Art
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Photos from Sunday at the North Country Fair
Posted By Mark Larson on Thu, Sep 26, 2019 at 5:40 PM
Sunday at the 46th annual North Country Fair featured another splash of the popular rhythms and dances of Samba da Alegria's Samba Parade, along with the usual mix of live music on multiple stages, vendors of all types and — atypically for the season — occasional rain. See highlights of the parade in the slideshow below.
Fortunately for the paint-daubed musicians and samba dancers in a mix of costumes symbolizing Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival, the weather cleared in time for their 1 p.m. performance in front of a packed house around the Arcata Plaza. After the Samba Parade left the plaza, fair attendees took shelter for a half hour or so of heavy rain and then returned once warm sunshine appeared for the rest of the afternoon's fair activities.
Fortunately for the paint-daubed musicians and samba dancers in a mix of costumes symbolizing Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival, the weather cleared in time for their 1 p.m. performance in front of a packed house around the Arcata Plaza. After the Samba Parade left the plaza, fair attendees took shelter for a half hour or so of heavy rain and then returned once warm sunshine appeared for the rest of the afternoon's fair activities.
Monday, September 23, 2019
Photos from Saturday at the North Country Fair
Posted By Mark Larson on Mon, Sep 23, 2019 at 2:30 PM
The 46th annual North Country Fair on Saturday lived up to its reputation on Saturday for lovely fall weather, lots of food, art, clothing and craft vendors, and — in memory of the Northcoast Environmental Center's Tim McKay — a fun, all-ages All Species Parade frolic around the Arcata Plaza. See highlights of the day in the slideshow below.
Live music spanning multiple genres played on multiple stages at the event, including the first performance of the year by the Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir and its new director Valetta Molofsky.
And in keeping with the event's ethos, Zero Waste Humboldt volunteers were at all corners of the plaza helping educate attendees on how to keep the event environmentally friendly. Come back for more photos from Sunday's festivities, including the Samba Parade.
Live music spanning multiple genres played on multiple stages at the event, including the first performance of the year by the Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir and its new director Valetta Molofsky.
And in keeping with the event's ethos, Zero Waste Humboldt volunteers were at all corners of the plaza helping educate attendees on how to keep the event environmentally friendly. Come back for more photos from Sunday's festivities, including the Samba Parade.
Monday, August 26, 2019
Photos from Ladies Hat Day at the Races
Posted By Mark Larson on Mon, Aug 26, 2019 at 5:26 PM
A large crowd of fans of horse-racing and ladies in hats showed up for Saturday's free admission to the eighth annual Ladies Hat Day at the Races at the Humboldt County Fair in Ferndale.
The hat wearers moved onto the racetrack for the Parade of Hats competition in "Hatagories" that included Most Glamorous, Best Racing Theme, Funniest or Most Outrageous, Most Original, Youth and Best Couple or Group. Generous prizes were offered after the sixth race for the Grand Prize winner, the Runner-Up winner and the best hats in the four categories. See the slideshow below for shots of the top toppers.
The hat wearers moved onto the racetrack for the Parade of Hats competition in "Hatagories" that included Most Glamorous, Best Racing Theme, Funniest or Most Outrageous, Most Original, Youth and Best Couple or Group. Generous prizes were offered after the sixth race for the Grand Prize winner, the Runner-Up winner and the best hats in the four categories. See the slideshow below for shots of the top toppers.
Friday, August 23, 2019
Eureka's Poet Laureate David Holper
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Fri, Aug 23, 2019 at 4:26 PM
Congratulations, Eureka, you have your first poet laureate. David Holper, a 61-year-old professor of English at College of the Redwoods and brave judge of the NCJ annual Flash Fiction Contest, got word of his selection this week and a press release from the city is expected soon. Holper is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst's MFA English program and his second book of poems The Bridge (available in local bookstores) was published this year. You may have seen a poem or two of his in the Journal (catch up here, here and here for starters).
The position, created this spring, is the brainchild of Eureka City Councilmember Leslie Castellano and Kristi Patterson of Trajectory, an Ink People project. Castellano felt a poet laureate would be "a strong component of what Eureka is trying to do in terms of arts and culture." The pair brought a proposal before the Eureka Arts and Culture Commission for approval and to hammer out the program.
The position, created this spring, is the brainchild of Eureka City Councilmember Leslie Castellano and Kristi Patterson of Trajectory, an Ink People project. Castellano felt a poet laureate would be "a strong component of what Eureka is trying to do in terms of arts and culture." The pair brought a proposal before the Eureka Arts and Culture Commission for approval and to hammer out the program.
