BAKERSFIED, CA – July 11, 2010 – Kern County is getting geared up for a big infusion of Celtic and American old-timey traditional music this month, and everyone is invited to partake.
WHO: Dagny’s Session Players
WHAT: Local musicians perform Celtic music in traditional seisun style
WHEN: Saturday, July 17, 2010, 8am-noon
WHERE: F Street Farmers Market, at Golden State Highway, Bakersfield
The Dagny’s Session Players will be at the F Street Farmers Market on Saturday, July 17, during market hours (8am-noon). The Irish session (or seisun in Irish Gaelic) is a time-honored tradition of sharing tunes that takes place in nearly every urban center around the world.
“We’ve had musicians from around the U.S. and Canada come and sit in with us,” explained Timothy Ryan, a session player. “It’s a universal language that brings us together.”
The group fluctuates in size from five to 15, and counts among its regulars residents from Kernville/Kern River Valley, Frazier Park/Pine Mountain Club, Hart Flat, Ridgecrest and Taft. The group gathers each Wednesday evening from 7pm-9pm at Dagny’s Coffee Company. Saturday’s session is being held to promote the upcoming week’s events.
WHO: Tannahill Weavers
WHAT: Award-winning Scottish band perform in concert
WHEN: Monday, July 19, 7pm
WHERE: Dove Creek Bible Church, 5131 Office Park Way, Bakersfield
HOW: Tickets are available at the Arts Council of Kern office, 2000 K Street, Suite 110, during business hours, or at the door on the evening of the concert. $20 general | $18 Arts Council members | $12 students
On Monday, July 19, Bakersfield will play host to one of Scotland’s most renowned bands, the Tannahill Weavers. The concert will be held at the Dove Creek Bible Church (formerly River Valley Community Church), 5131 Office Park Way, 7pm.
The award-winning quintet is famous for its tight vocals and modern take on traditional Scottish tunes and ballads.
The band’s name makes reference to the industry housed in the town of Paisley, where the band first formed over 30 years ago, and to the 18th Century Paisley-born poet, Robert Tannahill, who was a contemporary of the famous Robert Burns, the author of Auld Lang Syne.
The Tannahill Weavers are: Roy Gullane on guitar and lead vocalist; Phil Smillie on flute, penny and low whistles, bodhran and vocals; fiddle player and vocalist John Martin; and Colin Melville on highland bagpipes, Scottish small pipes and whistles.
WHO: Jamie Laval and Zac Leger
WHAT: Award-winning Celtic musicians perform two concerts
WHEN: Friday, July 23, 2010, 7pm | Saturday, July 24, 2010, 7:30pm
WHERE: (Fri) Dove Creek Bible Church, 5131 Office Park Way, Bakersfield | (Sat) Beekay Theatre, 110 S. Green Street, Tehachapi
HOW: Friday’s concert tickets are available at the Arts Council of Kern office, 2000 K Street, Suite 110, during business hours, or at the door on the evening of the concert. $20 general | $18 Arts Council members | $12 students. Saturday’s concert tickets are available through Mountain Music/Fiddler’s Crossing. All seats are $15. Call Debbie Hand (661-823-9994) for more information.
On Friday, July 23, Bakersfield will welcome back a musical duo whose full-house performance this time last year left the audience wanting more. “It was such a panoply of sounds and styles–it was hard to believe that there were only the two of them on stage!” said Brenda Hunter, a member of the local Celtic band, Banshee in the Kitchen.
The two musicians have arrived at their collaboration traveling down very different roads.
Canadian-born Laval, now a resident of Asheville, North Carolina, tours nationally with over 120 concerts, workshops and festivals per year. Classically trained, his precision and musicality landed him the U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Championship, and has reviewers acclaiming him as “one of North America’s finest practitioners of traditional Scottish music” (San Jose Mercury News) and “one of the hottest fiddlers out there” (Asheville Citizen-Times).
Multi-instrumentalist Zac Leger (pronounced “le-zhay”) may have an address in the LA area, but he spends most of his time on the road performing with Celtic greats such as Eileen Ivers and Jamie Laval, and bands such as Immigrant Soul and Ireland-based Crossroads. Leger, a California native, is “mostly self-taught” and plays guitar (DADGAD and drop-D), uilleann pipes, flute and bouzouki. He is one of the few Americans to ever land an All-Scotland piping title.
Both the Tannahill Weavers, and Laval and Leger will be performing at the Dove Creek Bible Church, formerly known as the River Valley Community Church, 5131 Office Park Drive, off of Truxtun Extension, at Commercial Way. Concerts begin at 7pm. Doors open at 6:30. Tickets are available at the door, or through the Arts Council of Kern, 2000 K Street, Suite 110, during business hours. Tickets are $20 general admission, $18 Arts Council members, and $12 students.
Laval and Leger will be also be performing in Tehachapi at the BeeKay Theatre, 110 S. Green Street, on Saturday, July 24, at 7:30pm. Tickets are available through Mountain Music/Fiddler’s Crossing (661-823-9994). All seats for the Tehachapi show are $15.
