The Full Moon Coffeehouse, located in Wendell Town Hall, has been a staple in Wendell and the surrounding North Quabbin towns for 38 years.

“The coffeehouse is about supporting the arts, activism, creativity and helping those in need,” said Paul Richmond, one of the coffeehouse’s coordinators and volunteers.

The Full Moon got its start in 1985 when the state of Massachusetts was considering rerouting Route 2 through Wendell. The coffeehouse was created as a way to help raise money for the effort to prevent the rerouting, according to Richmond. The efforts by all involved, including the Full Moon Coffeehouse, were successful, and thus Route 2 is now in its current location.

From there, according to Richmond, it was decided by coffeehouse volunteers, “Why don’t we continue and have it and benefit other causes? ... People saw a need and made it happen.”

Over the years, the coffeehouse has raised money for local organizations, including the Wendell Free Library and other nearby libraries, the Wendell Fire Department, Swift River School, the Friends of Wendell and Seeds of Solidarity. The coffeehouse also raised money after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to assist New Orleans musicians to replace instruments destroyed in the storm. No Assault & Batteries, a group opposed to the construction of a battery storage facility in Wendell, is among the coffeehouse’s recent beneficiaries.

Musicians, many from the area as well as other parts of New England, perform at the coffeehouse. Genres that have graced the stage over the years include rock, jazz, folk and reggae. Past performers have included Tom Rush, Livingston Taylor, Vance Gilbert, Dave Mallett, Matt Haimovitz and Charles Neville of the Neville Brothers.

Another past performer was Joshua “Waffles the Clown” Dostis, the coffeehouse’s original emcee. When he would perform, he would choose members of the crowd and have them come on stage to tell jokes or sing.

“It created a little bit of a variety act,” Richmond said.

The coffeehouse is run by volunteers, with no money made by the coffeehouse itself, other than what is needed to cover the rent. Remaining proceeds are split 60/40, with 60% going to the musicians and 40% going to the beneficiary organization. The organization benefiting from the concert also puts on a bake sale at the event and receives 100% of those profits.

Since the onset of the pandemic, Richmond said, the coffeehouse has struggled.

“Nothing has been the same since COVID,” Richmond said. “It’s very different now. Arts have been taken out of the schools. People get their art out of screens or television, rather than the old tradition of people and musicians coming together. The world is changing how people interact with one another. The community interacting with one another and helping each other is something we are losing in the present day.”

Richmond added that economics have also played a role. The volunteers have committed to one more year of running the coffeehouse, and the next season begins in the fall.

“In the past we didn’t think about it going year-to-year,” he said. “If the community wants it to continue, then we continue to need volunteers.”

Among the work done by volunteers is organizing the bands, setting up and cleaning up the Town Hall after the events.

“Community members have been stepping up for decades,” Richmond said.

The coffeehouse’s upcoming season begins Oct. 19, and will feature Briezy Jane to benefit the Wendell Historical Society. More information about the Full Moon Coffeehouse can be found at wendellfullmoon.org.

Carla Charter is a freelance writer from Phillipston. Her writing focuses on the history of the North Quabbin area. Contact her at cjfreelancewriter@earthlink.net.

An earlier version of this column included an incorrect last name for Paul Richmond inaccurately described the Wendell Free Library, Fire Department and Swift River School. These are considered tax-supported entities.