A Reading on the Radio
Mendocino Theatre Company’s Reading on the Radio series continues tonight, Thursday, July 29, at 7 p.m., with a reading of “The Bear, a joke in one act” by Anton Chekhov. Written in 1888, “”The Bear” is one of Chekhov’s many “farce-vaudevilles” … little theatrical “jokes.” It’s fast-paced and lots of fun. “The Bear” is directed by Lorry Lepaule with sound production and design by Ken Krauss. Tune in to KZYX. For more information, visit mendocinotheatre.org.
MTC auditions
The Mendocino Theatre Company is holding auditions Aug. 2 and 3 for their production of “Tiny Beautiful Things,” based on the best-selling book by Cheryl Strayed. The production runs Nov. 4 to 28. Auditions will consist of readings from the script; sides will be made available prior to the audition. A limited number of perusal scripts are available in their business office. For more information, please email Pamela at mtc@mcn.org or phone 707-937-2718. Actors, crew, and staff for this production must be fully-vaccinated for COVID-19.
Art in the Gardens is back!
Art in the Gardens 2021 will be held Aug. 6-8 at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. The event will be quite different this year, but all the same, they will be celebrating art and community amongst the dramatic summertime blooms of the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. Pick your own experience during this year’s three-day event. Activities will include daily art workshops, the “Saturday Soirée” (garden party, auction, and Featured Artist reception), and festivities on the Event Lawn featuring art vendors, live music, food, and drinks. The featured artist this year is Carolyn Zeitler. For more information, visit gardenbythesea.org.
Symphony of the Redwoods outdoor summer concerts
The Symphony of the Redwoods presents four outdoor concerts at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens and at Mendocino Presbyterian Church through Aug. 15. Sunday, Aug. 1 features Kathleen Reynolds and Friends, 2:30 p.m., at the Gardens. Saturday, Aug. 8, features The Arcata Bay String Quartet at the Mendocino Presbyterian Church’s outdoor stage, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, features Brass Music in the Gardens, 2:30 p.m. All concerts will be professionally miked to enhance the outdoor music listening experience. Concerts will be presented free of charge as a thank you gift to our community. For more information, visit symphonyoftheredwoods.org.
‘Anatomy of a Tapestry’
Saturday, Aug. 7, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Pacific Textile Arts will celebrate the recent publication of “Anatomy of a Tapestry: Techniques, Materials, Care” with the co-authors Jean Pierre and Yadin Larochette as they share insights on how the book came to be. Woven and graphic materials for the book and subsequent work will be exhibited, including Jean Pierre’s series “Portraits of the Weave” and Yael Lurie’s recent work. Pacific Textile Arts is located at 450 Alger St., Fort Bragg. For more information, visit pacifictextilearts.org.
Mendocino Art Center reopens Gallery Store
The Mendocino Art Center has reopened its Gallery Store to the public after being closed due to COVID-19. The Gallery Store features one-of-a-kind, handcrafted artwork created by accomplished Northern California artists, including a diverse selection of functional and sculptural ceramics, jewelry, paintings, textiles, glass works, legacy artist artwork, art books, and an expanded photography collection with images by Rita Crane, Natalie Knott, Jonathan Pazer and Larry Wagner.
For the reopening, the Mendocino Art Center has also curated pieces from its archives by renowned artists, including Howard Wheatley Allen, Larry Bencich, Dorr Bothwell, Judith Hale, Ellen Howard, Ryan Jensen, Bill Martin, Mark Monsarrat, Emmy Lou Packard, Olaf Palm, Charles Reid, Robert Rhoades, Kiyoshi Saito, Jan Stussy, Maxine Stussy Frankel, Janet Turner, Anthony Wolking, Henry Yan, Toshi Yoshida and William Zimmer.
The Mendocino Art Center is located at 45200 Little Lake St., Mendocino. For more information, call 707-937-5818 or visit mendocinoartcenter.org.
Grace Hudson Museum’s “Postcards From Mecca” exhibition
The Grace Hudson Museum’s fascinating exhibition “Postcards from Mecca” runs through Sunday, Aug. 22. Welcome back to physical, in-person exhibitions at Grace Hudson. They are now open Wednesday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. Closed on Monday and Tuesday. The museum is located at 431 S. Main St., Ukiah. For more information, call 707-467-2836 or visit gracehudsonmuseum.org.