Special Two-Concert Ticket Price
There is a special promotional price of $30 for those wishing to attend both Bakersfield concerts. Call the Arts Council of Kern (661-324-9000) for more information.
WHAT: Camp Kiya, a family music camp for all ages
WHEN: Sunday, July 25, 2010, 4pm – Wednesday, July 28, 2010, noon
WHERE: Tehachapi Mountain Park, Tehachapi, CA
HOW: Basic cost is $175. Call Debbie Hand at Mountain Music/Fiddler’s Crossing (661-823-9994) to register and to learn about price considerations for families, bands, and part-time participants.
Family music camp Kiya will take place from Sunday, July 25, at 4pm, through Wednesday noon, July 28.
Now in its second year, Camp Kiya is committed to keeping the “trad” approach to learning music alive. Instruction will be given in different styles of fiddle playing, as well as cello, guitar, ukulele, harmonica, bodhran, whistle, mandolin, accordion, and mountain dulcimer. Improvisation, how to play back-up, and Irish step dancing will also be offered, as well as a master class for musicians who are already performing either solo or in bands.
For non-instrumentalists, there’s evening dances, hiking and workshops on native folklore, as well as the chance to relax among the pines with a good book. The basic cost is $175, with special pricing for bands, large families, and part-time participation.
Camp Kiya is featuring some of the most respected names in the traditional music community – musicians as well-known for their teaching as they are for their playing. The list includes: Jamie Laval, Zac Leger, Jan Tappan, Joe Craven, Michael Gutin, Aria Curzon and Alex Wilson.
“I was impressed that these professional people would sit there and take the time with all these beginners,” stated Lisa Stroud, who brought a fiddle she’d picked up at a garage sale to Camp Kiya last year.
Kids aged 5-6 will have the opportunity to take fiddle and singing classes as well as a percussion class with Joe Craven in a parallel on-site day program called Camp Kiya Acorns. The basic cost is $100, with special pricing for additional siblings.
Call Deborah Hand at Mountain Music/Fiddler’s Crossing (661-823-9994) to receive more information and to register.
Camp Kiya is being co-sponsored by Kern County Parks and Recreation and the Arts Council of Kern.
The Governor and First Lady joined the California Arts Council, the Creative Coalition, prominent individuals from the entertainment industry and arts advocates to launch the Million Plates Campaign for the Arts.
MS. FERUZZI SHRIVER:
Good morning and thank you for joining us today. This is a great day for California as we launch our Million Plates Campaign to raise $40 million for arts education and community arts programming. This campaign will take California from last in national arts funding to first and it is as simple as changing the plate on your car. It is easy to get at artsplate.org or your local DMV. It funds many of the organizations that are here today and it is tax deductible.
I would first like to thank Fox Studios for hosting us and in celebrating the unprecedented commitment of the entertainment industry behind this campaign. We would especially like to thank Emma Watts who made this happen for us today, to allow us to be on the lot and also Tom Rothman and Jim Gianopulos. (Applause)
I would also like to thank the award-winning Crenshaw High School Choir. (Applause) They truly epitomize the essential value of keeping the arts in our schools.
We are very honored to have the Governor and First Lady of California here today in support of our campaign. (Applause) The Governor and the First Lady, along with the California Arts Council, have appointed Arts Ambassadors, leaders in their fields, a number of whom are here today: Billy Al Bengston, Wallis Annenberg, Jennifer Aniston, Chuck Arnoldi, John Baldessari, Amy Brenneman, T Bone Burnett, Dana Delany, Morgan Freeman, Frank Gehry, Tom Hanks, Anjelica Huston, Quincy Jones, (Applause) Robert Redford, Catherine Wagner and Rita Wilson.
We also are very lucky today to have two members of President Obama’s Arts and Humanities Committee with us here today, Mr. Fred Goldring and Ms. Vicky Kennedy. (Applause)
Lastly, we would like to thank our business partners, the companies that have commitments to help us reach of our goal of one million plates: Avon Rental Cars, the cast of the television show “Glee;” Creative Artists Agency; The Creative Coalition; Disney; Fox Studios; Get Lit; HBO; Loyola Marymount University; P.S. Arts; Screen Actors Guild, who is represented here today by Valerie Harper, who is a member of the Screen Actors Guild Board; (Applause) United Talent Agency; Warner Brothers Studios; Westfield Shopping Centers; William Morris Endeavor Agency; the Emmy Broadcast; MusiCares; the Grammy Foundation; the California DMV.
And especially today, Star Waggons, which is right back there, the big trailer with the California Arts license plate on it; Tesla, which also has an Arts license plate on it; and the Portraits of Hope painted vehicle over there; and the Fox new hybrid studio truck with the Arts license plate. (Applause)
We also want to say a quick thank you to the California Arts Council staff, the board — our board members are here today, all of them — our director, Muriel Johnson and to our team at Dewey Square.
And now, California Arts Ambassador, award-winning music producer and my friend, T Bone Burnett. (Applause)
MR. BURNETT:
Thank you. You know, while we grew up with the three R’s. The Greeks had the three A’s — academics, athletics and the arts and Plato said that without any one of those legs the stool of education would fall down.
