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Category Archives: Arts & Culture
Strengthening Bonds of Friendship; Largest Rikuzentakata Delegation Visits Del Norte
Thumbnail photo: Takeya Owada, who is in the oyster fishery business, shows his fellow delegates from Rikuzentakata how to shuck one of the oysters Mike Schmidt and Erik Karle, of Schmidt’s House of Jambalaya grilled at the Taste of Japan event on Friday. | Photo courtesy of Jen Schmidt
Taku Sasaki gave a simple “nice to meet you, konnichiwa,” when he and his fellow travelers filed into the Del Norte County Airport on Thursday.
After exchanging hugs, handshakes and bows, the Rikuzentakata mayor and his fellow delegates from Japan grabbed their bags and were whisked away to their first event, the cardboard boat races at the Fred Endert Municipal Pool.
Coinciding with the Kamome Festival, this visit marks a new development in the Sister City relationship between Crescent City, Del Norte County and Rikuzentakata. The current delegation, consisting of 21 city officials, business leaders, students and educational leaders, is the largest to visit since cultural exchanges began more than a decade ago, according to Kiyoshi Murakami, Rikuzentakata’s senior international affairs advisor.
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Art Scene: Stories of Steinbeck Art Exhibit, Kamome Festival Art Show, Community Drum Circle
Here are this week’s Arts Notes from the Del Norte Association of Cultural Awareness (DNACA):
- April 13: DNACA presents “Stories of Steinbeck,” an art exhibit and lecture by Jenny Rosa. This free event will be held at 6 p.m. at the College of the Redwoods’ Del Norte campus, 883 W. Washington Blvd. in Crescent City. All ages are welcome.
- April 15: DNACA presents a free film screening of Samurai in the Oregon Sky followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Ilana Sol. The screening is a part of this week’s Kamome Festival festivities and will be held at 6 p.m. in the Tapestry Arts Center at the Church of the Nazarene, 224 F. St. in Crescent City. Pre-registration is required to attend.
- April 17-18: DNACA presents the Kamome Festival Annual Art Show at the Cultural Center, 1001 Front St. in Crescent City. This year’s theme is “honoring Japanese culture.”
- April 25: DNACA is hosting a Community Drum Circle instructed by Mombo Hernandez, at 1:30 p.m. at the Tapestry Arts Center, 224 F. St. in Crescent City. Hand drums and percussion instruments will be provided or you may bring your own. All ages are welcome.
- April 25: DNACA, in partnership with True North Organizing Network and Trillium Teen Center, are hosting a Poetry Slam. Poets of any age can participate! Participants must have three poems memorized as there will be three rounds The poets will be randomly picked from the crowd. There is an entrance fee of $1, and the prize for the winner will be the amount collected at the door. This event will also be held in the Tapestry Arts Center, 224 F. St., in Crescent City from 4:30p.m. to 6:00p.m. Doors open at 4 p.m.
Art Scene: Derina Harvey Band, Spring Celebration, Art Displays
Thumbnail photo: The Derina Harvey Band will bring their brand of Celtic rock to Crescent Elk Auditorium on March 15. | Photo courtesy of www.derinaharvey.com. Above photo: Images of Tolowa ancestors are on display at the Del Norte County Regional Airport. | Image courtesy of DNACA
Here are this week’s Arts Notes from the Del Norte Association of Cultural Awareness (DNACA):
• March 15: DNACA presents award winning Celtic rock group The Derina Harvey Band. The performance will be at the Crescent Elk Auditorium, 994 G. St., in Crescent City at 3:00p.m. Tickets are $25 general admission, $23 seniors and veterans and $20 students. Tickets are available at DNACA.Eventbrite.com.
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Art Scene: Golden West Winds Quintet, Valentines Drum Circle, Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation Display
• The Del Norte-Curry Community Concert Association will bring the United States Air Force’s Golden West Winds Quintet to the Crescent Elk Auditorium for a free concert at 3 p.m. Saturday.
• Mombo Hernandez will lead a community drum circle from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 14 at the former Church of the Nazarene, 224 F Street in Crescent City. Drums will be provided or bring your own. Suggested donations of $5 to $20 are requested.
• Live-size Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation posters will be on display at the Del Norte County Regional Airport through April 9 in celebration of the Tolowa interpretive walk coming to Beachfront Park.
• Tickets are on sale for DNACA’s next concert, The Derina Harvey Band. The award-winning Celtic rock group will be at the Crescent Elk Auditorium at 3 p.m. March 15. Tickets are $25 for general admission, $23 for seniors and veterans and $20 for students and are available at DNACA.Eventbrite.com.
