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Wednesday, July 3, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Community events create connections
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
For music, dancing, fun,
free food, and gifts for the
kiddos, plan on heading over
to the Village Green park on
Wednesday, July 17, 5:30
to 7:30 p.m., to gather with
friends, family, and neigh-
bors for a summer evening of
happy hearts, joy, and sum-
mertime fun.
T h e Vi l l a g e G r e e n
will be transformed into a
Sisters community gather-
ing of all ages and musical
abilities, called Rhythm and
Song at Village Green, to
enjoy a free dinner and cre-
ate music, connections, and
community. This is the first
of two repeat events planned
for this summer in Sisters
by Citizens4Community
to bring the community
together, to build relation-
ships and bridge divides.
The second event, the
Fiesta de Independencia,
will celebrate Mexican
Independence Day and offers
all of Sisters Country an
opportunity to gather together
on Sunday, September 15
and enjoy a community-wide
fiesta at Fir Street Park, 1 to
5 p.m.
The Rhythm and Song
evening will begin with a
free community BBQ dinner
at 5:30 p.m. The facilitated
evening of rhythm and song
performances and interactive
fun will occur between 6 and
7:30 p.m.
Jodi Winnwalker will
again be leading this event
alongside other members of
the committee. Winnwalker
is the owner/founder of
Earthtones NW, a Portland-
based music therapy agency
serving people of all ages
and abilities. She has spe-
cial training in community
drum circle facilitation, and
will be leading the circle,
coordinating the rhythmic
interchange between the
community and participat-
ing musicians. Attendees are
encouraged to bring their
own instruments. Shakers
and other rhythm instruments
will be provided for the
evening.
Some of the guest musi-
cians who will be on hand to
join the fun include: Sisters
Uke Players, Kirk Olsen and
his African bass guitar, drums
by Tim Shuler, African drum-
mer Anna Marie Crosier, and
Katie Cavanaugh and her
drum. Shannon Rackowski
will perform the hula and
invite others to join her.
According to Winnwalker,
<This is an event to cel-
ebrate the rich diversity of
our community and to pro-
vide a space where everyone
knows that they belong and
have something special to
contribute.=
This second annual event
is made possible through
the support of generous
partners and supporters,
including: The Ford Family
Foundation, St. Charles
Health System, Coldwell
Banker4Reed Bros. Realty,
The Lodge in Sisters, SPRD
and Age Friendly Sisters
Country.
All ages and stages are
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
Last year’s inaugural Rhythm and Song at Village Green brought together
many enthusiastic Sisters residents of all ages.
welcome 4 the young and
young-at-heart. Dogs are also
welcome if on a leash. Some
tables will be available but
bringing lawn chairs or blan-
kets might be a good idea.
Events build bridges in Sisters
The Rhythm and Song at
Village Green and the Fiesta
de Independencia are part
of Citizens4Community9s
Building Bridges for Our
Future series of events,
planned for 2019 into 2020.
They expect to receive
a grant from The Ford
Family Foundation for this
community-building work,
which will also involve
local non-profit organiza-
tions, businesses, leaders,
and numerous community
members.
Building Bridges for
our Future offers about
20 activities in four focus
areas that attract people in
different ways and at dif-
ferent levels. The activities
work to: build relationships
(Let9s Celebrate events like
the summer ones planned);
bridge divides (the emerg-
ing Let9s Talk series);
encourage collaborative
action, for instance on the
local visioning effort (Let9s
Collaborate); and build
and practice communi-
cation and community-
b u i l d i n g s k i l l s ( L e t 9s
Learn).
Each event is designed to
have individual merit, and
the series as a whole seeks to
strengthen Sisters Country
networks and empower com-
munity volunteerism and
engagement.
THANK YOU to all our readers who have let us know
how much they enjoy reading The Nugget.
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