Wade appointed poet laureate
South county poet Sandra Wade joined the ranks of predecessors Jim Lyle, James Bluewolf and Carolynn Wing Greenlee this April, with her appointment to a two-year term as Lake County Poet Laureate. Wade is the fourth local poet to be the recipient of this honor.
Since her appointment as poet laureate, Wade has worked in various capacities to promote the art of writing. She makes regular appearances at local open mics.
Wade also hosts a “writers” circle” that meets from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month at the Lake County Arts Council gallery in Lakeport.
Contact Lake County Poet Laureate Sandra Wade at balancesandra@yahoo.com.
Marge Alakszay Center
The Lakeport Unified School District celebrated a grand opening this summer for the Marge Alakszay Center, located at Clear Lake High School.
Named after long-time teacher and school board member Marge Alakszay, the center features a state-of-the-art performance and recording space for Clear Lake High School and Terrace Middle School programs. It has stadium seating for nearly 500 with a near 1,000-person total capacity.
Financing for the center came from state funds with a local bond measure, Measure W, providing a local match. Three local community groups were also instrumental in supporting the Marge Alakszay Center: the Lakeport Enhanced Education Foundation, Clear Lake High School Boosters and the Lake County Wine Alliance.
Black box theater for Lower Lake
Architect Steve Kwok is suggesting construction of a “black box” theater in what is now the Lower Lake High School multi-purpose room. On Wednesday, March 15, Kwok presented a conceptual drawing to the Konocti school board. It featured a floor-level performance space, 40 feet by 28 feet, surrounded on three sides by tiered seating.
“One of the beauties of the black box theater, and I think this is why so many people like it, is that it”s very flexible,” Kwok said.
Kwok was invited to make his presentation after having raised “red flags” about the unsuitability of a new gymnasium as a venue for performing arts. Language in Measure G, which was approved by district voters in November 2004, originally stated that the new gymnasium would include a theater component.
“We”ve found that gymnasiums make lousy theaters,” Kwok said at the March 2006 presentation, noting that the venues are too large acoustically for most student productions.
School board members were enthusiastic about the theater in concept, as were high school staff. “I think this will work much better than a combined gym and theater space,” said Jenny Ingram, who heads the high school music program.
LCRT fields 105 playwriting entries
Lake County Repertory Theater”s latest playwriting contest, “Playing By the Lake,” attracted 105 entries from across the United States.
Readers” theater performances of four finalists took place during the summer. A panel of judges awarded top scores to “Legerdemain” by Michael E. Wolfson.
The curtain rose Friday, Oct. 13, on a world-premiere full production. The playwright was in attendance for his winning play”s debut performance.
Raising funds for full-power radio
Lake County Community Radio, a local non-profit radio station, drew closer this year to its goal of broadcasting at full power.
According to volunteer organizer Andy Weiss, local station KPFZ has raised three-quarters of necessary funding to apply toward a matching grant from the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC has granted it a license to broadcast at 88.1 FM.
“It is no longer a case of if” there will be county-wide community radio anymore, it is a matter of when,”” Weiss stated in a recent update.
For more information about helping KPFZ, call 274-2152 or e-mail aw@mchsi.com.
1,500 attend first bluegrass festival
The “first ever” Old Time Bluegrass Festival took place Saturday, Sept. 23, at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park.
The Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association and the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce co-presented the event as a benefit for living history education in the Konocti Unified School District.
Event organizers reported a turnout of 1,500 people from throughout Northern California.
Film shot locally
Lake County provided locations for an independent motion picture produced by Starry Night Entertainment.
A four-week shoot for “Sherman”s Way” took place during late summer and featured locations in Kelseyville, Lakeport, Middletown and Cobb Mountain.
Soper-Reese funds are growing
A fund-raising committee has been closing in on meeting a challenge by Jim Soper to support the Soper-Reese Communty Theatre. If local individuals, organizations and businesses contribute $300,000 toward renovation of the Soper-Reese, Jim Soper will donate an additional $200,000.
According to Fund-raising Chair Nina Marino, the committee has raised $178,855 and has $120,000 left to raise within the next nine months.
If you would like to contribute toward renovation of the Soper-Reese, please send contributions to the Soper-Reese Community Theatre, PO Box 756, Lakeport, CA 95453.
