HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
October 31, 2008
Looking for something to do tonight? Click HERE.
Yes Virginia, There Is A White Swan Haunted House
October 30, 2008
And the YH-R’s own Phil Ferolito lived to tell the TALE.
Viva Día de los Muertos
October 30, 2008
If you haven’t checked out the Día de los Muertos Community Altar Exhibit yet, GO! The altars on display are just beautiful.
Click HERE, to see some photos from the exhibit and others around downtown.
White Swan Haunted House?
October 30, 2008
Hi Faithful On Readers,
I’ve gotten a couple comments asking about the White Swan Haunted House. I haven’t received any info on it, so if anyone has the details, please let me know. I’d hate for a good haunted house to go without anyone to freak out.
Thanks and Happy Halloween!
Kim Nowacki
knowacki@yakimaherald.com
‘Desperate’ Dogs
October 29, 2008
Sooo, I’m friends with Kyle MacLachlan’s dogs on MySpace. (Sad, but true.) Here’s a picture of the two, Sam (on the left) and Mookie, hard at work on the set of “Desperate Housewives.”
I first found out about Mookie and Sam — and their Web series — when Kyle was here in 2007 to perform with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra.
“We did it partly because we’re crazy about our dogs,” MacLachlan said at the time about the initial Web site. “And we did it partly as a fun way to promote dog causes.”
What Page Are You On?
October 29, 2008
Tonight, actress Mary Badham will speak at The Seasons as part of The Big Read, a nation-wide initiative funded by the National Endowment for the Arts in which residents of a community read the same book and attend related activities. This year’s Yakima Valley book is Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Badham played the precocious Scout in the 1962 movie version. (At just 10-years-old, and with no formal acting training, she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, but lost out to Patty Duke for “The Miracle Worker.”) Badham will talk about her experiences making the film.
Her talk is at 7 p.m. at The Seasons, 101 N. Naches Ave. Admission is free.
For complete information on local Big Read events, visit yakimabigread.org. (Make sure to check out the blog, especially the post about what current acting star should play Atticus if there were ever a re-make of the movie.)
‘Sleeping Beauty’ Truly Magical
October 29, 2008
Bravo to the local ballerinas who performed last night along with the Moscow Ballet in “Sleeping Beauty.” Just thinking about being on stage with world-class dancers would make me stumble if not totally fall on my face, but the local girls — ages 8 to 17 — performed well. The older teens managed to hold their own and the younger girls worked the cute factor to big applause.
The only ballet I’ve ever seen is “The Nutcracker” and the only company I’ve ever seen perform it is the troupe from Eugene, so last night’s performance was truly special: Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky’s memorable, humable score adds a musical touch of magic; the costumes were beautiful; and the sets were stunning.
“Sleeping Beauty” premiered in St. Petersburg in 1890, and this production is based on ballet master Marius Petipa’s original (and I’d say incredibly demanding) choreography.
The story follows the classic fairy tale of “Sleeping Beauty” and opens with the celebration of the birth of Princess Aurora. The Lilac Fairy (beautifully danced by Olga Pogukaeva), Precious Stones and Gift Fairies bestow special talents on Aurora. Then suddenly, the evil Carabosse (the wickedly wonderful Aleksandr Strokin) shows up and places a spell on the princess: On her 16th birthday, she will prick her finger and die. The Lilac Fairy intervenes and instead of death, Aurora will fall into a deep sleep. Only a kiss from a prince can wake her.
Hallelujah!
October 29, 2008
It only cost me $28 to fill up my tank yesterday. (Although, that was with a 20-cent Safeway discount. Yeah, I buy a lot of groceries.)
Show Your Home Team Pride (At a Discount)
October 28, 2008
The Yakima Bears are about to move into a new office and team shop on North Third Street (it’s in the old mall across the street from Ron’s Coin & Book).
But it looks like K.L. doesn’t want to move all those baseball caps and T-shirts, so the Bears are having a moving sale with discounts on shirts, hats, sweatshirts, etc. (Giant foam hands, perhaps?)
The sale runs through this Friday at the current office, 8 N. Second St.
Moxee’s Toby Bradley Back In CMT Competition
October 27, 2008
Once again, Moxee trucker/singer-songwriter Toby Bradley is hoping for a chance at country music stardom. For the second year in a row, he’s made the cut for Country Music Television’s “Music City Madness,” a national online talent search now in its third year.
