adults, tunes pianos, repairs instruments and can make the fully custom windchime set of your dreams. Talk with owner Kyle Casey about how Casey Music Service can help you with all things music.

Tap into the masculine heart through the strength of history and tradition with curated vintage religious goods by Domestic Joy

Aid his prayer with tradition and dynamic icons by Sue Forrest Artwork

Sue Forrest began in Advertising and after decades of experience in fine art, became a Certified Iconography through the Iconographic Institute in Mount Angel, Oregon. She produces icons, original and reproductions, greeting cards, fine art, and painted rocks. Along with the incredible selection original icons she’ll bring to the market, she also takes commissions for particular saints.

Celebrate his sense of whimsy with a patron saint peg doll by Whymsical Lotus

To learn more visit whymsicallotus.Etsy.com

Feed his mind with solid Catholic reading and straight-forward apologetics with used books sold by A Catholic Teachers Treasures

Tanya Valasquez, a Catholic Teacher for 21 years, is bringing her collection of Catholic resources in order, both for teenagers themselves and those who seek to be ready to answer their children’s questions arise in the search for the True, the Good, and the Beautiful.

Find all this and more at The Loreto Market!

Spring Gift Guide – Gift Guide for Liturgical Living

The Loreto Market takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 1. If you’re in the Central Valley of California this is the perfect opportunity to support your local Catholic community and the artists, makers and entrepreneurs who are part of it.

Liturgical Living is the mode du jour these days, especially as activities in parishes are still limited to la vida virtual. Bring liturgical traditions into your home with:

A May Crowning – Add flair and flavor to your family’s May Crowning with May Crowning themed cookies by Cakes by Patricia

At the last Loreto Market, she made waves with her St. Nicholas and Advent Wreath cookies.

If this was December, I can’t wait to see May!

This spring, Cakes by Patricia will be selling homemade cookies – Peanut Butter & Snickerdoodle as well as May Crowning Iced Sugar Cookies (Flowers and Crowns) in Honor of our Mother Mary. After working 35 years in the educational system, Patricia retired and began baking for family and friends. All profits are donated to nonprofit organizations.

Organize family prayer with beautiful holy cards featuring fine art by Ora et Flora.

Along with the Memorare, Prayer to St. Raphael and Divine Mercy, Ora et Flora is offering a wide variety of prayers to St. Joseph to help us focus in on the Year of St. Joseph, declared by Pope Francis for this year.

Create a child-friendly shrine with saint peg dolls by Whymsical Lotus

After five years of being in business, Lotus Vele has enough saint peg dolls to fill the heavenly hosts! Find your patron saint of the patron of your gift recipient. To learn more visit whymsicallotus.Etsy.com

Let beauty inspire and deepen prayer with beautiful rosaries by Simple Beadings

Yuehesi Cuellar, owner of Simple Beadings, said, “I strive to offer affordable rosaries and jewelry to drive people closer to Christ!” At her booth you’ll find rosaries (corded, beaded, chained), religious & non- religious earrings, religious & non religious necklaces and bracelets. Learn more at @simplebeadings (Instagram) and simplebeadings.square.site .

Build your home alter or prayer corner with vintage religious goods including statues and framed prints by Domestic Joy

The joy Dezirae LaGro finds in Catholicism, homemaking and antique shopping spills over into the beauty of her booth as she brings to you Curated Catholic Treasures. Check out her instagram page of the same name.

Center your prayer around a particular devotion with spectacular icons written by Sue Forrest Artwork

Sue Forrest seeks to bring beauty to all, through the medium of paint and spread the Gospel with icons. Her breathtaking work will be on display and available for purchase. To see her past projects, visit her Facebook page, Sue Forrest Artwork.

Build your rosary supply so you have rosaries a home, in the car and on the go with rosaries by Catholic Kids

You’ll have to hurry to purchase a rosary from these ambitious entrepreneurs! The young ladies who run Catholic Kids sold out of their popular rosaries at last year’s Loreto Market. This year, their proceeds will go towards supporting Traditional Latin Mass Seminaries.

Light a candle during prayer to illuminate prayer time with candles by Healthy Mind Healthy Soul

Adriana Ramirez is will be selling a a candle perfect for May called “Mystical Rose.” “Mystical Rose in inspired by Our Lady of Guadalupe and offers notes or rose, frankincense, and Myrrh.

Integrating her passion for her profession as a future mental health counselor, and passion for her faith, Adriana , owner of Healthy Mind Healthy Soul, hit upon the idea to utilize the inspiration from her faith and the power of aroma through candles and nature’s natural scents. Thus she made candles inspired by the saints. Check out her work at on Instagram @healthymindhealthysoul_

Find all this and more on May 1 at The Loreto Market!

