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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2018)
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2018 LOCAL Melons and music at Irrigon festival By ANTONIO SIERRA STAFF WRITER The Irrigon Watermelon Festival had the titular fruit available for sale and seed spitting contest, but melons are more of a theme than an overarching focus. Watermelons were not directly involved in the car show, the numerous raffles, the carnival games, and the lip-sync contest. The latter is in its second year after a 12-year break, an attempt to revive a popu- lar event of yesteryear for a new generation of children, according to event coordi- nator Charlene Cooley. Cooley said not as many children participated this year as they did in 2017, but it still found an audience. “It just takes one kids, and then all the other kids start to flock around,” she said. Stephen Pells was the first one on the stage, where he performed Silento’s 2015 hit “Watch me (Whip/Nae Nae).” Stephen not only lip0synced to the song, but also performed all the dances that are mentioned in the song, including the whip, the nae nae, the stanky leg, the break your legs, the duff, and the superman. Performing first meant he would have to sit back and watch the rest of the com- petition as they performed their renditions of “Bar- bie Girl,” “Ring of Fire,” “Happy” and “Let it Go.” One girl even lip-synced “Uptown Funk,” the song Stephen lip-synced to when he won the 2017 contest. But in the end, Stephen’s non-singing and very real dance moves would not be denied as he won this year’s contest based an informal applause meter. His reward? “Cold, hard cash,” according to the emcee. After Stephen collected his $50 prize, he explained that he practiced for quite STAFF PHOTO BY ANTONIO SIERRA Alysen Hesselroth plays her marimba at the Irrigon Watermelon Festival Saturday. “I’m used to moving crowds, so I have to remind myself to do the banter,” she told the audience. As she packed up her marimba after the set ended, Hesselroth, 30, explained how her career in busk- ing evolved from her time at Washington State University. A music major, Hessel- roth was originally a pianist before a professor suggested she look at joining a percus- sion ensemble. She was blow away by the instrumentation, and learned the marimba to join the ensemble. But the thought of busk- ing didn’t really occur to her until she took road trips to Austin, the musically rich capital of Texas, and Burn- ing Man, the radical art gathering in the Nevadan desert. After graduating college in 2012, she bought a Win- nebago and drove around the country playing her marimba out in the open. When her rig needed repairs, she ended up in the Bay Area, where she developed a regular host of spots to play her stand-up instrument and also got the chance to play a string of kids’ camps up and down California. Hesselroth currently finds herself back home in Othello while she saves up her money for her next adventure, which could pos- sibly include traveling to Europe to teach English. She’s doing local gigs in the meantime, but she longs to be back on the road. “I like being free,” she said. Wherever she ends up, she hopes to get all the wanderlust out of her sys- tem before she sets down roots. When Aly the Trav- eling Marimba Busker does finally find a stopping point, she hopes to set up a com- bination yoga/music studio where she use the marimba and other instruments to teach kids music. WORSHIP COMMUNITY STAFF PHOTO BY ANTONIO SIERRA A contestant performs an Imagine Dragons song during the lip-sync contest at the Irrigon Watermelon Festival Saturday. a while in preparation for a title defense. Learning a half dozen dances was not easy, and when asked which was the hardest to learn, young Ste- phen was resolute: “All of them.” It took a while for Aly- sen Hesselroth to find the marimba, but it led to an unlikely career for the Oth- ello, Washington-native. Performing as Aly the Traveling Marimba Busker, Hesselroth added a trop- ical feel to the warm Irri- gon afternoon, striking the wooden bars with two mal- lets in each hand and play- ing a combination of pop songs and instrumentals. In between some of her songs, Hesselroth explained that she was used to play- ing at sidewalks and farm- ers markets. the best thing about Sundays 1520 W ORCHARD AVE Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am Classes for Kids @ 9:15 am SEEKING JESUS, SHARING LIFE, SERVING PEOPLE www.hermistonnazarene.org First Christian Church “Proclaiming the Message of Hope, Living the Gospel of Love” LANDMARK BAPTIST CHURCH 125 E. Beech Ave. • 567-3232 Pastor David Dever 567-3013 Sun. Bible Classes...................10:00am Sun. Worship Service..............11:00am Sun. Evening Worship..............6:00pm Wed. Prayer & Bible Study......6:00pm 775 W. Highland Ave., Hermiston www.hermistonlmbc.com Worship Gathering 10:00 am Children’s Church 10:00 am NEW BEGINNINGS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP Worship Service 10:30 AM Sunday School 9:00 AM Pastor J.C. Barnett Children’s Church & Nursery Available 700 West Orchard Avenue P.O. Box 933 Hermiston, Oregon 541-567-8441 Seventh-day Adventist Church Saturdays Sabbath School........9:30 a.m. Worship Service......11:00 a.m. English & Spanish Services 567-8241 Hermiston Jr. Academy 1300 NW Academy Lane, • Hermiston The Full Gospel Home Church 235 SW 3rd Phone 567-7678 Rev. Ed Baker - Rev. Nina Baker Sunday: Sunday School........10:00 am Worship...................11:00 am Evening Service........7:00 pm Wednesday Service..7:00 pm “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” 1 Pet. 5:7 First United Methodist Church Hermiston 191 E. Gladys Ave , Hermiston OR Sunday Worship 11am • 541-567-3002 Nursery available Check us out on Face Book Worship Livestream at herfumc.com Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors Rev. Dr. Jim Pierce, pastor Grace Baptist Church 555 SW 11th, Hermiston 567-9497 Nursery provided for all services Sunday School - 9:30 AM Worship - 10:45 AM 6:00 PM Wed Prayer & Worship - 7:00 PM “Proclaiming God’s word, growing in God’s grace” St. Johns Episcopal Church Join Us On Our Journey With Jesus. Scripture, Tradition and Reason Family service 9am Sunday N.E. Gladys Ave & 7th, Hermiston t. PH: 567-6672 We are an all inclusive Church who welcomes all. Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church 565 W. HERMISTON AVE. DAILY MASS: Monday-Friday ...............................English 7:00 am Thursday...............Spanish 6:00 pm SATURDAY:.........English 5:00 pm ...............................Spanish 7:00 pm SUNDAY:..............English 9:00 am ..........................Bilingual 11:00 am ..............................Spanish 1:00 pm Offi ce..............................567-5812 + To share your worship times call 541-278-2678
