OCTOBER 6, 2016 // 21
Film focuses on growing food Enjoy soup and swing on Sunday
to host
and empowering communities KALA
music and dinner
‘Graining Ground’
documentary to
be screened Oct. 9
ASTORIA — Industrial
agriculture. Genetically
engineered food. Local
communities that feel
powerless to affect change.
“Gaining Ground,” a new
feature-length documentary
ilm by Elaine Velazquez
and Barbara Bernstein, takes
on these issues and challeng-
es with its intimate view of
rural and urban farmers.
The ilm will be screened
at 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9 at
the Columbian Theater, lo-
cated at 1114 Marine Drive.
The screening will be fol-
lowed by a question-and-an-
swer session with the ilm-
makers and people featured
in the ilm.
“Gaining Ground” tells
personal stories of farm-
ers making extraordinary
changes in their farming
practices to feed their local
communities sustainably
grown produce and grains.
The documentary inter-
weaves the experiences of
Urban Tilth’s farmer-activ-
ists in inner city Richmond,
California’s inner city food
desert creating a community
garden; small family Sun
Gold Farm in rural Oregon
converting from commod-
ity dairy to chemical-free
produce; and large Stalford
Seed Farms in the Willa-
mette Valley transitioning
from growing grass seed to
organic grains.
As the ilm explores these
paradigm shifts, it personaliz-
es class, gender, race and en-
vironmental justice issues by
rooting them within narratives
of compelling individuals.
As these stories unfold,
the ilm explores the dev-
astating effects of the 2012
Chevron Richmond reinery
ire on Urban Tilth in inner
city Richmond and the im-
for 21 and older
SUBMITTED PHOTO
A fourth generation farmer, Vicki Hertel and her husband
struggled to make ends meet on their small commodity dairy
farm, Sun Gold Farm. When stricter water quality regulations
forced them to sell their cows, they discovered their niche
growing and marketing produce to the Portland area.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Willow Coberly and her husband, Harry Stalford, own Stal-
ford Seed Farms, the largest grass seed farm in the Willamette
Valley. As they started converting from grass seed to organic
grains, they face the challenge of rebuilding local food storage
and processing infrastructure that was dismantled decades
ago while they also work to stave of the threat of GMO crops.
pact of the 2013 discovery of
GMO wheat in Eastern Ore-
gon on Stalford Seed Farms
in the Willamette Valley.
While the movie is
sober about the obstacles to
creating change, at the same
time it points the way toward
hope. “Gaining Ground” in-
stills in viewers the potential
to create change on a person-
al, local and global scale.
Filmmakers Velazquez
and Bernstein have been
creating ilm and radio docu-
mentaries for over 35 years.
Their award-winning work
has been broadcast on public
television and radio, screened
at international ilm festivals
and distributed through broad
grassroots networks.
“Gaining Ground” has
been selected to be featured
in the 2016 Chicago Inter-
national Social Change Film
Festival. View the trailer at
gaininggroundmovie.org
The ilm’s local screening
is sponsored by North Coast
Food Web, Astoria Co-op
Grocery, CREATE, Coast
Community Radio and CCA
Regional Food Bank.
ASTORIA — KALA will wel-
come the quartet Swingcats of
Astoria on Sunday, Oct. 9 for
Soup & Swing.
The evening offers an
“all-you-can-eat” soup buffet
— which includes bread,
salad and two choices of soup
— and the infectious sounds
of retro swingers.
Swingcats of Astoria
is a revival of the original
Swingcats from a few years
ago. The group plays swing
and jazz from the 1930s and
1940s, such as the tunes
“Minnie the Moocher,”
“Jump Jive” and “Choo
Choo Chaboogie.” The
group also presents classical
jazz tunes and a bit of the
blues from different eras:
gypsy jazz of Django Rein-
hardt, jazz and bebop of the
’50s, and jazz of the 1960s
and ’70s as well as original
compositions.
Richard Thomasian per-
forms on lead vocals and gui-
tar. Thomasian began playing
guitar at age 13. He has been
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SUBMITTED PHOTO
Swingcats of Astoria is, from left, Ted Brainard, Richard Thoma-
sian, Dave Ambrose and Larry Aldred.
performing on the West Coast
for 42 years.
Ted Brainard lends his
guitar playing to the group.
Brainard has enjoyed a career
as a performer and teacher.
Though Dave Ambrose
started playing violin 20
years, he fell in love with
a stand-up bass in 2000,
and performs on bass in the
Swingcats. He’s an original
member of Swingcats and
also plays in world music
quartet Acustica.
Lawrence Aldred rounds
out the group with percussion.
Aldred’s playing started with
rhythm and blues in Man-
chester, England. Coming to
America in 1962, . Aldred
played around Northern
California for about 30 years
before retiring and moving to
Astoria 10 years ago.
At this concert, also look
for musical guests.
Doors open at 6 p.m. for
soup and full bar, with music
following, from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
There is a $10 cover. The
event is open to ages 21 and
older only. KALA is located
at 1017 Marine Drive. For
more information, call 503-
338-4878.
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