COMMUNITY
Saturday, February 19, 2022
East Oregonian
A7
Upcoming Christian gathering seeks to empower women
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — An
annual event in Hermiston
that has drawn female believ-
ers returns this year.
IF:Gathering comes back
for an in-person format
March 4 and 5 at New Hope
Community Church, 1350
S. Highway 395, Hermis-
ton. On the fi rst day, doors
open at 5 p.m. for a 6 p.m.
start. For the second day
of the event, doors open at
8:30 a.m. for a 9 a.m. start.
IF:Hermiston is part of
a larger national women’s
nondenominational event,
IF:Gathering. Kimberly
Rill, a volunteer for the
event, explained the first
IF:Gathering in 2014 had the
theme, “If we follow God,
then what can happen?” The
following events kept this
title, inviting attendees to
imagine the possibilities of
their devotion.
According to a recent
press release, the main
IF:Gathering is in Dallas,
Texas. Hermiston and other
communities are hosting
their own events that will
stream the Dallas event
and watch its speakers. The
IF:Hermiston event also will
have local speakers.
Rill said at the start,
IF:Hermiston was a small
gathering and has grown
each year. Around 300
people have been show-
HER MISTON — It
already is beginning to look a
lot like Christmas for at least
one group of donors in Herm-
iston.
The Hermiston Rotary
Club recently donated $9,000
to help support next Decem-
ber’s Christmas Express.
Founded by the Hermis-
ton Police Department, this
annual charity drive provides
food and toys to individuals
in need.
Volunteers include police
offi cers, fi refi ghters and city
employees. Donors include
local organizations, individ-
uals and companies.
According to Jason Edmis-
ton, Hermiston police chief,
Rotary “is and has been the
largest monetary donor” for
Christmas Express.
“If it wasn’t for Rotary
and a couple of other ‘large’
donors, we would not be able
to keep putting the program
on,” Edmiston said. “I fi rmly
believe our program assists
the Agape House not only in
December but January and
likely February as well.”
The chief also credited
local students for donating an
“incredible amount of canned
strong group of women in
Hermiston,” she said. “They
were doing a great mission.
It’s a great event and some-
thing I want to see continue.”
She said every year is
diff erent, but this year’s over-
all message is that God can
do good things. She added
she hopes women can learn
new ways of communica-
tion through their involve-
ment in IF:Hermiston. Also,
they should feel empowered,
Rill said.
Topics will include
“living with compassion and
conviction,” social media
use, embracing emotions and
family life, she said.
The press release directs
people to IF:Hermiston on
Facebook for more infor-
mation. In addition, women
are asked to register at
www.tinyurl.com/if herm-
iston2022. After register-
ing, further details will be
provided. Email questions
to if.hermiston@gmail.com.
Jackalope Jamboree expands to three days
Hermiston Rotary
donates $9K to help
fund Christmas Express
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
ing up in recent years, and
they come from Hermiston,
Boardman, Irrigon, Umatilla
and other nearby cities.
“We draw in a big crowd,”
she said.
And all attendees are
women.
Rill, who also is a work-
force training specialist with
the Port of Morrow, said she
started her involvement with
this event as a participant.
She later became a volunteer.
“I felt like it was a really
By TAMMY
MALGESINI
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — In just
its third year of existence,
Jackalope Jamboree is gear-
ing up for a three-day country
and Americana music festival
at the Happy Canyon Arena
in Pendleton.
The event features head-
liners each night. Reckless
Kelly will kick things off
Thursday, June 23, Turnpike
Troubadours will travel to
the stage Friday, June 24, and
closing out the event on Satur-
day, June 25, is Mike & The
Moonpies. Nearly 20 musical
acts will take the stage during
the festival.
According to Chad
Colwell, one of the event’s
organizers, if early ticket sales
are any indication, this could
be the best year yet. Landing
Turnpike Troubadours, he
said, “is kind of a big draw
for us.” In less than a month,
Colwell said they have more
than doubled tickets sales as
compared to all of last year.
Running on adrenaline
from a successful inaugu-
ral event in 2019, Colwell
and fellow organizers Rian
Beach and Daren Lequerica
announced in early 2020
plans to expand to two days
for the second year.
And then the global
pandemic pulled the plug,
forcing the trio to wait until
food items.”
Glenn Silaski, Rotary pres-
ident, said his group’s dona-
tion is in line with its mission
and history. The club, he said,
has long supported local char-
ities.
“It’s one of the biggest
traditions that I got to know
when I joined Rotary, when
I came to town seven years
ago,” he said. “It’s just some-
thing there’s a lot of enthusi-
asm for.”
He added that Rotari-
ans look forward to Christ-
mas Express and discuss it
throughout the year.
“It’s a Christmas tradition
for us to sit down and grab that
checkbook,” Silaski said, and
members pitch in individually
to “do the things that money
can do.”
But money alone does
not make Christmas Express
happen every year. He said
volunteers deserve credit
for doing the “real work” of
packaging items and distrib-
uting them to where they are
needed.
“Those are the guys who
do the work,” he said. “Rotary
is happy to help pay some of
the bills, but the real heroes are
the people who join in. With
all the things to do around the
holiday, they put in the eff ort.”
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Concertgoers dance as Jesse Daniel performs June 26, 2021, during Jackalope Jamboree at
the Happy Canyon Arena, Pendleton. The country singer-songwriter returns for the 2022
musical festival, which is June 23-25.
2021 for their sophomore
event. Even with some linger-
ing restrictions and the swel-
tering heat, Colwell said
more than 1,000 attended on
the festival’s fi rst day and a
tick below that showed up for
Saturday’s performances.
Colwell said early out
of the chute, the idea was
to move beyond a one-day
event.
“We wanted to see this
thing grow,” he said. “It was
a goal at some point to expand
and get bigger.”
However, they didn’t have
to recreate the wheel in order
to jump from one day to
multiple days, Colwell said.
A number of music festivals,
he said, have created a sort of
template for that, including
the Braun Brothers Reunion
(Challis, Idaho) and Hwy 30
Music Fest (Filer, Idaho).
Contributing factors to
Jackalope Jamboree’s quick
success, Colwell said, have
been a supportive commu-
nity, solid sponsorship and
Travel Pendleton’s promo-
tional eff orts.
Another big draw, he said,
is mixing up the lineup. In
addition to national touring
and traveling acts, Colwell
said it’s important to include
local musicians or those with
ties to the region — that
includes such talent as James
Dean Kindle, Elwood and
Tylor & the Train Robbers.
“Pendleton and Eastern
Oregon has a tremendous
music scene … there’s a lot
of great music and we want
to showcase them,” he said.
While two- and three-day
packages have been on sale
for nearly a month, single-day
ticket options are available
starting Monday, Feb. 21. For
a link to ticket information,
visit www.jackalopejambo-
ree.com.
Also, with RV/trailer
camping already selling out,
organizers are trying to secure
another location. He encour-
aged people to keep an eye on
the event website and social
media pages for updates.
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