February 2020 Newsletter
Click here to download a printable PDF version.
The art of a people is a true mirror to their minds.
~ Jawaharlal Nehru
“Bound” by Natalie Seabolt. see the poem inspired by this photograph at the bottom of this newsletter.
2020 Arts & Wine Festival Update
The 2020 Wrightwood Arts & Wine Festival will officially be held on Saturday, September 19th, and we are now accepting applications for artists!
This Month’s Events
Wrightwood Book Club
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
(Wrightwood Library, 6011 Pine St)
The book of the month is A Wolf Called Romeo by Nick Jans, “the remarkable story of a wolf who returned again and again to interact with the people and dogs of Juneau, Alaska, living on the edges of their community, engaging in an improbable, awe-inspiring inter-species dance and bringing the wild into sharp focus.” Join in the discussion!
Art Show: Suzi McKinney
2:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
(Wrightwood Arts Center, 6020 Park Drive, #5)
Handmade jewelry by Suzi McKinney. Suzi has been designing and making jewelry for over ten years, using semi-precious gemstones, crystals and various metal wires. Suzi combines her love of design with the attention to detail of a Dental Hygienist. She combines the fine technical skills of her occupation with her innate ability to mix color and shape to create unique jewelry from a careful selection of beads, various metal wires and semi precious stones. Suzi is a certified yoga teacher and moved to Wrightwood in 2018. For more information, visit her Facebook page.
Art Show: Suzi McKinney (continues)
2:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
(Wrightwood Arts Center, 6020 Park Drive, #5)
The showing of handmade jewelry by Suzi McKinney continues for a second day.
WBS presents: The Not So Newlywed Game
5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
(WW Community Building, 1275 Highway 2)
Take a step back in time and enjoy the ‘The Not-So-Newlywed Game.’ The evening features four couples who will compete to win a cash prize for their favorite charity based on this popular 1970s game show. True to the original format, the couples will be asked a series of revealing questions to determine how well they know or don’t know each other. The adult-themed evening includes dinner, live music and is hosted by Actor and Arts Education Advocate Conor O’Farrell who has appeared in popular shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Game of Silence. Doors open at 5 p.m. The show begins at 6 p.m. Admission includes dinner and dessert: $30 general public admission, WBS members $20, Gold & Lifetime WBS members $10. Purchase tickets online by February 12 at wrightwoodblues.org.
Restorative Movement and Healing Touch
3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
(Love Roots Yoga Shala, 1329 Highway 2, 2nd Floor)
Restorative Movement and Healing Touch with Molly Jo Stanley and Dani Haskell. Find more information at loverootsyogashala.com.
Community Kirtan
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
(Love Roots Yoga Shala, 1329 Highway 2, 2nd Floor)
Kirtan includes singing sacred songs in community. Bring a bowl to join in for vegetarian stew afterward. Find more information at loverootsyogashala.com.
Intro to Jazz Dance
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
(Love Roots Yoga Shala, 1329 Highway 2, 2nd Floor)
Special Community Event: $5 donation for the Love Roots scholarship fund. Intro to Jazz Dance with Maria Harney, a jazz dancer trained in St. Petersburg in Cinematography. Find more information at loverootsyogashala.com.
Adventure to the Museum of the American West
10:00 a.m. (start)
We are celebrating Leap Day 2020 with another Adventure Tour! We are going to visit the Autry Museum of the American West in Griffith Park to view the Master’s Exhibit. This exhibit is the country’s premiere Western Art Show. See paintings and sculptures by more than 60 nationally recognized contemporary Western artists. In addition, there are a number of other exhibits throughout the museum ranging from the opening of the West to the Hollywood era of Western films. We have made group reservations for lunch at the Crossroads West Café at the Museum at 12:00 pm (not included in tour cost). We will be setting up carpools for those who are interested. For full details on the trip, see our adventures page.
Poem of the Month
SEEKING PURPOSE
by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment; it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone.
—Orison Swett Marden
There were no letters tucked in the trees today,
no handwritten notes tied with red string.
No epistles, no missives, no communiques.
Some days, a woman wishes the world
would be more direct, more intimate, would just tell her
her purpose, would spell it out in a language she knows.
Include sketches, clear directives. Write her name
on the envelopes so there can be no mistake.
Leave the letters in a place she will find them.
But no. Today, the only message in the trees
is snow. She tries to make meaning of it.
Laughs at the impulse. Reminds herself, Snow is snow.
Isn’t it like her to look for meaning?
Next thing you know, she’ll be looking
for a message in the clouds. In rivers. In books.
—from Rattle’s Ekphrastic Challenge, December 2019
Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer is the author of 12 poetry collections. She lives with her husband and two children in Placerville, Colorado, on the banks of the wild and undammed San Miguel River, where she served as San Miguel County’s first poet laureate (2007-2011) and as Western Slope Poet Laureate (2015-2017). (web)