The music video for Bradley’s song “Bill Mack Won’t Play My Track” is one of 64 that viewers can vote for. Over the next several weeks, the videos will be paired down in a bracketed-style competition. In this first round, Bradley is up against “Living Life Like A Love Song” by The Custom Taylor Band of Syracuse, N.Y.
To vote, click HERE. (You can vote as many times as you want.)
Concerts Help Celebrate Día de los Muertos
October 27, 2008
Over the past several years, the Yakima Symphony Orchestra has formed a relationship with the Conservatorio de las Rosas in Morelia, Michoacán.
And for the third year, guest musicians from the conservatory will visit Yakima to lead educational workshops and perform a concert in celebration of Día de los Muertos.
Here’s the schedule:
• WHAT: Luis Esteban Cruzaley Rojas of the Conservatorio de las Rosas in Morelia, Michoácan, will present a piano recital of works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Manuel M. Ponce.
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30.
WHERE: Yakima Valley Community College’s Kendall Hall auditorium, South 16th Avenue and Nob Hill Boulevard.
HOW MUCH: Free.
Two Upcoming Free Events At Central Washington University
October 27, 2008
• Cajun blues musician Tab Benoit will be doing double duty when he visits Central tonight (Oct. 27).
At 6:30 p.m., the Grammy-nominated blues guitarist and wetlands activist will screen the documentary “Hurricane on the Bayou” in the CWU Student Union and Recreation Center Ballroom, off Alder Street.
Benoit will be available for a question-and-answer session following the screening and will perform live at 7:30 p.m. Both events are free.
Benoit’s music is featured on the soundtrack for the documentary, which is set before, during and after Hurricane Katrina and illustrates the journey of four musicians, including Benoit, as they strive to save Louisiana’s wetlands.
• And then on Wednesday (Oct. 29), it won’t be politics as usual when feminist, journalist and public speaker Jennifer Pozner visits Central’s campus.
A widely published journalist, commentator and founder of Women in Media & News, Pozner will present the multimedia talk titled “When Anchormen Attack!: Gender, Race and the Media in Election 2008.”
Hallows Fest Next Weekend at The Jade Room
October 24, 2008
To close out Rocktober, the Jade Room is hosting 34 bands over three days.
Dubbed Hallows Fest, it runs Oct. 31 through Nov. 2. The bill of metal, hard-rock, punk, power-pop (and everything in between), includes such bands as Suffokate, On the Last Day, Skies Burn Black, No Bragging Rights, Again and Again, Mortal Remains, Vision of a Throne, Super Happy Storytime Land and Fire Team Bravo Bravo.
Doors to the Jade Room, 104 E. Chestnut Ave., open at 5:45 p.m. on Oct. 31, 3:45 p.m. on Nov. 1 and 1:45 p.m. on Nov. 2, with the first band hitting the stage each day shortly after.
But you only have until this Monday to buy a three-day pass for $25, after that it goes up to $32 at the door. Admission each day is $15.
And then, it’s lights out for a while at the Jade Room, which will be closing for renovations.
(Oh, there’s also a Halloween Bash there this Saturday night. $10 in costume, $25 as your boring ol’ self.)
Longtime community philanthropist Helen Jewett dies
October 24, 2008
In the YH-R newsroom we just received some sad news: Community philanthropist Helen Jewett died today.
For the past 60 years, the arts (music, fine art, theater), education, child development, medical causes, sports — they’ve all been the recipients of Jewett’s generosity.
Because she touched the lives of so many, in May 2007, the Larson Gallery Guild honored Jewett with its annual Arts Award.
“I love everything that brings beauty into people’s lives,” Jewett explained at the time during an interview with the Yakima Herald-Republic.
White Pass’ Andy Mahre Represents in New Warren Miller Film
October 24, 2008
Over the past couple of years, local skier Andy Mahre has shown up in two of Warren Miller’s odes to extreme skiing and snowboarding — although only for a second or two.
But for this year’s release, “the stars aligned,” jokes the 24-year-old Mahre. He and buddy Pep Fujas are featured in a death-defying backcountry segment.
And really, it’s only fitting that Mahre, who lives in Gleed and who has much love for his home mountain of White Pass, get his first real face and snow time in a Miller flick titled “Children of Winter.” It comes to the Capitol Theatre next Wednesday.
