We have a few updates to our Gathering Weekend, coming up on October 1 and 2. Jacki Bedworth, one of our willow basketry instructors will be demonstrating during the morning session (10:30 a.m. – Noon). Jacki uses the stake-and-strand method of weaving willow. She will be making a “chicken basket”:
Also added to our vendors is Michelle Zahn, “The Soap Lady”. Michelle has been a student here at Sievers and for the past few years we’ve been selling some of her handmade soaps and handwoven facecloths in the shop. Michelle began making soap in 1977 and has developed recipes for soaps for specific skin conditions and for general use. She was featured on the cover of Country Woman Magazine and now sells her soaps and products by mail order all across the country and world. We’re excited to have Michelle join us for the Gathering. Her website is www.thesoaplady.com.
Last Friday night, September 3, Sievers was one of the sponsors of the final Red Barn program of the summer, Eric Lewis & Friends. A highlight of the Red Barn season, Eric Lewis, Tommy Burroughs and others make the trek from Memphis to Door County each year bringing their bluegrass sound to share.
The Red Barn is one of the organizations that will benefit from the proceeds of the Gathering Fiber Arts Garage Sale. This was the Red Barn’s 38th season, hosting live music or entertainment every Friday night in July and August at 7:30 p.m. (this year Saturday nights were added as well) with local and visiting artists. A Children’s Story Hour is held each Thursday night, the Island Players Acting Camp is held at the Barn as is the W.I. Music Festival’s Music Appreciation talks. For the past several years, Dan Hansen has been the program director.
Another recipient of our Garage Sale proceeds will be the W. I. Recreation Center. Built over 20 years ago, the Rec Center was a gift to the Island through one family’s generosity and matching donations from Island residents and visitors. Housing a swimming pool, exercise room, (outdoor) tennis courts and community room, the Rec Center is a place for all ages. Over 14,000 Islanders and visitors patronized the Rec Center last year. Friday “Teen Nights”, swimming lessons, excercise classes both in and out of the pool, watercolor painting classes, community theater and meeting spaces are part of what the Rec Center has to offer. We have even held our Friday evening Sievers Gathering program at the Rec Center a number of times. This spring, the Rec Center replaced pool filters and carpeting and added air conditioning. The Rec Center is funded through memberships and donations to an endowment.
The Island Players’ Dramatic Arts in Education will also share some of the Garage Sale proceeds. Island Players has been offering community theater experiences on the Island since 1984. During the school year, Carissa Mann visits the elementary and middle school classes weekly using theater games, improvisation and original writing to help them become “comfortable with their surroundings and peers and self-confident as speakers”. She also directs an after school drama club for high school students. They have presented plays for the school and general public and attend a live theater production each year(in 2009 they saw Wicked in Appleton, WI).
In one way or another, all of us here at Sievers have attended events at, served on boards and committees for, or enjoyed what these three offer the Island.
Be sure to read all the information about our upcoming Gathering (October 1 and 2) in the post dated August 24th.