Here & there: Bring your mind, body to wellness festival

I think my mother had a crush on his uncle.

I wasn’t around for Camelot myself, but if JFK was anything like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I can definitely understand the draw.

I heard the younger Kennedy – one of Time magazine’s “Heroes of the Planet” – speak at Eastern Washington University a few years ago, and it was just drop-dead inspiring. Really a “Dear Diary” moment.

You’ll have a chance to see what I mean at the 10th annual Sun Valley Wellness Festival, May 24 to 28.

Kennedy will deliver the keynote address, “Meeting the Challenge: Our Environmental Destiny,” on May 25. General seating for the speech runs $45, or you can settle into the VIP section for $100.

Previous versions of the festival featured Deepak Chopra and Ram Dass. I’d have to say this is the one to make.

Organizers aren’t just banking on Kennedy star power. They’ve scheduled about 50 programs and workshops “covering all aspects of mind, body and spiritual wellness.”

Some of it sounds a little woo-woo, but you can probably find something to suit you among just this representative sampling of workshop options: “Channeling: The Nature of Souls,” “Prosperity and Abundance,” “The Golf Sensei,” “Tibetan Medicine,” “Matrix Energetix” and my favorite, “Holistic Hula Hooping.”

That takes place in the Movement Studio, along with Pilates, tai chi, yoga, gyrokinesis, bliss ball/ecstatic dance and other opportunities to twist your body around into unnatural shapes.

The festival’s musical guest, Wah!, has been described by Australian Yoga Life magazine this way: “She sings with the voice of a goddess reflecting the deep devotion and reverence of a seasoned bhakta.”

I don’t have any idea what a bhakta is, seasoned or otherwise, but it sounds pretty good.

If you do it right, the festival just might bring your “focused triumvirate” of mind, body and spirit into balance so that “we may all enjoy our individual gifts to their greatest potential.”

Wouldn’t that be nice?

Find out how you can get the job done at sunvalleywellness.org or call (208) 726-2777.

Salem screen trials

Salem, Ore., has embraced the magic of the movies, according to the Internet.

They’re a little late to the party, the movies having been around for awhile and fairly magical for most of that time, but nevertheless here they are.

And they’re showing their enthusiasm with the second year of the Salem Film Festival, scheduled for April 20 to 22.

The event will screen about 30 films at the restored 1920s Historic Elsinore Theatre; Salem Cinema, the city’s only art-house theater; and possibly a third venue.

Loretta Miles, co-coordinator and lead programmer, says festival organizers keep two goals in mind when choosing material.

“We really feel that the purpose of a film festival is not only to celebrate this art form but also to open eyes to different cultures of the world,” she explains.

They stick close to home, too, finding inspiration in local subject matter: “We try to embrace different elements of our community, looking at the people who live here.”

The documentary “Where’s Molly?” tells the story of Salem’s Jeff Daly as he searches for his sister, who disappeared when she was 3 and Daly was 6.

After their parents’ deaths, Daly found her living in a Hillsboro group home for the developmentally disabled. His pursuit led to the passage of “Molly’s Bill,” Oregon legislation intended to simplify family searches for long-lost relatives.

“He’s developed this wonderful, remarkable relationship with her,” Miles says. “It’s just a remarkable film.”

Another documentary, “Air Guitar Nation,” follows the competitive world of pretend musicianship.

“It’s just a scream,” says Miles. “These guys take it deadly seriously.”

In addition, all the 2006 Academy Award-nominated live action and animated shorts will be on tap, and “Coffee Date” will give you a look at the romantic comedy genre from a gay perspective.

“We have a fairly decent international selection, as well,” Miles says, highlighting “War Dance,” the tale of displaced Ugandan orphan children.

“It’s this really heartbreaking story of these kids and the horrors they have seen and how their spirits are still intact,” she says.

Check www.salemfilmfestival.com for more information, or try the Elsinore at (503) 375-3574.

Regional events

“Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival, April 27 and 28, Missoula. Guest artists, clinics, and high school and college bands – all jazzy, all the time. (www.buddydefranco.com/406-243-5071)

“Maryhill Museum of Art 12th annual Outdoor Sculpture Invitational, through Nov. 1, Goldendale, Wash. Wander the grounds among the work of both established and emerging Northwest artists – for free. (www.maryhillmuseum.org/509-773-3733)