A panorama of revival.

A panorama of revival.

A panorama of revival. Right is rebuilt café seating area and kitchen; middle left, new bathrooms; left, looking down central and side gallery areas toward main entrance and stairway to Upstairs Gallery.

Right to left – rebuilt café seating area and kitchen; new bathrooms; left, central and side gallery areas toward main entrance and stairway to Upstairs Gallery.


— from The Olga Strawberry Council Board —

Picture yourself having the best first half of the year since the recession of 2008 in sales and visitors to your business. That’s what Café Olga, the Artworks Cooperative and James Hardman Gallery were experiencing when the call came on July 19, 2013.

Hearts sank when smoke, fire and water dashed it all.   Almost two years later, they are starting all over again to recreate that exhilarating feeling of a prosperous business in better times.

We are slightly over half way to our goal of $30,000 in community donations to help us receive a match toward our “Push to Finish” the historic Strawberry Barreling Plant lovingly known as the Artworks Building.

Charles Fast, Kevin Loomis, Molly Thomber and Tina Brown strategically install Artworks lighting fixtures

Charles Fast, Kevin Loomis, Molly Thomber and Tina Brown strategically install new Artworks lighting fixtures

If you’ve been waiting for the right time to donate, this is it!

This coming April, the 40 artists of the Artworks Cooperative, James Hardman’s Upstairs Gallery and Cheryl Helm, owner of a new café will be opening their doors with new hope, excitement and energy in a beautifully restored building after a devastating fire.

Click here or go to www.olgastrawberryouncil.org to donate using your credit card via PayPal, or send a check payable to the Olga Strawberry Council (OSC) to PO Box 214, Olga, WA 98279.

We are deeply grateful to this caring community for the amazing support you are providing to make this renewal happen.  I don’t think we can ever say it enough.