Kelley House Museum’s summer exhibit
The Kelley House’s summer exhibit, “Quilted Iconic Buildings of Mendocino” runs through Aug. 31. The museum is open Friday- Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Twenty-five different historical buildings are colorfully rendered on 18” x 18” quilt squares, individually pieced and stitched by members of the Ocean Wave Quilters. In an extraordinary display of history meets art, iconic buildings are brought to life, including the Temple of Kwan Tai, the Presbyterian Church, the MacCallum House, the Kelley House Water Tower, and many others. Each handmade quilt square is accompanied by a black and white photo and history of the building.
In July of 2019, one of the Ocean Wave Quilters members, Cindi Jo Willey, issued a challenge to guild members to make 18” x 18” quilts of Mendocino’s iconic buildings, to be completed by July of 2020. Nine of our members accepted the challenge. The pandemic delayed the original deadline, but they are excited to reveal the results at the Kelley House Museum.
The Ocean Wave Quilters is a 70-plus member guild that meets monthly and contributes to the community in a myriad of ways, including quilts for newborns, dresses for Hope for Women International, touch quilts for patients, and masks during the pandemic. Special thanks to Ocean Wave Quilter Sharon Lau for coordinating this exhibit. For more information, visit kelleyhousemuseum.org.
2nd Annual Art Under Twenty Exhibition: Virtual Show
Willits High School’s Visual Arts Department is pleased to present the 22nd annual Art Under Twenty Exhibition. Their virtual show features young and talented artists from Willits and Laytonville and runs through Aug. 31. For more information, visit willitscenterforthearts.org.
WCA participating in North Coast Otters Public Initiative
Willits Center for the Arts is participating in the North Coast Otters Public Arts Initiative live and in person to September 2021. North Coast Otters is a community ‘treasure hunt’ or ‘festival tour’ to find sculptures painted by local artists, with an aim to celebrate life, water, and otters; support local businesses; and raise funds for student projects.
WCA’s Otter is painted by Kathy Croomer and Lynne Whiting. Seek sightings and selfies with 108 otter sculptures on display at participating shops, restaurants, galleries, and visitor centers that have reopened with COVID-safe guidelines.
In addition, the project encourages community members to participate in the ongoing ‘citizen science’ river otter records study by consistently reporting when and where wild river otters are observed throughout the North Coast region.
For further information on the treasure hunt see: https://otterart.humboldt.edu/treasure-hunt. The gallery is located at 71 E. Commercial St. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday to Sunday.
Mendocino Theatre Company
The long intermission is almost over, and the Mendocino Theatre Company is busy getting ready to welcome you back to the theatre in September. For more information, visit mendocinotheatre.org.
Pacific Textile arts is beginning to open again
Pacific Textile Arts is an educational nonprofit existing to support, share and celebrate the Fiber Arts, All volunteers and staff are vaccinated, and they hope you will be too. A return to monthly Program Series meetings is planned for September, as well as Gallery exhibits and openings. At this time, the campus, located at 450 Alger St., Fort Bragg, is open only on Wednesday mornings, 10:30 a.m. to noon. Please continue to observe COVID protocols. Check out their newly redesigned webpage at pacifictextilearts.org for information about membership, classes, exhibits, members’ work for sale, events, library listings, textile collection, and more. For more information, call 707-409-6811, or email pacifictextilearts@mcn.org.
Winesong 2021! Save the dates!
Winesong 2021 Live and Virtual will be held Friday and Saturday, Sept. 10 and 11, 2021. It will be a safe series of events, both in-person and virtual. For more information and to RSVP to let them know that you are planning to be part of the celebration, visit winesong.org.
MTC’s One-Minute Radio Theatre
Take a minute to enjoy Mendocino Theatre Company’s One-Minute Radio Theatre, every Tuesday and Thursday at 8 p.m. on local public radio station KZYX. For more information, visit mendocinotheatre.org.
California Arts Council updates
The latest California Arts Council updates, plus important links and resources for California artists, cultural workers and creatives on the coronavirus pandemic can be found by visiting their website at cac.ca.gov/.
Send Arts and Entertainment listings by noon on Friday to events@advocate-news.com. Art openings are listed the week of First Friday in Fort Bragg and Second Saturday in Mendocino. Please contact us about how to publicize paid classes and workshops.
