Southwest Washington ZEST

Get Out There! 4 Great September Events

Katlin Smith — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 01:30:31 +0000

It’s September. The kids are back in school. The sweaters are coming out. Where did summer go? It was far too short this year.

But the fun continues. There are lots of September events to get you out of the house. Here are four fine choices involving hot (but slow) rods, wine and shopping, living history by candlelight, and tours of art studios.

I have heard from a VERY credible source that the 10th Annual Slow Drag on September 10 “is a hoot.” Imagine 1400 old cars in Ilwaco! My source tells me “The old cars line up along Howerton Way. The drivers have to start their vehicle, get to the starting line, then turn off the car and coast all the way to the finish line (about 200 yards.) Most of them chug to a standstill and don’t make it. The crowd loves to cheer them on!”

Slow drag in Ilwaco

This is followed by the Rod Run to the End of the World in Ocean Park on September 11 and 12. Vintage car lovers, start your engines.

One of my favorite Vancouver events is the Uptown Village Sip & Stroll. You can wander through the Vancouver shops on upper Main, tasting fine wines as you go. Beers will be featured this year, too.

Sip & Stroll will be held on September 18 from 4 pm to 8:30 pm. Cost is only $25 (including a glass and shopping discounts) and proceeds will go to the Hough Foundation. A $5 ticket is available for non-alcoholic beverages. Starting point is at Cellar 55. Details and tickets here.

Fort Vancouver offers wonderful events year-round. One of the best is the Campfires and Candlelight Tour, a tour of the Fort at night including re-enactments, period costumes and soldiers in uniform from past decades. It’s a photogenic event and great for all ages.

Sewing at Campfires and Candlelight in 2009

The baker making hardtack

The event is September 18, from 3 to 10 pm. Where else can you tour an historic landmark by candlelight. Admission charges and other info available at the Fort Vancouver Web site.

Finally, ARTrails of Southwest Washington is happening on two weekends – September 18-19 and September 25-26. You can wander through the countryside around Chehalis and Centralia visiting artists studios. Sounds blissful to me!

The tour opens with a Gala Reception on Friday, September 17 from 4 to 8 pm at the Exhibition Gallery in downtown Centralia’s Historic Train Depot (210 Railway Avenue). Studio guides will be available then, as well as rest of the weekends. Artwork includes paintings, sculpture, glass, jewelry, pottery, mixed media, fiber art, carved wood, basketry, enameling, collage, and much more. Nearly 60 artists will be participating. You can see samples of their stunning artwork here. No admission fee!

Those are only a few of the events coming up. Looking for more ideas? Check out the Event Calendar of the Vancouver USA Regional Tourism Office. The rains will be starting soon enough. Go enjoy September!

Opening Night at the 13th Annual Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival

Katlin Smith — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 21:02:38 +0000

The Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival provides my favorite weekend at home every summer. Artistic Director Michael Kissinger is brilliant at organizing this huge event, which is a fundraiser for Bravo! Vancouver. Thirteen may be an unlucky number for some but not for the festival, which has given us 13 weekends of jazz, wine and art. Friday night was a most auspicious opening.

Norman Sylvester Blues Band opened the Festival, along with Janice Scroggins. It was a great opening. No one can sing about a “honey do list” like Norman.

Norman Sylvester sings the blues

Robert Moore and the Wildcats followed with a more eclectic mix of jazz.

Robert Moore and the Wildcats

Artists are hard workers at the festival, setting up for three straight days and sharing their art until the end of each evening. Some of the local artists including Paperwings Studio from downtown Vancouver, Fletcher Gober Pottery of Chehalis and Gourd Designs of Vancouver.

Bruce Allison of Vancouver's Paperwings Studio

Fletcher Gober Pottery of Chehalis

Intricately carved gourds by Garry Carr

Intricate artwork of Garry Carr's gourds

Wine, of course, is a big draw. I still remember the year we tried to taste every single Pinot Gris in the park. Not our best idea! This year we focused on a new winery, Mt. St. Helens Cellars of Silver Lake. We loved the Syrah and Riesling and look forward to visiting their tasting room, which has a great location next to camping and kayaking venues.

