Mark A. Larson 2022 in Review

Lorenza Simmons sings the New Jersey Mass Choir’s “Hold Up the Light” with the Community Street Choir at Zero to Fierce at the Arcata Community Playhouse. The Choir was directed by Jackie Dandeneau of the Arcata Playhouse.
Joe Tan keeps busy shucking oysters for long lines of customers at his Nori Sushi stand at the Oyster Festival, which made its return in a new Arcata venue.
The 2022 Annie and Mary Day Parade Grand Marshal was Michael Fields, recent new owner of The Logger Bar and long-time producing artistic director of the Dell’Arte Company. He rode in the parade while seated in the bear chair from “Blue Lake the Opera.” As Buddy, one of Fields’ favorite characters, frequently said, “I love Blue Friggin Lake California.”
A heart-tugging “Make Joan Laugh…” memorial for actor and Dell’Arte teacher Joan Schirle was held in Arcata with performances by many of Joan’s former colleagues and students. Sharon Bayley held Joan’s favotie text and saying: “Start with posture!” in her performance.
Members of 350 Humboldt and other climate activists held a rally and march in Arcata, linked to same-day world-wide actions organized by the international organization Fridays for the Future, started by Greta Thunberg. Lots of good signs, good speakers, a brass band and a march around the perimeter of the plaza.
Headliner Michael Doucet did some finger-picking of his fiddle in his guest-artist performance with Tom Rigney and Flambeau on the last day of the Redwood Coast Music Festival in the Adorni Center.
A montage of photos of Sara Bareilles singing at her free Oct. 16 concert at Halverson Park in Eureka.
Halloween on the Arcata plaza featured many costumed trick-or-treaters roaming the sidewalks gathering treats from business owners.
A packed house enjoyed a performance of “Papaya Lounge: Possessed” on Nov. 12 at the Arcata Playhouse featuring Alyssa Hughlett (top), Janessa Johnsrude (right) and Sara McKinney (not in this photo).
Another view of Duane Flatmo’s El Pulpo Magnifico in Eureka’s Old Town during Arts Alive!
King Tides (8.91) overflowed Humboldt Bay along Jackson Ranch Road in the Arcata Bottom on the morning of Jan. 2.
A close-up look at a spawned-out coho salmon In Jacoby Creek, with its heart still beating its final moments and still pumping shallow water through its gills. The evidence of its vigorous spawning activity and effects of returning to fresh water from life in salt water are in its worn out fins and deteriorating flesh.
Laura Holt (#537), of McKinleyville, splashed her way across Little River and finished in 12th place among the women in the Trinidad To Clam Beach Run and Walk Honoring Ford Hess.
Runners in the Trinidad To Clam Beach Run and Walk Honoring Ford Hess faced a flat Clam Beach at low tide after crossing Little River and about 2 miles to go to the finish line.
A masked-up crowd enjoyed a return to live theater as CEO of Foggy Boomers Edward Duodenum (Donald Forrest) offered a long rant about society, senior citizens’ sex lives and his goal to make as much money as possible off caring for senior citizens in MADSUMMER at the Dell’Arte venue in Blue Lake.
The re-branding of Humboldt State University to Cal Poly Humboldt began on campus signage in Arcata.
A large, masked-up crowd gathered to wish a happy retirement to Ink People’s co-founder Libby Maynard at Synapsis in Eureka.
Log rolling was one of the traditional competitions at the Redwood Region Logging Conference.
By late May, vandals had defaced most of the new Cal Poly Humboldt signs around campus by stealing letters. By August, more durable signage had replaced the original damaged signs.
The flying grounds east of the Samoa Bridge held a wide mix of kites during the well-attended Redwood Coast Kite Festival.
At the noon whistle in front of a large crowd, racers in the three-day Kinetic Grand Championship were off and rolling by first making multiple loops around the Arcata Plaza.
Dead Man’s Drop in the Samoa peninsula dunes posed yet another Day 1 challenge to racers in the Kinetic Grand Championship.
Day 2’s challenge in the Kinetic Grand Championship involved a water crossing in Humboldt Bay.
June Moxon celebrated as she and her team crossed the finish line of the Kinetic Grand Championship in Ferndale.
The Coach James Washington Track at Arcata High School was dedicated on a Sunday afternoon with a crowd of friends, donors and supporters of the Arcata High School track and X-country coach on hand to share in his special moment. The track-dedication program and ribbon cutting were followed by the crowd and Coach Washington taking a lap around the new track.
It took a lot of BEASTS Team work behind the scenes at this oyster vendor to shuck and cook the tasty salt-water bivalve molluscs farmed in Humboldt Bay, given the large crowd waiting in lines at the new venue location for the Arcata Oyster Festival.
A large crowd of protesters gathered at the Arcata plaza to protest the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on June 26.
