A8
NEWS
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
Lights, sounds and action
Behind the scenes at Happy Canyon
By NICK ROSENBERGER
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — From
those in the spotlight to those
behind the spotlights, the
Happy Canyon Night Show is
a labor of love for the roughly
750 participants — from the
actors and those making sure
they look the part to the light
and sound technicians.
The show, which has been
running longer than a cen-
tury, takes many late nights,
an ability to multitask and a
good eye for detail to keep the
show running smoothly, or as
smoothly as the frenzied and
energetic show can manage.
“There’s not one person that
can make this happen,” said
Allen Waggoner, who has been
involved since around 1988
and whose wife Becky is this
year’s show director. “It takes
every person and every person
has a very vital, important role.
Regardless of the size of it, it
is critical for all of it to work.”
Mary Finney, said she prob-
ably got involved with the
show’s lighting in 1993 when
her sweetheart brought her into
the mix.
Nearly 30 years later, she
still clambers up the ladder to
the catwalk above the audi-
ence and through the narrow
wooden walkways behind the
scenes to make sure the lights
wash the arena in splashes of
color and light. Inspecting the
roughly 800 lights throughout
the set is just a part of the job.
“I was here because of the
guy that I fell in love with and
it’s really hard to leave. I don’t
know ... I don’t know how you
do that,” Finney said with a
laugh.
Christina Jason and Nathan
Garton, sound technicians for
Night Show, work hand in
hand with Finney to make sure
sounds match up with changes
in lighting. Between making
sure sound levels are right to
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Karen Ashbeck, left, does makeup Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, for Hiyuum Nowland in the basement of the Happy Canyon Arena ahead of the Happy Canyon Night
Show in Pendleton.
coordinating and syncing with
what’s happening on stage,
Jason and Garton are wedged
into the fabric of the show.
“We’re involved in pretty
much all the facets,” Jason said.
“It bleeds through everything.”
With horses and carriages
fl ying across the arena, actors
diving off set pieces and doz-
ens more rushing around, the
staff and volunteers need to be
on top of what’s happening.
“You kind of go with the
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pace of the people,” Jason
said. “It’s just one step at a
time. You’ve got to be orga-
nized, you’ve got to have time
management.”
While Waggoner doesn’t
act in the show anymore, he
remains an integral part, giving
cues from the director’s booth
for all the acts to keep the fl ow
of the show on time. Most of
the time, Waggoner is an act
or two, or sometimes three,
ahead in preparing for the next
scene. Paying attention to the
details and making sure he
doesn’t get distracted is key to
his success.
“If you get caught up
watching what’s going on,
then you’ll start missing
things,” he said.
The pandemonium of
Happy Canyon, however, is
intertwined with a deep love
of the show, including for
Waggoner. From the moment
his father-in-law, Robin
Fletcher, threw him a buck-
skin outfi t and asked him to be
a part of the show after some-
one didn’t show up, Waggoner
has loved it and been involved
ever since.
“It’s family, it’s commu-
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Allen Waggoner, right, gives directions to members of the backstage crew Wednesday, Sept. 15,
2021, in advance of the Happy Canyon Night Show in Pendleton. Waggoner, who has been involved
in the show since roughly 1988, issues the cues that keep the show running each night.
nity, it’s tradition, it’s culture,”
he said. “It’s just special in all
those ways.”
“I just love the live action,
I love making history hap-
pen,” Jason said. “I love
working with people, I
Email us: paintedskycenter@gmail.com
Call us: 541-575-1335. Follow us on Facebook
Visit us: www.paintedskycenter.com
118 S Washington Street, Canyon City, OR 97820
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think it’s fantastic.”
Pendleton High School
band teacher Andy Cary con-
ducts the orchestra for the
event. After a year of so many
unknowns, he said, “it’s heart-
warming and affi rming” for
the show to be back, even if
it’s not at its best.
“Just knowing that we
can all get together and make
some music is amazing,” Cary
said. “It just fi lls my soul.”
When the show is fi nally
over for the night, Waggoner
said there’s a sense of relief
and appreciation for every-
one’s hard work. When every-
one who participates in the
show works together, from the
smallest roles to the biggest, it
creates something special.
“Each time the show ends,
there’s this personal sense of
gratifi cation after being part
of something bigger than you
are,” Waggoner said.
When the fi nal act is over,
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appreciation runs through
Waggoner and, “and you just
take a moment to pause and
refl ect,” he said. “And just
appreciate that, wow, you
know, this is really cool to be a
part of something this special.
Waggoner’s appreciation
for the support of the commu-
nity and volunteers is wide-
spread — that hundreds of
participants come back year
after year to put on such an
intricate and involved show is
a feat in itself.
“We’re just so grateful
we’re back at it again after a
year off ,” he said. “There’s a
huge amount of energy, and
you can just sense people are
just excited to be back, excited
to be a part of what we all love
and enjoy.”
OREGON CAPITAL
INSIDER
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B
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Lights illuminate sheet music
Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in
the orchestra pit at the Hap-
py Canyon Arena during the
Happy Canyon Night Show in
Pendleton.
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