Every other year, the City puts on a special “For the Love of Kenmore” event to celebrate what we affectionately call “love notes” and “cocreators.” On February 9^th, City Hall was filled with Kenmore residents who love where they live—people we call cocreators. In Kenmore, a love note is not just nice words on paper. A love note is way for residents to connect with each other and to show their love for their city. Coined by author Peter Kageyama, “Love  notes  are  simple  acts  or  gestures  between  a city and its residents that engage, delight, and create a collective sense of place.”

What are examples of love notes in Kenmore? There are many! To name just a few: organizing a volunteer work party at a city park; planting new trees to help wildlife habitat; organizing an event to make scarves for those experiencing homelessness; knitting a sweater to go around a tree trunk to raise awareness for salmon; painting rocks with uplifting messages to leave around town; chalking a nice message on the sidewalk; painting art on a fire hydrant; teaching a free “how to” class at the Hangar; creating a Kenmore history display; writing an article about something that inspires you; holding a block party; and so much more! Love notes come in all shapes and sizes—they can be big or tiny; temporary or long lasting.

You can do any of these things and more! And the City is here to help and support you.

At the event, three residents shared their experiences and tips on being cocreators and generating love notes. Suzanne Greathouse shared her ideas and experiences as a cocreator in her capacity as the president of Kenmore Heritage Society. Maura Query shared her stories as the organizer of Thoughtful Citizens, and Tracy Banaszynski described her journey as the organizer of salmon habitat restoration work parties along Swamp Creek.

In her remarks, Tracy said she moved to Kenmore a few years ago. “I now can't imagine living anywhere else but right here where we are in Kenmore,” she said. “I think there are many reasons I love Kenmore so much -- a big one being that once I started to love Kenmore just a little, Kenmore started loving me right back . . . Perhaps most simply, every time I say, ‘Kenmore, I love you,’ Kenmore says, ‘Yes! I feel that and I love you back.’”

How do we love where we live? “By investing in where we live,” said city manager Rob Karlinsey. “And I don’t mean investing financially. It’s about investing with our time and our hearts,” he said 

At the event, Rob talked about how our interactions with our City and community too often tend to be what he calls “transactional.” Transactional interactions include asking the City to repair a pothole or applying for a building permit. “But we need to go beyond the transactional and connect with our City on an emotional level—truly loving where we live by investing emotionally in our community,” Rob said. While the transactional relationship is important and necessary, “we can take our relationship with our City to the next level—we can be part of creating beauty, art, fun, and bringing people together. We can begin to experience an emotional, and not just a transactional, return on our investment with our City. Only then will we truly love where we live,” Rob said.

The event culminated in a brainstorm of love note project proposals, all of which were voted on by the attendees. The top two vote-getting proposals were:

• A community garden with a composting component; and
• A mural on the back wall of Safeway on 181^st Street

The community garden idea, proposed by Morgan Dougherty, received $500 in seed money from Snapdoodle Toys, the sponsor of the event. Below is Snapdoodle Toys owner Rob Pickering presenting Morgan with the $500 certificate.

The mural proposal will be seeking funding including a potential contribution from the City to be considered by the City Council.

“It was a fun event with a lot of positive energy,” said Mayor Herbig. “We want our cocreators to know that we have their backs as they show through their actions how they love where they live .”

For more information about For the Love of Kenmore or to propose a love note project with the City, go to  www.kenmorewa.gov/lovenotes or contact Rita Moreno at rmoreno@kenmorewa.gov.