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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 2, 2016)
FRAA to offer ongoing ‘Writers on the River’ workshops FLORENCE — Get ready for another year of exciting literary events at the Florence Regional Arts Alliance (FRAA) with “Writers on the River.” The monthly creative writing program will feature inspiring workshops for writ- ers of all levels and genres Jan. 16, Feb. 20 and March 19, at the FRAA Art Center, 120 Maple St. in Old Town. The fun begins on Saturday, Jan. 16, from 10 a.m. to noon, with the “2016 Writing Boot Camp.” An experiential immersion into the craft and discipline of Music from page 16 Edwards scored a massive Top 5 hit with the catchy and defiant protest song “Sunshine (Go Away Today)” in 1971. Ten additional local, regional, and nationally-known artists, five each day, will fill the stage with a series of con- certs beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. These include Crow and the Canyon, Cabin Fever NW, John Craigie, Ian McFeron, True North, Bob Haworth, and the popular contemporary folk music duo Pretty Gritty. Siuslaw High School grad- uate Billy Jones, an up-and-coming singer; and singer/songwriter Molly Hardin, round-out the line-up. The Friday (8:30 to 11:30 p.m.) and Saturday (9 p.m. to midnight) no-host public jam sessions at Pier Point Inn return this year too. Festival ‘transports’ students through centuries of immigration For the 14th year in a row, the Friends of the Florence Events Center’s Winter Music Festival Kids’ Concert turns the FEC’s auditorium into a good old-fash- ioned, raise-the-roof, kid-friendly hooten- anny. Florence mayor Joe Henry will serve as host and emcee to nearly 900 school children on Thursday, Jan. 14. As part of the annual two-day, 12-band extravaganza that is the Florence Winter Music Festival, students in first through fifth grade from Florence, Mapleton and Reedsport will be transported back in by time the performances of The Trail Band, an Oregon-based eight-piece ensemble that features songs from the various eth- nic and cultural groups who have settled over the centuries in what is now Oregon. creative writing, the workshop will help writers: Define their writing goals and projects for the New Year; remove the wall blocking the writer within; invigorate their prose with tools to fuel their creativ- ity; get back in the flow and stay there; Turbocharge their words with simple revi- sion tips Workshops fill up quickly, so pre-regis- tration is suggested. Cost is $20 for FRAA members or $25 for nonmembers, payable at the door. Writers on the River also provides an ongoing group open to all writers seeking the time, space and support for their writ- ing. Register by calling 541-708-2120 or email CJReditor@gmail.com. Classes will be taught by award-win- ning writer, editor, journalist and colum- nist Catherine J. Rourke, who brings more than 30 years’ staff experience at daily newspapers, national magazines and major publishers. Educated at the City University of New York, Oxford University and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, she has served as a contractual book editor and jacket cover copywriter for Amazon and Random House, in both print and digital formats. The former New Yorker now resides in Florence where she is writing a memoir about her adventures as an investigative reporter titled “And Forgive Us Our Press Passes.” For more information about FRAA, call 541-999-0859 or visit www.fraaoregon .org. “I first heard The Trail Band in In addition, the Friends of the 2000 during a concert at the FEC FEC pays for a music teacher to and thought, ‘We’ve got to get our travel to Mapleton to teach the local school kids in to hear this, music in a formal setting. In the and give them a top-quality edu- integrated process, every student cational concert in a real theater,’” has a chance to create a piece of says Pearson. art which will then decorate the The two performances, each for auditorium walls. more than 450 kids, are by invita- A full weekend pass is $45 and tion only to students, teachers, and includes Saturday and Sunday day their official chaperones. passes for all concerts, and admis- Pearson said the concerts pro- sion to the Jonathan Edwards and vide a chance for each child to Shook Twins concert. feel special and valued for their Individual passes for Saturday’s participation and effort while or Sunday’s daytime concerts that belonging to a larger, significant, begin at 11 a.m. are $12.50 for school-wide event. each day. “These students are not only Individual tickets for the Shook hearing lively tunes, they are hap- Twins and Jonathan Edwards con- pily absorbing history, folklore, cert are $28. rhythms, and ideas from cultures More information, including all over the world,” says Pearson. concert schedules, artist profiles, “All the singing, clapping, and and ticket prices for the Winter laughing to traditional folk songs Music Festival, are available serve to enrich learning. through WinterMusic Festival.org. Combined with songs from other Event sponsors and underwrit- countries and watching examples ers include: Nan Osbon, Art and of native Umatilla and Yakima Jean Koning (Terrace Homes), tribes’ ceremonial dress and Grocery Outlet, The River House dance, students get an integrated Inn and The Old Town Inn, cultural and art experience they Driftwood Shores, Pier Point Inn, wouldn’t otherwise receive. It has Waterfront Depot, the City of a contagious, exponential effect Florence, SEAcoast Entertainment on learning.” Association board members, the COURTESY PHOTO Pearson said the cooperation of Oregon Community Foundation, the teachers is what transports the Jonathan Edwards is a singer-songwriter in a league the Mapleton Community Kids Concerts beyond a simple with James Taylor, Carole King and Jim Croce, and Foundation, the Kiwanis Club of music experience. Florence, Ladies of the Elks, delivers songs of passion, insight and humor. “Teachers prepare students for Trillium Community Health Plan, Dietrich, Siuslaw Elementary’s music the concert by investing classroom time Coast Radio KCST/KCFM, the Siuslaw teacher, incorporates the music into her in reading song lyrics, map study, News, Oregon Coast Magazine, Eugene classroom curriculum; and Lynn research on peoples and populations, radio stations KLCC and KRVM, Maire Anderson’s Siuslaw Indian Education doing related art projects, and more,” Testa, Frank and Florence Williams, and explains Pearson. “Every teacher receives students will perform the Intertribal in memory of Art and Ann Rule. Happy Dance on stage with The Trail a CD of The Trail Band’s music for Also, special thanks go to the Siuslaw, Band.” classroom use. For example, Deb Mapleton and Reedsport schools. J AN U A RY 2 0 1 6 • A r ts & E nt er t ai n m en t • C OAST C ENTRAL • 17
