If you are an aspiring fashion designer, craftsman, or other type of creative artist, the California State Fair wants you to participate in the State’s largest showcase of creative arts. The deadline to apply is April 19.
The California Creative Arts exhibit will present a showcase of crafts and textiles created by California residents.
Competitive divisions include creative arts, handcrafts, fiber art, needlework, quilting, scrapbooking and card crafting.
The California Creative Arts exhibit is part showcase, part competition.
Crafters and artisans will compete for cash prizes and special awards, and award-winning entries will be put on display for the public for the duration of the State Fair.
All adult California creative artists are invited to apply for this exhibit.
Entry fees may be required depending on the competition entered.
For more information on the California Creative Arts Competition, visit www.bigfun.org or contact Stephanie Jurkowski, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 916-263-3194.
The California State Fair will run July 12-28 at Cal Expo in Sacramento.
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The duo “Not Two” and several guest musicians will perform this Saturday, April 13, as part of the monthly “An Evening With,” hosted by the Lake Community Pride Foundation.
The concert will take place from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Lower Lake High School Little Theater, located at 9430 Lake St. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Not Two is a duo whose voices at times seem as one, hence the name. All the songs are originals written by Allen Markowski.
Markowski's lyrics are rich filled with humor, pathos, compassion, insight and are complemented by Barbarajo Bloomquist's inventive harmonies.
While Not Two is typically made up of Markowski and Bloomquist, Saturday night's concert will feature Max Lehman on the bass, Herb Gura on the drums, Doug Harris on the guitar and Barbara Christwitz playing her clarinet.
The musical style of Not Two varies widely from blues, folk, bluegrass, country, waltz and much more.
All proceeds go to support youth performing arts in Lake County.
Tickets cost $10 at the door. For tickets and information visit www.aneveningwith.org or call 707-701-3838.
As a fan of baseball, I eagerly anticipated “42,” knowing that the legend of Jackie Robinson is more than a great sports story; it’s a critical turning point in race relations leading up to the Civil Rights era.
Celebrating the life of a true sports hero, “42” does not disappoint. Though it has the look and feel of an old-fashioned sports drama, this film has an elegant grace and beauty for its realization of the post-war period.
Most baseball fans love nostalgia, particularly for old ballparks now long gone, like Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds, Forbes Field and Crosley Field. With the help of CGI, these ballparks are lovingly recreated.
The visual appeal of “42” is stunning, and great pains were taken to bring realism to all facets. Even the magnificent Dodger Blue team bus pulling into a Philadelphia hotel parking lot is a gem.
The Jackie Robinson story is well-documented and given the fact that his uniform number 42 has been retired throughout Major League Baseball, there are few surprises about the first African-American to break the color barrier.
Writer and director Brian Helgeland, an obvious admirer of the titular character, focuses his homage to Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) on a tight schedule of the ballplayer’s quick move from the Negro Leagues to the Major League during the period of 1945 to 1947.
Not to be overlooked is the love story subplot in which Robinson, then playing with the Kansas City Monarchs, proves his devotion to his lovely future wife Rachel (Nicole Beharie), a stabilizing, supportive presence.
The central character pushing Robinson’s advancement into the Major League ranks, thus breaking baseball’s segregation, is Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford), a cigar-chomping crusty old white guy who sees Robinson for the talented ballplayer that he is.
To be sure, Rickey wanted to integrate baseball and he settled on Robinson, not just for his athletic abilities, but for his temperament and strength to endure the vitriol and abuse to follow.
Well aware that his move to change the sports world was fraught with risk, Rickey wanted a player with the “guts not to fight back” when provoked. He needed someone with the fortitude to endure the hateful taunts.
To his credit, Helgeland does not gloss over the sheer animosity and ugly fury that would greet Robinson playing with white players, even in Northern cities where race relations were supposedly marginally better.
The news of Robinson’s arrival on the Dodgers team is not greeted with enthusiasm by the white players. Almost to a man, they sign a petition that asks for the black player to be excluded from the team.
