February is a short month that offers a long list of activities. From quilts to chocolate, kites to Chalacha – no need to stay home.

February 1-29 – Castle Rock Quilt Show – Castle Rock Exhibit Hall, 147 Front Ave NW, More than 80 quilts All those tiny stitches! Don’t miss them at the quilt show.

Friday, February 3 – First Fridays in Multiple Cities!

February 3 - First Friday – Ridgefield, 5 to 8 p.m.- Alcove Art Gallery will feature nine artists for the month of February. The theme will be entitled “Passion for Art.” Shops and restaurants will be open, too.

February 3 – A Chocolate Affair to Remember – 5 to 8 p.m. in downtown Camas. Sample locally made chocolates, specialty chocolate drinks and more! Plus local quilters kick off 2012 with a show of their original work at Second Story Gallery in Camas. The annual open exhibit in February will begin with a reception on First Friday and remain on view inside the Camas Public Library through the end of the month.

February 3 - First Friday Artwalk – Downtown Vancouver, 5 to 9 p.m. Always a great celebration of community and fine art and a way to stroll with neighbors and friends. Downtown shops, restaurants and lounges welcome you as well. Art is leading the way for changes in downtown Vancouver!

February 3 – Wintertide – VSO Chamber Music Group – 7 p.m. Trinity Lutheran Church 309 W. 39th Street in Vancouver. The Columbia River Brass present various styles from composers including Wilke Renwick, Samuel Scheidt, Eric Ewazen, Dave Robertson and J.S. Bach. Concert is repeated on February 5 at 3 p.m. at Zion Lutheran Church in Camas.

February 3-4 – Indoor Market – Long Beach Grange, 5715 Sandridge Rd., 10am to 4pm. A variety of vendors will be selling farm fresh eggs, home-baked goods, handcrafted items, goat cheese and goat milk soaps, gift items, art, jewelry and more. Lunch will be served from the Grange kitchen.

February 4 – Stand up Comedy at the Old Liberty Theater - Downtown Ridgefield. 7:30 p.m. An evening of “honest comedy” featuring: Ian Karmel- From IFC’s “Portlandia” plus other comics. 21 and older. Tickets by phone: Don Griswold, don@oldlibertytheater.com, booking phone (360) 601-7549.

February 4-5 – Asian New Year at the World Kite Museum – Long Beach. This opening has special events to introduce the Bali Kite Exhibit. The exhibit lasts until March 25.

February 7 – Chocolate Confession by Joan Freed – Kiggins Theatre in downtown Vancouver. This hilarious one-woman show is a fundraiser for the Pink Lemonade Project. This is a perfect warm up for Valentine’s Day!

February 10-25 – Sense and Sensibility - Magenta Theater – downtown Vancouver’s theater troupe presents an adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel in their intimate theater.

February 11 – Valentine’s Tea – Pomeroy Living History Farm, 20902 NE Lucia Falls Rd., Yacolt. Noon. Reservations required (360.686.3537). Seasonal menu will include assorted tea sandwiches, scones, desserts and two kinds of tea. A tour of the historic log house can be added for a small, extra charge.

February 11-12 – Columbia Gorge Wineries Valentine’s Day Open House Weekend – Columbia Gorge Wineries in Washington and Oregon. Winery Open House Hours are 11am – 6pm. What a great opportunity to taste and purchase wine for Valentine’s Day.

February 12 – Bravo! Concert Series – Leonard Bernstein Mass – St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 400 S. Andresen Road, Vancouver. 2 p.m. Leonard Bernstein’s Mass blends sacred text, human emotions and musical styles – from classical to sacred, rock, blues and jazz. The Bravo! Chorale, guest soloists, and Chamber Orchestra will perform.

February 14 – - Musical Dinner Theater – Historic Trout Lake Country Inn. Go up and play in the snow on Mt. Adams and then enjoy a dinner show.

February 16-19 – Cinderella – The Columbia Theatre presents Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. February 16th at 7pm, February 17th at 7pm, February 18th at 2pm & 7pm, and February 19th at 2pm.

February 17-19 – Washington State Horse Expo – Horses and equestrians come together en masse at the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds. Check out the full program schedule.

