A Black Irish Band Concert | At Railtown 1897

The Black Irish Band

A Black Irish Band Concert at Railtown
July 22, 2023

Railtown 1897 State Historic Park and the California State Railroad Museum Foundation are proud to present "Legends & Lyrics: A Black Irish Band Concert" on Saturday evening, July 22, 2023. The unique musical experience performed by the popular progressive folk band will take place between two giant steam locomotives in the historic Roundhouse. The acoustic set will feature music unique to the railroad, Tuolumne County, and more.

A multi-talented five-member band known for Irish Folk and Gold Rush music – both traditional and original -- the Black Irish Band is focused on presenting acoustic music in a compelling and upbeat way that celebrates the rich stories of immigrants and those who built America. The strong vocals and up-tempo instruments breathe new life into old songs, and the band presents exciting original material with a distinctive flair. This accomplished band has headlined for many major historic events around the world and recorded nearly 100 original songs that appear on many of the band's CD recordings. For more information, contact Railtown or The Black Irish Band.

Grounds Restaurant | The jounary and story of Chef River Klass

by Writers Workshop

Grounds Restaurant - Grounds began as a coffee, pastry, and sandwich shop, as one of the first places to move into the old Murphys downtown district. At that time, Murphys was still a few years from a full-blown revival and we were lucky that the community took to us right away.

Soon after opening, people started asking for more, so they expanded the menu to include a full bar. Within a year of opening, Grounds had become a local favorite serving breakfast, lunch, and dinners.

They are closed Monday & Tuesday and are open in Murphys, California the rest of the week. They were established in 1993 as a California coronation.

River Klass - River Klass loves horses. He was raised in Connecticut and learned to eat great food in Paris. His first job at age 14 was in a small café in Westport, Connecticut, and was his first restaurant job. He has worked in restaurants ever since. His travels have taken him through college, Paris, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.

In 1992 at twenty-nine, he opened his first restaurant called Grounds in what would become the great village of Murphys, California. While cooking at GROUNDS, River prepared many quick dishes for the kitchen staff. These delectable dishes became the fire behind the next restaurant, twenty feet from the first) Firewood opened in 2000. He has spent the past 25 years walking through the same door. River's continues to learn, adapt and deliver the finest experience to every guest.

Donna Blesi | A glass artist

by Writers Workshop

Striped Candle Holder or Planter

Donna Blesi, who is a glass artist is featured at Sutter Creek Art Gallery. She discovered fused glass art after decades of working in the telecommunications industry. She creates her art in a home studio.

Donna's pieces feature movement functionality and texture. Her one-of-a-kind artworks include sushi platters, bowls, wall hangings, and her large (dream catchers) and vessels that can function as candleholders or planters.

She works with fused glass made from separate pieces of colored glass melted together in a kiln at high temperatures. The glass is melted multiple times to achieve the perfect, smooth edges and uniform shape. The melting process makes the glass pieces very strong.

For more information about Donna or her work, contact Sutter Creek Art Gallery at (209) 267-0228.

Imperial Hotel | A step back in time

by Writers Workshop

The Imperial Hotel

Staying at the hotel is a step back in time to 1879 when the Gold Rush was in full swing, Amador City was a bustling mining town and the Imperial Hotel opened its doors to prosperous Victorian hotel guests. Today the miners are gone, the traffic is gone and Amador City retains its rich historic characters, charm, and the beautifully restored Imperial Hotel. This location still offers a warm and gracious welcome to visitors visiting the Shenandoah Valley and the wineries ad vineyards of Amador County.

Described as “both elegant and whimsical” the Imperial Hotel is a place where time still lets you slow down. Local residents and visitors mingle over cocktails. Hotel guests sip a glass of wine or cup of tea on the balcony overlooking the town or on one of two native stone patios. A book or magazine selected from the hotel library leads to an afternoon of lazy inactivity.

The Imperial Hotel is a cozy place to stay and the beds are very comfortable. This place is great for a quiet weekend. It has a great restaurant downstairs where you can enjoy your morning breakfast, lunch, or a fine dinner.

Laine Holman | On display at the Sutter Creek Gallery

by Writers Workshop

Three Ravens

Sutter Creek Gallery - In June, the Sutter Creek Gallery will display artist Laine Holman. Her work will include ceramics, acrylic paintings, and silk scarves. An opening reception will be held in her honor on Saturday, June 3, from 2 to 5 p.m. She has worked in a variety of media including various types of painting and sculpture.