The owners of Mt St Helens Cellars, with Festival volunteers

The day’s top attraction, Mavis Staples, owned the evening. I can still hear her singing The Staples Singers hit, “I’ll Take You There.” She started singing with her family group in 1950 and, at 71, looks and sounds great.

The venerable Mavis Staples

Back up singers for Mavis Staples

Blues, gospel, soul, freedom songs - Mavis does it all

The Festival continues through Sunday night, August 29. It’s a fine way to celebrate music, wine, art and community. Thank you, Michael Kissinger!

Eat. Explore. Love.

Katlin Smith — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 01:17:12 +0000

One year ago this week, I launched ZEST. I was missing the creative aspects of writing, I was angry that our part of the Pacific Northwest was often overlooked and I love to travel. Mix that all together and ZEST was born.

What a wild year it has been! Although a friend told me that he thought I was “ruining my social life” by limiting our weekends to local research for the blog, I vehemently say “NOT SO!” I have met so many interesting people, visited fascinating places and learned much about our rich history. I have eaten probably too many NW foods, consumed plenty of local wine and just about ravaged my camera while shooting everything from clams to mountaintops.

No, I did not run out of places to explore and people to meet. Quite the contrary, my “bucket list” got longer. Considering our people and places, and the fact that ZEST covers an area the size of New Jersey, that shouldn’t be a surprise.

I ate. I explored. I loved it. This is the 48th post. So what did I learn? Here are a few lessons:

1. People love to be photographed with their pets. Even the shyest person is happy to be in a pet photo. The booksellers of Long Beach Peninsula, and their pets, were especially photogenic.

Karla and Harper Lee of Time Enough Books in Ilwaco

2. A contest will bring out the best in people. 35 people entered the Happiest Place in Southwest Washington contest. Our judges had a fine time choosing the winners. Actually, all entries (okay, all but one entry which was a little, shall we say, personal) were places well worth visiting and blogging about in the future. Thank you, entrants!

Happiest Place Winner - Long Beach - Photo by Spence Photo Design

3. Head for the woods on Christmas Day. We saw very few people when we snowshoed to June Lake, at the base of Mount St. Helens. Just be sure to put the snow park permit on your dashboard, not in your pocket or you, too, will be begging the ladies at the Skamania County Courthouse to reduce your fine!

A Perfect Christmas Day near Mount St Helens

4. Blogging is a family affair. It’s great fun to share the experiences with a spouse. And it’s helpful to have one who willingly accepts all the pesky hotel and restaurant bills and allows his food to get cold while I photograph it. Thanks, Gary!

A good blog partner is willing...to explore

And is willing...to get cold

And likes...to eat...a lot

5. Travel should be more than gift shops and tourist attractions. One of my favorite interviews happened at 10 p.m. on a rainy Saturday night in Camas in a tattoo parlour. They stay open late for a reason. I learned a lot. And, no, I didn’t get a tattoo.

A few of thousands of tattoo choices at Painless Ric's

6. Razor clams are WAY fun! One of my favorite experiences in the last year was learning how to dig and cook razor clams. Special thanks to the stranger in Jack’s Store who told me how to prepare them!

Long Beach Peninsula Clams and a Clark County Riesling

7. A mundane action like getting your piano tuned can be much more than you think. The School of Piano Technology for the Blind tuned our piano. This led me to a special tour of the school and conversations with the students, who came to Vancouver to learn a new vocation. My piano is in tune and I have a new-found appreciation for the school and their piano tuners.

Getting the piano tuned

8. Involve other writers. Special thanks to Julia Anderson, Sarah Coomber and Shawna Burkholder for writing for ZEST. It is so nice to have others sharing their experiences with our readers. I hope to add more guest bloggers in ZEST’s second year.

Looking for trolls with Sarah Coomber and friends at Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge

9. I have the best neighbors in the world. None complained about being photographed for ZEST at social events on the block including a cookie exchange and root beer float social.

