KNOW & GO
WHAT: An informal reading of “Stone Soup”, a musical by Ken Hardin and Michaela Conger
WHEN: Wednesday, April 24, Doors open at 7:00 p.m. with the reading beginning at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Miners Foundry Cultural Center, 325 Spring Street, Nevada City
TICKETS: Admission is free with a $10 suggested donation at the door
INFO: Refreshments will be available for purchase along with a no host bar. www.minersfoundry.org

The Miners Foundry Cultural Center and Sierra Stages present “Stone Soup” on Wednesday, April 24.  ”Stone Soup” is the first installment of Theater By The Book, a series of six informal play readings for the community.

“Stone Soup”, written by Ken Hardin and Michaela Conger, is a delightful children’s musical based on an old folk story in which a hungry stranger comes to town and teaches the townspeople the benefit of working together to achieve a common goal.

“The idea for the series came from previous staged readings of plays Sierra Stages had done in the past,” explain Ken Getz, Musical Director of the local community theatre group Sierra Stages.

“Both the actors and the audience really enjoyed the experience. It also gave us the opportunity to do shows that wouldn’t otherwise be performed here in Nevada County.”

Hardin, the Artistic Director of InConcert Sierra, wrote the children’s musical in the early 1980s, and to much fanfare, toured with it throughout Southern California.

Hardin will direct and play piano, and Steve Nicholson will accompany him on bass.  The cast of twelve is made up of seasoned actors of local community theatre veterans and some new faces as well.

Clocking in just over an hour, Getz says “Stone Soup is a great introduction to theatre for young people; it is perfect for families and children of all ages.”

The Foundry, along with the Sierra Stages actors, is donating their resources and time.

To offset hard costs homemade treats will be sold and there is a suggested donation of $10, though no one will be turned away.

The next reading in the series will be the murder mystery play “Sleuth” by Anthony Shaffer on Wednesday, May 22. “Sleuth” has all the ingredients of a top-class thriller – a plot whose twists and turns are breathtakingly audacious & fiendishly cunning; suspense & excitement galore; and a brilliant parody of the Agatha Christie country-house thriller.

(photo: Robert Rossman from Sierra Stages production of “The Sound of Music.”)

By Jesse Locks

“Craft is officially cool and it is not just something that your Granny or weird Aunt does. The indie/DIY/new wave/whatever you prefer to call it, craft movement has been gathering momentum over the last ten years, predominantly in the US, where most major cities now have their own indie craft fairs filled with wares by local makers and shakers,” wrote cultural critic and author Jo Waterhouse.

Three years ago, inspired by the independent entrepreneurship and creative talents in Nevada County, a group of local young crafters and artists got together to organize the first Nevada City Craft Fair, held at the Miners Foundry Cultural Center. Six craft fairs later and over 5,000 attendees later, the event has grown to be the premiere event to showcase the region’s top Etsy vendors, artisans, do-it-yourself crafters, and their unique, handmade, original and repurposed art, clothing, accessories, jewelry, and house wares.

“The Nevada City Craft Fair is the best place to check in with your local artists and makers,” said Carabeth Rowley, the Craft Fair’s Event Producer, and owner of Lay Swing Boutique. “With such a rich community to draw from we have a great variety of hand crafted bath and body products, woodwork, clothing, knit items and even chocolates!”

Some of this year’s featured vendors include Cello Chocolates, handcrafted from bean to bar in Nevada City, using Certified Fair Trade and Organic beans. Poppy Hill Papers line of handmade paper made from 100% recycled materials, with handpicked wildflowers and grasses. Full Circle Press offering letterpress printed items that they have designed and printed on vintage presses in their shop outside of Nevada City. Krista Tranquilla’s handcrafted jewelry from sterling, stones, repurposed and found objects. Inspired by her hometown of North Lake Tahoe and from travels afar.

Attendees of past Nevada City Craft Fairs will find an array of new vendors, while new comers will be introduced to not only local artisans but local food vendors such as An Honest Pie serving both sweet and savory pies and Fable Coffee a specialty micro-roaster producing; fresh, small-batch, single-origin, coffee varietals of superior quality.

For many of the crafters and artists involved, the contemporary craft movement is as much about keeping craft traditions alive while embracing emerging artists, crafters and designers, as it is about creating an economy that promotes buying and supporting independently-owned businesses and local artisans.

When it comes to crafting, the personal is the political. The term “Craftivism” has been coined to describe the idea of ‘making your own’ as a statement against consumerism and the homogeneity of mass production.

Etsy, the online marketplace website described as “an online crafts fair” connects makers of handmade goods – usually individuals or small businesses – with potential buyers around the globe. Last year, the site sold $62.8 million worth of goods (after refunds and cancellations) in just the month of March, up 41.5% from the same time last year. Today Etsy sells over 15 million unique handmade and vintage items from over 800,000 independent, creative businesses in over 150 countries.

“I think consumers, particularly since the recession, have become more selective about their purchases. They want to know who made what they are buying and where it came from. They want it to be personalized,” explains Jesse Locks, one of the Craft Fair’s original organizers. “And they want to know that their money is going towards supporting someone’s craft, passion, or art, not the shareholders of a corporation.”

What: Nevada City Craft Fair
When: Sunday, April 28, 2013, 10am-7pm
Where: Miners Foundry Cultural Center, 325 Spring Street, Nevada City, CA
Tickets: $5, Children under 13 free
Information: www.minersfoundry.org

(text: Jesse Locks; photo: Akim Aginsky)