8A | SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2018 | SIUSLAW NEWS
NATIVITY from page 1A
Parrish has recently commissioned and
purchased one piece that fits into this cat-
egory from a talented local artist.
“Several years ago, I ran into a gen-
tleman named Ralph Martin, who is a
woodworker. He lives in Greentrees and
I asked him if he could make me a nativ-
ity out of myrtle wood,” Parrish said. “He
asked me what kind and I said I didn’t
care — you pick.”
Time passed and Parrish thought that
perhaps Martin had forgotten her piece.
Then, about a year later, she received a
call.
“It was Ralph, and he said, ‘Your Na-
tivity is ready. Would you like to come
and see it?’” recalled Parrish, who was
told that the slab of wood used to create
the Nativity scene was called Black Heart
Myrtle Wood. “It turned out amazing and
it is one of my favorites.”
The materials, the colors and the inclu-
sion of animals and other objects in the
dozens of different scenes at Florence’s
display convey a sense of the nationality
or geographical location of the set’s build-
er. There are depictions of people of col-
or ranging from white to dark brown in
the exhibits. There are also different ap-
proaches taken by the collection’s owners.
Some like to find a special piece to add to
their collection, others like to buy them
at low prices and then simply give them
away.
Michael Simmons doesn’t consider
himself a religious person. He is drawn to
the design and color elements of the sets
and said he spends part of his spare time
looking for sets to display and share.
“I only keep a dozen or so each year
and the rest of them I give away. I collect
them throughout the year at different
garage sales or thrift stores in the offsea-
son when I can pick them up for a few
dollars,” he said while unwrapping pieces
for this year’s display. “At the end of the
festival, I will give away as many as two
dozen of these to homes that don’t have
a Nativity.”
While delicately placing a piece from
one of his 40 or more sets for display,
Simmons seemed to light up, then de-
scribed his plans for later in the holiday
season.
“After I get done here, I will take some
of these to Shorewood (Senior Living).
There are some people there who can’t
get out and about, so I’ve got over 40 sets
that we are going to put out there for the
holidays,” he said. “I will be able to give
some more away to residents or family
members that don’t have a Nativity scene
of their own.”
Parrish has decided to try to cut back
on adding to her expansive collection of
Nativity sets, although that may be more
difficult then she had anticipated.
“I promised myself I was not going to
add any new ones this year and I’ve done
pretty good so far — I’ve only added
four,” she said.
The Florence Nativity Festival began
Friday and continues this weekend from
1 to 5 p.m. today and tomorrow, Dec. 2. It
is free to the public and there will be mu-
sical performances throughout the day.
PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
The Florence Nativity Festival features Nativity scenes
from all over the world. The event is open to the public at
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints this week-
end.
Players prepare for ‘A Christmas Story’
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T
he Last Resort Players invite
the community to come back in
time to Christmas 1938 in small town
America — when kids listened to ra-
dio shows, watched cowboy westerns
on Saturdays and walked to school for
miles in a snow storm.
Rising young actor Shiloh Penrod
takes the stage this December as Ral-
phie Parker in the holiday classic, “A
Christmas Story,” with visions of a
tacky leg lamp, being blinded by soap
poisoning, Scut Farkas (the school bul-
ly) and of course, a Red Ryder BB Gun,
dancing in his head. Never mind that he
has been warned by all the grown-ups
“he’ll shoot his eye out;” his Christmas
wish is to own that air rifle and he’ll go
to great lengths to convince his parents
and Santa he should have it.
The story was originally written by
humorist, actor and author Jean Shep-
herd in the 1970s about his childhood
in Indiana. In 1983, MGM produced,
“A Christmas Story,” which has since
become a cult classic during the holi-
day season.
In 1999, a two-act theater stage pro-
duction was adapted by Phillip Gre-
cian and the iconic leg lamp continues
to glow every year on stage, on televi-
sion and in our hearts.
For this Last Resort Players stage
performance, veteran actor Gary Mill-
er portrays the narrator, Ralph Parker,
all grown up, as he retells his memories
in fantasy and flourish. He recounts
the days leading up to Christmas and
the many events that made this holiday
the most memorable of all.
Ralphie’s parents are played by Shawn
Penrod as “the Old Man” and lovely
Laura Miller as doting Mother Parker.
The role of Ralphie’s little brother Ran-
dy is played by young comedian and
second grader, Jobie Gates. Family re-
semblance is no coincidence, as Shawn
and Shiloh are actually father and son,
and Shiloh and Jobie have known each
other since Jobie was born.
The show is filled with hysterical and
touching moments, from scenes of a
tongue stuck to a flagpole to the mem-
ory of young Ralphie accidentally ut-
tering “the bad word” in front of his fa-
ther, who has his own special language
of euphemisms. The patient teacher,
Miss Shields, is portrayed by Portia
Neff, who has fantasies of her students
turning in well-written theme papers.
School children that bring the class-
room scenes to life are: Joey Haines,
Matilda Hand, Vera Blas, Sylvia Hand,
Clara Ledbetter and Eleanor Hand. The
kids appear in several scenes through-
out the show, including the department
store “Santaland,” where Schwartz’s
baby brother Marley Treyson will also
make an appearance.
Adding to the humor and rounding
out the community cast are Grant Har-
mond, Madelynn Levi, Paul Deemer,
Ernie Leone, Michelle Dougherty, Bri-
ana Loomis, Sarah Cavallero and Dor-
land Neale as Santa Claus. They appear
throughout the show in various cameo
roles.
Behind the scenes, the Last Resort
Players production team is comprised
of Jennifer Chaney, Cathy Dupont,
Portia Neff, Sheri Susee, Dana Rodet,
Sabrina Hand, Karylynn Keppol, Pau-
la Ziegelasch, Angela Apodaca, Alysha
Atkinson and Matt Miller.
“A Christmas Story” will be per-
formed under the lights on the flat
floor at the Florence Events Center on
Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 13
to 15, at 7 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee
performance on Sunday, Dec. 16.
Tickets are limited, so plan for the
holidays and buy your tickets now at
the FEC box office, online at Event-
Center.org or by calling 541-997-1994
between 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday
through Friday.
Deadline for Press Releases Is
Every Monday and Thursday
by Noon. Email P RESS R ELEASES @
T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM .
Annual
Christmas
Party
Friday
December 7
@ 6:30 p.m.
With a
Whole Pig
and DJ
Donations of warm clothing for kids
K-12th grade.
Sweatshirts, Socks, Pj’s, etc.
are welcome.
351 LAUREL
|
541.997.3160
A Jazz Kings
Christmas 2018
The Brockett
Family
Ring Those Bells
Wed, Dec 12, 7:30 pm Florence Events Center
Tickets 541.997.1994
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