ENTERTAINMENT
Saturday, April 29, 2017
THE
CONTRA
CIRCUIT
E
Walla Walla Kennel Club
Dog Show
•April 28-30
•Pendleton Convention Cen-
ter, 1601 Westgate
www.wwkc.org
Free. The public is invited
to watch dog shows, obedience
and rally trials. Also, the public
may enter coursing events for
a fee. Only entered dogs are al-
lowed on the show site.
Spring Release Weekend
•May 5-7
•Various wineries in Mil-
ton-Freewater, Walla Walla re-
gion
www.wallawallawine.com
Some events free. Cellar
doors are open and new releas-
es are available for tasting. Cele-
brate the end of harvest season
with special pours, winemaker
dinners, live music and more.
Cinco de Mayo
•May 6-7
•Butte Park, 1245 N.W. Sev-
enth St., Hermiston
Free. Features a carnival,
food, entertainment, competi-
tions, a speech by Portland’s
consul general of Mexico, a
youth dance, an adult dance
and fireworks. A parade is Sat-
urday at 1 p.m.
Pendleton Cattle
Barons Weekend
•May 12-13
•Blue Mountain Community
College
www.cattlebarons.net
Free/many activities. Se-
lected as Pendleton’s Tourism
Event of the Year, its goal is to
preserve the regions ranching
heritage and raise money for
scholarships. It features a se-
lect gelding sale, a working dog
HHS musicians
to perform with
orchestra
HERMISTON — A handful
of Hermiston High School brass
players will perform with the
Inland Northwest Orchestra.
The event also features
Sofia Marina of Richland and
Hanna Schafer of College
Place, winners of the Inland
Northwest Musicians’ Young
Artist Competition. The free
concert is Sunday at 4 p.m. in
the auditorium at Hermiston
High School, 600 S. First St.
Donations are accepted.
The six HHS students —
trumpet players Noah Roberts,
Josh Hinkley, Alec Wilson and
Allison Galdamez, and Colton
Katsel and Isabel Bartley on
trombone — will perform
during the classical work “Pines
of Rome,” a symphonic poem
written by the Italian composer
Ottorino Respighi in 1924.
Formed in 1999 by a
group of instrumentalists
and vocalists interested in
classical music, ensembles
of the Inland Northwest
Musicians provide free live
performances throughout the
region. For more information,
contact 541-289-4696, inwm@
machmedia.net or visit www.
inlandnorthwestmusicians.com.
Concert features
Whitman College
faculty
WALLA WALLA — The
public is invited to a free First
Thursday concert.
The event features
Whitman College faculty,
including Sally Singer Tuttle
and Ed Dixon, cellists, with
Kristin Vining on the piano.
The program is Thursday,
May 4 at 12:15 p.m. at St.
Paul’s Episcopal Church,
323 Catherine St., Walla
Walla. People are invited to
bring their lunch and enjoy
the music. Donations will be
accepted, which will be given
to the Walla Walla Youth
Symphony.
For more information, call
Tanya at 509-529-1083.
Arts center
announces May
shows
Photos by Brandy Anderson/Pendleton Center for the Arts
Dancers enjoy a recent contra night at the Pendleton Center for the Arts.
never done anything like it. I think everybody
should give it a shot. There were a lot of
experienced people that come to this event that
were very helpful.”
On the romantic possibilities of contra
dancing Mark admits that it has its pros and
cons.
“It was pretty good for me,” says Mark. “I
met my wife at a dance and we have another
couple in our community that met at a dance.
Sometimes it doesn’t always work out quite
that way: We had a couple get divorced after
they started dancing but they each found other
partners eventually. I’m not sure if you’d call
that romantic potential. Your mileage may
vary!”
———
James Dean Kindle is the East Oregonian’s
entertainment columnist, the executive director
of the Oregon East Symphony and a Pendleton
musician. Contact him at jamesdeankindle@
gmail.com.
WHAT TO DO
Festivals
Page 3C
BRIEFLY
Folk dance kept alive
by rotating through
communities
around the area
very first Friday of the month, the
Pendleton Center for the Arts temporarily
turns into a packed contra dance hall
dubbed “Folk Night.” It is part of a small but
thriving regional dance scene
that encompass Walla Walla,
Enterprise, La Grande and
the Tri-Cities. Every week
dancers and musicians from
those communities commute
to whichever town is holding
a dance for a sweat-breaking
evening.
Contra dancing, sometimes
J.D.
referred to as New England
Kindle
dance, is an American folk
Comment
dance combining elements of
17th century dance from the
British Isles and France, as well as incorporating
African American elements.
Contra dancing is typically done with a
partner though you don’t necessarily need to
arrive with one, and it is considered a tad rude
to stick with the same partner throughout the
evening. A couple usually pairs up with another
who are referred to as “neighbors” in order
to form a quartet. Throughout a single dance
neighbors will constantly be shifting from one
quartet to the next. The fast-paced mingling
between partners almost makes a contra dance a
speed dating scene. (More on that later...)
