10/19/2026
We forgot the group Dolly picture, we didn’t have an MC, and the microphones didn't work, but over one hundred of our Brazos Valley neighbors came and celebrated anyway!
Dollywould raised $1,132 for Common Ground, and we’re still shocked. This was our first one and we really had no idea what to expect. Our friend, Leah, stood near the courtyard entrance with a clicker. Their final tally was 102 guests, without counting vendors and organizations.
Thank you to Hotel McCoy for hosting us! Thank you to JustHannah, Kendale Walker, Johnathon Vermaelen, and Alvina Williams for the music, every vendor and organization that gave up a Saturday evening to host a booth, and to everyone who donated to the auction! You’ll get a proper thank-you post of your own soon, because you earned more than a line in this one. Thank you to Leah for counting, and to Ellen Gobi of Elbie Salon for judging the Dollies, so it wasn’t us picking favorites.
Three Crowned Royal Hair Institute gift certificates went to the best Dollies.
Wild Grain Cafe gift certificates went to our Dolly trivia winners.
And two bookshop-building sets went to two girls who showed up in cowboy boots and Western clothes. They weren’t dressed as Dolly, but their facial expressions made up for missing costumes.
If you won something at the auction, we’re still matching winners to items. We’ll reach out by the end of this week at the absolute latest. Thank you for bearing with us!
You might have caught “The First Annual Dollywould” in the video. That wasn’t a joke. We want this to keep happening. A community event that belongs to everyone, just like the community garden and resource center it supports.
So here’s the confession part in full.
The picture: The night was so busy, in the best way, that we forgot to take pictures. We'll have a photo volunteer at the next event.
The MC: Nicole and Wayne were trying to talk with every guest about what is being built at Common Ground, run the auction tables, and check on vendors and organizations all at once. It was too much. Someone else should have been holding that microphone.
And the microphones should have been tested before the doors opened.
Wayne and Nicole yelled their way through. We personally think it went alright, but microphone issues will be solved whenever Dollywould 2 rolls around.
That’s what you get when you build something from nothing. There were hiccups, but it was still a success, particularly for a first effort!
If you were there, tell us what you honestly thought in the comments. What worked, what didn’t, what you’d change next year. And if you got a Dolly photo, send it our way. We’re missing the one we should have taken. 😳
So.
$1,132.
Deciding where it goes first is exciting and kind of intense. We’ve started talking with collaborators, people who might serve on a board (more on that soon), and high school and Texas A&M student groups.
This started as Dr. Raymond Tarpley’s dream and slowly turned into a dream him and Nicole shared. She ran with it and spearheaded it entirely herself for several years, followed by intense elbow grease from Wayne. A little trio, trying to build something big for a deserving community.
We're going to build a and find Common Ground. And we're going to keep building it now together, as a team and a community.
Until the brakes fall off.
Sincerely,
Raymond, Wayne, and Nicole
Common Ground
