Hello and, though it may be officially a few days away, let me wish you all a happy spring!
Certainly, after the terrible hardness and deep suffering of the last few years connected to the pandemic, I have been thinking a great deal about what it means to gingerly step into the sunlight of this spring, of gathering, imagining and planning for our beloved Ebell.
I am grateful and excited by all the beautiful ideas and plans that are suddenly bursting forth, like poppies and roses. For instance, a group of our early career members began meeting informally this winter. They love the mission of The Ebell and how it centers and advances women through education, arts and service. They decided that they wanted to help advance the Ebell mission by forming a new Juniors Committee that would be a natural place for other early career members to explore topics and have adventures of particular interest to them while making new friends. I LOVE that they are seeing The Ebell and her future through fresh new eyes! Their inaugural event is actually open to all members on Saturday, April 15 at 10:30 am in The President’s Tea Room, where they will discover how to better understand and take control of personal financial planning.
Even before that, The Ebell is co-presenting one of the world’s foremost gardeners together with The Garden Conservancy on Friday, March 25 at 10:30 am. Troy Scott Smith will discuss his long tenure at Sissinghurst Castle and his efforts to recapture the distinctive vision of its creators, the writers Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson, in the 1930s, as a refuge dedicated to natural beauty.
And we will once again begin to (re) fill our beautiful campus with music. Our collection of gorgeous historic pianos have been asleep for too long. On Thursday, April 14, at 7 pm, the extraordinarily gifted students at LA County High School for the Arts will return with a program celebrating the music of Stephen Sondheim. You will NOT want to miss any one of these these educational, cultural and musical events, and the many many more programs that are springing back to brilliant life at The Ebell of LA.
Perhaps Voltaire and Sondheim have expressed my hopes for this spring better than anyone. In Candide, experience has taught Candide and his wife Cunegonde that life can be hard and sometimes beyond our control. However, what we can and must do, is find a way to create our own springtimes, our rebirths and flowering, where and how we can:
We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good
We’ll do the best we know.
We’ll build our house and chop our wood
And make our garden grow.
And make our garden grow!
With warmest thanks and spring sunshine,
Stacy
