| Jump To Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | ... | 35 | 36 | 37 | Next Page |
Posted: 2008-08-11 00:00:00
Updated: 2008-08-11 19:26:34
Mood: anxious
I'll just lay it out: our fiddler and friend Alec and his wife Kore are about to lose their beloved - and inspiring - 30 acres. You hear about it all the time at concerts and in
songs and patter on CDs. They are facing the F-word: Foreclosure.
They have this month (August) to cough up enough money to keep the land and to protect it.
Fae Hollow is one of the most amazing places I have ever been. I can't imagine it belonging to anyone other than these two very special friends of mine.
Their home and land are not the only things on the line, here. We're also talking about emu (emus?), horses, cats, llamas, and a peacock, not to mention the finest, best Jack Russell Terrier ever.
That being the case, this is a *really* good time to buy any of Alec's or Heather Alexander's merchandise you have been meaning to buy - in addition to the CDs, there's now a songbook of Heather's stuff. Additionally, Alec is working on other projects to bring in funds - threatening an "Adopt a Faery" program, among other things. Check the below websites for information...
http://www.faerietaleminstrel.com/
http://www.heatherlands.com/index.php?section=1
Please pass this word on to those you think might want to know, and to choose now to buy Heather or Alec CDs, and look for a new album, and clever fundraising ideas.
Posted: 2008-08-08 00:00:00
Updated: 2008-08-08 02:59:12
Mood: happy
The Tricky Pixie clan is just about recovered from last weekend's amazing time at Faerieworlds in Oregon.
Thanks so much to everyone who volunteered to carry things for us, helped out with the fire show, took photos,
fed us, gave me vitamin C, danced, sang, and cheered.
If we had to do our fabulous job of making music and magic without you, it would be no fun at all.
Betsy and I got our fabulous top hats from our friend
Janice Tabor. Check out her eBay store here: http://stores.ebay.com/Gypsywitch-Designs
Some of our other fabulous garb is courtesy of the sweethearts at Buddhaful clothing in Seattle: http://www.buddhaful.com/_/p/catalog/index.php
I've got concerts exclusively in Washington state this month for the next two weeks, after which I head to Nevada on the train, to meet up with my sweetie and head out to Burning Man. Kevin and I will be working with the ARTery (the art placement team) before, during, and after the event.
We have a new (to us) dome this year which I'm very excited to live in for a while. If you're planning to head to the desert yourself, let us know where you'll be camped!
I do have one show scheduled at Burning Man, also, and I'm thrilled! Read on.
Friday August 08, 2008 — 7pm
PolyCamp Friday Creek Campground
Friday Creek Road
Bow, Washington
Special thanks to Tree for setting this up at the last minute!
I had a good time playing briefly at PolyCamp last year--the site is gorgeous, and the company is top-notch.
Betsy and I will perform for an hour or so in the lodge, between dinner and movies.
On August 9, our dear friend Kat Morrison is marrying her sweetie, in full Renaissance style and glory.
We wish them both the very best, and we're very happy to add music to the festivities!
Sunday August 10, 2008 — 3-5pm
Afternoon Concert
A Gathering Grove
2820 Oakes Ave. Suite C
Everett, WA 98201
with Vixy & Tony!
At least one new song will celebrate its debut today! I've been writing new stuff rapidly again, as always happens when I spend time in the northwest. You wanna be there if you can, trust me. Also, Vixy & Tony are offering free goodies to fans who bring friends.
Here's the low-down on that:
* If you've been to a Vixy & Tony show before, and,
* You come to this Sunday's show, and bring along two friends who have never been to a Vixy & Tony show before, then
* Introduce them to us after the show, and you'll get one free copy of our CD, Thirteen, to distribute as you please. Perhaps gifting it to one of those two friends, just to watch them fight over it.
But that's not all!
* If you've been to a Vixy & Tony show before, and
* You come to this Sunday's show, and bring along three friends who have never been to a Vixy & Tony show before, then
* Introduce them to us after the show, and you'll get a copy of the album, as well as a special rare collector's item DVD, a video of our opening set at Horizon Temple last month. This DVD will not be sold anywhere, it's been made especially for the purpose of giving it as a gift to our fans, for bringing new people to our shows.
At A Gathering Grove I will also be giving away free sampler discs containing two tracks each from myself and Australian song-sister Wendy Rule - Wendy and I will be performing together in Seattle on September 12th, for one night only.
I have a few tickets left to sell which I will have with me at A Gathering Grove.
If there's enough interest, maybe we'll raffle one off, too!
