Keep Donations Coming for Beyond Books Campaign
Dear Editor,
Thank you for the great article about the generous donations to the Friends of the Library Beyond Books fundraising campaign for the new library. We are very grateful for all the gifts we have received so far, but we need many more donations to help us reach our goal. Contributions in any amount are welcome, and those who give at least $100 will receive a Beyond Books Campaign tote bag as a thank-you gift. Donors of $1000 or more will get their name (or the name of a business or loved one) on the donor recognition wall in the lobby of the new library. To learn more about the campaign,
readers can contact me (782-9029) or visit
the Friends of the Library Web site www.friendsmhlibrary.org.
To raise additional funds, the Friends of the Library is hosting Silicon Valley Puzzle Day on Feb. 24, at Sobrato High School. This daylong event will include crossword and Sudoku tournaments for all levels. Details can be found at www.svpuzzle.org, or call Emily at (408) 221-9196.
We very much appreciate the support we are getting from the community in our fundraising efforts, as we eagerly await the opening of our new Morgan Hill Library.
Carol O’Hare, President
Friends of the Morgan Hill Library
Not A Good Idea to Move Mushroom Mardi Gras
Dear Editor,
We, a group of downtown merchants, want it known to the community that not all downtown merchants wanted, or even think it is a good idea, to move the Mushroom Mardi Gras festival. I’m writing for myself and the owners of the Blush Boutique, Susanne’s Music School, The Buzz Stop, The Goddess Bead Shop, Tiffany Salon, Magpie, Maurizio’s, Megy’s, Royal Clothiers, 9 Months & Beyond and Mon’C.
In the past the Mardi Gras has brought significant amounts of first-time and continued business to downtown retailers. The downtown merchants who wanted the Mardi Gras moved should know that they just hurt many businesses downtown by moving the festival.
It’s troublesome that some of the merchants who wanted the festival moved are also members of Morgan Hill’s Downtown Association. If you are part of an organization dedicated to the resurgence of downtown, why would you hurt the effort and force the Mardi Gras relocation sacrificing potential long-term exposure for our downtown and its businesses? We fail to see how, properly prepared for, having 50,000 people exposed to your businesses in one weekend is bad for business? As with most festivals, there will always be those “drunken fools” in the crowd who may cause you trouble, but you have thousands of potential customers to offset that issue if you choose to approach it that way.
For all the complaints from some merchants about how the big box retailers have hurt downtown business, it makes no sense why you would purposely remove such exposure of the downtown without considering less drastic possible solutions.
A more open dialogue about these “problems” would have been appreciated before making this move. The survey sent out after last year’s Mardi Gras was certainly a good place to start but there was no notice to all the merchants that some of the merchants were so unhappy that they were trying to get the festival moved. Some debate on the issue and some exploration of compromises or alternatives may have proven fruitful.
Moving the Mardi Gras might prove to be beneficial for the Mardi Gras, and it might result in less hassle for some merchants for one weekend, but it is a mistake for anyone downtown to want it to be moved. For all the inconveniences that may have been suffered individually from the Mardi Gras being downtown, we believe the benefit to downtown as a whole was worth it.
Jeff Nunes, Morgan Hill
Owner of the The Music Tree