Spring Gift Guide – Gift Guide for Mother’s Day

Join us for The Loreto Market, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 1!

With the market taking place one week before Mother’s Day, it’s the perfect opportunity to shop local and celebrate a mother in your life.

At the Loreto Market, you will find:

Original artwork by SQHQ Art

Few reproductions could compare with an original piece of artwork. One of the best ways to add to your art collection (or your mother’s) is by shopping local. At the Loreto Market you have the opportunity to discuss her work with the artist herself. Come meet Susan Fisher and snatch up one of these beautiful paintings!

Chemical-free cleaning products by Norwex

Featuring their Safe Haven 5 Package – The EnviroCloth, Window Cloth, Dusting Mitt, Ultra Power Plus Laundry Detergent and Cleaning Paste.

Ice sugar cookies for your gathering by Cakes by Patricia

Sheep milk soap and yarn by M&J Farms plus Marcie Davis’ newly published picture book perfect for the mother who loves to read aloud!

Marcie of M&J Farms shared about this particular illustration, which may be recognizable to locals. “It’s the original farm that was settled on and has been in the family for over 100 years. The barn was there when my great grandparents, John & Anna Baptista, arrived from the Azores. John worked for Charles Geer of Geer Ranch, giving our current busy road it’s familiar name. The AB stands for Albert Baptista who, with his brother Alfred, ran a cow dairy on site, which was eventually taken over by Raymond Baptista. I tried to add a little bit of Hughson nostalgia and family pride to my book.”

The opportunity to care for herself by signing up for a course through The Woman School.

Salve for parched skin and rosaries for her and her children made by Catholic Kids.

A moment of tranquility made possible by a set of custom wind chimes made by Casey Music Service.

Kyle Casey began experimenting with creating my own wind chimes about 10 years ago. Over time I learned much about their construction and developed my own unique techniques and designs. He now sells them mostly online to those who wish to have a very specific set of notes that no other known wind chime company can do for them. He said, “I strive to provide the highest quality custom made wind chimes made with the best materials available that not only sound great but look great as well. I also strive to provide the most effective music lessons specifically tailored to each individual student.”

An Icon by Sue Forrest Artwork

The beauty of age and tradition with curated antiques Domestic Joy

Jewelry by Simple Beadings

Candles by Healthy Mind Healthy Soul

Integrating her passion for her profession as a future mental health counselor, and passion for her faith, Adriana Ramirez, owner of Healthy Mind Healthy Soul, hit upon the idea to utilize the inspiration from her faith and the power of aroma through candles and nature’s natural scents. Thus she made candles inspired by the saints. Check out her work at on Instagram @healthymindhealthysoul_

There’s more to come!

See you at the Loreto Market!

May 1

10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Spring Gift Guide – Gift Guide for Sacraments

The Loreto Market takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 1. With so many holidays and events on the calendar in the coming weeks, I thought a gift guide might be handy.

Do you have a Confirmation mass to attend in the afternoon? First Holy Communions coming up? Whether Baptisms, First Holy Communions, Confirmations or the beginning of the wedding season, at the Loreto Market we’re featuring:

Saint peg dolls by Whymsical Lotus

Home decor with spiritual themes by Simple Beadings

Curated Vintage Artwork by Domestic Joy

Original and Reproduction Icons by Sue Forrest Artwork

Handmade Rosaries by Catholic Kids

Candles by Healthy Mind Healthy Soul

There’s more to come!

See you at the Loreto Market!

Two New Projects…and an Announcement

As I stood around a group of students, putting parrot to paper with borrowed paints, I began to dream. I dreamt of an opportunity to come together as Catholics to delight, learn and engage in our shared Catholic culture. I dreamt of ways to highlight those local Catholic artists, makers and entrepreneurs who seemed to go it alone in the Central Valley of California, finding their way through non-denominational Christian or secular avenues because the infrastructure was lacking for a Catholic market in our area.

Two projects came out of this dream:

The Hildegard Arts Cooperative

and

The Loreto Market

The Hildegard Arts Cooperative brings educational and communal opportunities to local students and their families with music, visual arts and literature utilizing traditional, skill-based techniques and Catholic cultural traditions.

How have we done this? Basically, with a lot of parties.

Live music, good food, and a bit of education in the saints have become integral to events hosted by the Hildegard Arts Cooperative.

