Catherine Scholz, singer-songwriter

On June 14th, Catherine Scholz and Michael Logue will accept a Grassies award for “Album of the Year.”

The ceremony to award the 2008 Northern California Artistic Achievement Awards (’The Grassies’) will be held Saturday, June 14th, 2008 at the legendary Stonehouse Restaurant in Nevada City. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. and will include the awards presentation, live music, hors d’oeuvres, and a no-host bar. Tickets are $35.

A more intimate ceremony is planned this year; attendance will be limited to 150, including performers and award recipients. Musicians from all over the state will perform before and during the awards presentation.

The line-up for the evening includes 18 awards and seven live performances:

• 5:30 p.m. event begins
  • Preshow Performance—Keith Lauher Group
• Media Award
• Best Horror Music
• Best Blue Grass Band
• Best Independent Band
• Best Rock/Metal
  • Intermission Performance—Bodhi DuLac Trio
• Best Blues Band
• Best Classical Artist
• Best Country Band
• Best Jazz Musician
• Best Original Rock Band
  • Intermission Performance—Taylor Harris
  • Intermission Performance—Louis Valentine Johnson
• Best Solo Male Artist
• Best Solo Female Artist
• Best Child Artist
  • Intermission Performance—Evin Wolverton
• Lifetime Acheivement
• Lifetime Acheivement
• Masters and Mentors
  • Intermission Performance—Phillip Flathead
• Song of the Year
• Album of the Year
  • Closing Performance—Catherine Scholz with Michael Logue
• 9:00 p.m. event ends

Tom Gill of the Milwaukee area is changing the world one rhythm at a time through drum circle facilitation. Imagine all kinds of percussive instruments in the center of a circle of folks standing or sitting in chairs, waiting for magic to happen. Gill is the humble magician who enters the center of the circle and lights the rhythmic fire, then gets out the way, allowing the circle to take its own unique shape.

Next, a rich palette of rhythms weaves a colorful tapestry of sound, while Gill occasionally steps in the center to lead, fine-tune, make suggestions, and once again, get out of the way. The music of drums, shakers and “found sounds” empower friends and strangers alike to entrain their hearts and minds purely for the purpose of experiencing joy and self-expression. To end the circle, Gill enters the center, gets the attention of the group and with a giant leap, signals everyone to make a final resounding boom on his landing. With smiles and shouts, this is how the circle comes to a stopping point. And then it begins again…

Looking to create more peace and harmony for your group, company, or family event? Contact Tom for more information at tom@rfunity.com.

And check out this short video from Village Music Circles out of Santa Cruz, CA to experience the joy of group rhythm-making for yourself:

Wendy Van Wagner is a certified Nutrition Educator who lives in Nevada City, Ca and works throughout the Gold Country. She is a passionate professional and at-home cook who savors the opportunity to entertain guests and to create connections in the community by breaking (and baking!) bread.

Wendy owned and operated a home-delivery meal service called First Street Suppers in Los Angeles which aimed to provide nutritious and tasty meals on the doorsteps of tired and hardworking families. Since moving North, she has assisted Aubergine Catering with meal delivery and private events. Wendy has also worked in association with Jane Hammond Events to cater intimate brunches and dinner parties at clients’ homes.

With the foundation of In the Kitchen, Wendy has been teaching cooking and nutrition classes in both public and private schools, including Berkeley Youth Alternatives, a community center offering enrichment classes to underserved populations, The North Oakland Community Charter School. She also offers consultations to schools that are interested in providing healthier lunches for their students. She has been involved with the Edible Schoolyard project at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School, which actively integrates the crucial connections between agriculture and culinary arts. In 2006 she designed and produced the hot lunch program at the Oakland Community Charter School. In the fall of 2006, Wendy worked on the Alexander Valley Vineyard in Healdsburg, CA as the assistant chef in residence for the grape harvest and crush season. Today she is focusing on farm to table catering in conjunction with Bluebird Farm in Nevada City, Ca.

Wendy was certified as a nutrition educator by Bauman College in Berkeley, California. She received her B.A. in Psychology and Cultural Anthropology from Pitzer College, a member of The Claremont Colleges. Much of her interest in food and nutrition is derived from her love of disparate cultures and the thread of communion we share at the dinner table. She is a member of Slow Food, the Weston A. Price Foundation, and the National Association of Nutrition Professionals.

click on this flyer for more event details:

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My first political song on “Whirlwind Girl” was inspired by a song by Mary Buckley of one of the Threshold Choirs. Can you guess which one it is?

This is a moving video about the Threshold Choirs, groups of women around the world that sing at the bedsides of those in transition.

Be it change from life to afterlife, change of career, or change of a relationship, the songs from the Threshold Choir repertoire are powerful tools for acceptance, forgiveness and personal transformation.

For more information from our founder, Kate Munger of Marin County, CA, please visit www.thresholdchoir.org.

Our local Grass Valley/Nevada City chapter, The Full Circle Threshold Choir, is looking for renewed leadership. We sing for our community as well as for each other. Please contact Beth Karow at 530-432-3090 if you are a woman who is interested in joining our choir.

Here is one of the songs from the album, “Tenderly Rain,” produced by Kate Munger:
We Walk Not Into the Night

This 4-CD set gives you all the tools you need to learn NVC from the creator, Marshall Rosenberg. Click on the CD Cover to purchase directly from SoundsTrue.com.

Buy this for yourself or give this as a gift to your loved ones to learn how to create more harmony in all of your relationships. Believe me, it’s worth it!