A caller dictates a series of steps that the
dancers follow. Some steps are self-descriptive,
while other have terms like “dosado” that
require a few runs through to internalize.
Rhythmic ability, although it is helpful, is not
required — just a keen memory. It’s best to
think of a contra dance as a heightened form of
Simon Says.
The accompanying music is provided by
an Appalachian-style string band where the
fiddle takes the lead over a backdrop of guitars,
bass and mandolin. The largely instrumental
selections cycle through two, sometimes three
sections, extending the length of a single dance
to around ten minutes. At the Center for the
Arts, the lineup of musicians is a fluid body
consisting of some local musicians and visiting
players that range in age from middle school to
senior citizens.
Mark and Diane Lewis, a couple from La
Grande, are one of the many who drive to
Pendleton once a month. It is one of many
monthly stops they make on the regional contra
dance circuit.
For Mark the attraction to contra dancing lies
in being part of a continuum.
“One of the things I really like about it is the
music,” he said. “There’s this whole tradition
of dance-fiddle music that goes back hundreds
of years, probably way longer than that if you
really dig into it. A lot of this music is that music
or people composing music in that style, or at
least in a similar vein, so it’s got this continuity
of hundreds of years of people composing these
pieces specifically for dancing, really.”
In addition to being experienced dancers
and callers the Lewises are also organizers of
a contra festival in La Grande. SpringAlive,
which is entering its fourth year, is a day-long
series of workshops on all aspects of contra
dancing — music, calling and dancing.
SpringAlive concludes with a potluck and dance
in the evening. Scores of dancers pack the Arts
Center East and the band amounts to a whop-
ping 25 musicians. This year the marquee guest
is fiddler, composer and caller David Kaynor
from Montague, Massachusetts. Within the
folklore community Kaynor is a veritable rock
star, being a dominant influence on the New
England dance scene for over three decades.
That isn’t to say that Folk Night is for veteran
dancers only, though. Longtime attendees seem
to take a thrill in helping newbies along. Mikal
Wright, a first-time contra attendee at a past
Folk Night, was ecstatic about the evening and
the encouraging atmosphere.
“I really, really enjoyed it,” says Mikal. “I’ve
East Oregonian
ale, ranch rodeo events and the
North American Stock Saddle
Bronc Championship. Also, the
Bit, Spur and Engraver show,
a world-class Saddlemaker’s
Show, a Tradin’ Post and the
Buckaroo Barbecue Challenge.
Art, Museums &
Authors
Chuck Close: Portraits
•Saturday, April 29; noon-4
p.m. Last day
•Pendleton Center for the
Arts, 214 N. Main St.
www.pendletonarts.org
Free. Selection of Close’s
works from the collection of
Jordan Schnitzer. Runs through
April 29.
Gorge Artists Open
Studios
•April 28-30; 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
•Various locations between
Cascade Locks to Hood River
www.gorgeartists.org
Free. More than three doz-
en artists open their studios to
share their craft with the public.
Artwork on sale at many loca-
tions. A map is available for the
self-guided tour.
Open Regional Exhibit
•Saturday, April 29; noon-4
p.m., accept entries
•Thursday, May 4; 5 p.m.,
opening reception
•Pendleton Center for the
Arts, 214 N. Main St.
www.pendletonarts.org
$10/adults; $5/youths entry
fee per piece of art. Cash prizes
awarded.
“The Path of Totality”
•Monday-Saturdays;
10
a.m.-5 p.m.
•Crossroads Carnegie Art Cen-
ter, 2020 Auburn St., Baker City
www.crossroads-arts.org
Free. Amateur and profes-
sional artists’ work depict the
theme inspired by the upcoming
Aug. 21 total solar eclipse. Show
and sale runs through April 29.
Creative Spirits Art Party
•Thursday, May 11; 6:30-9
p.m.
•Historic Balch Hotel, 40 S.
Heimrich St., Dufur
www.balchhotel.com
$40. Participants will create
their own guided painting. Food
and drinks available for pur-
chase.
Music
Blue Mountain Old Time
Fiddlers
•Saturday, April 29, 6 p.m.
•Stokes Landing Senior
Center, 195 N.W. Opal Place,
Irrigon
$5/adults, free/12-and-un-
der. People are invited to come
at 5 p.m. for dinner, which will be
available for purchase.
The Phoenix
•Saturday, April 29; 8 p.m.
No cover
•Wildhorse Sports Bar, Wild-
horse Resort & Casino, off I-84
Exit 216, Mission
Easy Rider Brotherhood
Band
•Saturday, April 29; 9 p.m.
No cover
•The Pheasant, 149 E. Main
St., Hermiston
Martin Gerschwitz
•Sunday, April 30; 3-6 p.m.
