Maryhill pays tribute to Yeats
It’s no slouching toward Bethlehem, but it sounds worth a shorter trip all the same.
(This is just the sort of pretentious literary reference you should expect from an English major. Get used to it.)
At 7 p.m. on July 19, Maryhill Museum in Goldendale, Wash., gives you William Butler Yeats at Stonehenge.
The nation’s first memorial to those who died in World War I, this replica of the English version serves to remind visitors that “humanity is still being sacrificed to the god of war.”
Or so said the man responsible for its construction.
Sam Hill (of “What the!?” fame) also championed the building of a paved highway through the Columbia Gorge, and had his hand in the Pacific Coast Highway, too. So next time you’re in Santa Cruz, you have Hill to thank.
In the spirit of Hill’s idiosyncratic achievements, the museum presents London-raised Keith Scales – the Oregon Greek Theater’s artistic director and veteran actor of more than 200 plays – performing the work of Yeats, an Irish poet whom T.S. Eliot called “the greatest poet of our time – certainly the greatest in this language and, as far as I am able to tell, in any language …”
Others thought so, too, and in 1923 Yeats received the Nobel Prize for Literature.
The Maryhill program starts out with readings, music and dance followed by two short plays by Yeats, “The Cat and the Moon” and “At the Hawks Well.”
Admission is free, they’re promising a full moon, and they’ll keep the picnic grounds open until 6:30.
I don’t know what else you want, other than a chance to sound your barbaric yawp.
Learn more at www.maryhillmuseum.org or (509) 773-3733.
Expedition exposition
I don’t have any idea how many times my husband has read “Undaunted Courage,” the chronicle of Lewis and Clark’s expedition. I think he just gets to the end and immediately makes a beeline back to page one.
He’s simply fascinated, and if you share his enthusiasm, go without delay to the 19th Annual Lewis and Clark Festival in Great Falls.
The June 27 through 29 event concentrates on what happened when the party came through the neighborhood in 1806.
Re-enactors will don period costumes and eat the foods the expedition wolfed down. (This is one of my husband’s favorite parts – their love of steelhead cooked in bear grease. I don’t think you can buy a jar of bear grease; otherwise, I’d be served some pretty disgusting dinners.)
After that, gather around the campfire to learn how the men worked and what they found in their explorations.
Following a 30-minute film introduction, you can take advantage of 20-minute interpretive “short talks” offered daily.
And to really get a bellyful of Lewis and Clark, take a tour of significant sites, attend demonstrations, get your kids hooked up with activities just for them, wander through exhibits, take a float trip, sign up for the relay race, watch artists paint along the Missouri River banks during the Outdoor Art Gala, pull out your wallet for live and silent auctions, enter the Quick Draw, and tuck into a “sumptuous dinner.”
Think that’s it? Hah!
The Lewis and Clark Challenge Course bids you to board a keelboat, outrun a grizzly bear and more, all on a self-guided route.
Get your botany on at the Crazy Mountain Museum’s display of plants the Corps of Discovery collected on their way through. The garden has been designated a National Historic Trail site.
To find out more – and why would you want to? Haven’t I exhausted you already? – check out www.visitmt.com or call (406) 727-8733.
Regional events
“Winthrop Wine Festival, June 21, Winthrop, Wash. I’m not going to lie to you: I love the Methow Valley. And now they’re filling its Wild West-themed town with Washington boutique wines; fruit, cheese and hors d’oeuvres pairings; and live music. ( www.winthropwine.com/ 888-463-8469)
“Waterfront Blues Festival, July 3-6, Portland. Join Elvin Bishop, Isaac Hayes, Charlie Musselwhite, Carolyn Wonderland and others in more than 100 performances on one of five cruises down the Willamette River. (www.waterfrontbluesfest. com/503-973-FEST)
“Girdwood Forest Fair, July 6-8, Girdwood, Alaska. Set in the forest along Glacier Creek, the 33rd annual event showcases Alaska artists, musicians, dancers, handicrafts and “exotic” foods. (www.girdwoodforestfair. com/907-566-9039)