The love of nature and music will combine this week at Okihi campgrounds. Overseen by White Wolf Wellness Foundation, the campsite on the north side of the Kern River will be home to Skye on the River, curated by singer-songwriter Crimson Skye.
Friday’s event will open with sign-ups for the open mic that kicks off the entertainment at 6 p.m. Then Joey Jiron will play followed by a set from Skye and her band. Marlon Mackey and his band Tonight We Are will close out the evening.
The next morning, for those who camp overnight, Annie Flores of Hillside Mushrooms will lead a “shroom boom” edible mushroom planting experience.
This gathering packed with music, performance, food and camaraderie is made possible by White Wolf Wellness Foundation, which serves as steward for the 14-acre riverfront property that includes a concrete amphitheater.
Skye said she first heard about the location when she was invited to perform at a winter solstice event in December hosted by White Wolf Wellness.
“That was my first time out there,” Skye said. “I wasn’t too sure what to expect.”
Impressed by the performance area that overlooks the river as well as the ample grounds, she said. “I was overwhelmed with excitement for the potential there.”
“It’s really going to change the music scene here in Bakersfield.”
If Stephen and Katherine Winters, White Wolf’s CEO and CFO, respectively, have their way, it won’t just be a change in the music scene. The duo have an ambitious five-year plan to restore the property and open it for public use.
Once frequented by Boy and Girl Scout troops and the occasional festival, like the two-day electronic music event Poi Story in 2012 and 2013, Okihi had fallen into disuse and was in need of rehabilitation.
“In Bakersfield, there are not many restored native habitat areas,” Katherine Winters said. “These 14 acres on the river had suffered fire and drought. Nobody had done anything with it for 10 years.”
“It’s perfect work for what we want to do to restore the natural habitat, involve the community.”
White Wolf specializes in preventive wellness, offering online and in-person programs for yoga, meditation, sound baths and education with the goal of encouraging growth, change and personal development beyond conventional means.
Having held events at a variety of locations including the Bakersfield Museum of Art, Seeds of Inspiration Garden, 17th Place Townhomes and Bakersfield Yoga,
“We wanted to have an outdoor component, make nature part of what we do,” Stephen Winters said. “There are medical benefits of being out in nature. We can do these wellness practices outside and develop deeper healing relationships.”
To prepare the land for public use, a number of projects are in the works, with some big funding already earmarked for some.
The Kern River Parkway Foundation contributed $50,000 to provide fencing for the property, which is more than halfway surrounded, Katherine Winters said. (A full-time caretaker also lives on-site.)
And another big donor was the Virginia & Alfred Harrell Foundation, which awarded a $10,000 grant to fund research and staff support.
Restoring the power line, adding some lights, and rehabilitating the water pump for irrigation and to get the bathrooms operational are at the top of the to-do list.
White Wolf also plans to work with 7th Generation Regenerative Landscape Design to develop a site plan.
As larger restorative work continues on the property, public all-ages events will continue, including yoga, meditation, camping 101, storytelling circles and community work/play days.
After Friday’s inaugural Skye on the River, music nights will continue with Jon Ranger as the closing act on March 25 and Hate Drugs on April 29.
When Skye will go on tour in May, she said Jon Ranger is set to host the events until her return.
“I love this stage. I want it to feel like the community’s stage,” Skye said of the open mic component.
“We’ll (eventually) have comedy and some other forms of performing as well in those scheduled artists spots,” she said of future events. “It should be a lot of fun.”
The performer expects a lot of people will be surprised by what they find at Okihi.
“You can feel the excitement when people find out about this place. You just have to go,” she said.
“Being out in nature and not having to take a long drive to be home at a decent hour or you can camp out. Natural healing is sometimes hard to find in the concrete jungle.”
Stefani Dias can be reached at 661-395-7488. Follow her on Twitter: @realstefanidias.