We’ve neglected the arts pretty roundly in this country for the last 20 years. About 20 years ago the United States decided to become a knowledge society — to leave manufacturing behind and become a knowledge society — and in that 20 years we’ve reduced the value of our knowledge to zero.
So there’s hardly a subject that has more importance for the long-term health of our society than education and certainly the arts is the heart of our education. In the old days music was used to teach history, language, mathematics, everything.
So I just want to say, now I want to introduce Quincy Jones. No one has done more or given more to the cultural life of our city and our country and our state than Quincy Jones and no one has proven more thoroughly the transformative power of music in the lives of our children. So please welcome Quincy Jones. (Applause)
MR. JONES:
Thank you. How did everybody get up this early? I have to stay up all night to do these. (Laughter) But I’m honored to be here, because inviting me to an event with a subject like this is like inviting a dog on a meat truck, because this is one of my biggest passions.
I’ve probably traveled more than anybody — I don’t care if it’s Obama, generals or whatever — everywhere. I’m leaving day after tomorrow for nine weeks, everywhere in the world from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Shanghai, Rio, Cairo. And I’m mentioning that because I’ve been on that road, out on the road since I was 19 with Lionel Hampton. Fifty-seven years I’ve been on the road.
The best advice I ever had was at 19, leaving New York with Lionel Hampton on a prop plane — going from New York to Oslo, 27 hours. And before we got on there Leo Fender brought the first Fender bass to us. And it’s ironic, because the Fender bass — without the Fender bass there’d be no rock and roll or Motown records. It totally revolutionized music.
But my point is everywhere I go, whether it’s Jimmy’z in Monte Carlo or Mumbai, I don’t hear Spanish music, I don’t hear bagpipes, I don’t hear Chinese music in Xi’an; I hear our music. And guess what? We’re the only country in the world without a Minister of Culture. And it hurts me to the bottom of my heart, because we have a culture that has permeated the entire planet. Most countries have put their own music aside and adopted our music as their Esperanto, that I’m sure of, up into Russia and to the conservatories of Beijing. I’m not going to see anything like it in my life.
And I’m not talking just doing the talk. We’re doing the walk. We’ve got almost a 200-person consortium, music consortium. We’ve met three times. We’ve got the greatest minds in America working with us to save the record business — that’s the first thing, because it is looking right at level and we’re in big trouble, may have about 10 months. And I want to see that these young kids have someplace to go. We’re trying to get China to really acknowledge the copyright laws and so forth, intellectual property and so forth. And I’m telling you, we’re getting close. (Applause) We’re getting close, because I know who to talk to over there. I’ve got some warriors over there if you need some.
Anyway, my point is you’ve got to go to know. You don’t get it until you go. I even went to Baghdad and I know that was foolish, (Inaudible) told me it was foolish. But I’ve been there 50 years ago.
And music seems somehow to have that power. I really believe, you know, even in spite of the record business, the gloom in the record business, that music and water will be the last things to leave this planet. How many out here, how long could you go without music? You think you could make it two weeks without one sound of music? I don’t think so.
And I come from the society of Chicago, 5 million black people during the depression, where they bought music before they bought food and clothes, the soul food to survive, because it’s powerful, powerful, powerful. You can’t see it, you can’t taste it, you can’t touch it, you can’t smell it but you can feel it. And it’s an absolute with mathematics — and I don’t want to make it sound academic, because I’m a bee-bopper and I didn’t like that association with mathematics but it’s true. And Slonimsky and Schillinger, I have studied that too and they proved that there are absolutes.
But music is the only one that engages the left and right brain simultaneously and it makes everything else easier to learn, I’m telling you, because it keeps — every time you hear it or you play it, you have to use your emotion and your intellect. And that’s what we need to do now.
We’re with a group, Operation of Hope. My son and I called. Let’s make smart sexy. Dumb is not cool anymore, you know and that goes across the board with music. All the rappers are saying, “Quincy, show me how to be a good musician.” It’s about time, you know? (Applause) It’s like letting a doctor give you a brain operation; he can’t even give you a penicillin shot. You know, you have to know your craft and your science.
And I do believe — and I’ll shut up after this — I do believe that, from the bottom of my heart, if we get this on track that everything everybody is trying to do here, we’re saying the same things. Hang the Art plate and do everything youcan, especially in this state. This is where all of it — this is the headquarters of all this stuff, so you know we’ve got to have our thing together. Know what I’m saying?
Anyway, I love you for being here and caring. Thank you for inviting me. And you can’t get an A if you’re afraid of getting an F, so when it rains get wet. Give it up. Every time it’ll come back twice as full. Thank you, much love. (Applause)
First Lady Maria Shriver. (Applause)
The Governor and First Lady joined the California Arts Council, the Creative Coalition, prominent individuals from the entertainment industry and arts advocates to launch the Million Plates Campaign for the Arts
FIRST LADY SHRIVER:
Thank you. Thank you, T Bone, thank you Quincy, so much, for being here to support this incredible campaign. Malissa, as head of the Arts Council, has done anextraordinary job with Bill Turner, Karen Skelton and really everybody on the Arts Council, to promote this Million Plate Campaign.