A 158-marble collection awaited being placed in the treasure chest at the Clarke Museum in Eureka before being hidden for the 2022 World’s Biggest Marble Hunt.
Betty Boop (Cleo DeOreo) welcomed back a late-hight crowd to the Red Light Cabaret at the Dell’Arte venue in Blue Lake.
Friends of the Dunes kicked of a month-long, socially distanced Sand Sculpture contest in the Samoa dunes ocean beach with several sand-sculpture artists, including local Mike Craghead, of Eureka, said he enjoys returning to his favorite theme of a creature eating a human when creating sand sculptures.
While not back at its full former schedule, the Humboldt Folklife Society’s summer music festival drew large crowds to Blue Lake for another week of live music.
As darkness gathered, participants in the Lighted Lantern Floating Ceremony placed their personalized lanterns into Klopp Lake at the Arcata Marsh and watched the off-shore breeze push them eastward.
Humboldt Taiko performs while Bon Odori is dancing at the Obon festival in Arcata.
The Klamath Salmon Festival parade included this vehicle that acknowledged the recent local reintroduction of the California condor (“Prey-go-neesh”).
A large drowd returned to the Klamath Salmon Festival that included a meal that included wild salmon cooked over an open pit of coals.
First-time participant Jean Zamzow, of Clarion, Pennsylvania, in the Humboldt County Fair’s Ladies Hat Day said she created her prop-driven airplane model “hat” in honor of her boyfriend who is temporarily stationed here with Cal Fire.
On the first of two cruise-ship visits, the cruise ship MS Oceania Regatta entered Humboldt Bay on Sept. 14 and docked at the Schneider Dock location in Humboldt Bay. Passengers disembarked for shopping and tours around Humboldt County.
Jesse Jonathan (right) led the Eureka Drum Brigade at Synapsis at the front of the All Species Parade at the North Country Fair around the Arcata Plaza.
Day 2 of the Redwood Coast Music Festival included Bishop Mayfield and Friends featuring Dave Storie getting people out of their seats and dancing at the Eureka Theater (photographed from the closed-off balcony with permission).
Joan and Marcus Lawrence (left), of Boise, were first in line at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 16 to await the 1 p.m. opening of the Sara Bareilles show at Halverson Park in Eureka. They had previously seen her “Into the Woods” on Broadway in New York City.
Being first in line at 8:30 a.m. paid off with front-row viewing for Joan and Marcus Lawrence, of Boise, at the Oct. 16 Sara Bareilles show at Halverson Park in Eureka.
Sara Bareilles performed a free concert sponsored by the city of Eureka at Halversen Park in Eureka on Oct. 16.
A montage of photos of Sara Bareilles singing at her free Oct. 16 concert at Halverson Park in Eureka.
The Witches Paddle participants headed past the Eureka Adorni Center toward their turn-around point at Halversen Park with the Woodley Island marina in the background.
The Jardin del Santuario (Sanctuary Garden) created by Centro del Pueblo welcomed the puppets from the Arcata Playhouse and other participants in the Dia de los Muertos Celebration and parade, including the traffic-control volunteers in safety vests from a Cal Poly Community psychology class.
Members of the Danza Azteca from Cal Poly Humboldt performed multiple dances at the Dia de los Muertos Celebration on Sunday in the street in front of Los Bagels in Arcata.
Members of the Ballet Folklorico de Humboldt from Cal Poly Humboldt performed multiple dances at the Dia de los Muertos Celebration on Sunday in the street in front of Los Bagels in Arcata.
A large group of witches showed up at the Arcata plaza on Halloween to dance for the crowd.
This large herd of Roosevelt elk, uninvited guests to the Redwood National and State Parks Gateway and Restoration Project Open House, occupied restored floodplain habitat along the future new channel of Prairie Creek and organizers had to re-route the planned guided walk.
After carefully watching the weather forecast all day, Duane Flatmo didn’t let light rain prevent his El Pulpo Magnifico performance for a large crowd at Arts Alive in Eureka’s Old Town. Light from the flames of El Pulpo Magnifico were reflected in water droplets on the hood of a nearby parked car.
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer led John and Linda Maxwell’s vintage 1945 John Deere tractor and Home Sweet Home float north on Main Street in the Ferndale Lighted Tractor parade.
Ferndale’s own gold-medal winner Ryan Farmer hoisted his street luge over head while standing on an award stand float organized by Paul Beatie, of the Old Steeple venue in Ferndale’s Lighted Tractor parade. The float featured Farmer flanked by flags of the U.S.A. (first place), Australia (third place) and italy (2nd place) in the street luge competition.
For the past few years before the start of every commercial crab season, the Commercial Fishermen’s Wives of Humboldt have erected a lighted “tree” made out of dozens of crab pots. The Christmas tree’s star faces out towards Humboldt Bay to welcome home the fishing boats and crew. “The Fisherman” statue can be seen behind it.

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