When an event's a good idea, it will stand the test of time to become a tradition.
That's certainly the case with the Crescent Moon Coffee House.
It was only supposed to be a temporary activity to provide a different option for adults with developmental disabilities, but something about the coffee house – originally created in White Rock for a Local Initiatives Project (L.I.P.) grant in the 1970s – clicked with the broader community.
Now, 50 years later, the Thursday night tradition continues to inspire and nurture the creation of music – among experienced and novice singers and instrumentalists alike. More than just an open mic, organizers say, it’s been a gathering place where the community has shared in the magic of music, creativity, and connection.
That history will be celebrated Thursday, March 6 at 7 p.m. at the Alexandra Neighbourhood House old Rec Hall – one of the coffee house's original locations – with an anniversary party featuring a roster of such well-known local musicians as Heidi McCurdy, Jason Mitchell, Medderick, Dennis Peterson, Dennis Pook and Randy Schultz, all of whom credit it with playing a key role in the development of their careers.
In what is billed in a media release as "a night filled with live performances, open-mic opportunities, and special surprises," the event will be a "tribute to everyone who has ever picked up an instrument, sang a song, cheered on a friend or just soaked up the atmosphere."
"There has virtually never been a time over 50 years when the coffee house wasn't active in some form or another," said longtime volunteer, organizer and musician Harriet Quint, who, along with fellow longtime organizer Steve Chitty, visited Peace Arch News recently to reminisce.
A faded PAN clipping from 2017 heralded a 40th anniversary celebration held that April – but as it turned out that particular event was a couple of years off the mark, Quint said.
"We've never formally archived the coffee house," she explained.
"But this year I contacted (local musician) Mickey Hovan, who has a phenomenal memory, and he pinned down the actual date of the first coffee house to March 6, 1975. March 6 this year is also a Thursday, so it seemed natural to have the 50th celebration then."
Hovan remembers being at that first event, she said – and Pook was also there.
"Linda Wickens, who started it, was working with Semiahmoo House in the early days," Quint said.
"She applied for an L.I.P grant to do community programming for (Semiahmoo House's clients), and the coffee house was one of the programs."
"I think they were running it out of the old bus station building at the foot of Oxford Street," said Chitty.
"It was in the building next to the old White Rock Mufflers auto shop, where the (Newport) condos are now."
By the time the original L.I.P. grant was running out, it was clearly evident there was a need in the community for an ongoing coffee house.
Hovan drove to Camp Alexandra in Crescent Beach – a First World War vintage orphanage camp that had evolved into the home of Crescent Beach Community Services by the early '70s.
The first person he ran into was board member Steve Chitty, who was working in the field there.
"I said I'd take it to the board that night," Chitty remembered, recalling the much less formal, more laid-back mood of the times.
The suggestion of relocating the coffee house was a catalyst for applications for further grants to renovate the camp's recreation hall to provide a more open space, and when these were approved, Chitty set to work.
"Steve renovated that camp almost single-handed," Quint said.
"It became a real hippie coffee house, with broken-down couches and a big tie-dye hanging on the wall!"
Alternating at first with a pub night at the space, the Crescent Moon Coffee House gradually became an every Thursday tradition, totally volunteer run by 1990, Quint said.
Coffee and tea and locally baked goodies are a staple, of course.
But the enduring success of the coffee house is that it's a bit more than simply an open-mic, Quint said.
The key was offering a welcoming, inclusive and supportive environment that has enabled new musicians to take important first steps in performing before others, and providing a safe place to try out new material and new combinations of performers.
"For many participants it's their first time playing with others, and out of that has come the confidence in performing that has led to careers in music."
And it has stayed that way during shifts in venue that have taken it around the Peninsula to Camp Kwomais (now Kwomais Point Park) and even, for a while, to the White Rock Elks Club.
Longest stint at another venue was at Camp Kwomais – precipitated in 1994, Quint said, by Camp Alexandra wanting to shift the popular event to another evening.
"That's when we approached the late Pat Proznick, who was director of the United Church camp at Kwomais," Quint remembered. "I said, Pat we need a place for the coffee house."
The highly music-oriented Proznick, mother of famed bassist Jodi, musical educator Kelly and drummer Tim – and wife of Semiahmoo Secondary band guru David – welcomed the idea with open arms, and the coffee house moved into the Kwomais dining hall.
And it was there that the Crescent Moon Coffee House and its organizers gave birth to an even larger musical event – the In Harmony Music Festival.
For more than half a decade, the three-day event showcased local performers, more high profile performers returning to their Peninsula roots, and consistently fascinating acts from elsewhere.
"We've done a lot of concerts over the years," Quint said – including showcases for locally raised soprano Keren Baumgartel and guitar wizard Les Finnegan.
Naturally, conditions and circumstances change over time, and after Camp Kwomais was acquired by the City of Surrey, the intention was announced to take down the lodge/dining hall that had become the coffee house's home.
Typically, organizers saw it as a call to action.
"We formed the Friends of Kwomais," Quint said. "We had people sign petitions and ended up saving the building."
Following costly renovations, the coffee house reopened there with a special event in 2010.
But, sadly, the space was never quite the same as a music venue, and while the coffee house persisted there for a while, it became evident that another home would have to be found.
"It was at that point that Alexandra Neighbourhood House welcomed us back," Quint noted.
The ups and downs over the years took a toll, she admitted.
"At one point, I thought it would fold. And I said to Steve, 'if it folds, we can still take satisfaction in knowing we've done our job.'"
But, somehow, the spirit never faded.
"The coffee house has had a rebirth of late," she said.
"We run the steering committee, and we have a roster of rotating hosts. Some weeks it is an open-mic and some weeks it's a jam.
"And everybody knows the music starts at 7 p.m. and runs to 10 p.m.," Chitty said.
"As somebody said recently," added Quint, "The coffee house is the mother-ship of all that's going on musically in the local area."
And Quint said it has managed to stay true to the original intention of the coffee house – to help people through a shared bond of music.
"It's been music therapy ever since."
"It brings people together," she said.
"That's our philosophy – 'building community through music for 50 years.'"
