La Conner to honor Tom Robbins' wit, wisdom Sept. 2

La Conner is taking a novel approach when it comes to celebrating the best things in life.

The town will be the scene for "Tom Robbins Day" Sept. 2, an event designed to promote fun, friendship, wit, whimsy and positive vibes, all reflective of themes and characters in books penned by La Conner's famed best-selling author.

It will also be an opportunity to support mentoring opportunities in the arts for local youth at the new La Conner Swinomish Library.

A full slate of activities is planned, including a parade, raffle, trivia games and costume and spam carving contests.

Plus much, much more.

"The idea," Robbins' wife, Alexa, told the Weekly News, "is for us to come together as a community and celebrate what we can be as a human family. It's about Tom's work and imagination, but there's also a larger concept. Happiness is really the goal."

Plans for "Tom Robbins Day" took root earlier this year at the Enchanted Locks Hair Salon on Morris Street.

"We were sitting here one day," recalls salon owner Gina McCarthy, "and Tom jokingly said, 'I could be king for a day.' The more I thought about it, I began to think we could do this."

La Conner artist Meg Holgate was on the same page as well.

"It made sense to do something in honor of our great celebrity writer," Holgate said. "My thought was, 'we need to check with Alexa and see what she thinks about this.' She said, 'yes' right away."

And, right away, McCarthy got to work organizing the celebration. She has been busy collecting donated raffle items from La Conner merchants, proceeds from which will go to the library's youth outreach programs.

"The merchants have been amazing," said McCarthy. "Everyone has been more than fantastic. Everybody is definitely excited about it. This is just an amazing town."

Alexa Robbins envisions the funds supporting a rotating format devoted to various means of artistic expression.

"You could do a four-part camp at the library," she said. "You could start with drama and then hand it off to music. There are talented people in the community with expertise who could be mentors. It could be a tag team of mentors who can help kids launch their dreams and focus on something they can create in their own voice.

"Art is the key," she added. "It lets us all think outside the box."

She noted how Tom Robbins' forte is thinking outside the box and in La Conner he has found no shortage of kindred souls.

"In our community," she stressed, "we learn how to problem-solve in a right brain, intuitive way. And it germinates in our youth."

Robbins has lived in La Conner for more than half a century. He is known for seriocomedies such as "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues," his 1976 novel that covers topics ranging from feminism and political rebellion to animal rights and religion.

And yams.

"Cowgirls," one of nine Robbins best-sellers, was made into a 1993 film starring Uma Thurman, Pat Morita, Angie Dickinson, Keanu Reeves, Ed Begley, Jr. and Roseanne Arnold among other well-known Hollywood stars. Robbins himself served as narrator.

Prior to devoting his writing full-time to novels, Robbins was a sportswriter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, an art critic with the Seattle Times, a columnist for Seattle Magazine and worked at the copy desk of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

He celebrated his 91st birthday last month.

Now it's he who can be celebrated, though his preference would be for those attending "Tom Robbins Day" to embrace first and foremost the powers of community, joy and creative thought.

"Tom is the kind of person," Alexa Robbins explained, "who never makes it about himself. He's a conduit for those who choose joy in spite of everything, who choose to bring joy to one another."