Some of our great neighbors

10. It’s nice to get recognition. Blogging can be a little lonely. But comments and occasional accolades make up for the forced solitude. ZEST has been featured on two panels of bloggers and was honored in a Bloggers We Love column of New York’s outside.in Web site. That was very exciting!

There is so much more to write about in SW Washington! I have a very long list of future blog posts to research, photograph and write. I wish I had more time to devote to blogging but plan to keep the writing flowing as much as possible.

In the past year, I ate. I explored. And I continued to love Southwest Washington. Here’s to another year of blogging. Thanks for reading! Katlin

The 10 Minute Conversation: Filmmaker Breven Angaelica Warren

Katlin Smith — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 20:51:07 +0000

Breven Angaelica Warren is the founder and producer of the Columbia Gorge International Film Festival. Formerly known as the Washougal Film Festival, the newly-named event will move to the downtown Vancouver Hilton and Convention Center this month. It will open on Wednesday, August 18 and close on Sunday night, August 22.

Breven Angaelica Warren, Producer, Columbia Gorge International Film Festival

The opening night starts with a reception followed by a screening of Earthwork, directed by Chris Ordal. In addition a film designed to be projected onto ice will be shown – on ice, with music.

Films will be shown throughout the day and evening on Thursday, Friday and during the day on Saturday – in four different theaters at the Convention Center. An awards ceremony will be held on Saturday night and prize-winning films will be re-screened on Sunday.

A filmmaker and producer who also works at other festivals like Sundance, Breven has scheduled more than 300 films, ranging in length from 1 minute to 2.5 hours. Numerous filmmakers are coming to Vancouver for the event. Admission to view the films is free! Trailers for some of the films are available at Trailer Addict . The complete film list is posted here.

What brought you to SW Washington?

My mother graduated from Washougal and my dad graduated from Camas so I was made here. They had me in Florida and I grew up in Florida and Jamaica. My family moved back here quite a few years ago and I came here to help them with what they were doing and I am a filmmaker so I brought my film projects with me.

I was living in Washougal and the community was so amazingly supportive of my filmmaking. A lot of times I would get the question, “Where can we see your films?” Unless you were on the film festival circuit I don’t know where you would see them. So I had the idea of starting a festival to share with the community what they were helping me make and to bring independent film to the community.

That is how I started the festival in 2008, largely to give back to the community as well as to offer another opportunity to filmmakers because the film circuit is very tricky to get into and it took me a long time to get my films on the festival circuit. In 2008 we screened over 300 films. Part of my mission is to have it free to everyone. It’s a terrible business model but I want to stick to that.

In 2009 we grew a little and had more films and more filmmakers come. We are in our third year and the Convention Center was available and we could have everything under one roof. So many filmmakers come in from out of town as well as out of country and we can offer them all the amenities.

What is the best kept secret about SW Washington?

Is it a secret that we have the most amazing nature opportunities here? I’m obsessed with the gardening here.

If you didn’t live here, where would you live?

Somewhere where I can create. I am more interested in my community, the people around me, than the location.

What’s coming up that you are excited about?

Absolutely the Film Festival and getting to share so many amazing films with so many people. And especially the quality of filmmaking. We have amazing films from all over the world. We represent about 40 countries and really breathtaking storytelling, creative art films, great narratives and wonderful documentaries.

What would surprise people to know about you?

I started working in the industry as a child. Got my SAG card at age nine. Also, I make installations. I construct things. I like to make large pieces of art. I love glue and tape.

Expedition Explores Lake River, Discovers the Mouth of Salmon Creek!

Katlin Smith — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:27:09 +0000

It was a rare hot day in late June when we set off from the shores of Vancouver Lake Park – four explorers, three kayaks (two Necky Narpas and a brand new Folbot Greenland II ), with views of five mountains (St Helens, Hood, Adams and even Rainier and Jefferson).

