May 14, 2020
A Creative Community Newsletter for Information and Inspiration
Each week we will send news you need to know about the COVID crisis that will help put us on the road to recovery. We will also give you a glimpse of how our creative colleagues from across the state are using their talent to bring us all closer together! Read on for more.
GET INFORMED
The Employment Securities Department announced that they will be limiting the number of inbound calls they are taking to process payments. However, the ESD will be reaching out to people in adjudication—those who have filed claims with errors. If you're waiting to hear back about an error, put their number in as a contact in your phone so you will know when they're calling.

Humanities Washington is providing rapid-response funding via the CARES Act to humanities organizations facing financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus. For more info check out our updated resource list. 

In case you missed it, here's our unemployment walk through video —a step-by-step guide to applying from one filmmaker's perspective .
GET BUSY
We need imagination now more than ever — Thanks to Martin Reeves and Jack Fuller for writing an inspiring article in the Harvard Business Review about how imagination is the crucial factor in creating new opportunities and finding new paths to growth .

UW Foster School of Business has put together a FREE seven part workshop series to help businesses emerge successfully from the COVID-19 crisis. Register to take one, or all seven of the workshops here.

Collaborating virtually is becoming big—here's some advice on building a vibrant virtual community, and here's a free webinar for nonprofits on pulling off virtual events from Seattle-based fundraising consultant Ariel Glassman.
BE INSPIRED
Robert Gomez Helps Keep Walla Walla Strong
Robert Gomez, Sommelier and owner of Hoquetus Wines .
Robert Gomez wears many hats—he's a sommelier, musician and bartender at Passatempo Taverna in Walla Walla. He's also a winemaker and owns his own winery, Hoquetus Wine.

We asked Robert for some recipes for his favorite quarantine cocktails, advice on how to stock a home bar, and how Passatempo's pay-it-forward campaign is helping feed Walla Walla Valley—one lasagna at a time!
What do you miss most about being behind the bar? 
 
I miss showing my guests a good time but I also miss my work family, we really spend a lot of time together working to create a memorable experience for our guests and ever since the shutdown, I haven't seen hardly anyone! 

However, since my wine released last week I am starting to get out more by doing deliveries. And although it’s usually just a wave from behind the window or a text message, it's really nice to connect with people again and be able to put something delicious in their glass. 

What basics should every home bar stock?

I think this really depends on what you like to drink but, if I had to make a list of essentials for a great overall home bar:

  1. Spirits: Get some of your favorite high quality spirits. For versatility, I’d get a Whiskey, a Gin, a Rum, a Brandy and a Tequila. Don’t feel the need to get every brand out there but do get some good stuff!
  2. Vermouth: High quality vermouths are not only great in drinks but good on their own! You’re going to want at least 1 French (dry) and 1 Italian (sweet). 
  3. Liqueur: Liqueur can bring not only sweetness but also flavor and complexity. If you're only going to stock just a few though, I’d go with a curaçao or triple sec like Pierre Ferrand or Cointreau respectively, a bottle of Luxardo Maraschino, (definitely a classic worth having on hand) and Campari. 
  4. Bitters: The trifecta is the way: aromatic bitters such as Angostura, Peychauds and orange such as Fee Brothers. 
  5. Fresh / Pantry Staples: Yes, you’re going to need some fresh citrus: lemon, lime and orange (go organic when you can), seltzer, tonic and sugar. 
 
Get a bar together like this and you are ready to rock! You can make quite a lot of classics here: Martinis, Daiquiris, Manhattans, Negronis, Gimlets, Sidecars, Rickeys, High-Balls, Margaritas, Improved Cocktails, oh my! Not bad for 9 or 10 bottles. 

If you’re looking for something more compact, I suggest picking a favorite drink recipe, for instance a Negroni, and start with those three bottles (gin, campari, sweet vermouth) and branch out from there bringing other bottles in little by little to build your bar as you go through other recipes.
Hoquetus wine label designs by artist Cameron Cox .
The artwork on the wine bottles at Hoquetus is so beautiful and unique. Can you tell us about the artist that you worked with to design the label and the collaboration in bringing the label to life?

