Welcome to our August/September edition of Local Happenings Magazine. We would like to start off with a message about one of our close business partners, the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce. If you did not know, their offices burned to the ground in mid-July. Because it happened overnight, nobody was injured, thankfully; regardless, it is a devastating loss to them and to the community, and it will be a challenge to recover quickly and march on with their endeavors. We wish them well and hope they get up and running quickly.
We at Local Happenings have also had a recent health scare within our team. Fortunately, they are on the mend and should be back in full force very soon. For all of us, it is a reminder that tragedy and complications in life strikes quickly and we should all be more prepared for these bumps and curves that life will put on the road in front of us. While we never like to think the worst, we should still prepare for it.
With that said, summer is in full swing, but we need to enjoy it before it is gone. Something that has always been bittersweet about summer is that once it begins, the days start to grow shorter. Yes, the start of summer is marked by the Summer Solstice in June, which is also the longest day of the year. Every day from that point keeps getting a little bit shorter until the Winter Solstice, when they start to get a little bit longer again. By the time our next issue comes out in October, we will have passed the fall equinox (on September 22nd this year), and the nights will then be longer than the days.
Every day we have a little less time to enjoy the sunshine, which means that we should get out and enjoy all we have here before it fades into fall. Fortunately, we live in a wonderful part of the country where some of the best weather is in late September through October. Some parts of our country (and I am not talking about Alaska) can have its first snowfall as early as late September! As with life, each day is certainly something that we should not take for granted, which is why we are always striving to help our readers plan their days better. Make sure to stop by our calendar section, not just in the print magazine but online as well. We are constantly adding new events, and there are so many that we just cannot list them all in the magazine.
More excitement that is getting ready to get underway is our annual Local’s Choice awards. Readers have a chance to share what they think are the best retailers, people, events, and more within the three counties that we cover: Contra Costa, Napa, and Solano. You will find all the details in the magazine.
As we always do, we want to send out some birthday wishes to some of our readers and faithful friends: Robert Briseño, one of the magazine’s creators, and his wife, Regina, are celebrating not only another year in the planet but also their 11th wedding anniversary (WOW! Time is flying by! ) Other birthday shout-outs go to Karen, Barbara, John, Kenny, Joe, Catherine, Christopher, Clara, Krystle, Jeff, Bob, Pippen, Yvonne, Michael, Duane, Christine, Wendy, Lou, Emily, Debbie, Dora, Therese, Freda, Cindy, Patty, Tricia, Harry, Joanne, Patrick, Cindy, Don, Mel, Derrick, Rich, Diane, Dan, Roberta, Holly, JoEllen, Jim, Eric, Caroline, Bea, Shannon, and everyone else whom we know and love who are celebrating in August and September!
Cheers!
Robert Briseño
Deanna Baillie
& Deanna Troupe