Art Notes: Rikuzentakata Taiko Performers, New Public Art, Celtic Music Concert
Thumbnail image courtesy of DNACA.net
If you have Arts Notes that you would like featured, contact DNACA at DNACA_CC@CLOUD.COM. We would love to spread the word about your events. You can also send the info to our Facebook Group, as well.
• Beginning January 8, 2026 we will be displaying at the Del Norte Regional Airport on the 2nd Floor Mezzanine, Tolowa Dee-Ni’ Nation posters. Come see the beautiful artwork.
• Beginning January 9, 2026, the Nat Soules Art Collection will be displayed in the main building hallway at College of the Redwoods’ Del Norte campus. Please come during regular business hours to see the beautiful artwork.
Continue reading Art Notes: Rikuzentakata Taiko Performers, New Public Art, Celtic Music Concert
Annual Fugathon Will Be KFUG’s Official Relaunch
Editor’s Note: KFUG 101.1 FM is Redwood Voice Community News’s parent organization.
Have you ever wondered what’s lurking around Orick after dark?
Aisling Bludworth has and at 3 a.m. Sunday, she and Bryce Evans are going to regale KFUG 101.1 FM’s loyal listeners with a tale that turns on the roll of the dice.
“I have a real fascination with Orick,” Bludworth said of the former lumber community about 42 miles south of Crescent City. “It’s a tiny little town that I’ve passed through a few times. There are old buildings that are shuttered and quiet. Something about Orick calls to me — that’s the perfect setting for hunting monsters.”
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CCHD Financial Officer Says She’ll Make Lighted Boat Parade Happen
Thumbnail photo: The Jennifer Anne received participated in the lighted boat parade at the Crescent City Harbor in 2023. | Photo courtesy of Mike Bahr
Four members of the Crescent City Harbor District gave their blessing to Sandy Moreno to hold a lighted boat parade, though the date she is shooting for was about two weeks away.
Moreno, the Harbor District’s financial officer, told commissioners Friday that while staff told her that holding a festival this late in the season would be a heavy lift, she was sure she could pull it together for 5-7 p.m. Dec. 20 — the Saturday before Christmas.
“We need a positive thing to happen,” Moreno said, adding that she would work with former commissioner Harry Adams, owner of Stella’s Adventures charter boat tours. “A light show would be great for the community and I’ll make it happen. You say let’s do it and I’ll make something happen.”
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Del Norte High Students Paint Miniature Kamomes For ‘Boats of Hope’ Art Tour
Thumbnail photo: Del Norte High School senior Elle Jacot painted two Kamome replicas for the Boats of Hope art tour. One will be headed to Rikuzentakata during a student exchange in January. | Photo courtesy of the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce
Four years after the friendship between Del Norte and Rikuzentakata found an international stage at the Tokyo Olympics, replicas of the fishing vessel that sparked the relationship will be featured in a local art tour.
The Boats of Hope art tour will feature seven mini Kamomes placed at various places throughout Del Norte County. The project is spearheaded by the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce as well as Carol Zocchi, advisor for Del Norte High School’s Japan Club.
Zocchi put out a call for students interested in pitching a design and inspiration for their boat to seven partner agencies, according to a chamber press release. The students were also able to earn an artist stipend.
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LRT Shows Del Norte A Loverly Time; My Fair Lady Opens Friday
Thumbnail: Rebecca and Phillip Dyke are Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins in LRT’s production of “My Fair Lady.” | Photo by Heather Polen
(Updated at 2 p.m. to correct an error. General admission tickets to My Fair Lady are $20, NOT $70.)
Rex Harrison may be iconic as Henry Higgins, having played the phonetician into the 1980s, but Phillip Dyke says his version will be different.
“I’m more of a singer than he is, that’s one major difference,” he told Redwood Voice Community News. “It’s always hard to critique your own work, but one of the things I try to do as an actor for any role is not spend too much time looking at the work of other actors who have performed the roles previously because I don’t want to be copying the work they’re doing.”
Dyke will star alongside his wife Rebecca in Lighthouse Repertory Theatre’s production of My Fair Lady, which will open on Friday. LRT’s interpretation of Lerner and Lowe’s musical will be a return to the organization’s old stomping grounds at the Crescent Elk Auditorium, it’s also the first time LRT has taken on such a large-scale production since their performance of Honk in 2016.
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