•Sno Road Winery, 111 W.
Main St., Echo
No cover. Kid-friendly. For-
merly with Iron Butterfly, Meat
Loaf, Walter Trout and more.
Inland Northwest
Orchestra
•Sunday, April 30; 4 p.m.
•Hermiston High School,
600 S. First St.
www.inlandnorthwestmusi-
cians.com
Free/donations
accepted.
Program features winners of
Young Artist Competition. Also,
six Hermiston High School
brass players will perform with
the orchestra.
Mike Coykendall
•Wednesday, May 3; 7-9
p.m.
•Great Pacific Wine & Coffee
Co., 403 S. Main St., Pendleton
No cover, all ages.
Live Music Thursday
•Thursdays 7-9 p.m. No cov-
er
•40 Taps, 337 S.W. Emigrant
Ave., Pendleton
Raucous
•Friday, May 5; Saturday,
May 6; 8 p.m. No cover
•Wildhorse Sports Bar, Wild-
horse Resort & Casino, off I-84
Exit 216, Mission
Tyler Brooks
•Friday, May 5; 9 p.m. No
cover
•Hamley Saloon, 8 S.E.
Court Ave., Pendleton
The Weather Machine
•Saturday, May 6; 7-10 p.m.
•Great Pacific Wine & Coffee
Co., 403 S. Main St., Pendleton
No cover, all ages.
The Desert River Band
•Saturday, May 6; 9 p.m. No
cover
•Sub Zero Restaurant &
Lounge, 100 W. Highway 730,
Irrigon
Dakota Brown
•Friday, May 12; 7 p.m.
•Sno Road Winery, 111 W.
Main St., Echo
No cover. Kid-friendly.
Hanneke Cassel, Mike
Block & Christopher Lewis
•Friday, May 12; 7 p.m.
•Pendleton Center for the
Arts, 214 N. Main St.
www.pendletonarts.org
$15. Features a unique trio
that creates sounds on the cut-
ting edge of acoustic music while
retaining the integrity and soul of
the Scottish fiddle tradition.
Night life
DJ music
•Saturdays, 8 p.m.
•The Pheasant, 149 E. Main
St., Hermiston
Karaoke w/DJ David
•Saturdays; 8 p.m.
•Riverside Sports Bar, 1501
Sixth St., Umatilla
Lock, Stock & Lipstick
Ladies’ Night
•Saturdays; 8 p.m.-2 a.m.
•Sub Zero Restaurant &
Lounge, 100 W. Highway 730,
Irrigon
No cover. Drink specials
from 8-10 p.m. Live DJ with fe-
male-friendly music.
Whiskey Wednesday
Game Night
•Wednesdays; 3-7 p.m.
•The Pheasant, 149 E. Main
St., Hermiston
No cover. Xbox 360, Ninten-
do Wii, PlayStation 3 and Nin-
tendo 64.
Digital Karaoke
•Thursdays and Fridays, 8
p.m.
•The Pheasant, 149 E. Main
St., Hermiston
LOL Comedy Jam
•Thursdays; 8 p.m.
•Wildhorse Sports Bar, Wild-
horse Resort & Casino, off I-84
Exit 216, Mission.
PENDLETON — A pair of
upcoming shows at Pendleton
Center for the Arts offer unique
concert experiences.
Hanneke Cassel, Mike
Block and Christopher Lewis
will perform Friday, May 12.
The trio creates sounds on the
cutting edge of acoustic music
while retaining the integrity
and soul of the Scottish fiddle
tradition.
Cassel is the 1997 U.S.
National Scottish Fiddle
Champion, cellist Block
tours with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk
Road Ensemble and guitarist
Christopher Lewis is a fixture in
the Boston indie rock scene.
Seffarine will take the
stage Friday, May 19 at
7 p.m. The duo features
Moroccan singer Lamiae
Naki and oud player/flamenco
guitarist Nat Hulskamp. They
perform classical Arabic and
Andalusian music and original
compositions influenced by
Spanish flamenco, classical
Persian music, American jazz
and others.
The arts center is located
at 214 N. Main St., Pendleton.
Tickets for each show are $15.
For more information or to
reserve a seat, call 541-278-
9201.
Conference
highlights rock art
REDMOND — Rock
art, special cultural activities
and field trips are featured
during the American Rock Art
Research Association annual
conference.
The event is set for June
1-5 at the Lodge at the Eagle
Crest Resort, near Redmond.
Registration is $115 for adults
and free for college students.
The conference offers
guided field trips, including to
a variety of intriguing rock art
sites in the area. The program
also includes presentations on
current rock art research.
The event is open to all.
Participants are encouraged to
go to the conference website
to view field trip options. Also,
conference lodging discounts
are available.
Registration and more
information is available at
www.arara.org. For questions,
contact Monica Wadsworth-
Seibel at wadsworth-seibel@
cox.net.