A local grassroots group says it closed out 2025 with something simple: coffee, sweet bread, and hands-on organizing.

In a Dec. 27, 2025 journal post, Cascade Forward described gathering with “a few supporters” to paint and refresh protest signs — stocking up a “wagon of signs” with new designs and issues. The post notes participants brought foam board and paint markers, and shared conchas from Longview’s Las Chispas Bakery.

Cascade Forward bills itself as a Southwest Washington organizing and activism group that “grew out of the biggest protests Longview, WA has seen,” and says it focuses on community needs, culture, and holding leaders accountable. The group’s website lists a slate of recent demonstrations and sign-painting events and promotes recurring public actions in Longview. (See: cascadeforwardproject.org.)

For many residents, the most visible parts of civic action are the rallies and speeches. But sign-making meetups like this one are often the less glamorous, practical side of organizing: creating materials that get reused at demonstrations, equipping new people to show up, and giving supporters a low-pressure place to contribute.

It’s also a reminder that “politics” is not only what happens at City Hall or in Olympia. In Cowlitz County, it also happens around kitchen tables and coffee cups, with community members deciding what they’re willing to say in public — and then literally making the signs to say it.

Local note: The group’s post credited Las Chispas Bakery, located at 2107 30th Ave. in Longview, as the source of the conchas. (Business listing: mapquest.com.)

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