Gualala Arts Lecture Series presents:
Visiting Ireland

with Bryant and Diane Hichwa
Thursday, September 6, 2012, 7:00 p.m.
Admission is $5

Returning to the lecture series for the fourth time, Bryant Hichwa with his wife Diane have managed to pull off a "trifecta" of avocational interests. In their Thursday, Sept. 6 photo presentation on their travels to Ireland, the Hichwas will combine their interests in musical instruments, birding and photography.

On separate trips to Ireland the Hichwas observed and photographed two sets of migrating birds; one trip in the fall to the eastern Irish coast to observe Artic birds which migrated south for the winter from Scandinavia and Iceland, and one trip in the spring to the west coast to see nesting birds which migrated north from southern Europe. On both occasions the Hichwas spent their evenings in pubs enjoying the music.

The presentation will include both still photographs of what they described as spectacular flocks of seabirds that numbered between 150,000 and 200,000. In addition, the Hichwas will show brief video clips of their musical evenings which will include such instruments as the Uileann pipes, tin whistles and the bodhrán (the Irish drum) as well as other traditional instruments.

Eugene Byrne, renowned as a traditional folk singer, Irish festival organizer and travel guide, accompanied the group and provided musical expertise. He has performed with The Chieftains and balladeer Tom Sweeney.

An added bonus will be a sprinkling of Irish history from both mythical and recorded periods provided by an historian who was also in the group. One particularly interesting location was the beehive monastery built by Irish monks fifteen hundred years ago on the Skellig Islands off the Kerry coast which are famous today for their seabird populations.

A skilled speaker, Bryant has been recognized with a campus teaching award at Sonoma State University where he is an Emeritus Professor of Physics and Astronomy. Diane is recognized as an expert bird watcher along the Sonoma and Mendocino coasts. She is co-chair of The Sea Ranch task force which stewards the California Coastal National Monument. The couple reside on The Sea Ranch. Previous lectures in Gualala and elsewhere have been on birding in Southern Africa, the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, the "migration" in Kenya, and on the physics behind musical instruments.

The lecture in Coleman Auditorium begins at 7 p.m. A $5 admission fee will be collected at the door.

The Gualala Arts Center, located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, CA,
is open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and weekends from noon to 4:00 p.m.
Please call (707) 884-1138 for more information, or email info@gualalaarts.org.

Serving the coastal communities of northern Sonoma & southern Mendocino Counties.