What’s this about? It’s about everything that T Bone talked about, Quincy talked about. It’s about getting arts into the schools. It’s about being creative, because we all know the budget problems that are affecting not just this state but every state and country across the world. And so this is a creative way of saying OK, we want arts, we believe in the arts, we’ve got to have the arts. This is a way so many kids learn in our society today. It activates the right side of the brain, it activates the left side of the brain and it makes somebody feel accomplished, creative, useful and as though they matter.
So how do we do that? We can do it simply by buying a license plate for our car. We can do it that simply. That will take us from last to first. That will put $40 million minimum into our arts budget. That will enable kids to learn how to play a musical instrument, to draw on a canvas, to paint a mural, to become a costume designer, to become a poet, to become an artist to make a living. And most important, to see themselves as a value to this society that we live in.
That’s a really simple way of making a difference. And every single person who drives a car — and there are more people in the state of California that drive cars, there are more cars on the road than in any place in the world. Imagine, we have 38 million people here. If we sell a million of these — and as Malissa said, they’re tax deductible — we can change the face of arts in our state. And if we do it, think about what that will say to the entire country.
I drive with an Arts license plate, my kids drive with an Arts license plate, my husband drives with an Arts license plate. Everybody in this state can drive with an Arts license plate and we can change the way kids learn. It’s that simple.
So I want to thank all of you for being here, for supporting this campaign, really for believing so fundamentally in this program. I’m a big believer that every single one of us is an artist, every single one of us. And you know, just telling somebody that their life is a piece of art, that they can create the life that they want. That they don’t have to be Picasso or Chuck Arnoldi but they can be an artist. They don’t have to be T Bone or Quincy Jones but they can still be an artist. They don’t have to act like Valerie Harper but they can still be an artist.
And maybe they can do all of that in their own way and maybe do more. Every single one of us is born with a canvas and it’s our lives. Every single one of us can create a masterpiece that’s our life. And I’ve been blessed to be able to write. I take my little shots at poetry. My husband is an artist; he’s done art on this movie set, this incredible studio. He does art at home. He’s an accomplished painter, a pen and ink drawer and an artist. A lot of people don’t know that about him but he is.
And it’s an incredible talent, it’s a way of expressing yourself that you don’t get in other ways in school. And so many kids learn in different ways; they don’t learn traditionally. And by having the arts in our schools it makes them see themselves as a student and it makes them see themselves as someone who can accomplish great things.
So I want to thank all of you. I want to thank you all for singing and starting this off in an incredible way. (Applause) As Quincy said, probably none of us could go a day without music. And every time I hear music in my house I start to move and my kids say, “Please don’t do that. It’s so embarrassing.” (Laughter) But I think, you know, when you move it makes you feel incredible. And when you see great art and when you can actually produce it yourself, you feel so accomplished.
So I want to thank you for being here once again, Malissa, Bill, Karen, Carl, everybody who has been involved in putting this together, everybody who’s on the council — thank you for believing in this campaign. I said to Malissa and to Bill and to Karen, “We need to sell a million license plates by January 1st.”
And they’re like, “That’s not possible.”
I said, “Yes, it is possible.” As Quincy said, we are the most creative, innovative state in the United States of America. We are the capital of entertainment and of creativity. We can do this and we can start next year in the number one position. If we’re in last today there is no doubt in my mind that by January 1st we can be first. (Applause)
So everybody who has a Twitter account, Twitter this. Everybody who has a Facebook and has so many friends on their Facebook, put it out there. Ask your friends to put it out there. Ask everybody you know whose kid is getting their driver’s license and is getting a car. Put it out there. If you know anybody who has a rent-a-car business, ask them to put license plates on every single one of their rental cars. And if you know the Governor, ask him to get it on all the cars that are for the state.(Laughter) I just thought of that right now. (Laughter) I’m going to hear about that later. But he’s going to Sacramento, I’m going home, so probably by the time he remembers I said that he’ll have calmed down. (Laughter)
Anyway, I have the great pleasure of being somebody who gets to introduce our next speaker, who is a living example of how important the arts are in our schools. Princeton Parker is 16 years old and he’s going to speak about the importance of arts to every young person in this state and probably in this country. And he also happens to be a reverend; he has his own ministry. And he speaks from his heart about the importance of speaking, about the importance of being creative, about the importance of letting each child who is in school have a creative outlet.
So it is my pleasure to introduce the Reverend Princeton Parker from Hamilton High School. (Applause)
The Governor and First Lady joined the California Arts Council, the Creative Coalition, prominent individuals from the entertainment industry and arts advocates to launch the Million Plates Campaign for the Arts.
REVEREND PARKER:
Thank you, First Lady. Please allow me to calm down a minute. The First Lady of California just introduced me. (Laughter)
On Grand Avenue in the city of Los Angeles, California, sits the Walt Disney Concert Hall, a hall that is noted as not only one of the most sophisticatedly crafted performance halls in terms of acoustics and performance but it is also known as an architectural landmark across the world. On Hollywood Boulevard five different theaters can be found where a plethora of arts are displayed year round. In the city of San Diego the Museum of Photographic Art is located, where the history of photography through time is chronicled in that museum, one of the only institutions of its kind.