View of Mount St Helens from Vancouver Lake Park

Mt Hood and Youth Regatta at the Vancouver Lake Sailing Club

Paddling behind the lake’s main island, we arrived at the opening to Lake River about 45 minutes later. The south end of this water route to the Columbia River was busy at Felida Moorage, a unique collection of floating homes of various ages and styles, and boat ramp users.

Expedition members sans the photographer's boat

Paddling toward Felida Moorage on Lake River

The strenuous paddle paid off just beyond the houseboats with an osprey nest perched above the channel. Osprey parents and two chicks wearily watched us watching them from their stick-filled condo on a power pole.

The osprey family watching us watch them

We had heard rumors that it was possible to paddle from the Salmon Creek Greenway to Lake River so, after a floating lunch in the boats, we set out to discover the opening.

About 10 minutes later there is was! Reminded of William Clark’s famous quote and (and misspelling, his, not mine) “Great joy … we are in view of the Ocian,” we found it! Paddling into new territory, Salmon Creek featured a much wider mouth than I expected.

While Lake River is fun to paddle (albeit sometimes strenuous due to the currents), Salmon Creek offered more variety in both flora and fauna. About 15 minutes into the creek, next to the BN Railroad Bridge, all the hard work of getting there paid off with the sighting of two beautiful bald eagles.

Eagle above Salmon Creek

“Turn around” our weary arms said so, while we really wanted to explore the creek, we saved it for another trip. Next time, assuming there is enough water in the creek, we’ll start from NW 36th Avenue at the Salmon Creek Greenway and explore the route to Lake River.

Paddling back, we saw the eagles again and more herons, some in flight, others lounging in the shade of the willows. Total wildlife count for the day: two majestic, adult bald eagles, countless herons, plethora of seagulls, Osprey family, kingfisher, geese, red-winged blackbirds, martins and other unidentified species.

Salmon Creek eagle

Heron in the willows

Heron in flight

Humans census: only two other kayaks, a few fisherman, a couple of pesky motorboats breaking the Vancouver Lake speed rules, and dozens of sailboats with young sailors, way across the lake, waiting for wind for the youth regatta at Vancouver Lake Sailing Club.

Four hours and about 10 miles later, we were back…hot, sore, downright weary and ready to go again.

Why I Love Downtown Vancouver

Katlin Smith — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:09:56 +0000

I love Downtown Vancouver. It’s the galleries, coffee houses and restaurants, the treasured, older buildings and rich history, the venerable Esther Short Park and Vancouver’s Farmer’s Market. But most of all — it’s the people.

“Meetcha’ Downtown” brings this home. Produced by Vancouver’s Downtown Association, this new video says much more than a long blog post on ZEST. Watch the video here . Enjoy! And Meetcha’ Downtown!

Here Chick, Chick, Chick…

Katlin Smith — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 02:10:21 +0000

“Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral.” – Frank Lloyd Wright

When I was a kid, chickens lived in barnyards. I was in awe of my grandmother’s fearlessness as she entered her long, white hen house and reached under each angry hen to snatch her egg. Those beaks looked mighty scary to me.

Looking back, I can’t imagine what it was like to have the 150 Rhode Island Reds and White Leghorns, which she tended to every day. That is a LOT of eggs! Combine that with multiple crowing roosters and we’re talking serious (and noisy) poultry.

Pondering the age-old question: Which came first?

The Wall Street Journal reported about the urban chicken trend on July 8, article here. Now chickens enjoy city backyards and Vancouver is no exception. We love our chickens!

Roosters are forbidden in our city limits (thank you, City of Vancouver!) but hens are doing quite well. In fact, the chickens will be queens for the day on July 17 at the Coop du Jour Tour, which will allow us to look into their castles. A fundraiser for the Hough Foundation, the self-guided tour will feature chicken coops of various designs in Vancouver’s Uptown Village neighborhoods. The tour will be held from Noon to 4 pm.

I had the opportunity to preview one of the coops in June. “Coop” is WAY too weak of a word. This was nothing like my grandmother’s utilitarian hen house. The Mowats have created a stylish home for their brood in the Hough Neighborhood and will be part of the tour.