Some of Holman’s ceramics are decorated using sgraffito, which involves scratching a design in an upper layer of paint to reveal the color underneath. Other decorative techniques, such as hand painting, wax resist and stamping, are also used on her pottery items and pendants.

The multi-talented artist goes beyond producing ceramics. Her acrylic paintings of landscapes and birds are often abstracted and enhanced with stylized designs. Holman will also be showing hand painted silk scarves which are fashioned using a variety of techniques, such as salt, ice dying, or resist. For the last two years she has been focusing on improving her craftsmanship, working to build an online presence, and providing mentorship opportunities for women who have set their creative passions aside to raise a family.

Sutter Creek Gallery invites you to spend some time with Laine Holman. She is one of twenty-three local artists exhibiting at the gallery located at 40 Main Street, in the heart of Sutter Creek. Besides original paintings and photography, the gallery offers affordable prints, cards, jewelry, pottery, glass and fiber arts, and gourds, as well as framing services. The gallery is open Thursday through Monday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. For additional information, call 209-267-0228

Jo Ann Ogburn | Sutter Creek Gallery

by Writers Workshop

Western Blue Brid

Jo Ann Ogburn's Watercolor Art will be featured at Sutter Creek Gallery Opening Reception - Saturday, May 6, from 2 to 5 p.m.

Painting taught Jo Ann Ogburn to really look at things in nature, to see the colors, shapes, values and textures. She originally learned to paint in oils but eventually settled on watercolors as her preferred medium. Her watercolor art will be featured at Sutter Creek Gallery during the month of May, with an opening reception on Saturday, May 6, from 2 to 5 p.m.

Strong colors and contrasts are important to Ogburn The play between highlights and shadows are especially intriguing and are evident in a number of her works She lives on a sizable parcel in Pioneer which provides her with ample opportunities for observation. Inspired by nature and her surroundings, she paints primarily florals, animals and landscapes. Along with her paintings, Ogburn produces an extensive line of cards. She continues her artistic education, taking a wide variety of workshops and periodically teaching classes of her own in watercolor. As a member of the Amador County Artists Association, her work is exhibited in various businesses around the county.

Sutter Creek Gallery invites you to meet Jo Ann Ogburn at her reception on May 6 and to view her watercolor artworks. Besides original paintings and photography, the gallery offers many affordable items including prints, cards, jewelry, pottery, fused glass and gourds as well as custom matting and framing, The gallery, located at 40 Main Street, Sutter Creek, is open Thursday through Monday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For additional information, call 209-267-0228.

Email: [email protected]

by Writers Workshop

You need to add a widget, row, or prebuilt layout before you’ll see anything here. 🙂

Mariposa Yosemite Symphony | Returned to Yosemite National Park

by Writers Workshop

At Wawona Hotel

The Mariposa Yosemite Symphony Orchestra performed their "Independence Day Spectacular!" concert in Yosemite National Park on Saturday, July 1 on the Great Lawn of the Wawona Hotel.

The concert was led by the founding music director/conductor Les Marsden, who has programmed a salute to great American film music from the 1940s to the present. The orchestra was established by Marsden in 2001 and is scheduled to play three annual concerts in Yosemite and three in Mariposa. Mariposa has been cited as the smallest town in all of America having its symphony orchestra. Full information about the Mariposa Yosemite Symphony Orchestra will be found at MYSO.live

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

The Mariposa Yosemite Symphony Orchestra prepares to open its 19th Season with a unique opportunity for musicians throughout the Yosemite region. The orchestra seeks additional string players while expanding its size. The MYSO is the only symphony orchestra afforded the rare honor of playing in Yosemite National Park, which it does in three annual concerts. The orchestra also concertizes in Mariposa and elsewhere. Unlike many community- or youth- orchestras, there is no fee for musicians to belong to the MYSO. Since 2002, the orchestra has offered a welcoming place for multiple county-based musicians to call home, to learn, to come together as an orchestral family, and to experience the joy of playing great concert music in magnificent places.

Current members live in Fresno, Madera, Tuolumne, Merced, and Mariposa counties, with some musicians living as far away as Colorado. The orchestra's current openings for violinists, violists, cellists, and double bass players are unique, and vital one for players whose proficiency levels range from advanced young musicians to the highly experienced. The MYSO's Concertmaster is an Oberon-trained master of her instrument.

