On Monday, we left Umpqua River Haven and headed east. An annual jaunt to spend time with family and friends. We drove through the beautiful Umpqua River Valley—a river valley that challenges all river valleys for beauty—to Eugene and then on east through the beautiful, but not as beautiful, McKenzie River Valley to Sisters, OR. Sisters is a quaint, touristy town with many interesting shops. It is also part of the skiing community near the Sisters mountain peaks. We gassed up and headed on to Bend.

Bend, OR is a thriving community also with proximity to skiing and many other winter activities that require snow. We passed on through heading east again only pausing for a moment at Brothers. Brothers is a wide place in the road with a café and other services. The desert stretches out to low hills as you travel this rural state highway. Traffic was very thin. We like that!

Because of all the rain we’ve had this year, even the desert is green right now. Sagebrush, grass and more. The hillsides are green, green,green.

After an enjoyable day of driving, we settled for the night in Burns, OR (remember our blog post about the siege at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge?https://umpquariverhaven.com/2016/02/09/malheur-national-wildlife-refuge-occupied  The locals are still talking about the “invasion”).

Tuesday we continued on the remote state highway that crosses Oregon into John Day Country. This area of Oregon offers a wide variety of scenery and things to do from desert to snowy mountains. We drove the river valley. In spite of this being desert country, there was so much moisture this year that even the desert is green and blooming.

It seems incongruous to have a river running through the desert but it does.

And it is so very green….

Eastern Oregon IS a desert in spite of all the irrigated crops. Every once in awhile the desert insists on being seen. Got sand?

Eventually, we came to the Oregon-Idaho border and picked up I-84 for the rest of our day’s travels. We spent quality time visiting and noticed how green the Idaho prairie was. Often it is just brown driving across the prairie.

Stay tuned for our next adventure that will take us through the mountains of Idaho and Wyoming—undoubtedly one of the most beautiful drives anywhere.

Did you know that you can travel around the world without ever leaving the United States? Enriching and informative travel happen right here at home through the world of International Dance. And you don’t have to dance!

Formerly known as “folk dance,” this style of dancing consists of ancient dances and music as well as modern choreography and music. International Dance can be social, recreational and also of performance quality.

As a traveler within the United States, there are many places around the country that offer a chance to participate in or just be an observer of International Dance. Let’s take a look at the Pacific Northwest.

Oregon and Washington offer a variety of opportunities for finding International Dance groups. Along the I-5 Corridor, there is a recreational folk dance group at Ashland, Oregon. One can discover a great deal about the music, dance, dress, food, customs and traditions of many different countries even through recreational groups like this one.

Traveling north along the I-5 Corridor to Eugene, Oregon, you will find two very different International Dance groups. One is the Eugene Folk Dancers, a recreational dance group. The other is Veselo. Veselo is a Bulgarian dance group. They are recreational but also have a performance group. Veselo sponsors a three-day Bulgarian workshop in January with guest instructors from Bulgaria.

You will meet so many people along this dance adventure, not the least of which are the teachers from other countries. You can get to know them and about their home countries, the people, the traditions and more. And the music is not only different but often beautiful and always interesting.

Traveling further north on the I-5 Corridor will bring you to Portland, Oregon where the Kyklos International Folk Dancers reside. Portland also is home to Portland Israeli Dance otherwise known as Rikudei Am (Dance of the People). Israeli dance is not as old as Bulgarian and others but the steps are often the ancient steps brought to the Middle East when the Jewish people started migrating to Palestine in 1882.

Seattle, Washington is about 173 miles north of Portland. Seattle is home to many different International Dance groups. Greek dance, Balkan Dance, Israeli and more. One large dance community is Skandia. Skandia is a non-profit, educational and cultural organization founded by Gordon E. Tracie in 1949 for the preservation and teaching of Nordic traditional dance culture and music.

If you want to travel the beautiful Pacific Coast, there are International Dance groups up and down the Oregon Coast. The Coos Bay Folk Dancers are based in Coos Bay, Oregon. The Oregon Coast International Dancers are in Florence, Oregon. The Port Orford Folk Dancers are at Port Orford, Oregon. This style of dance can be found in many other Oregon and Washington communities as well.

If you have a desire to travel but don’t want to wander far from home, come visit us at Umpqua River Haven. We will point you in the right direction to discover people, dance, music, culture, ethnic food and recipes and more from all over the world through International Dance.

In keeping with my promise of posting concert reviews, here is the latest. It was unique in the construction—just like pressing the shuffle feature on a CD player. The musicians didn’t know what was coming up next! 

Shortly after 7:00 P.M. on April 7, Nancy Pearson, Seacoast Entertainment Association Board Member, walked onto an open stage set with piano, chairs, microphones and soft, violet lighting and introduced one of the most unique instrumental groups found anywhere.

Shuffle Concert is an eclectic group of instrumental musicians and one singer. Their main goal is to give their audiences the experience of great music in a variety of musical styles, and the experience of participation. A menu of music choices from multiple styling venues is passed out. Attendees were advised to memorize their number.

Dressed in concert black, the musicians took their places. They called out the first number and a participant voiced their selection. Shuffle Concert musicians flawlessly executed Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s “The Star-Crossed Lovers.” This slow, beautiful jazz piece expresses the sadness of Romeo and Juliet. Violin, Clarinet and Piano together are unusual and most of the music is arranged for particular instrument groupings playing duets, trios, quartets and ensemble.