An underutilized Dodgers team manager Leo Durocher (Christopher Meloni), with one forceful outburst of vocal support for a talented player of any color, proves as great an influence as the vaunted Branch Rickey.
Proving to be an enthusiastic hustler on the field, gifted base-runner and capable hitter, Robinson slowly wins over most, though clearly not all, of his recalcitrant teammates.
Yet, there is no greater unifying force than a common enemy. In this case, it’s Phillies manager Ben Chapman (Alan Tudyk), a racist so vile that his vicious epithets hurled at Robinson turns the tide of public sympathy to the hero’s direction.
Frankly, Chapman’s on-field tirade, whenever Robinson is up at bat, is not only humiliating to the black player, but it comes off as uncomfortably disturbing for the prolonged nature of its loathsome depravity.
While some teammates remain indifferent or subdued, some players, like Ralph Branca (Hamish Linklater) and Pee Wee Reese (Lucas Black), embrace Robinson for being a great team player who badly wants to win for his club.
In fact, Pee Wee famously put his arm around Robinson on the baseball field at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field, showing his solidarity for a teammate abused by the taunts of the ballpark crowd.
Playing it safe in many respects, “42” is a thing of artistic beauty for its celebration of Jackie Robinson, a fitting tribute to a real hero that Major League Baseball honors each year on April 15.
Yet, unlike its namesake, “42” doesn’t take many creative chances in telling what should be a very complex story. Both Robinson and Rickey come off like candidates for sainthood, as if any character flaws should be ignored.
The star of the show is Chadwick Boseman, a name unfamiliar to most. His Jackie Robinson captures the grace, dignity and athletic prowess of a true American hero. “42” is all the better for his presence, and he makes this film well-worth watching. In baseball parlance, “42” hits a home run.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
NICE, Calif. – Local favorite Ailura Fate makes a special appearance at the Sons of Italy Dance and Benefit on Saturday, April 13, with delicious food catered by Park Place Restaurant.
The event will be held at the Sons of Italy Hall, at 2817 E. Highway 20 in Nice.
The no host social hour opens at 5 p.m., dinner is served at 6 p.m., and music takes place from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Ailura Fate is the combined local talents of powerhouse vocalist Kayla Bell, multi-guitarist Lindy Day, and Native American Music Awards nominee Kevin Village Stone on bass, keyboards, and Native flutes.
Bell, Day, and Village-Stone are professional working musicians and are donating their services for this event as part of their ongoing personal contribution to the community.
Complete with food and drinks the evening includes the full-band sound of Ailura Fate filling the night with dance originals and covers including those by John B, Alicia Keys, Van Morrison, U2, Santana, Adele, along with other popular favorites. Also included are smooth jazz/rock fusion performances of Native American flute and guitars by Kevin Village Stone and Lindy Day.
Tickets cost $20 and are available at the door or can be purchased in advance, which is recommended.
Please call Donna at 707-263-5476 to purchase advance tickets.
For more information on Ailura Fate and its members, visit www.AiluraFate.com .
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – “The Invisible War” is Second Sunday Cinema’s free film for April 14.
The film will be shown at the Clearlake United Methodist Church, 14521 Pearl Ave., Clearlake.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m., the film begins at 6 p.m.
Admission is free.
This Oscar-nominated documentary is the film responsible for the current nation-wide conversation about rape in the US military.
Over the past decade alone, “hundreds of thousands” of women have been raped while serving their country – by their fellow soldiers.
What happens next only deepens the wounds: They are ignored, refused military justice, and often it is they, not their attacker, who is dismissed from service and the career they were building.
Amazingly, this film is not depressing. In part, this is due to the superior production values and vision of the filmmakers.
It’s also due in large part to the strength and courage of the women (and one man) interviewed. The well-researched information is outrageous and galvanizing, but you probably won’t need to bring Kleenex.
As one enthusiastic reviewer wrote, “Even if you’re not in the military yourself, you should see this film and urge every young woman you know who is considering enlisting to see it first!”
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