February 18-20 – Columbia Gorge Wineries President’s Day Open Houses – Yet another wine weekend as the Gorge wineries open up again to celebrate President’s Day. More than 30 wineries will be open with special releases and discounts. Live music at Maryhill Winery.

February 21 - Volcano Views & Brews – Tommy O’s Pacific Rim Bistro in downtown Vancouver at 801 Washington Street. Doors open at 5 pm. Speaker presents from 6:30 – 8 pm. Rick McClure, the Forest Archaeologist and Heritage Program Manager for Gifford Pinchot National Forest presents “The Place Called Chalacha – History Beneath the MSH Monument Headquarters and Chelatchie Prairie.”

What a great month! See you out there!

The days are short and wet but there is plenty happening in Southwest Washington during January. No need to hunker down. Get out there and get involved!

January 2012 - It’s ALL happening at the 13 Fort Vancouver Regional Library District branches. Here is the FVRL January Schedule of Events.

Rusty Grape Vineyards

January 14 - Battle Ground Wine Loop – Noon to 5 p.m. This wine tour includes Heisen House Vineyards, Olequa Cellars and Rusty Grape Vineyards, where live music will start at 7 p.m. This will be a regular event on the second Saturdays of the month.

SOLD OUT! January 14 – The 2nd Annual Martin Luther King Breakfast will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Red Lion at the Quay, 100 Columbia Street, in Vancouver. the event theme is The Collaborative Society. Featured speakers are Jaymes Winters, CEO Blue Leopard Capital; Sarah Mensah, SVP, Portland Trailblazers; and Dr. James Mason, Exec Director, Cultural Caregiving, Providence. There will also be musical performances by Deborah Kimbrough, Gail Thomas and Violinist Shania Watts. This year’s event promises to be as inspirational as the 2011 breakfast. The event is hosted by Mosaic Blueprint. To purchase a ticket, click here.

January 14-15 - Windless Kite Festival, Long Beach School Gymnasium, Washington and 4th St South. It doesn’t take a windy day to fly a kite. Demonstrations and competitions last two days.

Saturday January 14th
10 – 11:30 am Demonstration Show
2 – 3:30 pm Indoor Ballet Competition
3:30 – 5 pm Free Flying & Lessons for all ages

Sunday January 15th
11 – 12 am Indoor Hot Tricks
12 – 1:30 pm Demonstration Show
1:30 – 2:30 pm Grand Finale

The gym is open for participant practice, demonstrations, and indoor flying lessons Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 5pm except during Performance Times. Admission: Donation

The Blacksmith Shop at Fort Vancouver

January 21 – Fort Vancouver Lantern Tour - A lantern tour of the Fort gives you a true sense of what the long winter nights were like for John McLoughlin and his crew. Costumed interpreters are on site for this popular event. The cost is $10 for adults and $7 for children under 15 years of age. Reservations are required. To make a reservation, call the Fort Vancouver Visitor Center at 360-816-6230.

January 21-22 – First Long Beach Peninsula Razor Clam Dig of the Year! - Dates are always tentative but the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced digs on evening tides at Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks. Licenses are required. No clamming is allowed before noon. Go here to read a past ZEST blog post on clamming. For details read the official WDFW announcement. Here are the rules and regulations.

January 21-22 - Antique and Collectible Show, Clark County Events Center. Saturday 9-6, Sunday 10-5 Admission is $6 – Good for both days. More than 400 booths of collectibles!

January 22 – Legends of Mexico-Leyendas de Mexico at 2 p.m. Columbia Theatre in Longview offers a delightful Rainy Day Series, which is family-friendly entertainment in the beautifully restored theatre. Nuestro Canto shares legends from all over Mexico and has composed music especially for the legends narrated during their performances. Tickets are only $5 and available here.

January 26-28 – Clark College Jazz Festival – This is the 50th year of the Clark College Jazz Festival! The Festival hosts more than 60 middle school and high school vocal and instrumental jazz ensembles in a three-day celebration of jazz. Gaiser Hall will be THE most musical site in Clark County during this renowned festival!