Though only a few examples, these buildings represent the fact that no matter where you go in California there is a building where arts is either represented or displayed. That is evidence of the fact that California is a state of vision and it is a state that lives and thrives through the arts. California is number one in culture, we are number one in diversity, we are number one in terms of what we give to our country as a state. Yet it is a shame that we sit dead last in the amount of funding that we have for arts education.
I’ve discovered personally that beauty is created when vision meets initiative and dreams become possibilities when imagination is fostered by arts education. I’ve had the opportunity firsthand to see what arts education does to students. I’ve seen it take inner-city youth with only church choir experience and I’ve seen it expose them to things like sheet music and expose them to music in different languages and music of other cultures. I’ve seen arts education take students who grew up with sheet music their entire lives and I’ve seen it transform them by teaching them how to find their inner voice through things like song writing and improvisation. I’ve watched as arts education took students who were afraid to be their true selves, turn them into social butterflies by introducing them to a diverse environment created by the arts.
Arts education teaches, yes, the arts. But it also instills in students principles for living, like networking, balancing between what one wants to do and what they have to do. It also teaches them that when you are passionate about something it makes you pursue it with diligence, tenacity and persistence.
Well, in my own life arts education has been the driving force behind my educational career. In elementary school I had the opportunity to begin singing in the choir. Not only that but I was offered the opportunity to be one of the stars in our Black History Program where they also gave me an opportunity to utilize my gift of preaching. It was in middle school that my choir teacher sat down with me after school and taught me my first chords on the piano, because he somehow knew that one day I would be playing piano with the Hamilton High School Jazz Ensemble A at the Monterey Jazz Festival. (Applause) He knew that I would be able to stand today and say that I’ve had the privilege to play for people like Mr. Tom Hanks, the White House senior advisor and both the Monterey and Reno Jazz Festival.
Then when I got to high school I was exposed to different genres of music. I was exposed to having the opportunity to travel and perform and even to record a CD. They allowed me to nurture myself in three areas; playing piano, drums and voice and pursue everything that I wanted to do. For me, arts education brought me opportunity, exposure. But it also took the God-given talents that I had and turned them into artistic gifts that I can use for the rest of my life.
I often say that history is not the story of the dead; it is the record of the living. So when the children of today have become the leaders and decision makers of tomorrow, what will we look back at the year 2010, California in the year 2010? What will we say California has written in its page in history regarding the arts? Will we be able to look back at the Arts Initiative and say a sincere thank you for contributing to the beauty of California by providing instruments, programs, teachers and facilities? Or will we look back and mourn with melancholy, because it was California in the year 2010 that did not support, that caused the death of the arts?
As I close, I leave you with the most important thing that arts education taught me. It taught me that I don’t have to apologize for being different. Being different is not a defect or a disadvantage. It is, in fact, a virtue with which I can change the world. For fitting in does not mean that we conform to the social norm of what seems cool or accepted but fitting in means that we use the distinct qualities that are within each of us to complete the puzzle of life and the world around us.
Arts education gives each student a voice. And when we, as the state of California, allow these creative voices to ring out with freedom and purpose, when we support dreams with substance, when we encourage children that imaginations can quickly become possibilities, when we foster the freedom of creativity with arts education, it is then and only then, Californians, that we will reap not only the benefit of a beautiful California but we will reap the benefits of making history. For arts education doesn’t just teach a child; it shapes a citizen.
Thank you and God bless. Bless you for your support. (Applause)
Now at this time I have the very auspicious privilege and I am extremely pleasured to be able to stand and introduce our next speaker. Every initiative needs a leader. Dr. Martin Luther King headed the Civil Rights initiative; Gandhi headed the peace in India initiative. As a matter of fact, Coach Phil Jackson headed the Lakers’ Win the Championship initiative. (Applause) We are privileged as a state, we are privileged as an arts community, to have this very ostentatious man be the spearhead to this initiative. He is not just a supporter of education but he is a supporter of the arts and an artist himself. We know him as someone who pursued arts in the acting field but as his wife began to share with us moments ago, he’s also an avid painter, one who would paint on movie sets and one who is a collector of paintings and photographs. We are so honored to have him. And on behalf of children and the arts community I say to him today, thank you for sanctioning this initiative and we are forever indebted to you.
Would you help me at this time welcome the one and only, our fearless Terminator, the Honorable Governor of the state of California, the arts capital of the world, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Applause)
GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER:
Well, thank you very much, Princeton, for the wonderful introduction. What a reverend. I mean, I just love waking up in the morning with this kind of a speech. You are very, very talented. Now I understand why you are this outstanding reverend. And I love your watch. (Laughter) Where did you get it? I mean, I thought that I have big watches but yours is bigger. That is unbelievable. Thank you so much for your great, great enthusiasm, for the wonderful speech and also being such a great example for kids and for education, for the arts and all that. So thank you.