Blessed with an outdoor space that can accommodate a spaced out crowd in 2021 we have hosted a St. Valentine’s Day parties for children, a St. Patrick’s Day Fest for the whole family, opera in the afternoon watching a streamed production by Opera Modesto through their Festival @ Home program, and a Mardi Gras Speakeasy. Upcoming events include The Loreto Market, Midsummer Night Shakespeare Festival, Hot August Nights (an outdoor speakeasy) and so much more. It is our goal to make these events free. We do this through donations and vendor fees paid by our amazing vendors at the Loreto Market.

On May 1, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., we’ll host our second Loreto Market. The first Loreto Market took place on December 5, 2020, and was a wonderful success. 16 Catholic artists, makers and entrepreneurs came together (along with a gaggle of kids) to showcase their work and sell their products just in time for St. Nicholas Day.

Now, just in time for May crownings, Spring Sacraments, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, graduations and the wedding season, the Loreto Market will bring together no less than 16 Catholic vendors to do it again.

We hope you’ll join us on Saturday, May 1, for the Loreto Market. Between now and then, I’ll share some handy gift guides to give you an idea what you’ll be able to purchase that day and some of the incredible vendors we’re featuring.

If you’d like to receive future emails regarding the Loreto Market and the Hildegard Arts Cooperative, or are a Catholic artist, maker or entrepreneur and would like to know more, email me at hildegard.arts.cooperative@gmail.com .

Take Back the Culture One Shopping Trip at a Time

The Black Friday Tradition

What will Black Friday be this year?

Many of us grew up with a tradition of Black Friday shopping on an actual day after Thanksgiving. Some people woke up early, some meandered out around 10 a.m., but many enjoyed it in their own way.

I remember snippets of this tradition. We were in a little town just outside Redding, where my family traditionally celebrated the day. Thanksgiving morning, my father went out and bought the newspaper. After the early Thanksgiving dinner, the men poured over the advertisements to ascertain the year’s “hot item”. The search was on for an electric scooter. They left early the next morning. I recall them only after their return, celebrating the success of their hunt.

The ladies were more leisurely. We breakfasted, combed through ads and then went to the same stores we would have otherwise. I sat in the backseat, watching and learning how it is done from the more seasoned shoppers. My mom bought decorative bags for cookies at a great deal in an old-school discount store. We ate Chinese food together at a restaurant. No one was successful at Macy’s. I had no idea there were so many stores so near my aunt’s idyllic home.

Family celebrations shifted as our nuclear family grew. My husband would rather hunt waterfowl than deals, so Black Friday shopping belonged solely to me. At that time, deals gradually moved online, earlier and earlier. I prepped my online shopping carts. When labor pains began at 3 a.m. in 2012, I ordered my items before going to the hospital. Black Friday shopping has never been the same.

And it never will be again.

I feel confident in saying the big box retailers ruined it.

I still imagine a big shopping day, the hustle, the music, the aromas of the Christmas season with Christmas preparations. When “ahead of time” meant a month before Christmas, not October. When Thanksgiving itself commanded some attention.

With the Covid-19 pandemic and its accompanying restrictions, stores cannot push the deals they became accustomed to pushing to draw more and more people through their doors. Little local shops have to spread out festive shopping events because of their max. capacity stops below twenty while chain retailers can accommodate hundreds. Those not lucky enough to make it in the doors early wait outside in line, six-feet apart.

Thus the former one-night events span four days, from before Halloween leading up to city Shop the Blocks, what was once after Thanksgiving fell on the day after Halloween. Retailers cannot afford to be left in the dust and have their patrons Christmas merchandise purchased from those who dare to go earlier.

And we miss out.

We miss out on a tradition.

We miss out on adding sentiment and meaning to something that could be an irritating task that must be checked off the list.

We miss out on the togetherness that comes from a shared experience, whether shared with family or shared culturally.

We miss out.

What I am proposing is this.

Halfway through November, plenty of shopping may have already occurred, especially with Thanksgiving and other lovely events taking place this month. Rather than encouraging you not to do “this” or “that” I want to encourage you to add one more thing to your schedule. Schedule a shopping day…soon after Thanksgiving. Buy your coffee or hot chocolate, your pastry, whatever you like, grab a friend or family member and make it a shopping event. When you walk into the local small-business retailer tell them you saved your Christmas shopping day for that day, rather than attending the post-Halloween event. Maybe even contact them now to tell them you won’t be coming in before for your Christmas shopping, but have a special day planned as soon as December starts.

And have a marvelous time.

Then maybe, just maybe, over time, retailers will start offering something more than empty shelves for those who shop late. Maybe, by making something special out of it, we can shift the trends that started years ago. And maybe, just maybe, by this little step, we can start to take back the culture.