January 29 - 2nd Annual National Unpublished Writers’ Day Workshop at the Clark County Historical Museum. noon – 5 pm.

National Unpublished Writers’ Day is an annual event held in partnership between the Clark County Historical Museum, the Writing Center at Washington State University Vancouver, the Creative Media & Digital Culture Program at Washington State University Vancouver. The event highlights The Brautigan Library Collection at the Museum, Washington-born writer Richard Brautigan who conceived the idea for a library where anyone could contribute unpublished books, regardless of content or quality of writing, and all those folks who wish to create or communicate through writing.

The free event will feature a series of “creative stations” and workshops around the Museum, each offering different opportunities to learn or experience something associated with different aspects or kinds of writing.

Lion Dance from the FVRL 2010 Chinese New Year Celebration

January 29 – Chinese New Year Celebration – 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. – Vancouver Community Library – Gung Hay Fat Choy! The new downtown library will be the site of this year’s lively Chinese New Year celebration in Vancouver. This is a wonderfully colorful, all-ages festival that will include Chinese New Year customs and history. Performances include singing, dancing, martial arts demonstration, Gu Zheng (Chinese musical instrument) and lion dance, which will be performed by the Portland Lee’s Association Lion Dance Team. Craft activities are available on Level 3 after the program. ZEST visited the 2010 Chinese New Year Celebration and had a great time! For more information, call 699-8831.

January 28-29 – Vancouver Symphony Orchestra – Vancouver’s excellent symphony features offers acclaimed violinist Francisco Garcia-Fullana playing he Sibelius Violin Concerto. The symphony will also perform Eugen Onegin: Polonaise by Tchaikovsky and Symphony No. 3 by Tchaikovsky with the passionate Salvador Brotons conducting. The Saturday performance is at 2 p.m. and Sunday evening’s concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Skyview Concert Hall. Individual tickets are available here. Better yet, buy the new three concert package!

The tree viewing starts at Pearson Air Museum, 1115 E. Fifth, Vancouver, Thanksgiving weekend – Friday, noon to 9 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p .m and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All of the details are available at www.rotaryfestivaloftrees.org.

Enjoy these beautiful designs from the 2011 Festival of Trees:

Winter's Glory is a stunning, flocked tree with red magnolias and snow birds, by Donna Rodewald and Kris Hostetter.

Details from Winter's Glory

An Autumn Christmas features amber-colored beads. By Lorraine Carson.

The WSU Tree is filled with ornaments for Cougar fans. By Teddy Jo Mires and Pam Farwell.

Merry Fairy Christmas is filled with fairies. By Kathy Hammer.

Elegant Santa in Tall Dark and Handsome is pure elegance. By Robin Anderson.

Santa is wearing corduroy in Santa's in the Woods. By Jan Hampton.

Tree topper for Santa's in the Woods.

Santa's on Safari in this wildlife covered tree. By Jan Hampton.

Ornaments waiting to be hung on Save Some for Santa.

Lots of whimsy on Save Some for Santa. By Darcy and Meagan Neu.

Men and women in the Armed Services are honored with the Proud to be an American tree. By Debbie Mohagen and Barbara Kindvall

Christmas Memories will be the scene for this year's Talking Tree. By Teddy Jo Mires and Pam Farwell.

Santa is a snowboarder in Santa's Other 364 Days tree. By Karey Dillingham.

There is much more to Santa than a sleigh and reindeer in Santa's Other 364 Days

Pooh is ready for Christmas on the Pooh Bear and His Honey Pot Tree. By Jan Hampton.

Grapes and hydrangea blossoms pair to make lovely decorations in French Country Elegance tree. By Teddy Jo Mires and Pam Farwell.

Pretty as a Peacock creates a stunning color combination. By Karen Stanley.

Peace on Earth features globes and the hope for world peace. By Karen Stanley.

Shoe La La is covered with, of course, charming shoe ornaments. By Darcy and Meagan Neu.

It only takes two colors to make a beautiful tree in Red, White and Retro. By Ines Mahoney.

Self portrait at Festival of Trees. Happy Holidays!

