January 2026 - Transition & Change, News
January 1, 2026

New Beginnings

“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, ‘It will be happier.’”

― Alfred Lord Tennyson

“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.”

― Dolly Parton

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice.”

― T.S. Eliot

“Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

―Wizard of Oz

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”

— C.S. Lewis

“We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched.”

― Ellen Goodman

“Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.”

—Anon.

“It’s never too late to be who you might have been.”

— George Eliot

“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”

— L.M. Montgomery

“This is a new year. A new beginning. And things will change.”

― Taylor Swift

“Let’s all do our part to create change in our communities and build a better world for everyone.”

― Michele Obama

“And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.”

― Rainer Maria Rilke

“Kindness, kindness, kindness. I want to make a New Year’s prayer, not a resolution. I’m praying for courage.”

― Susan Sontag

“The past has its own terrible inevitability, but it is never too late to change the future.”

― Heather Cox Richardson

Other News
Three-Day Event Celebrates Veterans’ Service
EXTRA!
By Sara Hart 
October 26, 2026
Cal Poly Humboldt, College of the Redwoods, California College Corps and American Legion Arcata Post 274 are joining forces to bring Arts in Service to Humboldt to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary and Veterans Day 2026 together with veterans in true Humboldt fashion. Running Nov. 4, 5 and 7, Arts in Serv...
The All Seasons Orchestra — The Redwood Coast’s Community Orchestra
EXTRA!
By J.A.J. Aronoff 
October 26, 2026
Most every Saturday morning from 10 to noon, musicians gather to rehearse at the Eureka Woman’s Club. The All Seasons Orchestra is a community orchestra that welcomes musicians of all ages and skills, as well as non-musician members who are the working heart of our organization. The All Seasons Orchestra (ASO...
My Singing Career
EXTRA!
By Mary McCutcheon 
October 23, 2026
It was 1954 and I was in the first grade. My mother had joined the Mothersingers, sponsored by the Eureka Adult Education program. She would go and sing old tunes written about 1900 with some other ladies. My mother learned how to read music. Her best friend was a musician and explained treble clefs, bass cle...
An Arcata Singer Hits the Big Time
EXTRA!
By Phyllis Chinn 
October 23, 2026
Building on the many wonderful musical opportunities in Humboldt County, some musicians raised here have moved away for other opportunities. Allison Hai-Ting Chinn is one of them. She first sang in public with the Humboldt Light Opera Company and the Redwood Coast Children’s Chorus. After graduating from Arca...