Strike Up The Band

Written by George and Ira Gershwin

Let the drums roll out
Let the trumpet call
While the people shout “Strike up the band”

Hear the cymbals ring
Callin’ one and all
To the martial swing, strike up the band

There is work to be done, to be done
Let’s have fun, fun, fun
You son of a gun of a gun, take your stand

Form a line, oh, oh
Come on, let’s go
Hey, leader, strike up the band!

Come one; come all to the Celebrate America 2008 annual concert.  On Sunday, June 29th at 6:30 p.m. you are all invited to come and listen to the wonderful music that will be performed by the Oakhurst Community Band.
 
Deciding to not have the audience and band members baking in the heat, festivities will instead be held this year at the Yosemite High School Gym.  Come and enjoy wonderful patriotic music such as America the Beautiful and God Bless the USA (one of my most favorite songs).  There will be marches, the national anthem sung, and other patriotic tunes as a salute to the amazing armed forces.  The Oakhurst Community Choir will also take center stage and is sure to wow the audience.

This is a family event and it is FREE.  People are encouraged to bring a picnic and stay for this great Americana show.  Seating will be in the bleachers and the floor for those who have difficulty with the bleachers.  For more information, call (559) 683-4667, extension 371.  There is also a special surprise that is very hush hush.  What could it be?

About the Museum: The mseum is located on property that once was part of an old horse-drawn-freight wagon road (pre-Hwy 41) and an original historical adobe freight way-station. The 110+ year old building is a “packed adobe” made of mud and rock. After its use as a way-station, it was used for many years as a home. It is currently in the process of restoration and the progress can be viewed by visitors to the museum.The grounds also have a barn that the dedicated volunteers of the organization restored. It now houses the museum. In it artifacts and history of the region can be viewed. Also in the building are the research library and the Historical Society’s office.

Various sections of the museum represent the Coarsegold Market and Supply, a blacksmith and tool shop, a gold-panner hard at work, a tack shop, the kitchen of the Picayune School, an area of Indian artifacts, and an extensive display of pictures and articles about eastern Madera County. The barn has been dedicated to Ethel Kennedy who originally owned the property. The Coarsegold Historic Museum is owned and operated by the Coarsegold Historical Society, an educational nonprofit entity. The Coarsegold Historical Society was formed in 1981 to study and share the wonderful history of Eastern Madera County and the area known as Coarsegold in particular. From research the book As We Were Told was produced. Members interviewed 102 “old time” families (dating to the early 1800s) of the region and complied their stories to share with others. Various books about the area and its legends are available for purchase.In 1994 the Picayune School (in use from 1913 to 1956) was moved to the property. It was an elementary school especially for the local Chukchansi Yokut Indians. Picayune School is the only one-room schoolhouse in the local mountain area to be displayed as a school and is furnished with items dating to the period of its original use. It is now restored and listed on the California Register of Historic Sites and is a designated local Historical Landmark by the Madera County Board of Supervisors.

With central heating and other modern comforts, the necessity of quilts has diminished, but that doesn’t mean we need to complete lose the art of making them. Besides keeping people warm, quilts were (and still are) an artistic form of expression. In recent years, the art world has paid more attention to the beauty of quilts. Quilts are also a good focal point for social gatherings.

Since 1980, members and guest of the Sierra Mountain Quilters Association have been coming together to practice and promote the fine art of quilting. They meet the first and third Thursdays of each month. Meetings may include technique demonstrations, videos, a guest speaker or a “Show-n-Tell.” They also hold quilting circles at members’ homes to work on quilting projects.

This coming Thursday, June 19, the Sierra Mountain Quilters Association will be getting together at Whittenburg Hall (Community Church of Oakhurst) from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Attendees at this meeting will be treated to a trunk show by artist Susan Turner. To learn more, you can call 559-693-4586) or visit the group’s website, www.smqa.org.

Do you feel as if you have all kinds of stories in your head just waiting to be told? Do you think you need a boost to get started? Or maybe you already write in one genre, but you want to switch to another kind of writing.

If this is you, then this summer is the time to let the author in you roam free. The Oakhurst Branch Library will be the site for an eight week creative writing workshop for adults. The sessions start on July 9 and run until August 27. On each of these Wednesday night from 5:30-7pm, you will go through lessons that will foster ideas and improve your writing skills.

You don’t need any experience and you do not have to be published to participate. This summer of writing is sponsored by Poets & Writers, Inc. (thanks to a grant from the James Irving Foundation) and the Positive Living Center. There are a limited number of spaces, so register as soon as you can. Call Mary Lee Gowland at 559-683-6876 to register and get ready to write!

Have you been at home tapping your toes to the radio or looking wistfully at some of those reality shows that feature dance competitions? Why are you sitting at home? Our area is serving up plenty of opportunities to get out and show off your dance moves.

The Bootjack Stoppers Hall will have a ballroom dance on the third Saturday of each month. You pay just $5 for dancing instruction and $5 for the dance itself. Call Nancy (209-966-5552) or John/Trisha (559-685-3412) to get more details about the dances or to learn how you can join the Big Band Dance Club and save on admission.