I also want to say thank you very much for Maria for being here today and being such an extraordinary first lady. (Applause) And also for Malissa Feruzzi Shriver, an in-law — an in-law. She is the chair of the Arts Council, of course and does an extraordinary job. Let’s give her a big hand also for her great, great work. (Applause) And it’s wonderful to have Quincy Jones here, who is a legend. I mean, what a great, great talent, talking about arts. (Applause) Thank you for coming here. I know you are ready to go off on this long trip and all this but it’s great to have you here to be part of this great celebration. And T Bone Burnett, thank you very much. Where is T Bone? Right here. Thank you so much for your kind words and wonderful words to support the arts. It’s terrific to have you here. And Azure Antoinette — where is Azure? Oh, right here, OK. Thank you so much. Let’s give her also a big, big hand for her big support. (Applause) And the list goes on and on.
Now, I know we are celebrating here today the Million License Plate initiative but before we continue celebrating I have some bad news. This is one of my jobs, to talk about those kind of things. But you know, we have had some terrible tragedies in the law enforcement family just recently. We lost three CHP officers who were killed in the line of duty while protecting each one of us.
Officer Justin McGrory of Victorville was killed yesterday when he was hit by a vehicle while making a traffic stop.
Officer Brett Oswald from Atascadero died yesterday after being hit by a vehicle — all just yesterday.
And Officer Philip Ortiz of Valencia died last week from injuries sustained during a traffic stop.
And in June we also lost Officer Thomas Coleman of Fontana during a vehicle chase.
And in May, CHP pilot Dan Benavides of Indio, whose plane crashed and we lost him also.
So those are terrible, terrible losses that underscore what a dangerous job the CHP and law enforcement in general, has 24 hours a day.
We happen to be here at Fox Studio in Hollywood and Los Angeles where we create always action heroes on the screen, on the big screen. But I think one should never confuse the action heroes that are on the screen with the CHP and with law enforcement action heroes. Those are the true action heroes. Let’s give them a big hand for the great, great work that they are doing. (Applause)
And I also want to mention their families. They send those officers to work every day and they never know if they ever will see them again. So just think about that. So I want you to know that we recognize those CHP officers and law enforcement officers and for the great sacrifice that they are making. We are grateful. And I just want to say to their wives and to their children and to their parents that we grieve with them. I grieve with you and we, the state of California, grieves with you and we thank you. And we will never forget and you always will be in our prayers.
Now let’s go on to something more pleasant, which is to talk about the Arts Council, the great work that they are doing and also celebrating this Million License Plate initiative here. As the reverend was saying just earlier, that yes, I’m an artist. And my wife mentioned that I’m an artist and I paint, I draw. As a matter of fact, every Christmas card for my kids and for my wife, Mother’s Day cards and anniversary cards and all of those things, I draw and I paint. I would rather write but I can’t write. I’m a bad writer, I can tell you. But I paint; that’s how I express myself.
And I only am able to do that because when I grew up in Austria we had twice a week arts classes. One day was drawing and another day was painting — watercolors, acrylics, oils and so on and so forth. And also, once a month there was an opera singer or some kind of a performer coming into our school and singing and performing. We had concerts there and all this, so we were exposed to the arts all the time.
And because of that, I benefitted. As a matter of fact, I took art so seriously that I started sculpting my body and created a Mr. Universe body. (Laughter) Think about that. I learned about Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci and Rodin and all those sculptors and I said, “Why don’t I try to do this with dumbbells and barbells and machines and sculpt my own body?” So that’s also art, or doing movies or paintings and all of those things.
The bottom line is that, as I have always said, I was very fortunate that I grew up in Austria and had a great education and had arts. And when I, of course, came over here and I saw that there was a lack of those things, I got involved, if it is with After-School Programs or promoting physical fitness and becoming the chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, or starting After School Programs where we can teach about sports and fitness and arts. And so this is just an extension of that.
And I think that there is no secret that the state of California, right along with all the other states and all the other countries around the world, we have a budget crisis. This year again, just like last year and the year before, we have a huge budget deficit. Two years ago it was $20 billion, last year it was $60 billion, this year it’s again $20 billion. That means $20 billion less money is coming in to the state and therefore cuts have to be made in programs. And of course education is suffering because of it, our prisons, law enforcement, health care, service to the most vulnerable citizens, everything is suffering because of it.
But California, as you have heard, we are not just any state. We don’t just sit back and wait for the economy to come back. What we do is we create action. We started a Job Creation initiative and passed laws up there. And one of those things that we are doing, for instance, right now, is coming up with a creative way of funding arts. We don’t want to wait just for something to happen; we want to create that action.
I think this is a brilliant idea and I want to give my wife Maria credit for that, because she came up with that idea a while back. (Applause) And then Malissa started spreading that and then everyone got involved and now the whole arts community and actors and musicians and studios and agencies and everyone got involved.
And so I just want to again also say thank to Fox Studio for having us here today and being so enthusiastic about this idea and for all other studios to get involved and agencies and everyone. And I want to thank the business community, the business leaders and musicians and I want to thank also this wonderful choir for singing here when we came in here. Let’s give them again a big, big hand. (Applause)
And as Maria was saying, there are so many vehicles in the state of California. As a matter of fact, there are 33 million vehicles, registered vehicles. Think about it. If just 10 percent would just buy those license plates, how much money arts would have in the state of California. And this is great, the arts program that we have here. People will apply for grant money and they will check it out exactly, if they have a legitimate program and then they will hand out his money, not just to schools but to various different foundations and organizations.