Sustainability consultant Jill Sughrue at Farrar's Bistro in Felida

What brought you to SW Washington?

I moved up here in 1998. When my husband and I got married, he was working in Washington. I grew up in Portland. He said you just drive across the river and it kind of slows down a little bit so we bought an acre and decided to design and self-construct our home.

And when I left my job at PGE in 2005 there were all kinds of sustainability consultants in Portland who had been doing it for 20 years. I wanted to help SW Washington become more sustainable. That really was my mission.

What do you love about SW Washington?

First, it is a smaller town. Vancouver is a smaller town than Portland and I like that. I love the services like C-Tran. It is quieter. We live out a little but so it is really quiet at night. I love that you see wildlife. I love that within a few minutes you can be hiking or be at a park.

I have also gotten involved with the Salmon Creek Farmers’ Market so I love that there are little pockets up here that are getting more and more involved in farmers’ markets and local food and educating the public about fresh, local, hopefully organic food. It opens on June 16 and runs through September on Thursdays, 3 to 7 pm. at the 134th Street entrance to I-5 (1309 NE 134th Street).

What is the best-kept secret about SW Washington?

The contra dance (Contra in the Couve) at the Hazel Dell Grange! It’s the second Friday of every month, 7:30 p.m. with live music. There is a lesson at 7:30 p.m. and dancing from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. And I have discovered Zumba at the same place.

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

I like to do the walk on the riverfront between Beaches and Who Song and Larry’s (Waterfront Renaissance Trail). It’s a great walk and or take it down to the Water Resources Education Center and do that walk.

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

Winter has been so long – somewhere where it is warm. I love the seasons but a little warm sun would be really nice. We were just down in Petaluma, CA. That was kind of nice – a smaller town feel. Walla Walla, WA we look at every once in awhile. We were there last summer. We had some wine and the restaurant owner said – the vintner is right there would you like to talk with him? It turned out that he was a tiny vintner inside another vintner, who was mentoring him. They are competitors but they are very supportive of each other.

When we think about moving, they look at towns and they need to have a community college, they need to have a good health food store, they need to be bikeable, they need to have a little culture whether it is a local theater or part of a community college.

What’s coming up that you are excited about?

I have a grandson coming at any moment, a first grandchild. I am VERY excited about becoming a grandparent.

What would surprise people to know about you?

I LOVE to play poker.

Word Catcher starts at 9 a.m. with registration, coffee and scones.

Morning workshops, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon will feature:

The Secrets of Great Storytelling with Jack Hart, author of upcoming Storycraft and A Writer’s Coach (and this writer’s first journalism professor at the University of Oregon decades ago)

Voice: More than Me, Less Than Me with Mary Lyons, former member of the Richard Hugo House in Seattle.

Poetry for Everybody with Doug Marx, writing teacher and finalist for the Oregon Book Award (This workshop is perfect for April’s National Poetry Month.)

All Hail the Mighty Verb! With Cathy Zimmerman, Features Editor at The Daily News in Longview.

Author Brian Doyle - Photo by Jerry Hart

Brian Doyle will be the featured author at lunch. Brian is the award-winning writer of essays, nonfiction books and novels and the editor of Portland Magazine at the University of Portland. He will read from his work, followed by an open mic.

Afternoon workshops from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. will include:

Serious Fun at Writing with Robin Cody. Registration is limited to 11. Participants were to submit writing to Robin by April 9 so this workshop may be closed. Winner of the Oregon Book Award, Robin is author of Ricochet River and Voyage of a Summer Sun, among other books.

Reading for Writers with Brian Doyle. Brian will read from his novel Mink River and encourages participants to bring pen and notebook.

Story Spinning with Alan Rose. Alan will discuss the creative process of spinning a story. Alan is the author of The Legacy of Emily Hargraves and Tales of Tokyo.

All Hail the Mighty Verb! With Cathy Zimmerman (see morning listing).

(Note: This blog normally provides book links to Powell’s Books. The venerable bookstore’s Web site was down for maintenance at the time of posting so Amazon links are provided. Please support your local bookstores and libraries!)

In addition, the photo exhibit “Pictures Worth A Thousand Words” by Kalama photographer Dan Roberts will be on display.

