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Crossing the Blues
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 HEADLINER: The headliner band for Crossing the Blues is the highly acclaimed Tom Bergeron & Whirled News, playing with two local guest musicians who are very familiar to local music lovers. - Website photo Enjoy locally produced food, noted musicians, nationally-recognized artists and writers, and independent film makers at La Grande’s summer festival. All of the activities take place on Adams Avenue at Fourth Street, where the historic city hall, new library and Max Square share an intersection in the heart of town. ART — The Crossing the Blues Quick Draw takes place in the area of the Farmer's Market from 10 to 11 a.m., Saturday during the festival. The committee expects 10 to 15 artists to take part in the event that allows each artist only one hour to complete an original work of art. The resulting pieces, in a variety of media, will then be sold through a silent auction that ends promptly at 5 p.m. Art lovers can watch as the pieces are being created, then take home a spontaneous work of art. In doing so, they will be contributing to the renovation of the La Grande Carnegie Library into an arts and culture center that will enhance the community far into the future. Artists expected to participate in the Quick Draw are Ruthie Yates, Tom Dimond, Glennis Phillips, Brenna Tyler, Amber MacLean, Katherine Treffinger, Bob Jensen, Ann Yoder and more. The Crossing the Blues: Visual Arts Invitational, opens Friday at Satellite Gallery and runs through Sept. 12. Doug Kaigler and Tom Dimond, well known regional artists and current and former EOU art professors, are curators of the show. They have invited 24 Union County artists to participate in what they hope will become an annual exhibition that showcases the exceptional talent of artists living and working in the area The exhibit includes an eclectic combination of artistic styles and media, including photography, printmaking, bronze sculpture, ceramics, blown and fused glass, painting and mixed media. Artists represented have won numerous awards and participated in a wide range of juried fixed and touring exhibitions. The opening reception, Friday from 6 to 9 p.m., is an opportunity to enjoy a variety of art styles and to meet many of the artists. Several other downtown shops and galleries will also extend the Third Thursday Art Walk from tonight to Friday evening to help kick off Crossing the Blues. Satellite Gallery is in the heart of downtown La Grande at 116 Depot St. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. For more information about the featured artists or upcoming shows, call the gallery at 541-963-4617 or visit www.satelliteartgallery.com .
Saturday, La Grande’s own bluegrass band Summit Ridge serenades the Farmers Market. At noon, Greg Rawlins takes the stage at Max Square. His music waivers between the traditional and the nonsensical, the focused and the aloof. Next in line is Test Audiences, a “constantly changing and innovative band,” at 1:30. Charm Particles, at 3 p.m., features the haunting vocals of Pamela Rooney, the shimmering guitar work of Sarah Fitzgerald and Nathanael Merrill’s gigantic drums.
 Finn Riggins - Website photo The headliner band the CTB is the highly acclaimed Tom Bergeron & Whirled News, playing with two local guest musicians who are very familiar to local music lovers. The band is led by Salem musicians Tom Bergeron (a former EOU music faculty member) on woodwinds and Keller Coker on trombone. They are supported by Portlanders Jason Palmer on drums and Will Amend on bass. Multi-award winning EOU music professor and La Grande favorite Matt Cooper will join them on keyboard, and Carolyn Lochert from Lostine will sing several songs. The band plays a groove-oriented blend of original compositions influenced by music from around. Bergeron, Keller and Cooper were all members of the group Clovis, which recorded a self-titled CD in 2004. Prior to that, Tom and Matt also played in a group of Oregon musician/educators called Pacific Five. Both groups specialized in original compositions; the “Clovis” CD is available locally at Sunflower Books, the Bookloft and Betty’s Books, as well as through CDbaby. Tom has also recently been traveling to Brazil for in-depth explorations of the Brazilian style known as choro. The group will feature several choros on the 23rd. The genesis of this idea came from the fact that Carolyn, with whom Matt plays periodically at Ten Depot and up in Enterprise, lived for a time in Corvallis, and Matt and Tom discovered she knows and played music with several of the former members of Pacific Five, as well as other mutual acquaintances. They began talking of an eastern/western Oregon jazz collaboration.
The teams have just a few days to write, shoot and edit the film. The results of their creative efforts will be shown Friday at 10:30 p.m. in Max Square, following the evening’s Wasteland Kings concert and street dance.
Filmmakers are encouraged to take photographs and blog their production days, so tune in to www.crossingtheblues.com during the week to read up on the project progress.
WRITING — Everyone has stories worth telling — of stirring events, of unique and beautiful landscapes, of conversations in passing outside a favorite downtown shop or eatery. At the Authors Fair, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., meet local authors and publishers, purchase books written or published locally and have them autographed, and meet members of local writers‚ groups and find out how you can get more involved. During Oral History, 10 a.m. to noon, write or record stories of your experience living in Eastern Oregon for inclusion in the Regional Voices compilation. There will be prompts and photos available to provide ideas and a separate room for the recordings. The Writing Marathon, noon to 2 p.m., is based on the New Orleans Writing Marathon. Writers will gather in the Community Room, form small groups, select several downtown locations, and then spend 20 to 30 minutes writing in each location. Writers will eventually return to the Community Room for the Open Mic, 2 to 4 p.m., where they (and other people) read their writing or a favorite written by someone else. Union County Poetry Contest winners will be announced and are invited to read.
FOOD — Great food is the focus at the Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to noon Saturday in Max Square. Food selection also includes barbecued ribs, fresh corn on the cob, and baked beans from Dukes and Hawaiian-style wings from Aloha Wings. Bud Jackson’s Beer Garden provides a refreshing way to unwind. And don’t forget to top it all off with a scoop of ice cream from Hought’s Ice Cream & Burgers, which will be in the downtown core for the event.
FUN — A Children’s Carnival will take place all day Saturday, featuring miniature donkeys from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., horse rides from 2 to 4 p.m., a Lucky Ducky pond, basketball hoops, Think Link, mini tennis, bean bag toss, the Mobile Fun Unit, face painting, balloon art, three mini-claw machines, the shower tower from the La Grande Fire Department and prizes. The cost is $2 for a 10-punch pass (not every attraction requires a punch).
CROSSING THE BLUES EVENT SCHEDULEFriday5:30 p.m.: Friday Night Artwalk Reprisal, Crossing the Blues: Visual Arts Invitational and Hudson Car Show, Adams Avenue 5 to 10 p.m.: Bud Jackson’s Downtown Beer Garden and food vendors 7:30 p.m.: Street dance with live music by Wasteland Kings
10 p.m.: The La Grande Summer Film Project, near City Hall Saturday9 a.m. to noon: Farmers Market live music by Summit Ridge and other activities
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Writing Events at Cook Memorial Library in the Colleen Johnson Community Room 2 to 10 p.m.: Bud Jackson’s Downtown Beer Garden and food vendors
6 p.m.: “Midsummer Night’s Dream performance outside City Hall Public transportation available from off-site lots throughout the day Saturday. |