The label art for Hoquetus was created for us by Cameron Cox, an artist based out of Brooklyn, New York. We used to be neighbors in a small college town in Denton, Texas, where I lived before moving to Washington State. I became familiar with her work by seeing photos of her paintings on her Instagram , and I immediately fell in love with them. The mystery, elegance and grace of her work perfectly fits with the wine I had envisioned. I can’t imagine a better artistic representation for Hoquetus.

How did Passatempo Taverna's pay it forward campaign come about?

The program was inspired by some of the great things the Seattle restaurant community was doing to help folks that were impacted by COVID-19, especially those in the hospitality industry. We take donations via the website and offer free meals to those that have been impacted, which is quite a lot of people here in the Walla Walla Valley. The program has really worked out and we couldn't be more pleased with the results. So far, we have provided 50 lasagnas—each feeding 10-12 people!
WALLA WALLA MOVIE CRUSH PRESENTS:
Meals on Reels
On a regular basis we'll be inviting creatives to curate content for the creative community to enjoy during the pandemic, starting with local storyteller, producer, and programmer Warren Etheredge. He's the co-founder and curator for Walla Walla Movie Crush:
The Walla Walla Movie Crush is America’s most intoxicating showcase of short-form content. We get drunk on movies and will again this July 10th-12th at the Gesa Power House Theater. We believe that the two most important and enjoyable communal acts are breaking bread and watching movies.

So, let’s do both. Right now. Dinner and a show, if you will. This week, courtesy of Wh!psmart , we offer a stellar selection of shorts, culled from past Crushes, about food—how it’s prepared, who prepares it and how it enriches our lives…from a award-winning chef to an Oscar-nominated filmmaker, from a desperate couple seeking a cure to a humble cook providing a remedy of prejudice. Stories nourish us. Enjoy.
WATCH MEALS ON REELS
For more shorts, stories and sating meals, please visit themoviecrush.com and sign up to receive Crushworthy, the official, mostly-monthly e-newsletter of the Walla Walla Movie Crush.
SUPPORT COMMUNITY
Hand sanitizer made by Washington distilleries, wineries and breweries during Covid-19 

Chuckanut Bay Distillery in Bellingham, WA gives away one bottle of hand sanitizer , of their own making, with every bottle of booze purchase.

Westport Winery pivots to make hand sanitizer.

Demand is still strong for Dry Fly Distilling’s Spokanitizer.

Buy hand sanitizer from Seattle distilleries.

Bellwood Farms Distillery in Lynwood, WA makes hand sanitizer.

CREATIVITY IS EVERYWHERE
Creatives Around the World Rise to the Cause
During COVID-19 restaurants are getting creative across the spectrum. Here are 10 top take-out innovation s during the lockdown.
 
Acclaimed fine dining destination Tarsan i Jane offers take-home Paella Kits .

Farmers in Tacoma are giving away 200,000 pounds of potatoes at the Tacoma Dome.

After Tacoma led the push, Washington state green lights cocktails to go during pandemic. And if you haven’t heard the BREAKING NEWS, Washington State says "YES" to to-go cocktails during the pandemic. So get out there and support your local restaurants by order dinner and drinks to go! 

Here's a list of some Seattle bars and restaurants selling to-go cocktail kits .
Washington Filmworks (WF) is the private 501(c)(6) non-profit organization that manages the Motion Picture Competitiveness program as well as a diversity of resources for the creative industries in Washington State. WF's mission is to create economic development opportunities by building and enhancing the competitiveness, profile and sustainability of Washington State’s film industry.
 At Whipsmart, we are unapologetic advocates for creative people and businesses. We give creative professionals the tools they need to succeed, by meeting them where they’re at—offering intentionally curated mentorships, job opportunities, and business resources scaled to every stage of their career.
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