It’s a good thing 2nd Saturday ArtHop is happening this weekend, because other than that, it’s not looking like a barn burner for activity as far as I can see.
Thankfully, ArtHop is packed with options. The event kicks off at 5 p.m. with a performance by the Redding Improv Players at the courtyard at GMS Mann Custom Jewelers at 5200 Churn Creek Road. Check out Melissa Gulden’s piece on the improv players on this very site. The venue is the business complex (with an inner courtyard) located near the Appletree Apartments (where Churn Creek and South Bonnyview come together).
With so many businesses now united in ArtHop, it’s always a challenge to know where to go. The final five pages in Enjoy magazine provide a map and list of participating businesses. You can also download a PDF of the map and listing from Enjoy’s website .
Among the many great options during ArtHop (it runs from 6 to 9 p.m.), here are a couple a possibilities:
• Two powerhouses on Park Marina — Gene Knaebel at Ethan Allen (307 Park Marina Circle) and Bev Corford at Parmer’s Furniture and Design (333 Park Marina Circle). That’s two excellent artists showing at a pair of businesses very close to each other.
• The photography of Miguel Cruz at Mission Hills Mortgage (2811 Bechelli Lane). The ArtHop guys, Adam and Troy, are crazy about Cruz’s images. Here’s a link to his site .
• There are two new locations on ArtHop: Sugarplum Cottage (1734 Churn Creek Road), where Mary Lugo’s children’s wearable art will be presented; and Pio Loco restaurant (1135 Pine St.) where Michael Thompson’s paintings are on display. I hear Michael’s a cool guy and I’d like to meet him.
• The McConnell Foundation (800 Shasta View Drive) is again opening its doors to display its art collection. The headquarters itself is such a nice space to visit. (I want bathrooms like the ones they’ve got in there!)
• Improv cartooning with A News Cafe’s Phil Fountain and New Yorker cartoonist Benita Epstein at Tapas Downtown (1257 Oregon St.). These are just two amazing artists and you get to watch them create on the spot. When I worked with Phil at the newspaper, sometimes I’d see him sketching on paper or with his computer brush. The thought would instantly hit me: “Man, I wish I could do anything as well as he can draw.”
• As for live music, the Swing Cats are playing at Vintage Wine Bar; Seattle’s Happy Birthday Secret Weapon (and other unannounced bands) are playing at the Downtown Eatery; a band called the Final Option is at Northstar Brewery in Shasta Lake and the Redding rock band Turning Point is playing Johnny’s Cathouse.
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If the new “Star Trek” movie fails at the box office, it won’t be from lack of publicity. The film nabbed the covers of Newsweek and Entertainment Weekly and has been plastered everywhere it seems. A young and sexy cast under the direction of J.J. Abrams (creator of “Alias” and “Lost”) will take us back to the moment when the Enterprise first launched into space with Kirk, Spock, Bones, etc.
I think there’s enough trekkie in me to go see this film. I’m not sure who I’ll be able to drag along with me. Anyone?
When the original TV series launched in the 1960s, it kind of flopped. In the ’70s, it caught hold in syndicated reruns. I have this vivid memory of watching “Star Trek” as a young kid in the ’70s with my cousins while on a trip to Oklahoma. I remember thinking, “Wow, this is so mysterious and cool. What IS this show?”
It’s funny to watch the old “Star Trek” series today. Even if you do see the zippers on the monster costumes, there’s still something captivating about it. Could it be that Shatner-Nimoy was a powerhouse akin to Jagger-Richards. OK, maybe not.
Still, we could all use a good dose of the show’s optimism during these challenging times.