Friday August 15, 2008 — food at 6:30pm, music at 8pm
House Concert and Potluck
House Cerulia
13630 4th Ave NE Seattle, WA 98125
look for the blue house on the east side of the street.
Take the 130th St or 145th St Exit from I-5.
please RSVP to our hostesses: ceruliahouse @ gmail.com
Potluck is no fish, nuts, or peanuts.
The Cerulia girls have done their best to make me feel at home while I'm in the Seattle area. This show is also something of a housewarming for them--the house is gorgeous.
You'll love it! C'mon over!
Saturday August 16, 2008 — 8pm
Faerieworlds Decompression Concert & Frolic
SidheHaven Retreat Center
Rainier, WA
RSVP to phoenix @ sidhefire . com for directions
When the residents decide to build you a stage, how can you turn them down?
Doors open for frolic activity and hot tubbing at 3pm, dinner at 6:30pm (bring food to share), and music at 8pm.
This is my last official concert before I leave for
Burning Man.
Our hostess says "Suggested donation to the band is $6-$15. Costuming in your Faerieworlds bling or that Ren Faire outfit that you won't get to wear this year is highly encouraged! There will be space to dance.
If you'd like to stay overnight, bring your tent."
There's about a 20% chance this could become a Tricky Pixie show. If it turns out that way, I will alter the schedule accordingly. Keep your eyes peeled.
On the morning of August 19, I will board the Coast Starlight at the Seattle Amtrak station and begin
a beautiful ride to Reno, NV. I'm very much looking forward to the trip, the comfy seats, the quiet time, and the view.
Onward, into the desert!
Friday August 29, 2008 — 4:50pm-5:30pm
Burning Man Center Cafe Stage
Literally, the middle of town
Black Rock City, NV
Thanks to sleepless for setting this up!
Come by for cool shade and tricky tunes with a shot of Sooj.
This will likely be a half hour set. With any luck, all the loudest art cars and party buses will be elsewhere!
I'll have my badass little carbon fibre guitar, and possibly lap top and loop station for this show. Of course, I'll have free discs to give away or trade, hugs, and a dose of musical mind-blowing for your Friday afternoon.
Kevin and I will return from the desert around September 7th. We'll then start heading back to Seattle, where magical things will shortly occur:
Friday September 12, 2008 — 8:00pm
Skinny White Chick & Wendy Rule
Little Red Studio
750 Harrison Street
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 328-4758
Tickets for this concert are $15 in advance and may be purchased at any of my concerts
during July and August, or online at this link:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/39483
Many folks in the Pagan community know Wendy Rule's music well. If you've never heard her before, try this on for size: she's somewhere south of European torch singer,
with the precision and power of a Native American song shaman, calling down Spirit from the clouds. Once you hear her, you never forget it--there's no voice out there quite like Wendy's. Her magic is true and it's evident in every note she sings.
Skinny White Chick will take the stage first on this night.
Not only will the fabulous Betsy Tinney be joining me, special guests Vixy & Tony will be in the band for our set, adding vocal yumminess and guitar sweetness.
We're gonna make history, as well as magic, for certain.
Again, I do have just a few advance tickets left to sell for this show, and you can pick them up at my merch table for as long as they last, at any of my concerts in the next two weeks. Otherwise, they'll be available online here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/39483
Wendy and I met in Denver in 2006 when we first did a show together. I've been blessed to see and perform with Wendy more this year than ever before. She and I will also perform together in Denver on September 23.
Details, as always, are on the schedule page:
http://www.skinnywhitechick.com/shows.php
After returning to Seattle, K and I will head to Salt Lake City, Colorado Springs, Denver, and then home to the midsouth again for a while.
We hope to see you and entertain you along the way.
Posted: 2008-07-15 00:00:00
Updated: 2008-07-15 03:57:10
Sorry to post this so late, but hopefully at least one of you who can make it will see this!
There is to be a county meeting - open to the public, on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 9:00 am. If you want to be able to sit in a chair, I advise you to get there possibly no later than 8:30.
This is a VERY important meeting. The public has the opportunity to say whether they want the Renaissance Faire to be in Belfair. This is the last hurdle before the Faire opens on Saturday, August 2, 2008.
We need to be able to show the majority. NO COSTUMES, please.
Address: 411 N. 5th St.
Shelton, WA
Please pass this on to everyone you know who is in favor of the Washington Renaissance Fantasy Faire.
Posted: 2008-07-07 00:00:00
Updated: 2008-07-07 17:38:47
Hi, folks.
You may or may not be aware that the Washington Renaissance and Fantasy Faire needs our help.
