Earth Day

Saturday, April 19, 2008, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
at the Gualala Arts Center

Co-Sponsors, Matrix of Change and Gualala Arts, are celebrating Earth Day, Saturday, April 19 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Doors open at 10:45 a.m. The Ceremony Blessing the Four Directions will start promptly at 11:00 a.m., followed by featured speaker Michele Anna Jordan.

Donna Bishop will give a 20 minute presentation on her wildcrafting skills and adventures, as well as discuss a USDA grant received titled Friends of the Market, and created to promote local foods to the community.

Focusing on local organic food production, the program will include an organic lunch served at 12:30. Tickets will be $20 advance or $5 more the day of the event, if available.

About the speakers . . .

Donna Bishop is the Manager of our local Farmers' Market. Graduating from Marquette University majoring in Biology and Earth Science, Donna has lived on the Mendocino Coast for 37 years. Donna is truly a modern day renaissance woman! In addition to harvesting seaweed, she has extensively educated herself on identification and uses of all that is wild and edible in this area. She also raises chickens and eggs, fruit and produce, all natural of course, on her beautiful land. For more information on Donna's seaweed products, visit www.gualalaseaweedproducts.com.

Michele Anna Jordan's many local fans will delight in her return to the Coast as guest speaker at the Gualala Arts Center for this year's Earth Day Celebration. Her discussion will be highlighted with her musings on Tastes Reflecting the Fragility of Spring.

Michele evocatively writes:

"It is the tender season, a time when the earth is both fragile and brave. Little shoots and blooms pop out from dormant branches and bare vines and from the barren earth itself, coaxed by warmth and an inviting but potentially mercurial sun. At the lowest elevations, frost still can damage the buds that will, if a farmer is lucky, become the apples, peaches, plums and grapes harvested in summer and fall. At higher elevations, a bigger concern is the possibility of rain, yet the possibility of no more rain is a more serious worry to all of us everywhere. Amid it all is the danger to the expectant human heart, so easily coaxed open by the intoxication of spring fever."

A chef, a writer, and a teacher; Michele's creativity is multi-faceted. Her teaching and writings are seasoned with a solid culinary background and characterized by a captivating style, enticing the imagination and taste buds of her audience. Michele's personal relationship with acclaimed author, the late MFK Fisher, planted the seed for her recent book, A Sensual Tour: A Reader's Bibliography to the Works of MFK Fisher, Orirana Press. With its publication date still pending, it is a work to look forward to. Hula dancing being one of her more recent passions, Michele is currently at work on a literary memoir about love, loss and hula.

In the Mendo-Noma area, one can follow Michele's weekly writings in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat's: Seasonal Pantry, Wine of the Week Pairing and Mouthful. She is also a regular contributor to Savor magazine. Her radio show, "Mouthful: The Wine County's Most Delicious Hour" airs on KRCB-FM. Mouthful was James Beard Electronic Journalism Award nominee in 1998, 2003 and 2004. She also hosts a music show, "Red Shoes Rodeo," on alternate Friday nights.

Gualala's Four Eyed Frog Book Store will feature a selection from her many acclaimed books, collections and anthologies, too numerous to outline here, available for sale in time for this Earth Day Celebration.

Michele urges us to "shelve the long novels of winter and to sit in the sun with a favorite book of poetry, a collection of short stories, a novella or even a well loved cookbook," inviting everyone to join her at this year's Earth Day Celebration and Luncheon.

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.