Food Truck and Beer Court Update
In March, Dina Ochs and I (Garet Prior) shared the results of a community survey we conducted on finding things we can all agree on (article linked here).
Since then, we’ve been hard at work.
We gained the support of the Wilsonville Alliance as the event's financial and nonprofit backer, which allowed us to hire an event planner.
We’ve had supportive conversations with the city; they love the idea and would like to be involved if it helps. They connected us with property owners and told us which permits we need (or don't need if we are on private property).
We ran into frustrating barriers trying to find a property owner who would work with us. A couple of the key vacant properties in town center are owned by the same person who didn’t want the event, and a few others are owned by third-party out-of-town property management companies that didn’t respond.
We’ve had two public meetings to plan the event. It was delightful to meet new people and hear the excitement around making this happen. People have given of their time to call property owners, research insurance, and reach out to food and entertainment acts. It’s been an awesome response.
So, when is the event? I’m ready to experience a quality food truck and beer court?!?!?!!!!
I wish we could say tomorrow.
But we’re pushing it to this spring. We want to be clear about what makes this different from other quality food-and-drink community gathering events. We’re still looking for an anchor food or entertainment act. Also, we have ideas for activities that would require warm weather and less rainy skies. When we couldn’t get a property owner to say yes, we ran out of time this summer.
Why is there more writing in this article? Keep reading. There’s a cool activity at the end.
Through our 6 months of work on this, one thing is for sure: We are more committed than ever to fighting politics that demonizes “the other side.”
Personally, Garet speaking, Dina has helped me better understand other perspectives, moderated some of my “takes,” and deepened how I see, respect, and enjoy being around her, all while knowing this November we may vote differently (although I’m holding out that my “takes” on urban renewal will win her over and likely vice versa with me).
This November we’re facing a major election at the federal, state, and local levels about our future. We’re united to fight against politics and policies that dehumanize. Trans people are people, and immigration enforcement shouldn’t be weaponized against people because of their country of origin or skin color.
But there’s a clear distinction between these threats and more nuanced discussion around the role of government funding for trans health compared to other funding needs, and the pathway and number of immigrants permitted in the country in any given year.
We strongly agree that these national threats have no connection to the election before us at the local level in Wilsonville.
How a vote goes on our city’s ability to use a financing tool for public-private infrastructure with a nerdy name like urban renewal. Not a threat.
A future where Jennie Hill, Kate Dunwell, and no urban renewal occurs. Not a threat.
A future where Adrienne Scritsmier and Sam Scull are elected, and there’s a yes to urban renewal. Again, not a threat.
Since we couldn’t get the pop-up event in time for the election, we’d still like to spur activity where people with differences have quality conversation over food and drink.
So, here’s the activity part.
2026 Election Activity!
We’re hoping 5 pairings of people will:
One person who, as of early September, already knows they are voting yes on urban renewal, and one person who already knows they are voting no, meet for a beverage (coffee, tea, beer, etc.) and some type of food item 2 times before the election. When you show up to the conversation, ask 2 questions to learn more about the other person for every time you share 1 thing you think.
Then we'll meet up as a group in December to grab a beverage (dark beer season) to talk as a group and celebrate / commiserate together.
If you are interested, we’re ready to play matchmaker. Please email us if you are interested.
Or, if you want to reach out 1-1 to someone you know, do so and email us so we can invite you to the December gathering.
Best of luck, y’all!