There will be a ballroom dance party every fourth Sunday at the Oakhurst Community Center from 2-5 pm. These events are sponsored by Ed Bailey and the Vision Academy of the Arts. A half an hour of dance instruction is included with the $10 admission. The Oakhurst Community Center is located in Oakhurst on Road 425B. Call Lori (559-658-8541) or send an e-mail to Ed Bailey (edbailey@sti.net) and they’ll be happy to give you more information.

Jazz on the Lake at The Pines Resort is back this summer and it is better than ever. No, this is not a one-time event; rather it is many nights of great music and fun spread out over the entire summer. On Friday nights from May 23-August 29, you can relax with delicious food and delightful music.

The exciting news is that this year they have added lawn seats that will be available at a lower cost and the menu has been expanded and improved. The menu will change each week. Here is a sample of some of the dishes: fajitas, barbecue chicken, tri-tip sandwiches and meatballs, corn on the cob, salads, fresh fruit and desserts.

The gates will open at 6 pm on most nights. You can choose package options will prepared food or buy concert-only tickets. You must call head if you want to have dinner prepared. Call the concert hotline at 559-692-8857.

Some of the groups in this year’s lineup include: ‘Nuff Said, Time Slip, Sunset Steel Drum Band, Nite Flite, Time Slip, Horizon and Arrival.

Click here to visit the Bass Lake website and get more details.

It seems like I have always loved to garden. I can remember working side by side with my parents planting groundcover when I was in the 3^rd grade. Maybe the joy was more in spending time with my parents, but the result became a love for being on my hands and knees and working in the dirt. Through the years it has become a place where I can relax, lower my blood pressure, pray and enjoy the sun. Imagine my excitement when we moved to the mountains and I now had 3 ½ acres of undeveloped dirt to plant!

I found out the hard way that gardening in the mountains is different! After planting 16 prized roses, watering, fertilizing, nurturing and awaiting those first gorgeous blooms only to see them stripped of all flowers, leaves, and thorns overnight…..I learned that roses are like candy to deer. They are better purchased from a florist and enjoyed in a vase in your home.

I’ve lived in the mountains of Oakhurst for 16 years and here’s what I’ve found in a nutshell: If it’s purple, there’s a pretty good chance the deer won’t like it. I know there are always exceptions, but here are some plants I’ve had luck with:

Purple Iris

Lilacs

Lily of the Nile

Society Garlic

Butterfly Bush

If you’re just starting a garden in the mountains, give these a try and I guarantee you’ll enjoy the blossoms and the deer won’t!

The first California Wood Carvers Rendezvous has hit the Madera County area this week.  Instructors from all over the nation have come to the area to teach others their amazing wood carving skills.   Classes began last Sunday, but the good news is, that you can still sign up and learn new fantastic skills or refine the ones you currently have.   Many skill levels will be taught in various classes.  Classes will be available through May 4, 2008 from 9 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Classes are being offered for a $100 registration fee.   You may attend as many classes as you like during the week or attend the same class as many times as you like, which ever your prefer.   There are classes available for all skill levels.   Classes will be taught in cypress knee carving, bird carving, dolphin carving, saddle carving, bark carving, chip carving, relief carving, golf ball caricature carving and beginning carving.   Tool sharpening, air brush painting and pyrography (wood burning) classes will also be available. 

For the spouses who are not interested in learning carving skills, there will be ladies teaching other fun crafting skills like pine needle basket making, tatting, embroidery and geo-caching.  It sound like fun can be had for everyone!

Participants need to bring their own knives, tools and equipment that they will use and purchase wood blanks to participate in the classes.

If you would like more information, contact the Chamber of Commerce at (559) 683-7766 or Larry Smith at (559) 658-2405

The Travel Channel is a cable television network that features documentaries and various other travel shows all related to traveling around the globe.  It was first launched in 1987 by Trans World Airlines as a way to boost airline travel.  It has since been sold several times over, and is a multi-billion dollar entity of Cox Communications.

Faithful viewers of the Travel Channel have experienced travel on African animal safaris, traveled to “haunted” destinations, toured grand hotels, and traveled to interesting spots around the United States.  One of the Network’s current most popular shows is “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern”.  Zimmern will take you to various countries and sample food that just watching, will make your stomach tie into knots.

It is no wonder that one of the most spectacular destinations in the United States will be featured on the Network.  “Yosemite—America’s Treasure” will debut on the Travel Channel this Sunday, April 20th at 7:00 p.m.

The production of the show was shot in the summer and fall of 2007.  It is a one hour program where the cultural and natural history of the area, and the beautiful landmark features of Yosemite National Park will be front and center for all to enjoy.  The last show that the Travel Channel produced on Yosemite was 10 years ago.

The Travel Show as a viewer-ship of over 90 million people.  The showings of “Yosemite—America’s Treasure” is sure to enlighten people worldwide about the beauty of Yosemite and the surrounding area.   Watch out, there might even be more summer travelers wanting to see this great destination!