Cost is $15 for one workshop or $25 for two. Boxed lunch is available for $8 (advanced order is requested). Here is the Word Catcher complete schedule and registration information.

Support Kalama and its public library, improve your writing and meet authors. What more could you want? TELL YOUR FRIENDS, register and head to Kalama on April 23rd!

Mike recently retired from a 40+ year career in broadcasting, most recently at KEX in Portland. Carolyn teaches novel writing and founded the Vancouver Writers’ Mixers. More information is available at their Web site and their blog, which is allegedly co-written by Bubba and Max, their dogs. They (Mike and Carolyn, not the dogs) are also flamboyant Scrabble players. We spoke at the Hazel Dell Tully’s in Vancouver.

Carolyn Rose and Mike Nettleton

What brought you to SW Washington?

Carolyn: We were living in Portland and I was working over here and after commuting for five years I said to Mike, okay it’s your turn to commute because I worked for a little news station here and we kept covering stories about the revitalization of Esther Short Park and I said really this is the place to be so we came over here.

We moved here in October of 2000 and immediately in January of the next year, I lost my job. They just folded the whole little TV station. By that time, we had discovered all the great greenbelt trails and we would be sitting out in the hot tub and the geese flying over and Mike said, “I really like this.”

Mike: I really enjoyed the move. We have never been sorry that we moved over here.

What do you love about SW Washington?

Carolyn: I really like the Farmers Market and Esther Short Park. I really like our neighborhood (Northwest). It’s older and established. You get to know your neighbors. If you can stand on our deck on your tiptoes, you can get a view of the lake.

Mike: She’s not telling you the whole truth. The real attraction about our house, what she really likes the most is the aroma drifting up from the Frito-Lay plant.

Carolyn: When they fire up the Doritos and the air is just a little moist and still and we walk the dogs…

Mike: Remember the cartoon dog from the Huckleberry Hound cartoons when he would get a dog biscuit and go “ummm” and levitate? That’s Carolyn.

Carolyn: I think I gain five pounds when I walk. For my birthday, I want a tour of the Frito-Lay plant.

Mike: It’s funny, at work I dealt with a lot of people in Portland who asked, “You live in Vancouver? Where do you eat?” like we don’t have any restaurants. We have great restaurants in this town. There is a whole attitude kind of thing from Portlanders. I just got to the point where I thought “You don’t know.”

Carolyn: We have lived in small towns growing up and it has that feeling on the west side.

What do you think is the best kept secret of SW Washington?

Carolyn: There is so much here – the water, the trails, that riverfront walk is absolutely gorgeous.

Mike: The art walks. There are some great little galleries downtown and some really talented people.

Carolyn: And of course the new library is going to be stunning!

What is your favorite place to relax around here?

Mike: We are both beach rats. We love the beach towns. We go to Long Beach sometimes but usually we go to the Oregon Coast. Every once in awhile, especially when people come to town we go to the Gorge. The Washington side in some ways is every bit as pretty as the other side. I play golf and I love Tri-Mountain Golf Course because on a clear day you can see Mt. St. Helens, Mt Hood and Mt Adams.

Carolyn: My favorite place to relax has got to be the Marshall Center pool. I can work out and relax and it is one of the few pools with a really deep water section so you can do deep water aerobics. The instructors are terrific.

Mike: I work out in the gym part. I’m a drowner not a swimmer.

Carolyn: He has negative buoyancy. He’s a total sinker. He has so much muscle mass.

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

Carolyn: Maybe Newport, Oregon.

Mike: Yeah, we really like Newport. It’s about the right size. It has some cultural things going on. It has a theater…

Carolyn: …lots of good restaurants.

Mike: The other place I really like is Ashland but trying to afford living there… the cost of housing is obnoxious. A lot of the places were student housing when I went to school there were old rundown Victorians that they had divided into apartments. Now they are million dollar houses. A lot of them are B and Bs.

What’s coming up that you are excited about?

