JUNE 30, 2016 // 5
North Coast Symphonic Band celebrates Read poetry at new monthly open mic
ASTORIA — A monthly
2014. Vrana died unexpect-
Tuesday of every month at
American heroes for Independence Day poetry
event now has a new
edly in March, and the poet- WineKraft, 80 10th St.
ASTORIA — The North
Coast Symphonic Band
will present a free concert
of patriotic music at 7:30
p.m. Sunday, July 3 at the
Liberty Theater. Doors
open at 6:45 p.m., and the
North Coast Jazz Ensemble
will perform pre-concert
music at 7 p.m. while
the audience enters the
auditorium. Donations are
encouraged.
The 50-member North
Coast Symphonic Band
under the directorship of
Dave Becker will entertain
with a two-hour program
featuring concert wind
band music around the
theme of American heroes.
Clatsop Post No. 12 of
the American Legion will
present the colors before
“The Star Spangled Ban-
ner,” and during the second
half of the concert Ameri-
can Legion members will
present the flags of all the
service branches, including
the Merchant Marine, in a
tribute to veterans and their
families.
Guest vocalists from
Portland, Andy and Rachel
Becker, will sing familiar
songs such as “God Bless
the USA,” “You Raise Me
Up” and a medley of tunes
called “The Homefront:
Musical Memories from
WWII.”
The Beckers previously
performed with the North
Coast Symphonic Band
in February 2015 and
were well received. By
day, Andy Becker teaches
choir at a middle school in
Portland. He is an Ironman
triathlete and performs vo-
cally when special opportu-
nities arise. Rachel Becker
is an elementary educator
in the Portland suburbs. By
night she performs with
Portland-based theater
companies.
Astoria High School
student Johnny Barker will
be featured as snare drum
name, a new place to meet
and a new date.
Ric Vrana founded the
Last Tuesday Poetry Open
Mic event in September
ry event was put on hold.
In honor of Vrana, the
new monthly poetry reading
will be called Ric’s Poetry
Mic. It will be held the irst
The irst reading is set for
Tuesday, July 5.
Readings are from 7 to
8:30 p.m. Show up a little
early at 6:45 p.m. to sign-up.
Columbia River has rich history of boats
Redmen Hall
opens ‘Rolling on
the River’ exhibit
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The North Coast Symphonic Band will perform July 3.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Andy and Rachel Becker are
guest vocalists.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Johnny Barker will perform a
snare drum solo.
soloist in Douglas Rich-
ards’ “Field Ayres.” Barker
is a member of the band
and discovered recently
he is a distant relative
of Thomas Cheney, a 16
year-old drummer from the
Revolutionary War.
Sara Meyer of Sara’s
Old Photos will present a
visual tribute to the 50th
anniversary of the dedica-
tion of the Astoria-Megler
Bridge while the band
performs Thomas Doss’
“Trumpets and Bridges.”
The presentation will
feature vintage photos of
Astoria and the bridge.
Other selections in-
clude tributes to Abraham
Lincoln by film composer
John Williams and a tribute
to the U.S. space program’s
Apollo 13 mission by film
composer James Horner.
There will also be marches:
two by Sousa, one by Karl
King titled “The Coast
Guard,” and a new one
inspired by the Vietnam
Memorial titled “Black
Granite.” The evening’s
program is patriotic, inspi-
rational, and family-friend-
ly, and all ages are invited
to attend.
The band will take a
brief break after this con-
cert and resume rehearsals
in the fall. New musicians
interested in joining are en-
couraged to leave contact
information with personnel
director Lee Stromquist at
encore1@charter.net. For
more information, visit
www.northcoastsymphon-
icband.org, email ncs-
band@charter.net or call
503-325-2431.
SKAMOKAWA, Wash. — The
River Life Interpretive Center
at Redmen Hall will present
an exhibit on the history of
sternwheelers, steamboats,
and tug boats on the lower
Columbia River. The exhibit
“Rolling on the River” will
include stories about boat
captains, river pilots, build-
ers, and the histories of the
companies that managed the
complex commerce.
Until roads were built
in the 1930s, boats were
the only way to move logs,
ish, dairy products, people,
produce and goods from
communities on the river
to markets. The exhibit will
show the development of this
trafic and why it still matters.
“Rolling on the River” will
open Saturday, July 2 and run
through Labor Day weekend.
There will be speakers on
most Saturdays, starting with
Peter Brix, who will speak
and sign copies of his book
at 2 p.m. July 9. Brix is the
author of “The Brix Maritime
Story: A Century of Towboat-
ing and Barging,” a deini-
tive history of the tug boat
companies from sail to steam
to the present day. Illustrated
by maritime photos and maps,
the book portrays the develop-
ment of the industry over the
course of 100 years.
Redmen Hall is located at
1394 Washington State Route
4 and is open from noon to 4
p.m. Thursday to Sunday. For
more information, visit www.
redmenhall.blogspot.com
ORIGINAL FINE ART
on the waterfront
port of ilwaco, wa
marie-powell.com
360-244-0800
”roses”, monotype by marie powell