Monday, August 19, 2019
Photos from the 57th Klamath Salmon Festival
Posted By Mark Larson on Mon, Aug 19, 2019 at 4:35 PM
Given the last few years of wildfire smoke-filled skies, it was a relief for a large crowd of attendees to only smell smoke from the traditional salmon fire pit at the 57th annual Klamath Salmon Festival on Saturday, Aug. 17. This year's theme was "Skue’n ‘Owook, Can’t Wait for Tomorrow," which linked Yurok Tribe plans for the removal of the Klamath River dams and the reintroduction of the California condor in Northwestern California. (See the slideshow below for highlights of the event.)
Monday, August 12, 2019
Photos from the Lantern Floating Ceremony
Posted By Mark Larson on Mon, Aug 12, 2019 at 6:24 PM
A large crowd attended the 37th annual Lantern Floating Ceremony at the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary on Saturday evening under clear skies. A gentle breeze helped push a few hundred lanterns that had been created earlier that morning on the Arcata Plaza out across Klopp Lake.
The original Japanese ceremony uses floating lanterns to honor the memory of departed loved ones and it has been adopted by present-day advocates to commemorate the World War II bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as to advocate for peace, nuclear disarmament and environmental sustainability. The local event was started 37 years ago by the City of Arcata's Nuclear Free Zone Committee. Arcata Mayor Brett Watson introduced the program and acknowledged local businesses who contributed supplies and time to help the Floating Lantern Ceremony Committee put on the event.
The original Japanese ceremony uses floating lanterns to honor the memory of departed loved ones and it has been adopted by present-day advocates to commemorate the World War II bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as to advocate for peace, nuclear disarmament and environmental sustainability. The local event was started 37 years ago by the City of Arcata's Nuclear Free Zone Committee. Arcata Mayor Brett Watson introduced the program and acknowledged local businesses who contributed supplies and time to help the Floating Lantern Ceremony Committee put on the event.
Saturday, July 6, 2019
Bubbling Over: Photos from the Fourth in Arcata
Posted By Mark Larson on Sat, Jul 6, 2019 at 5:50 PM
The only things exploding on the Arcata plaza for the 4th of July Jubilee were thousands of soap bubbles, as the Bubbles Promenade kicked off the event with a crowd of children and adults blowing bubbles. The soapy parade that also included a few rhutabaga Queens for Life and a mix of Kinetic Race vehicles, looped around the plaza a couple of times,followed a pause for the national anthem.
The family-friendly event then offered a long afternoon of live music, fun activities for the children, lunch options from food and drink vendors and an autograph session with Humboldt Crabs players. See the slideshow below for highlights of the bubbly festivities.
Thursday, July 4, 2019
Photos of the Fairy Frolic
Posted By Mark Larson on Thu, Jul 4, 2019 at 3:15 PM
It was another "Frolick of Fairies" at the magical second annual Fairy Festival on the Arcata Plaza on Saturday. The large turnout of mystical fairies and other life forms for the costume contests, live music, belly dancing, a parade with a dragon, and other activities probably exceeded even the most optimistic expectations of everyone except Shoshanna Rose. She helped organize the fundraiser event, along with help from the Bureau of Fantastical Spectacles, the city of Arcata and Arcata Main Street, as a benefit for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates).
Attendees at the long afternoon and evening of entertainment had their choice of food and drink vendors, as well as face painting, airbrush or henna tattoos, book sellers and various clothing and jewelry vendor tables. See the slideshow below for fae highlights.
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Photos from the Sand Sculpture Fest
Posted By Mark Larson on Wed, Jul 3, 2019 at 3:33 PM
The 24th annual Sand Sculpture Festival turned the Samoa Drag Strip into a packed parking lot on Saturday, as the Friends of the Dunes fundraiser attracted a large crowd to the nearby ocean beach. Nineteen teams of artists working in the medium of ocean beach sand competed for fun, cash prizes and various awards, while attendees who made donations got flags to post in the sand and “vote” for their favorites. (Dig the photos of the sculptures and sculptors below.)
“We created this event as a way to share the dunes with our community in a fun, creative way,” said Mike Cipra, executive director of Friends of the Dunes. “It’s another way to get local artists and others out here to enjoy the ocean shoreline.”
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
This Crab is Metal
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Wed, Apr 24, 2019 at 12:46 PM
In case the giant silver crab raising its pincers above the chain link fence around Spaulding Construction’s parking lot off U.S. Highway 101 by Kristina’s in Eureka has you wondering, you aren’t hallucinating and you didn’t miss the Kinetic Grand Championship. The shining crustacean on wheels is the work of metal artist Dan McCauley of Dan’s Custom Metals — you may have glimpsed his scrap metal sentinel standing in the same lot or the massive, rusty T-rex gnashing its metal teeth outside his Eureka business on Redmond Road, which is soon to become an outdoor sculpture garden and gallery. For that matter, you may have seen the crab at a 4/20 celebration at Forever Found — yeah, that wasn't the edibles.
