Coast calendar: Cultural Festival, mosaic art, writing contest

The Olalla Center's event and a gallery tour are virtual, but Siletz Bay Music Festival is hoping to be live next summer.

December 10, 2020

Lori Tobias

Books, Coast, Family

Despite surging COVID numbers in some coastal communities — Lincoln County could be moving into the extreme-risk category — people continue to find ways to keep the arts alive.

The Olalla Center is hoping to spread some cheer with a virtual Cultural Festival to be aired 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12.

“We want to highlight some of the local artists, but also it is about going into the community to have a break from all that is going on, give them a little entertainment to enjoy for a little while,” said Alex LLumiquinga, outreach program coordinator for the center.

Huehca Omeyocan is among the groups that will participate in the Olalla Center's Cultural Festival. — *Huehca Omeyocan is among performers scheduled for the Olalla Center’s Cultural Festival.*

The lineup includes music, dance, food, history, and art from El Salvador, Guatemala, Ireland, Mexico, Ecuador, and Oregon. The OSU Extension Service will make a presentation before the fiesta at 5:30 p.m.

The fest will be prerecorded and broadcast through the Lincoln City Cultural Center Facebook and YouTube channels.

“Our lives have changed so much in the past few months, we miss the ones that have left us, we remember them, we think about them, and we want to dedicate this event to them because they are still here in our hearts,” said LLumiquinga.

There is no charge for the event, but donations are welcome and will be shared between the Lincoln County Cultural Center and Olalla Center. The Toledo-based nonprofit provides mental health treatment and services for children and their families in Lincoln County.

Sponsor

“Activate the Midline” by Lynn Adamo is among mosaic work featured in a show in the Lincoln City Cultural Center. Adamo will walk viewers through a virtual tour of the exhibit. — *Mosaic work including “Activate the Midline” by Lynn Adamo is featured in a show in the Lincoln City Cultural Center. Adamo will walk viewers through a virtual tour of the exhibit.*

THE PJ CHESSMAN GALLERY in the Lincoln City Cultural Center is hosting a live virtual gallery tour of the latest exhibit, Tradition, Transgression, Transformation. The exhibit showcases mosaic artists from Oregon and Washington “who seek new paths to meaning as they absorb, reinterpret, and reinvent the mosaic tradition.” The virtual galley tour will be posted at 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, on the center’s Facebook page and will be available for viewing any time after. Gallery Director Krista Eddy and mosaic artists Joanne Daschel and Lynn Adamo will walk visitors through the exhibit.

The exhibit will be on display Thursdays through Sundays through Jan. 3 and by appointment. Masks and social distancing are required in the building.

SILETZ BAY MUSIC FESTIVAL is moving forward for 2021, with plans for nine events from June 26 through July 4, including appearances by Ken Peplowski, award-winning jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist. But the festival needs to raise money.

“It’s been a tough time for donations and grants and that comes as no surprise,” co-chair Sue Parks-Hilden wrote in an email to festival supporters. “But with your help and support we can move forward to an exciting Siletz Bay Music Festival in 2021. Our wonderful musicians have taken a giant hit in this toughest of times, so we are so happy to be making these plans.”

Jazz clarinetist and saxophonist Ken Peplowski at the Siletz Music Festival. — *Jazz clarinetist and saxophonist Ken Peplowski is on the bill for the 2021 Siletz Bay Music Festival.*

The festival hopes to raise $20,000 to help pay for music scores, piano tuning, stage rental, piano rental, venue rentals, and photography. Volunteers will provide housing and meals for the artists.

“We are so looking forward to seeing you in person next summer,” Parks-Hilden continued. “There’s nothing like the shared experience of live performance, and you are the final ingredient to make it happen.”

CANNON BEACH LIBRARY’S Writers Read Celebration has chosen the theme “pandemic” for this year’s event. Press materials explain: “For the past several months, the word ‘pandemic’ has been heard every day. But, taken broadly, ‘pandemic’ can have myriad meanings and can arouse unexpected reactions.”

Sponsor

All written formats — stories, essays, poems — are eligible. Anyone can participate and use the theme in any way. Submissions are limited to 600 words and no more than three entries per person. Entrants should include a cover letter with the writer’s name, email, and phone number, but the name or contact information should not appear on the entry itself. Deadline is Jan. 11.

A panel of judges will select 10 to 12 anonymous submissions, which the writers will read in a virtual celebration via Zoom. The live presentation will be at 7 p.m. Feb. 20.

This story is supported in part by a grant from the Oregon Cultural Trust, investing in Oregon’s arts, humanities and heritage, and the Lincoln County Cultural Coalition.

Lori Tobias

Lori Tobias is a journalist of many years, and was a staff writer for The Oregonian for more than a decade, and a columnist and features writer for the Rocky Mountain News. Her memoir “Storm Beat – A Journalist Reports from the Oregon Coast” was published in 2020 by Oregon State University press. She is also the author of the novel Wander, winner of the 2017 Nancy Pearl Book Award for literary fiction and a finalist for the 2017 International Book Awards for new fiction. She lives on the Oregon Coast with her husband Chan and rescue pup Gus.