The MYSO proudly partners with Yosemite National Park. The orchestra's primary sponsor/partner is Yosemite Hospitality, a division of Aramark. To learn more, please visit the orchestra's website at www.MYSO.live or send an email to MYSO.alive (at) gmail.com

Watercolorist Mary Ann Solbrig | Sutter Creek Gallery Reception

by Writers Workshop

Sutter Creek Gallery to hold a reception for Mary Ann Solbrig
Saturday, April 1, from 2 to 5 p.m.

Watercolorist Mary Ann Solbrig discovered how satisfying painting could be once her children started school. “It always amazed me,” she says, “that an artist can take a little bit of paint and create astounding works of art.” Since that time, many life interruptions interfered with her creative journey but, now with a diminished workload, she is focusing more on her painting. The resulting work will be featured at Sutter Creek Gallery during the month of April. Join her on Saturday, April 1, from 2 to 5 p.m., at a reception opening her show.

While her inspiration is focused on the present, she enjoys subjects that contain a kind of “shared nostalgia” and convey a feeling of quiet and comfort due to those long-ago associations. She looks at nearly everything as a possible painting. Flowers, weathered wood, rocks and stones, rusted metalwork, windows and old buildings are favorite subjects as well as open doors that lead the viewer to question what lies inside. The vibrant colors in her watercolors are what first attract clients, and she is now very excited to have begun learning oils, a completely different process. Solbrig loves to learn and try out new techniques while still developing and refining her watercolor skills.

Mary Ann Solbrig currently lives in Jackson, California, where she paints in her home studio. Living in Amador County provides her with many exciting opportunities to paint some of her favorite subjects which are scattered throughout the Gold Country. During the month of April, she and other gallery members will be highlighting local scenes to coincide with the April 22 AAUW Home Tour taking place in Sutter Creek. Located at 40 Main Street, Sutter Creek, the gallery is home to 23 local artists as well as custom matting and framing services. The gallery is open Thursday through Monday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For additional information, call 209-267-0228.

Stromme and Williams | A two artist exhibition at Sutter Creek Gallery

by Writers Workshop

Sutter Creek Gallery present two artist's work.
Saturday, March 4th from 2 to 5 p.m.

In March, Sutter Creek Gallery will present a show highlighting two artists who work in acrylic. Another similarity between Laurie Williams and Curtis Stromme is the vibrancy of their art. Beyond that, their artistic approaches diverge. This joint exhibition will run through the month with an opening reception on Saturday, March 4th, from 2 to 5 p.m.

Sutter Creek Gallery invites you to meet two artists at a March 4th reception. View their lively collection of art. Besides original paintings and photography, the gallery offers many affordable items, including prints, cards, jewelry, pottery, fused glass, and gourds, as well as custom matting and framing. The gallery's location is at 40 Main Street, Sutter Creek. It is open Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For additional information, call 209-267-0228.

Curtis Stromme

Curtis Stromme creates non-objective art filled with color and texture using blocks of wood rather than brushes to apply acrylic to paper. He starts with a background color, then applies additional paints which skid across the surface and sometimes collide with those added earlier. The layers build up a textural surface with metallic swirls, circles and lines adding vitality. Unmatted pieces are surrounded by simple chrome frames so as not to detract from the art. Stromme also produces what he calls art trading cards. These 2.5 x 3.5-inch abstracts are painted on mat board, some of which come mounted on paper and can be framed for display.

Laurie Williams

Laurie Williams has dedicated herself to painting animals both domestic and wild. She grew up on a ranch which provided the opportunity to learn about the goats, horses, deer and other creatures which are the focus of her art. Each year at the county fair, Williams sits in the animal enclosures making life drawings, which are later turned into bold-colored acrylic paintings. The inspiration for her style comes from Gauguin, Van Gogh, the Fauves and others, which she studied in college. Because of these influences, the animals in her paintings are depicted realistically often against abstract backgrounds that are richly colored and patterned.

Sutter Creek Gallery to hold a reception for Mary Ann Solbrig Saturday, April 1, from 2 to 5 p.m.

Sutter Creek Gallery present two artist's work. Saturday, March 4th from 2 to 5 p.m.

Curtis Stromme

Laurie Williams

Sutter Creek Gallery to hold a reception for Mary Ann Solbrig
Saturday, April 1, from 2 to 5 p.m.

Sutter Creek Gallery present two artist's work.
Saturday, March 4th from 2 to 5 p.m.