So I think the world of this. This is exactly what we need to do. Government alone cannot solve all the problems but with the public, private and nonprofit organizations all working together, that’s how we can solve the problem.
So thank you very much, all of you, for being here today. And now I would like to bring out our next speaker, which is — Malissa is back again, right? Malissa is back again. Come on out here. Let’s give her a big hand for the great, great work she’s doing. She has been a great, great leader for the Arts Council. Thank you very much. (Applause)
The Governor and First Lady joined the California Arts Council, the Creative Coalition, prominent individuals from the entertainment industry and arts advocates to launch the Million Plates Campaign for the Arts.
MS. FERUZZI SHRIVER:
Thank you, Arnold. You’re a genius. We’re going to introduce our next speaker, our final speaker. And I just wanted to let all of you know that the great California painter Wayne Thiebaud designed this plate. He’s a great contemporary artist, world-renowned. (Applause)
To end today’s program we have a special guest. She is Azure Antoinette, a passionate advocate for poetry and art and the artistic director of Get Lit-Words Ignite, a highly successful team literacy program that brings poetry to young people. (Applause)
MS. ANTOINETTE:
Good morning. Before I get started I just wanted to say that it’s so essential that we continue to have rallies such as this and press conferences and continue to keep talking. As a young poet myself, as a Los Angeles artist, it takes a lot of support. It takes a lot of people believing in you, such as Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Quincy Jones to make beautiful music.
That person for me was my executive director of Get Lit, Diane Luby Lane. She took a chance on me four years ago and I have been blessed to work with young people. None as dynamic as Princeton here — I was ready to just get up and just run up on stage. I didn’t even know what I was going to do when I got up here but I was ready. (Laughter) I was like, “Yes, give me the plate. I’ll take it now. I’ll have five.”
So I just want to say that it takes support. Artists, we are not easy people and it is difficult to keep us on schedule and on task but she has — Diane has willingly put up with my antics and — you know, if it’s not metaphor enough, I don’t want to be held and I’m like, “I can’t, there’s not enough vibration right now.”
But we appreciate this and if you guys can go out and support this by buying the plates — let’s really turn this around and show everyone, show the country, the state that this is. So before I wanted to say that to everyone and now I’ll get started with the poem, so thank you.
It’s not about the dwelling; it never has been.
For me, I pray more often than not that I will get to stay a poet for at least another week.
I was taught that you should do what you love and only that.
So I could stand up here and talk to you about per capita in New York versus here,
But we have enough dialogue about that, about what isn’t going right.
Pointing the finger is not the way that this country got independence.
It is not the way that California has continued to persevere in the constant changing face of adversity.
So like I said, I pray, sometimes twice a day, that this state will help me stay a poet,
Will help him stay a dancer,
Will help them stay a choir,
Will help her, assist her in auditioning for that silver-screen role of a lifetime.
You have to have faith,
And mustard seed size will do.
Trust that nothing worth having has ever been easy.
So yes to recession,
Yes to budget,
Yes to layoffs,
Yes to heartbreak,
Yes to all of those things.
It does no good to exist in a place where reality isn’t present.
But also recall the scent of creativity.
Remember that people from all over the world come here to get a fresh start.
And it is simple and constant.
We all drive.
We can all afford to upgrade to an automobile plate that looks a lot like this one behind me.
I’ll do it myself if it will increase my chances, if it will increase the budget for the arts and for the youth.
See, we should all take the breath that it takes to complain,
Hold that in your lungs,
And keep it there until that breath turns to an air of change.
Thank you. (Applause)
MS. FERUZZI SHRIVER:
I’d like to introduce Bill Turner, the vice chairman of the California Arts Council and Karen Skelton, the co-chair of this Million Plate Campaign. (Applause)
We have a special gift we want to present to the Governor and the First Lady. This one is for you. (Applause)
And we’d like to invite all of the partners and ambassadors in this campaign up to the stage for a photo op. And we’d like to recognize Lula Washington, who is here as well and invite her up as well. (Applause) And Valerie.
We can get the plate at artsplate.org, which is the URL behind me. You can also get them at the local DMVs. Culver City, West Hollywood and Santa Monica have them in stock right now, so you can get them today. And you can order them online and it’s very easy, $50, $35 of which comes to the Arts Council.
Wayne Thiebaud, a California painter, first received acclaim in the early 1960s with his paintings of confections like ice cream cones, cakes and soups in thickly textured, bright colors. In the early 1990s, Thiebaud (pronounced “TEE-boh”) created a piece of art for the common Californian: Coastline, more commonly known as the California Arts License Plate.
Since the time car owners were first able to purchase the arts license plate in 1994, the plate design–featuring the palm trees and sunset motif–has become an icon for the Golden State. But Coastline is more than a pretty picture for an automobile. The Arts License Plate directly supports arts organizations and artists providing local arts programming and working with school-age children to make theater, dance, music and the visual arts part of their lives.
“Theater, music, dance and the visual arts are a crucial part of a well-rounded education,” said Muriel Johnson, Director of the California Arts Council. “The funding from the Arts License Plate helps organizations teach children how to use their creative minds through hands-on activities.”