Much More than a 'Coop'

A Condo for Hens

My neighbors Caitlyn and Jerrad are inspiring new chicken owners. They have creatively transformed their daughter’s play structure into a handy coop, while preserving the swings, upper deck and slide for play. They will explain their architectural wonder during the tour. Frank Lloyd Wright would be proud.

Play Structure or Chicken Coop? It's Both!

Buy your tickets now for the Coop du Jour. They are available at Arnada Naturals and Mint Tea in advance (Only $10 per family) or on the day of the event. More info about the tour is here.

Grandma Moses reputedly said that if she hadn’t been a painter, she would have raised chickens. She would have enjoyed the Coop du Jour.

Five Boys, Three Moms, Trolls and Treasure at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Katlin Smith — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 00:39:14 +0000

By Sarah Coomber
Photos by Andria Villanueva and Sarah Coomber

“Let’s find the treasure!” called Andria, another mom I’ve roped into my mission to stay sane by hiking this pre-school and largely daycare-free summer.

The adventure begins...

That got our little guys’ attention and lured them out of the tall grass near the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge parking lot and toward the pedestrian bridge that arches high over the railroad tracks and into the refuge itself.

About a mile north of the city of Ridgefield, in the refuge’s Carty Unit, the Oaks to Wetlands Trail is a 2-mile loop that rambles through old oaks and cedars and alongside grassy wetlands. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the refuge is home to waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors, river otter, black-tailed deer and coyotes. (Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge provide additional information here.)

Along the trail

As three moms with five little boys ranging from 2 months to 5 years of age, we had no illusions about seeing wildlife. (Other than the ones we brought with us.) That said, this was a wonderful place for us to soak up some sunshine and scenery while the boys ran and rummaged.

Looking for trolls

Highlights for the little ones included searching for trolls under the trail’s little wooden bridges, looking for secret passageways in the woods and watching a couple of passing Burlington Northern Santa Fe trains from the pedestrian bridge. (The tracks run along the eastern border of the refuge.)

Exploring at Cathlapotle Plankhouse

All of us were fascinated by the Cathlapotle Plankhouse, located just inside the refuge. Completed in 2005 by more than 100 volunteer builders, this full-size replica of a Chinookan cedar plankhouse resembles the ones explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark visited in 1806 not far from this site.

The Plankhouse is beautiful to look at and smells wonderful too. It is open most Saturday and Sunday afternoons between April and October and offers educational and children’s activities the second Sunday of each month. (July 11— basket weaving; Aug. 8—Ravenstail weaving, flintknapping, Chinookan style carving, atlatl throwing and textile arts; and Sept. 12—prehistoric artifacts. Check the Plankhouse calendar for more information.

The happy explorers

Our visit to the refuge lasted about two hours during which we hit maybe a third of the trail system before breaking for snacks and train-watching. It was during snack time that little Ian, beaming, shouted, “I found the treasure!” and brought his mom, another Sarah, something that looked like a piece of hose. No … it looked like a twig with a dangling cocoon. No … it looked like a nearly-but-not-quite-beheaded garter snake! Mom ran, and Ian, thankfully and oh-so-thoughtfully, tossed the whole works into the tall grass behind us.

Boys do put the wild in wildlife.

Good to know:
• Primitive restrooms are available at the parking lot.
• Some trails are muddy—not stroller-friendly.

Bring:
• $3 to park
• Insect repellent (On June 25th the mosquitoes were out in force.)
• Snack/water

Watch out for:
• Easy-exit gate to the train tracks a bit north of the plankhouse.
It has a “danger” sign, but little ones don’t read. Or care.
• Mosquitoes in the wooded area.

