Okay.  So we are now three for three — three Snowflake nights,
three nights of lousy weather.  Three nights (over two years) when the
merchants of Park Slope get together and organize a truly stupdendous
offering — late hours, specials, FUN . . . and people want to come out
hear about it, are excited, and then . . . it rains.  It rains and it
rains and it rains.  Snow would be okay.  Good weather would be great.
But rain?  Deadly.

Are we disheartened?  NO!  Well, okay, maybe a little.  But I’m
sitting here in my store, doing the character assassination of the
evening with m’cohorts, and you know, I actually think it’s not so
bad.  Yes, it would have been nice (really nice) if the weather had
been great, and the whole neighborhood had come out to do their
shopping, so it was great for everyone — local stores get business,
local shoppers get convenience and deals . . . but, c’mon — the
weather is foul.  No one in their right minds would go
outside on a night like tonight, and I’m not even sure how I’m going to
get home tonight . . . . but the silver lining point I want to focus on
is . . . well, the bigger picture.  No, this isn’t really just about
getting something together for one night.  This isn’t a one-night
neighborhood.  The idea of the Snowflake Celebration is a
concentrated expression of the relationship of local people
(businesses, shoppers — PEOPLE) to each other.  And that relationship
exists. 

Snowflake is just an opportunity, not a necessity, for
expressing it.  All of you out there who care about the character of
the neighborhood, about the richness of living here, or about the
pleasure of doing business here — if we could all just take this as a
starting off place for talking to each other.  Park Slope Residents —
remember the businesses on the Snowflake list — remember that they’re
the ones who are involved enough in the community to bother trying to
do this.  Businesses — remember that we’re all in it together, and
just us all coming together and supporting each other is worth something.
It means something.  Something bigger and more lasting than profits on
any given night (though profit is always welcome, of course). 

The success of Snowflake has two opportunities for expression:  One
would be a simply straightforward great night and event, lots of sales
and profit, convenience and fun; but the other, perhaps more important
aspect is as an expression of community involvement — of "we’re all in
it together"-ness.  Customers:  Please take note of who was involved in
this, and remember — those are the businesses that are going to
care-take the neighborhood, and who are truly part and parcel of the
neighborhood.  Remember to support them going forward, but remember to tell
them that their presence and involvement is important to you.
Businesses, remember that together we’re slowly and patiently growing
something bigger than the sum of its parts.  It isn’t, at the end of
the day, about big sales on one day – it’s about growing community
loyalty.

Let’s keep talking to each other, and remember to keep telling
each other that we appreciate each other, and that we’ll carry on being
there for each other, going forward.

That’s the legacy, the most important legacy, of Snowflake to me.