 We dedicate our tree in gratitude to the Voices of the Violet Crown — all of our neighbors who have so generously shared their creativity, commitment, and camaraderie over the years to keep community spirit alive. Among them are Steven Zettner and the other volunteers of Sustainable Neighborhoods of North Central Austin.
Voices of the Violet Crown also is the name of our community/history project. It grew out of a five-year fundraising effort for the mosaic Wall of Welcome on Woodrow Avenue in Austin. With other neighbors, we created the Violet Crown Festival, first held in 2003, and community and history exhibits for the festival's Community Tent. We envisioned the tent as a commons, where people could come together and discover a stronger sense of place and roots in our evolving urban neighborhood.
As our project evolved, we realized the value of not only gathering and preserving stories of life here but also sharing them widely with the community. Today, Voices of the Violet Crown includes oral history interviews, two films, exhibits, publications, and a website, violetcrownvoices.com. We feature neighborhood history and community news, too, on the website, just as we did in the Community Tent.
We believe that community is a continuum that includes past, present, and future. It's clear that being a good neighbor is as important today as it was decades ago when our neighborhoods were being established. The ongoing contributions of individuals and groups, working on small and large projects, truly are helping sustain our quality of life here.
We have been inspired by Sustainable Neighborhoods' projects to help keep North Central Austin a great place to live. We are honored to help support the group's tree plantings, in grateful appreciation for all our good neighbors who continue to make a difference.
Susan and Rob Burneson Voices of the Violet Crown |
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