Third Place Commons temporary closure update

To Our Beloved Commons Community,

In response to Governor Inslee’s most recent mandates related to COVID-19, here are the latest changes at Third Place Commons:

The Commons space is now closed until further notice - Although Third Place Commons operates as a nonprofit organization, separate from our neighboring restaurants, stores, and the Town Center mall, we are naturally an interdependent community.

 
As we previously shared, although programming was being cancelled, the space at Third Place Commons is opened and closed each day by Town Center Security, and thus remains physically open during mall business hours.

However, in response to the mandate that all restaurants close or provide take-out only, Town Center management has removed all chairs from the dining area to discourage diners from loitering with their to-go items.

This means that the Commons space is now effectively closed until further notice, even for small groups and solo workers.

All weekend music, stage events, and groups based in the Commons are canceled until further notice - This closure will remain in place at minimum through the end of March, likely much longer. We will share updates widely when we are able to reopen the space and restart stage and Commons programming.

Like you, we are saddened and distressed by these developments, and we will miss our Commons community during these trying times. However, we also share the commitment with all of you to ensure the good health and safety of our community. So we join with state and local authorities in asking everyone to stay home as much as possible as we each do our part to reduce the spread of this novel coronavirus.

We know the value of joining together in the same space to connect, laugh, and learn, and we greatly look forward to the time when we can do that once again with all of you at Third Place Commons. That time will come.

In the meantime, you can follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) for updates (and hopefully some little doses of good cheer to get you through).

As many of you know, the onset of this outbreak came just as our fundraising breakfast was scheduled to take place. Although authorities had not yet mandated such cancellations at that time, we felt it was in the best interest of our community to cancel that event out of an abundance of caution. And indeed, within a week, such events had been prohibited.

As a community supported nonprofit, our strength depends on you. Needless to say, the cancellation of our biggest fundraiser of the year has significant financial ramifications for Third Place Commons and the Lake Forest Park Farmers Market. Please consider an online gift today to help us fill the gap.

Thank you and take care!

Amy Whittenburg
Executive Director
Third Place Commons