Today, via our email list, we posted this:

“After months of working to save the current venue space on Keystone Ave., and getting very close, members of Holland met with the City of Reno last week and it was determined that the space is no longer fit for our activities–and too hard (too costly) to fix. The main obstacle being the sprinkler system, which is necessary in a venue, and totally broken in ours. This is a huge disappointment, but many believe it’s also a blessing in disguise. So now we are beginning the search for a new space–completely now, and without hope of returning to the Keystone Ave. location. Our goal is to be in a new home within less than 6 months and be offering full programming again. In the meantime, the Youth Board has been plotting some excellent events–A Zombie Dance Party, An Air Guitar Competition, and we’ll be scheming up some other surprise things as well. Please help us keep the energy and enthusiasm for Holland and stand strong in showing the city that this project is important to us all.”

A longer version of that would say that we spent the last few months working with the City of Reno and the Fire Department to make Holland as safe as it needed to be–but the problem was the venue space we were housed in had far more problems than anyone realized–and were much too costly to endure. The space on Keystone was always a temporary space, we just hoped we would have had it for a bit longer. There are many things that every business has to have, and even more that our project has to have–we’re dealing with young people, and what they call “assembly” purposes (people gathering in groups) and music and arts activity–so exits, sprinklers, fire safety stuff, etc has to be in perfect working order and our lovely little metal shed had quite a hard time. So, onward and upward. We begin our instensive search for a new space this week, and it’s our greatest hope to find a permanent location (or semi-permanent 7-10 years). Thanks to everyone for their patience and their energy–it’s needed now more than ever.

It’s good to note too, that this issue, apparently, is very normal, according to our friends at the Vera Project. All-ages venues all over the nation get slapped around a bit in the start-up, are forced to move, to shut down for periods of time, all in effort to create something that has longevity and stability. Getting through these rough patches are what make these projects succeed–when we don’t give up, all the pieces eventually (with a ton of hardwork) will come in to place. And we can’t wait.