Carolyn: I’m going to independently publish a book (The Refuge) and see how it does. The whole publishing scene is changing so dramatically and I have this book I wrote three or four years ago that I sent to just about every agent on the planet and they yes it’s a good story but we can’t see this being #1 on the New York Times seller list. I believe in democracy. I think readers should decide what they are going to read. They way the system is going now, you could put it up there and you do a little marketing and they decide. I write because I want people to read it.

Mike: It’s a terrific book. I’m not just being a proud husband. Of everything she has written, it is probably my favorite. Somebody really missed the boat.

Carolyn: I’m hoping it will be out in May. It will be available on Kindle and Nook and I will get it into CreateSpace for people who want it as a paperback book. You can go through our Web site to Amazon to buy it.

Mike: I’m going to do Shakespeare in the Park — Lovejoy Fountain park in downtown Portland – The Tempest with Actors Ensemble. I am playing Gonzalo. Carolyn says the reason I got the part was they needed someone old, portly and loud. Hey, whatever it takes!

Carolyn: It’s the man at the moment.

Mike: It’s not a major part but there is a fair amount of memorization and I’m on stage quite a bit. It will be interesting. It will be fun.

What would surprise people to know about you?

Carolyn: As much as I love the great books and movies, I’m addicted to thrillers with a high body count. I love Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series and Stephen Hunter’s sniper, Bob Lee Swagger. I also never miss CSI or Criminal Minds. I never go to “chick flicks” and it’s far more likely that Mike will cry at a movie than that I will.

Also, I once had a job in a grocery store (two miles from Woodstock) and every afternoon, I sold a pack of cigarettes to Bob Dylan.

Mike: I can’t really match that. I did play softball in Albuquerque with Wild Cherry, the group that did Play that Funky Music, White Boy. They were nice guys. Whatever town they came to, they would play against a radio station.

Carolyn: But you have the nude volleyball!

Mike: Oh, yeah! I forgot about that. I was working in Eugene at the radio station and I saw a little blurb in the paper said that the Willamettans (“largest nudist club in the Pacific Northwest”) were having their open house that weekend. I said (on the air) “It’s a little known fact but, at KUGN, we have probably the premier nude volleyball team in the Northwest. The phone rings and the social director of the Willamettans says “I dare you to put me on the air.” Then he says, on the air, “You have the premier nude volleyball team in the Northwest? We’re playing Saturday. Game is at 11 a.m.”

Now I have to go around the radio station and recruit to go up against the Willamettans. We recruited enough people and not only did we do the nude volleyball game, we broadcast the game on the air. Holy mackerel! Volleyball is the nudists’ game. I’m still removing volleyballs from various parts of my anatomy.

Picasso may have it right, but meeting the artist AND seeing the art makes for a rich evening. Vancouver’s First Friday Art Walk always proves that point.

The evening was definitely worth enduring the Niagara-like rain storm. A sampling of the art and artists:

Gallery 360, in its spacious new location at 111 W. Ninth Street, featured a “Cut and Paste” exhibit of mixed media as well as oils and other art from members.

DaBat at Gallery 360

Connie Cleaton at Gallery 360

Dorene Steggell at Gallery 360

Skip Enge’s bright-hued floral portraits gave energy and a longing for spring to the wet March evening at Aurora Gallery at 1004 Main Street.

Skip Enge at Aurora Gallery

North Bank Artists Gallery at 1005 Main Street showcased The Seven Deadly Sins Exhibition. Kaori Freda illustrated “Gluttony” with her Cupcake Diet drawing.

Kaori Freda at North Bank Artists Gallery

Up the street, Angst Gallery at 1015 Main Street celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Inner Light Photographic Society with a group exhibit.

Photographers Chris Eagon, Al Flory and Linda Freeland in front of photos by Chris at Angst Gallery

Last stop was Art on the Boulevard, 210 W. Evergreen Blvd. for the rich oils by Ridgefield artist Oleg Ulitskiy. The exhibit included work produced during a recent trip to his hometown of Odessa, Ukraine and from Northwest locations.

Oleg Ulitskiy with his favorite painting at Art on the Boulevard

As always, the First Friday crowd was patronizing downtown restaurants and bars. We chose Woody’s for margaritas and excellent seasonal quesadillas just steps away from Art on the Boulevard.

