8
Wednesday, September 7, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Soar
foundation
seeks public
input
The SOAR Foundation is
reaching out to the commu-
nity to engage in a conversa-
tion regarding an expansion
of the vision and mission of
the organization.
The Foundation was
founded in 1995 to develop
and fund outdoor recreation
activities and after-school
programs for youth in the
greater Sisters community.
The foundation fundraised
and developed many after-
school programs and outdoor
recreational programs for
children, teens, adults, and
seniors that have benefitted
the Sisters community for
over two decades, including
100 percent of the fundrais-
ing for the Sisters Park &
Recreation District building.
In 1998 the taxpayers
voted to form the Sisters Park
& Recreation District that
now serves the programs and
projects founded by SOAR,
including the Sisters Park
& Recreation District facili-
ties co-located on the Sisters
High School campus.
The SOAR Foundation
has been a separate orga-
nization from the Sisters
Park & Recreation District
since 1998 and has had lim-
ited activity. The SOAR
Foundation is now consid-
ering broadening its efforts
to be more impactful to the
Sisters community.
If you are interested in
knowing more and would
like to give input into
the possible expansion
of the SOAR Foundation
vision and mission, email
SOARfoundationofSisters@
gmail.com and someone from
the foundation will contact
you.
Folks flock to fall street festival
By Jodi Schneider McNamee
Correspondent
Crowds of folks enjoyed
the last days of summer
in downtown Sisters on
Labor Day weekend brows-
ing through a variety of arts
and crafts for the 9th annual
Sisters Fall Street Festival
held on Oak Street.
The street festival fea-
tured 60 vendors showcasing
their handiwork from rus-
tic elegant serving boards to
uniquely crafted birdhouses.
There was something for
everyone’s taste, including a
multitude of activities for the
little folks.
Face painting has become
a popular part of the enter-
tainment at street festivals,
and Lillian’s Art face paint-
ing booth had kids waiting
patiently to get dressed up
as a pirate or fairy without a
costume.
And over at the Farmers
Insurance booth the line was
even longer with kids of all
ages waiting for their special
twisty balloon animals hand-
crafted by Colleen Hull.
“We enjoy giving away
balloon art that my wife
makes at every street fes-
tival we go to, it’s fun for
the kids,” said Steven Hull,
insurance agent.
New vendor Don Potesta
of Sisters displayed hand-
crafted rustic serving
boards, using latigo leather
as handles, promoting his
business, Serve in Rustic
Elegance. Potesta started his
new business venture about
a year ago after retiring as a
full-time farrier for 44 years.
“I’ve worked with leather
for over 40 years and still
make horse reins,” Potesta
said.
This was his first show
displaying his serving boards
created and seasoned from
fully dried hardwoods —
red mahogany, black walnut,
maple and chestnut.
“After we sand the wood,
we seal it with a product we
make ourselves using three
organic oils and beeswax,”
he said.
New vendor Carol
Borkowski from Kittitas
Valley, Washington, show-
cased her “Cabin Quilts.”
Borkowski always thought
of herself as an artist and
recently retired from her gar-
dening business where she
specialized in seasonal flower
beds and containers.
“To me arranging flower
beds was like painting with
flowers,” Borkowski said.
For the Cabin Quilts she
uses outdoor paint on sign
boards to create a classic quilt
block look of flower shapes
or whatever strikes her
fancy.
“They are all quilt pat-
terns, and the sign boards are
very durable and can be hung
outside,” she said.
photo by Jodi Schneider mcnamee
Don potesta at his Serve in rustic Elegance booth.
By noon on Saturday the
streets overflowed with peo-
ple and their canines cruising
through the festival listen-
ing to the classic rock tunes
of Derek Michael Marc &
Double AA Band.
First-time vendor Sue
Mooney calls her canine busi-
ness “Wild Barking Moon.”
Mooney is from Minnesota
and volunteers as a photog-
rapher at Top Dog Rescue
Foundation in Minnesota.
She artistically enhances her
photos of dogs, usually wear-
ing goggles, to bring out their
true colors. And to support a
good cause, a portion of the
proceeds from her sales goes
to Top Dog Foundation.
Early last year Mooney
decided to pursue her dream
as an artist, so she sold her
house and quit her job to
travel around in her RV with
her two Yorkshire terriers
doing shows selling her dog
art photos.
“This is what makes me
happy,” Mooney told The
Nugget. “I have a big heart
for dogs.”
Event organizer Richard
Esterman was busy help-
ing with the festival’s fund-
raiser that benefits Sisters
High School Visual Arts
Department.
“The Fall Street Festival,
along with my other events,
have a positive impact on our
community by bringing in
vendors and customers that
eat, shop and use the city’s
lodgings,” Esterman said.
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