The recent spate of raindrops will, I promise you, soon turn to snowflakes. Then it will certainly look more like the season to be jolly. But make no mistake, the holidays are upon us, to alter our schedules and jam our agendas. Have no fear, though, Isthmus is here to help. Included with your Isthmus this week is Giving, our 22nd annual survey of the needs of local nonprofits, with a little holiday lore thrown in.
About that altered schedule: Thanksgiving is next Thursday, and, as always upon that occasion, Isthmus will be distributed a day early, so look for it on Wednesday next week. Christmas and New Year's happen on Friday this season, so that will cause us to hit the streets early also, with Wednesday distribution on Dec. 23 and 30. Plan accordingly, especially if you want to run a classified ad or submit a Guide entry.
Giving is about just that. Each year we survey nonprofit agencies for their material needs. We pass that information on to you in this supplement in the hopes that you will discover a need to fill and then follow through. The evidence over the years is that you do indeed fulfill a lot of what we call the Wish List and that everyone is the better for it.
But Giving has another purpose, and that is to spark the holiday feeling within your soul. To that end, it includes editorial features to help enhance your holiday experience from Thanksgiving through the New Year. There's Mrs. Gift, who dispenses advice to the holiday-challenged. In "The Right Bowl for the Job, " Linda Falkenstein offers three recipes for holiday side dishes, with suggestions for how to contain them. She also collaborates with Brian Strassburg on "Meditations," a graphic as well as textual musing on the season.
Every week we give you a ton of information on what's happening, but it can be a lot to wade through to find season-specific goings-on. In Giving we've curated for you with a special holiday calendar. The rest is up to you.
