On Saturday morning, the Meadowdale Community Club hosted an open house that drew approximately 100 interested individuals. Since the early 1950s, the Meadowdale Community Club’s facilities have been utilized by residents of Edmonds, Lynnwood and unincorporated Snohomish County for a wide range of activities, due to its central location. As first reported in a June 27, 2024 article,The Meadowdale Community Club and Preschool Legacy, the club was built on property gifted for the sole purpose of enriching the area through community-based activities.

The goal of the open house was to introduce the club to people who are new to the area and to help revitalize the club’s use and outreach in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, which forced many of the club’s activities to shut down.

The attendees were able to see — possibly for the first time — photos of the club being built by community members nearly 70 years ago, and also learn about Meadowdale’s rich history.

The attendees were then given the opportunity to express their ideas and wishes for how the community club should be involved in the future.

Sheets of paper were available on the wall with the following topic headings:

– Ideas for Social Events

– Ideas for Seasonal/Holiday Events

– Community Service Projects

– Learning Events – Shared Experiences with neighbors

– Advocacy – City of Edmonds

– Advocacy – City of Lynnwood

– Advocacy – Unincorporated Snohomish County.

Once an attendee had written on a sheet, other attendees had the opportunity to place a dot behind or in front of that idea to “second” the thought.

Additionally, a sheet was available for attendees to write in other questions.

Author’s note: as an observer it was refreshing to see people introducing themselves to each other and mingling. The organizing committee had name tags available for sign in. Uniquely the name tags were available in different colors based upon how many years you had resided in the area: (i.e. 0 – 5, …. 50+)

Cottage Bakery provided refreshments and there were also craft tables set up for kids during the event.

The event was organized by the club’s interim directors: Kerry Thomson, president; Beth Wareing, vice president; John Quast, treasurer and Kelsea Ballantyne along with event planning committee members Nichole Rodriquez, Merissa Benitez Jackson, Tristan Fowler, Kerrie Plympton and Laurie Dressler.

For further information or questions, email meadowdalecommunity@gmail.com.

The Meadowdale Community Clubhouse is located at 6801 N Meadowdale Rd, Edmonds.