“Something for everyone,” is the way Catherine (Cat) Luna, the new activities director of the Eureka Springs Community Center, views the potential for the center.
“My vision is that the community center will bridge the gap between resources we have and resources we need,” Luna said. “It is ideally a place for healing, gathering and reflecting our culture. And there is a very diverse culture in Eureka, as you know. What we are trying to do is fill the needs the community has with the resources the community has. That way we can support one another.”
Currently the community center hosts the Eureka Springs Farmers’ Market on Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays, a Little Free Pantry, community meeting room, and a recreation area.
“The gym is going to open very soon,” said Luna. “We’re planning a grand opening. We’re expanding the original plan and are in the process of getting a grant for the recreational area to be added to with more gym equipment. What we’re doing now is talking to possible partners and the community about what kind of programs should be at the community center gym. We’re in the process of narrowing that down to a small grouping of education and fitness classes, and we’ll expand from there.”
Plans are also continuing for a multi-phase walking track around the facility. The walking track is high on their priority list and they have been meeting recently with the architect concerning plans for the project.
“Plans are being modified because the scope of the project we envisioned have had to change because of things we found,” Luna said. “We’re working on a plan that designates a walking space in or around the community center. The hope is to merge the short trail with other area trails. The walking trail plan is in the early development stages, so I don’t have an estimate about when it will be built. But I can say that we have the walking area as a priority and are working diligently to get that done, in some form, in the near future.”
Luna said a big part of what they are looking at is sustainability and holding on to the history of the community center as a high school for many years.
“History is such an important part of our community and imagine how someone who played Highlander basketball will feel coming back to use the gym,” she said. “We think it is really important to preserve the legacy of Eureka and preserve that school. What I’m talking about is a facility built for the community by the community for recreation, history and preservation.”
They are working with the Native Plant Garden Project to save one of the trees on the property that’s more than 100 years old and has become diseased and damaged. Other trees were planted by a teacher 20-30 years ago to create shade for her students.
“That is an example of how rich the legacy is on that site,” Luna said. “What we are trying to do is bring in all the elements of Eureka by talking to the community, including volunteers and donors. Together we can build something really exciting. Right now, it is an open canvas and all the people who are Eurekans can come to it and add to the environment and receive from that environment.”
Things haven’t gone as fast as originally expected. One holdup was unplanned expenses to get rid of mold in the gym during the years it was not air conditioned, and the cost to remove all the debris from the facility. Luna said there was a lot of destruction to the property when it was empty.
Luna grew up as a world traveler, as her father was in the military. She was born in Northern California and lived all over the U.S. and Europe. Most of her adult life was spent in Southern California. In 2011, she moved to Austin, Texas, where she met and married her wife, Kelly McDonough.
“Kelly’s parents live in Eureka Springs,” Luna said. “We came on vacation a few times and fell in love with the area and people. We were looking for a little different pace and to get closer to our families. I have always been interested in the arts, yoga, music and nature, so it has been a great fit for us. We moved up to Eureka Springs in 2016. My mother moved up from Austin with us.”
Luna started her career as co-owner of a software consulting firm. After that she moved into non-profit management. She worked for the Austin Theater Alliance and for Goodwill. She says a healing crisis got her started looking into alternative healing modalities. She taught yoga full-time for 15 years with classes for private and corporate clients, and is an energy healer.
She has no current plans to teach at the community center.
“But I do love teaching, so it is not out of realm of possibility,” Luna said. “Now I’m focusing on administering the programs, and that is really a full-time gig. Mostly I’m focusing on all the incredible resources we have in this area and bringing in those things we don’t have, as well. All of this has been funded by local donations, as well as grants from foundations that are interested in helping us build something for our community. We had matching grant from Wingate Grant of $50,000.”
Another big project is a community greenhouse on the property funded by a $25,000 grant from AT&T. The community center hopes to partner with the Parks department on the greenhouse.
“We are working towards an agreement with Parks for them to use part of the facility to grow native plants for Eureka public spaces,” Luna said. “We’re working on details for part of the greenhouse space to be used by the public. We have already hosted two one-day educational events on horticulture for both the public and for area growers.”
Plans also include a community room for people to visit, read or have a cup of coffee. The community center also sponsors after-school programs at Eureka Springs schools.
“This is a very cool job to have,” she said. “I’m so excited to working with so many people and supporting the community bringing together a vision. We’re starting with a few programs, and hope to hit every demographic in this community. There is no one in the community who will not benefit from this.”
In addition to the two large grants mentioned above and a $25,000 grant from the Bloom Foundation, smaller grants have been received from the Carroll County Community Foundation, the Schmieding Foundation, local banks and more than 400 individuals. Currently, they have grant applications filed with six organizations.
For more information, see the website www.eurekaspringscommunitycenter.org.