Spirit of the River

Celebrate the "Spirit of the River" with a festive evening of music, poetry, dance, photography, spoken word, and fine art Saturday, October 9th at the Clatsop Community College Performing Arts Center at 16th and Franklin in Astoria. The evening begins at 7 p.m. at the Masonic Lodge across the street from the PAC, with hors d'oeuvres, wine and a silent auction of works by favorite regional artists. The performance begins at 8 p.m. at the PAC. This is the 4th annual benefit in which gifted local artists and performers from the region join forces to share their talents at a fund raiser for Columbia Riverkeeper.

Award-winning Washington author William Layman is this year's special guest. Layman's passion for the Columbia River's power, beauty and mystery has shaped his research, writing and involvement in numerous river-related projects over the last thirty years. His home is in Wenatchee, the half way point from the headwaters to the estuary. Layman is the author of two books, Native River: The Columbia Remembered and River of Memory: The Everlasting Columbia. Historical photos of the Columbia River before the dams, along with original poetry and colorful drawings of native fish, are presented in River of Memory, which was awarded the Washington State Book Award in 2007. Both books will be available at the event and Layman will autograph them folllowing the program.

The program showcases talent from both sides of the river and includes Astoria Tuba Quartet, dancers from the Astoria School of Ballet, fisher poet Patrick Dixon, vocalist Denise Drake, folk music from the Lazy Boys and classical music by Con Amici.

The silent art auction continues to grow in popularity and this year will be held in the Masonic Lodge. This beautiful space will allow the bidders to circulate freely and enjoy the art generously donated by regional artists. Items for bidding will include paintings, photography, jewelry, sculpture, poetry, quiltwork, books and more. Bidding begins one hour before the program and continues during the intermission.

This year's Spirit of the River featured photographer is Patrick Dixon from Olympia, Washington. Dixon's photo appears on this year's poster and a selection of his photos depicting the Columbia River will be projected on stage with each performer. Dixon enjoys double billing this year as Fisher Poet. He drift-fished sockeye salmon commercially for twenty years and is published as both poet and photographer.

This year's Spirit event will combine a celebration of the magnificent Columbia River and the success of the river communities in defeating the proposed Bradwood Landing LNG terminal and pipeline. Columbia Riverkeeper is a key partner in the legal, legislative and political battles to prevent the destruction of the estuary by energy speculators. Columbia Riverkeeper was founded in 1989 and is based in Hood River, Oregon. Its mission is: "to restore and protect the water quality of the Columbia River and all life connected to it, from the headwaters to the Pacific Ocean." Brett VandenHeuvel, Riverkeeper's Executive Director, will welcome the audience.

"It is so exciting to bring together artists and performers to honor this incredible river and especially to celerate the long awaited victory in protecting our beloved river from the first of two LNG proposals," said Cheryl Johnson of Brownsmead, the coordinator for the event. She and her husband, Ted Messing, are the volunteer Estuary Coordinators for the Columbia Riverkeeper. LNG terminal and pipeline proposals for Warrenton continue seeking permits from county, state, and federal agencies.