coast
March 24, 2016
weekend
arts & entertainment
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9
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COASTAL LIFE
In search of the sun
“I was tired of getting my vitamin D from the drugstore”
THE ARTS
‘SpringSting’
Astoria indie-pop band Holiday friends release new EP
FEATURE
Astoria Visual Arts
This dynamic nonproit seeks to enhance the arts in Astoria
DINING
Mouth of the Columbia
Cheri’s Cafe is a sweet spot for baked goods, traditional fare
STEPPING OUT....... .............................................................. 5, 6, 7
CROSSWORD........... ....................................................................17
CW MARKETPLACE........ ....................................................... 18, 19
GRAB BAG ....... .......................................................................... 23
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on the cover
Blaine Verley, one of Astoria Visual Arts’ most recent
artists-in-residence, has been painting for 40 years
but never worked in his own studio until his three-
month residency.
Photo by Dwight Caswell
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James ‘Sparky’ and Rhonda Rucker perform in Manzanita
MANZANITA — The Hoffman
Center for the Arts will host
a concert featuring old-time
blues, Appalachian music,
ballads, slave songs, spirituals
and original music by James
“Sparky” Rucker and Rhonda
Rucker. The concert is set for
7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29. Ad-
mission will be a sliding scale
of $10 to $15 at the door.
The Ruckers perform
throughout the U.S. and over-
seas, singing songs and telling
stories from the American folk
tradition. They weave histo-
ry, traditional storytelling and
humor into their concerts, and
they have been featured at the
International Storytelling Cen-
ter and Festival in Tennessee.
The duo make music with
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tleneck blues guitar, blues har-
monica, old-time banjo, piano,
spoons and bones.
Performing for over 40
years, the Ruckers have ap-
peared at the Kennedy Center
in Washington D.C. and the
Smithsonian Folklife Festi-
val as well as on NPR’s “On
Point,” “Prairie Home Com-
panion,” “Mountain Stage”
and “Morning Edition.” Their
recording “Treasures & Tears”
was nominated for a W.C.
Handy Award.
James “Sparky” Rucker has
been singing songs and tell-
ing stories for over 50 years.
Growing up in Knoxville, Ten-
nessee, Sparky began playing
guitar at 11. After graduating
from University of Tennessee,
Sparky taught school in Chat-
tanooga before becoming a
full-time folksinger.
Descended from a long
line of preachers and law en-
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of justice stems from both of
these traditions. He has been
involved with the Civil Rights
movement since the 1950s; he
participated in workshops at
the Highlander Research and
Education Center in Tennessee
with many prominent people,
including Rosa Parks, Myles
Horton and Bernice Reagon.
He marched shoulder-to-
shoulder with SNCC Freedom
Singers Matthew and Mar-
shall Jones and sang at rallies,
marches and sit-ins alongside
other folksingers such as Guy
Carawan and Pete Seeger.
Rhonda Hicks Rucker
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years before becoming a full-
time musician, author and
storyteller. Rhonda grew up in
Louisville, Kentucky, and has
played piano since the age of
4. She is a versatile singer and
performer, using her songwrit-
ing for social and environmen-
tal advocacy. She has created
songs about global warming,
the broken health care system,
and Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder. These songs are
showcased on the Ruckers’
2009 album release entitled
“One Earth.”
Rhonda plays blues har-
Submitted photo
Sparky and Rhonda Rucker will present
a concert of old-time blues music at the
Hoffman Center on Tuesday, March 29.
monica, piano, clawhammer
banjo, and rhythmic bones,
and she has appeared on nine
recordings with her husband.
Both Sparky and Rhonda
are writers. Both contributed
to the “Encyclopedia of Appa-
lachia” and “Team Up! Tell In
Tandem!”
Coast Weekend welcomes comments and
contributions from readers. New items for
publication consideration must be submit-
ted by 10 a.m. Tuesday, one week and two
days before publication.
To submit an item, contact
Rebecca Sedlak
See story on Page 12
COAST WEEKEND EDITOR:
REBECCA SEDLAK
Hear blues, Appalachian folk and more
Phone: 503.325.3211 Ext. 217
or 800.781.3211
Fax: 503.325.6573
E-mail: rsedlak@dailyastorian.com
Address: P.O.Box 210 • 949 Exchange St.
Astoria, OR 97103
Coast Weekend is published every Thursday
by the EO Media Group, all rights reserved. No
part of this publication can be reproduced with-
out consent of the publisher. Coast Weekend
appears weekly in The Daily Astorian and the
Chinook Observer.
March 24, 2016 | coastweekend.com | 3