Squeeze accordion festival into your schedule
Dust off your lederhosen – the Leavenworth International Accordion Celebration is back.
From June 18 to 22, participants will go head to head in no-holds-barred squeezebox competition in five divisions: old-time, classical, popular, patriotic march, and jazz and original composition.
If you don’t have what it takes to be a contender, get in shape for next year with a training regimen of festival workshops for beginning, intermediate and advanced musicians.
There’s a lot to choose from, including Betty Jo Simon’s “Perfect Practice – Precision at any Speed,” “Hands-on Bass” and “How to Get the Most Out of Your MIDI.”
Gary Blair Jr. delivers “Tips and Tricks” and “How to Change Styles,” while Cooksie Cramer (I swear, that’s her name) offers “Introduction to the Accordion.”
Other accordion luminaries are on hand, as well, although there’s no mention of Weird Al Yankovic.
Don’t want to play, but still can’t get enough? You’re all set.
Shop for all the accordion wares on your list in the Vendors’ Hall, kick up your heels at the daily “Accordions in the Gazebo” performances and line the streets for the 15th annual Accordion Parade.
Learn more at www.accordioncelebration.com or (509) 548-5807.
Shining example
Coming soon: a vacation getaway where you can celebrate what an enlightened person you are – and get a massage.
The Lodge at Sun Ranch in Cameron, Mont. – part of a “fully sustainable ‘conservation enterprise’ built around environmentally credible practices” – opens June 1.
They’ve got room for 16 of you on their 26,000-acre sustainable ranching operation.
That ought to be enough space for both your elbows.
Spend the day birding, canoeing, horseback riding, fishing, hiking or exploring Yellowstone with the lodge’s staff naturalist, then retire to the six-room “eco-lodge.”
I guess they get a pass on inventing words, since the recent remodel made good use of energy-saving opportunities as well as reclaimed and green materials. Not only that, the ranch demonstrated some large-scale recycling by moving two cabins from another location.
Not enough environmental friendliness to relieve you of fretting over your carbon footprint? Try this on for size: The lodge waters its plants with gray water, used nontoxic materials for all new construction and donated bath fixtures left over from the remodel to families in need.
See what a good and virtuous person you are?
Think about that over a meal of “sustainable Western bistro cuisine,” then embark on a night of “EduCamping.” (There they go again, playing fast and loose with the English language. I’m warning you, Sun Ranch, my mother would not like this one bit.)
I guess this experience is designed to teach you that camping features queen-size beds, plush wool rugs, and down pillows and comforters in canvas wall tents.
Once you’ve got that through your head, the ranch’s predator deterrent specialist will school you on Sun Ranch’s environmentally sensitive ranching methods and the bears and gray wolves who hang out there.
For rates and reservations, call (888) 674-3030. You’ll find other information on their Web site, www.papoosecreek.com.
Regional events
•MSU-Billings Wine and Food Festival, May 12-17, Billings. Eat and learn your way through a guest chef dinner, cooking schools, a wine master seminars, and another gourmet dinner. (www.visitmt.com/406-657-2244)
•101st Anniversary Rhododendron Pageant, May 16, Florence, Ore. The pageant kicks off the Florence Rhododendron Festival, which also includes parades, a car show, arts and craft fair and more. (www.visitlanecounty.org/ 888-968-4086)
•Eugene Scottish Festival, May 17, Eugene, Ore. If a Scottie dog parade doesn’t sufficiently entertain, they’ve got pipers, dancers, singers, free children’s activities, a demonstration of historical weapons, “delicious” Scottish food and “authentic” Scottish goods. (www.visitlanecounty.org/ 541-688-2218)
•Women’s SoulCollage Retreat, June 8-10, Detroit, Ore. Breitenbush Hot Springs calls this “an enchanting weekend of Soul tending,” full of archetypal guides, animal companions and other woo-woo items designed to open “a portal to your inner wisdom.” Let me know what you find. (www.breitenbush.com/503-854-3320)