Please accept my apologies for posting this if you've already seen it. My main reason for reposting this information today is to give you a head's up. If the Faire does not happen as planned, my tour schedule for the entire month of August will change drastically--and this would kill all of the performances I currently have scheduled in the state of Washington.
It's now less than a month before the first weekend of the Faire, and they have not been able to secure permits for the event. Here's what Faire director Ronald Cleveland had to say this morning via email:
From: Ronald Cleveland [mailto: RBCleveland@comcast.net]
Sent: Monday, July 07, 2008 3:31 AM
Subject: Your assistance is needed
Dear Friends:
[On] July 15th Mason County Commissioners will be voting on the final approval for the temporary permit to allow us to run the Washington Renaissance Faire.
Unfortunately the Commissioners have been hearing constantly from a small but passionate and very vocal few who oppose our event.
We would like to ask that you contact the commissioners and respectfully voice your support so that when they vote, they know there is a very large majority of supporters.
Tim Sheldon: Tims@co.mason.wa.us
Ross Gallagher: rossg@co.mason.wa.us
Linda Ring Erickson: lyndare@co.mason.wa.us
Please pass this message to anyone who you believe may be interested in showing their support.
Your help and support is deeply appreciated, we are down to the wire and we need this permit.
Thank you.
Ron
<===>8
Why in the world would anyone want to oppose the Faire, you may be wondering. I asked myself the same thing. At this point, it would be next to impossible for most of the performers and vendors who've been hired and contracted by the Faire (that list includes myself and Alec, as well as dozens of others) to find other paying gigs that would treat them as well, pay them as well, and earn them as many sales and new fans as the Faire would do. My reasons are not entirely selfish, but there you are.
Thanks to Sherry of Sidhehaven, we do have a little bit of insight into why the Faire is being opposed.
"Most of the opposition seems to be about the possible congestion on the local roads and that the residents don't believe that the money generated by the Faire will trickle into the local economy:
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/Jun/01/my-turn-road-improvements-needed-for-renaissance/
Here's some local news coverage: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/mar/28/sixteenth-century-finds-a-home-in-belfair/
The Belfair Chamber is in support: http://www.northmasonchamber.com/x3332.xml
Permitting process: http://www.co.mason.wa.us/permits/main.php?caseno=SPI2008-00040 "
Thank you, Sherry, for tracking this information down.
According to the Belfair Chamber link above, the Chamber of Commerce Board approved the following statement earlier this summer:
"The purpose of the North Mason Chamber of Commerce is to encourage and promote business and tourism interests and activities throughout the North Mason community. The desire of the board of Trustees and our members is to be good neighbors and to contribute to a healthy, vibrant and growing business community. Our feeling is that if a business desires to locate in North Mason, and has complied with all the usual and customary permitting processes, then they should be welcomed and supported.
Recently, the North Mason Chamber of Commerce surveyed its membership concerning the proposed Renaissance Faire. More than 84% of the surveys returned were strongly supportive of the event. This event, and business endeavors in general, has the promise of infusing dollars into the local economy. This adds to our quality of life because it contributes to our tax base and supports the businesses on which we all depend."
As Sherry stated, the opposition is concerned about traffic problems created by the Faire, and they do not believe that all the folks coming to the Faire will benefit their local economy at all. According to Bonnie Davies in the Kitsap Sun online, one road into the area is down to one lane due to a winter landslide, and the only other one has what she describes as two dangerous hair-pin curves. In her article, she asks that the road be fixed before the Faire makes its new home near Belfair.
I have to agree with Bonnie, that fixing the road would save everyone a lot of trouble. However, shouldn't folks be hammering away at the city and state highway departments for this, instead of trying to stop the Faire?
My experience with the Faire as it was run in Gig Harbor is limited to one year: 2007. However, I took note of how much effort Faire staff, planners, and volunteers put into traffic control, signage, and general helpfulness. I have no reason to believe that the Faire staff won't do everything they can to help everything, especially traffic to and from the Faire, run smoothly--no matter the condition of any given road.
In the interest of fairness, I'll report that Davies also claims residents of the area didn't have much chance to oppose the Faire in the first place. She says in her article that no one had any notice that the Faire was proposed until March 31st, and from that point it was "full throttle ahead" for preparations, with only a couple of meetings at which the public could voice their objections.
I get the feeling, unfortunately, that even if several of us performers and vendors got together to attempt to placate the unhappy by scheduling concerts of some sort in Belfair itself, thereby bringing commerce and attention to the local economy, residents would still find something to complain about, such as traffic or noise. It has been suggested that the Faire should offer residents of the surrounding area free tickets as common courtesy. I think this is a fine idea, and I hope that, if it were to be put into action, it would be well received.
