cafe au play in the news and on the road
If you get the Oregonian and turn first to the Living section (like me), you may have seen a bunch of cute kids and even cuter mamas on the front page yesterday. The OregonLive link is here (sans photo); I've scanned in the paper version and posted on my own blog.
I sort of want you to go to cafe mama to see it, because I've made a little plea for Cafe au Play. You can read about what Cafe au Play is, but here's the "elevator pitch" in my own words: Cafe au Play is a child-centric coffee shop, one made with the needs of moms, dads and other caregivers in mind. It's a refuge, a place to meet friends and make them, to find support, to find a little peace. It's not thrift store toys in a corner; it's a space centered on the combination of play (for kids) and coffee (for us) and meeting the needs of parents in a thoughtful, inclusive, non-judgmental way. We plan to redefine "child friendly" or "family friendly" and be child centered, parent centered.
If we all work together, contributing whatever we can, in our own way, we'll set a new standard for businesses and organizations that truly support the vibrant and stimulating community that we've started to tap into, virtually, here at urbanMamas. It's really pretty amazing, when you think about it. And just wait until you see it.
I've just been reading the book "The Great Good Place" by Ray Oldenburg, leant to me by one of the thoughtful and hardworking volunteers at Cafe au Play. This book reminds us that the "third place", a place for gathering that isn't work or home, is a remedy for stress, loneliness, and alienation. I imagine a world with less post-partum depression with that kind of support.
He talks about how in Italy, "when the air is red with the summer sunset and the campaniles begin to sound vespers and the day's work is done, everyone collects in the piazzas". This makes me wonder about moving to Italy. But until then, I want to help carve out a place here where conversation is the main activity and I can participate in that while my daughter is playing with new friends she's made over the train set or in the storytelling hour.
Who knows, I might not need to move all the way to Italy if Cafe au Play takes off, as it is looking like it might.
How can we as a community help Cafe au Play get what it needs to help families get what we need?
Posted by: Lisa | April 22, 2006 at 09:44 PM
An easy place to start: I just made a Paypal donation at Sarah's site, Cafemama. If all of us uM's throw a little (or a lot) into the pot, we'll all make this dream come true!
Posted by: Asha | April 23, 2006 at 02:25 PM
Just have to pipe up that there were some Papas there, too, including my husband. He's in the picture, though you can't see our son. They had a great time, and I really hope to be able to support that group. Especially for weekend/afternoon events, as our mornings during the week are booked.
Posted by: Betsy | April 24, 2006 at 08:27 AM