10 Lessons Learned at the Recycled Arts Festival

Katlin Smith — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 20:41:15 +0000

Rebar. Plastic bags. Gasoline cans. Art? This weekend, there were dozens of artists at the Recycled Arts Festival in Vancouver who have transformed the rusted, the plastic and the bound-for-the-landfill into collector’s items. Esther Short Park was lined with more than 80 vendors displaying remarkable reuse talents. Thank you Clark County Environmental Services for a great event! A few lessons stood out:

1. I don’t have to feel guilty about those (now rusty) garden tools I left in the rain.

Rusty tools can create great yard art

More information available at Howling Heights Metal Designs

2. Plastic bags can become a thing of beauty.

If you can crochet, you can create beautiful bags and rugs from plastic bags

Lots of products available through Molly J Walter

3. Those splintery chopsticks from my favorite Chinese restaurant can have a new life.

Who knew that chopsticks were so versatile?

There are lots of choices to purchase at Kwytza Chopstick Art .

4. The bowling balls I have been collecting are just begging to be beautified.

Way more interesting than Victorian gazing garden balls

Visit Ta-Dah Handmade about artwork and classes.

5. My collection of out-of-style sweaters could become in-style, felted hats.

These sweaters look great as hats!

Visit Sweater Heads for a great selection.

6. You can teach an old, red gasoline can new tricks as a dog.

Low maintenance pet - perfect for empty nesters

More information available at Howling Heights Metal Designs

7. A cigar box wants to make music.

These cigar box instruments can even be amplified

Alan Matta at Hammered Frets has the details on his instruments at hammeredfrets@gmail.com

8. Wine bottles recycled into jewelry can be way more interesting than gemstones.

Beautiful glass beads made from wine and beer bottles

Learn about hand-torched, glass bead jewelry at Late Night Lampworks

9. Vases, light fixtures and other glassware can become stunning, luminescent statues for the garden.

These glass art pieces will never stop blooming in your garden

For details about these sculptures, email vondaquilts@comcast.net or visit their Facebook page Tiffany on a Stick.

10. Every nut and bolt deserves another chance.

Nuts and bolts start new lives

More work available at Fairy Forge.

Got stuff? Avoid the landfill. Get out there and start re-creating!

The 10 Minute Conversation: Deena Pierott

Katlin Smith — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 22:37:16 +0000

Deena Pierott is the Founder and CEO of Mosaic Blueprint, which she started in 2007 to help companies find great talent worldwide. She is the Founder of Urban Entrepreneurs Network, which focuses on women and minority businesses in SW Washington. A true whirlwind, she is also the Founder of International Black Women’s Collaborative, an online platform with more than 1,000 women from all over the globe. Deena is a governor-appointed Commissioner on the Washington State Commission of African-American Affairs and a Board member of Community Choices in Vancouver.

We spoke in the new Fireside Café at 63rd and Andresen in Vancouver.

Deena Pierott

Deena, what brought you to SW Washington?

When my husband and I were married, we were in LA and we wanted a place that was slower paced for our son. I remembered how nice this area was when my parents had bought a home right outside of Salem so my husband came up and stayed for two weeks and loved it and said “I think we should move.” We first moved to Lake Oswego and lived there for about five years and then came over to Vancouver. I was drawn to SW Washington. Even though it’s just a river away from Portland, it’s really different. There is more of a sense of community here.

What is the best kept secret about SW Washington?

Besides being such as wonderful and encouraging community – the scenery here. There is a scenic drive near La Center where they have a winery and parks. There is one old barn with a creek that seems like it is out of a Norman Rockwell painting. And it is only a couple of hours to Seattle, you can go to Portland for entertainment, you can go to the mountains, you can go to the beach. It’s a wonderful location.

What is your favorite place to relax or play in SW Washington?

If I have the time, I like to just grab a lawn chair and go out to Klineline Park and just read.

If you didn’t live here, where would you live?

New York City.

What is coming up that you are excited about?

I’m working on a possible diversity event to be held in New York City – Women in Leadership: The Hidden Communication Barriers.

What would surprise people to know about you?

I think people see me as an overachiever a lot and someone who is leading several causes, companies, etc. I think they would be surprised at my compassion and empathy. I do have a very soft side. I don’t think people understand how community driven or collaborative I am even behind the scenes. I will try to bring everyone in on something so that everyone can share a piece of the pie. It reminds me of a quote: “Integrity — When you do the right thing even though no one is watching.”