Ultimately, I don't like being contracted to perform at an event to then have someone else give me the feeling that I'm not wanted.
I will ask the same thing that Ron asked. If you want the Faire to go on as planned, please get in touch with Tim Sheldon, Ross Gallagher, and Linda Ring Erickson to let them know. I appreciate your effort, and I know that all the other performers do as well.
Currently, I am scheduled to perform at the Faire on the second and third weekends, at 10am, 1pm, and 3:30pm each Saturday and Sunday. Alec and I are scheduled on top of each other a lot, but we'll be vending out of the same space and are going to try to hook up at his last show of the day.
Posted: 2008-06-24 00:00:00
Updated: 2008-06-24 12:53:32
Mood: hopeful
UPDATE: Paypal donation from Sede below!
Beltana of SONA, Bellawyck, and Wolvenwold has fallen seriously ill and could use your assistance. She has contracted Guillain Barre Syndrome which is an illness that attacks the central nervous system. Beltana's prognosis is good but it will likely be quite some time before she is well. We, her friends and family, have this opportunity to band together and show her just how much we honor her committment and all that she has given to our community over the years. This is the time to show our support. Anything that you could spare would be of tremendous value in ensuring that Beltana's family has what they need during this difficult time. Remember the circle is always completed in time... the love you show will be with us all, always. :) Copy and paste the link below to show your love... all funds will be deposited directly into Beltana's PayPal acount.
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=0BhyAJGHKdu-KSgk51vkzn-ej9ZwnGlWimyWURJWqYg7ugQCmsfw9yZKVOO&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f1ff80d546411d7f84f1036d8f209d3d1d1a60b0b34578c41
There's no better network for feeling like a close-knit family, in spite of its vast range and thousands of members, than the Pagan community. Time and time again, wherever I go, I see those who walk the path aiding each other and receiving aid from friends they may only have known for an hour or two in real time. The fact is that the strong connections we make with each other at festivals, at workshops, in ritual, and, if we're lucky, in class or at work do not fade when a dire need arises, when loved ones are lost, when the cat needs feeding, etc. I have countless friends that I've made on the road, at a festival or around a sacred fire, who I trust with my life, who I know would drop everything to come to my aid if I needed help--whether or not I thought to ask for it. One of those friends is Bernadette Holzer, also known as Beltana, the lovely voice of SoNa and one of the siren-singers in the new vocal group BellaWyck.
I've known Bel since I was twenty-two, and I'm a better person for having such an amazing Valkyrie Faery sister. I met her at my first-ever Pagan event, which was Dragondance 2002, out on the land at Wolvenwold--Bel's home. Since meeting her, I have sung with her, sat up around the fire all night with her in all sorts of weather, chased her around the country a bit, as she has me, danced with her, laughed with her, proudly done ritual with her, and more. A short while ago, she asked me to be her beautiful daughter's Goddess-mother. (Fairy-godmother, she later named me, when I started walking on stilts!) Of course, I said yes.
I'm a little sick of bad news today, as I've found out within the past 24 hours that a dear and close friend (Stephen, one of my regional booking managers) lost his father this morning and the world lost George Carlin yesterday (those two are now kickin' it with Bill Hicks and my grandfather, while my dad laughs at their shenanigans from a safe distance, or so I prefer to believe). There's a third whammy in the mix, as these things do so often love to come in threes--at least it feels that way from here. Brother Sede called me while Kevin and I were driving across Kansas yesterday, en route to Colorado Springs, to tell me that Bel has been hospitalized--she's experiencing paralysis from the neck down.
Bel is young and brave, but I am having difficulty not worrying about her, her husband and her daughter, her sister and her mother, and her brother-in-law (my Mandolin Holy Man, incidentally), who are all dear to me. She is currently being cared for by hospital staff in Springfield, MO, with regular checks by a respiratory therapist to make sure she's still able to breathe on her own (thanks for the post, Duckee). Treatment will begin today, with any luck. You can imagine the financial hell of medical bills which are already stacking up. This is what's really got me worried.
I'd like to ask that any of you who have energy to spare please send it in Beltana's direction. I am doing the same, since I cannot be there in person to kiss my friend's cheek, play her a song, brush her lovely hair, or distract her toddler. Bel herself is a Reiki practitioner, and I know that she welcomes any love and healing that comes her way in this freaky, frightening time.
Please use that PayPal link to help out my friend and song sister if you are able. If not, please send love to Beltana and her immediate family. She's not out of the woods yet, but we can show her the way. Thanks.
| Jump To Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | ... | 35 | 36 | 37 | Next Page |