Anyone who owns a car can get the Arts License Plate by ordering online from the Department of Motor Vehicles at www.dmv.ca.gov. Fees are $50 for a standard plate ($40 renewal) and $98 for a personalized plate ($78 renewal).
Those drivers who love the iconic image of Thiebaud’s Coastline for their car also know that their purchase goes towards advancing the arts and creativity for California’s children. Approximately 60 percent of the California Arts Council budget comes from sales and renewals of the Arts License Plate. More information is available through the California Arts Council’s website at www.cac.ca.gov.
The California Arts Council would like to thank the hundreds of organizations that have supported the arts in California and promoted the Arts License Plate since its inception in 1994. Funds from the Arts License Plate advance California through the arts and creativity, especially through arts for children, public-value programs in the arts, and local arts programming. We appreciate your help in this endeavo
When a married couple is ready to call it quits, they always want different things. Raymond Mays (Brian McKnight) wants a divorce and Morgan Mays (Vivica A. Fox) wants alimony. When the fed-up judge bangs her gavel, she decides Morgan doesn’t deserve half… she deserves it all. Morgan gets everything—the house, Raymond’s retirement, and some would say even his self-esteem, leaving him with nothing but the thought; it would have been cheaper to keep her. Raymond has two options to prevent him from paying alimony: kill Morgan or get her married off to someone else. As ex-husband and ex-love face off with each other, broken hearts will get revenge and hearts and marital matrimony will collide only to discover if it’s easier to love her as his wife.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW! $5 DISCOUNT IF PURCHASED BEFORE JUNE 15th!
USE PASSWORD “READY” TO RECEIVE “EARLY BIRD” DISCOUNT
The magic of reading is more than just a title. Once children or adults learn to read, the world opens up to them. Magically, you’re off to another land, another time or even another galaxy! Reading brings its own magic to you.
Then, there’s the magic of old. Top hats, rabbits, sawing someone in half – yeah, we’ve got that, too!
Magician David McDonald will appear at Russo’s Books on May 15th, at 2:00 PM to present his magic show, “The Magic of Reading”. A professional magician available for parties, gatherings, corporate celebrations, etc., David will entertain kids and adults.
You can enter our raffle to win magical prizes that include magic lessons or the Grand Prize of a professional magic show by David McDonald himself! (A $500 value!)
The magic is in the air, on our shelves and in our books at Russo’s Books! Won’t you join us? For more information, please call Russo’s Books at 665-4686.
BAKERSFIELD, CA – April 16, 2010 – On Sunday, April 25, 2010, at 4pm, Celtic guitar master Tony McManus will perform In Bakersfield.
Acoustic Guitar Magazine sums it up nicely: “Few guitarists can present Celtic music with the gusto and nuance they possess when played on fiddles or bagpipes. Tony McManus is one of those few.”
In little over 10 years as a professional musician, he has come to be recognized throughout the world as the leading guitarist in Celtic Music, and has been nominated as Musician of the Year by both the BBC Folk Awards and The Scottish Traditional Music Awards. McManus plays the tunes the way they were meant to be played, with the sensual nuance and rhythmic ornamentation of the fiddle or flute or uilleann pipes.
In Bakersfield, he will be performing in the intimate environs of a house concert.
House concerts-literally, small concerts in people’s homes-are paradoxes of energy and intimacy. Performers respond positively to the nearness of a 25- to 50-person audience devoid of espresso machine noises, and audiences (sitting in very comfy chairs, glass of wine in hand) are drawn easily into that magical space created by musicians whenever they’re just doing what they love to do.
McManus is being brought to Kernville and Bakersfield as part of the Arts Council of Kern’s house concert series, which features an eclectic group of performers from across the country.
Seats to the Bakersfield house concert, hosted by Randy and Sandy Worley, are $22 for the general public, $20 for ACK Members, and $10 for Students.
Call the Arts Council at 661-324-9000 to reserve a seat and receive venue details.
McManus will be performing in Kernville the night before, at the home of Mitzi and Terry Twombly. The concert is being hosted by the Kern River Valley Art Association. Seats for this show are $15 ($10 students). Call 760-549-3697 for information.
WHO: Celtic Guitarist Tony McManus
WHAT:2 House Concerts
WHEN: Saturday, April 24, 7pm | Sunday, April 25, 4pm
WHERE:At the home of Mitzi and Terry Twombly in Kernville (Saturday)
At the home of Randy and Sandy Worley in Bakersfield (Sunday)
HOW:Call the Arts Council (661-324-9000) for reservations and venue details regarding the Bakersfield concert. Call 760-549-3697 for reservations and venue details regarding the Kernville concert.
COST:Bakersfield – $22 general | $20 ACK | $10 student
Kernville – $15 general | $10 students
WHO: Tannahill Weavers
WHO: Jamie Laval and Zac Leger
WHAT: Camp Kiya, a family music camp for all ages
BAKERSFIELD, CA – April 16, 2010 – On Sunday, April 25, 2010, at 4pm, Celtic guitar master Tony McManus will perform In Bakersfield.