Director and Founder Eliran Avni and Clarinetist Moran Katz are both from Israel. Hassan Anderson, Oboist and Mr. Personality, is from Florida. All three are graduates of the famous Juilliard School in New York City and knew of each other at Juilliard. They did not come together in their music until after graduation.

In the upbeat manner of the ensemble, Katz expressed her joy and the love of what she was doing in every piece she played. Katz invoked the soulfulness of this instrument as she magically worked her woodwind.

Sofia Nowik sat center stage expertly plying her bow across the cello strings, and only left center stage when the cello wasn’t required. She never missed a beat. She was constantly watching each musician as her cello, along with the keyboard, carried the rhythms for the ensemble.

Harmonics on a violin can sometimes sound like a fingernail scratching across a blackboard. There was none of that when Brendan Speltz played them. This technique is difficult to perfect but not for Speltz. Everything he did on that violin was done to perfection. He was not quite as good with the shakers as Anderson in one piece, but did have a definite violin wrist technique with them. They were both amusing.

Soprano Adrienne Pardee has an absolutely lovely voice. When she turns up the vocal volume, it can probably be heard out in the parking lot. She often sang without a microphone and her voice was just as lovely soft, but not always heard by the back row.

A highlight of the evening was “Far From The Home I Love” from Brock and Harnick’s “Fiddler On The Roof,” performed by Pardee, Anderson on oboe and Avni. Anderson introduced this piece as being about a “hot boy” and then proceeded to unbutton his shirt a bit while eyeing Pardee. Shortly after Pardee started singing, she broke up and asked to start over. She stated, “I can’t stop thinking about the hot boy.” Everyone cracked up then. Anderson excused himself from the stage, returning with his shirt buttoned and a great deal of decorum. The piece started again and Pardee sang this sad, emotional song beautifully. When it ended, Anderson crossed the stage and gave Pardee a kiss on the cheek.

Perfection in playing one’s instrument and then in playing in a group is accomplished by a great deal of practice, along with a lot of talent. The intonation of instruments may be even more important. A string can be played on a sliding scale. Winds can also hit various parts of a single note. Perfection is achieved in intonation by listening to each other and not letting notes slide. Shuffle Concert has unbelievable and exquisite intonation and clarity of tone.

Enough cannot be said about Avni. He is the consummate piano accompanist playing with perfection in the background letting the rest of the musicians stand out, never overpowering them with his vast talents. It was a treat during “The Eleven O’clock Train,” by A. Barbosa and arranged for the group by Oran Eldor, to hear his command of the keyboard. It would be good if he did more of that.

Presented by SEA producers Pat McArdle and Nancy Pearson, Shuffle Concert was the sixth in this seven-part series of SEA’s 35th concert season. Don’t miss SEA’s next exciting concert, The New Hot Club of America, on May 13 at FEC. For tickets call 541-997-1994.

Left to Right:  Adrienne Pardee, Sofia Nowik, Brendan Speltz, Nancy Pearson, Eliran Avni, Hassan Anderson, Moran Katz

Windy Bay! Remember a previous blog about this unique, busy-with-lots-to-do Oregon Coast place? https://umpquariverhaven.com/2015/04/25/visiting-windy-bay/ The Bay is more than dunes, beach, lighthouse, lake, fish, oysters and boats. The community has a social center where they hold potlucks, receptions, socials and other events. Not the least of these happenings is the annual Oregon Old Time Fiddlers Association Fiddle Music Jamboree.

Musicians from all over Oregon, Washington and Northern California travel to this beautiful coast place for a lot of Jammin’. There is Jammin’ here, there and everywhere inside and outside and around the center and even on the boat docks. You just can’t miss it when you visit as the melodies drift out over the bay.

This event grows bigger every year and 80 – 100 musicians will find their way to Windy Bay mid-August for four days starting on a Thursday. They jam with fiddles, banjos, double basses, mandolins, harmonicas, guitars and you might see some creative instruments, too, like a washtub single string bass. A wide variety of music is on the program. You will hear bluegrass, swing, folk, Cajun, country, pretty waltzes and, of course, old time music. And listen for some exciting Celtic music! You probably won’t hear any rap music but there will be lots of singing to go along with the fiddlin’.

Open jam sessions happen every day, all day long as described above. In the evenings starting at 6:00 P.M., there is a concert on stage inside the center. There might be a dinner available one evening and Sunday morning there is a Gospel Show starting at 9:00 A.M. that closes down the jamboree.

There are lodging accommodations in the bay. We like the Harbor View Motel right on the bay.  It is older, but nice and very clean (we know the owner) and the rates are reasonable. Tell Cindy that Ellen sent you! There are additional accommodations, too.

Several restaurants reside in the bay, including one that one floats, but our personal favorite is Bedrock’s Pizzeria. It is directly on the bay with two windowed walls. It’s not fancy but it is pleasant, clean and the service is friendly. The food is good, too. We love the clam strips! You are practically sittin’ on the water watching the ducks, seagulls and loons. http://bedrocksrestaurants.com/index.html

We wanted you to know about this happy, fun event now so that when you plan your Oregon August trip (do call ahead to stay with us here at Umpqua River Haven – 541-587-4406 – www.umpqahaven.com) you can plan to attend the jamboree. The weather will be gorgeous and the ocean breezes gentle. Oh, and you might meet one or two of the Coast Chamber Ensemble members. Yes, CCE is mostly classical but some of us fiddle, too.

Now, come set a spell and enjoy some of the music of the 2014 jamboree in this video. At about 12 minutes in there are some cute kids performing.