The exhibits will be up through March 26. Plan a personal Art Walk to see the creative work of our local artists!

He organizes WordFest, the monthly gathering of writers and readers in SW Washington and is the host of the KLTV program, “Book Chat.” He is also one of the organizers of Word Catcher, the annual literary festival in Kalama.

Alan is also the Director of Community Relations and Development at Lower Columbia Community Action Program (CAP), the largest private non-profit social service organization serving Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties. A native of the Pacific Northwest, he has lived in Tokyo and Melbourne, Australia.

We spoke at Lava Java, coffee house at the I-5 Ridgefield Junction.

How did you come to the Pacific Northwest?

I lived the first 18 years of my life in Vancouver, then did my undergraduate work at Willamette University in Salem and from there I went to the School of Theology at Claremont, California, for my post-graduate work and where I also worked with two churches.

I returned to the Pacific Northwest and spent a year by myself in my parents’ trailer up on Lake Merwin, where I began writing fiction.

After emerging from the wilderness back into the world (I much prefer the wilderness), I served a church outside of Seattle and from there had the opportunity to teach English as a Second Language in Tokyo. From there I went to Australia and traveled around the Pacific Rim, finally returning to the Pacific Northwest 12 years later.

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

Three of my favorite places I have visited and could live are Niigata Japan (in the Japan Alps), the south island of New Zealand and Tasmania. All remind me of the Northwest — lots of mists and mountains.

What’s special about the Pacific Northwest?

Its mystical quality–clouds, mists and mountains. I expressed this in my novel, Tales of Tokyo, where after months of the extreme heat and humidity of the Tokyo summer, the refreshing rains of autumn arrive:

He walked back through the soft rains to his aparto. Leaving the light off, he fixed himself some Market Spice Tea and sat by his open window, inhaling the freshness of the air. A reflective hush and quiet contentment settled over his little world of Fudo-Mae, and he sat a long time in the dark, drinking his tea and listening to the rains. For a native of the Pacific Northwest, rain possesses an almost mystical quality: listening to it, you learn to go deep; when you were a child, it put you to sleep, its soft patter on the roof lulling you; its misty curtain hung over your world transforming it into a magical realm of friendly spirits cloaked in clouds.

The gentle sound shushed, calmed and quieted his soul. For the first time in months he felt refreshed, at peace, and whole. unrolling his futon, he went to sleep to the whispering rain, dreaming of home.

What is your favorite place to relax in SW Washington?

My hillside five acres overlooking the Lewis River Valley, 10 miles upriver out of Woodland. It is my sanctuary. It is my retreat.

What is one thing that would surprise people about you?

That I am an introvert by nature. My job and my community organizing require me to be an extrovert, but I really am a loner, much more comfortable in my own solitude.

What is coming up that you are excited about?

Greg Mortenson. (Lower Columbia Community Action Program is bringing the author of Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools to Longview on March 1st. Details and tickets here.) He has been an inspiration to me and a number of people I know. I think that at this time in our history, we are in need of inspiration and certainly Greg Mortenson can be an inspiration to us with the idea of what one person can accomplish.

Answer: They are all featured at this year’s Festival of Trees. And they all make stunning decorations for the holidays.

I just previewed the trees from the Vancouver Rotary Foundation’s 15th Annual Festival of Trees, which kicks off at noon on Friday, November 26 at Pearson Air Museum in Vancouver. Placed among the vintage airplanes, the trees look great! (Full disclosure, I’m a member of the Vancouver Rotary Foundation Board of Directors so I’m a little unobjective about the event!)

Watching the decorators work their magic on their trees (some fresh, some artificial, some flocked, some not), I learned a lot about how to create a beautiful tree or other holiday decor.

Here are a few of the many lessons I learned:

1. Start with a theme.

One tree has a charming “birds of a feather” theme. Another features snowmen. A third is covered with charming ornaments related to deer. Could I come up with a theme from my mishmash of ornaments? Possibly.

A theme can start with a snowman.

2. Work with a color scheme.

Each Festival tree has a definite color scheme. I love warm colors and copper is a great base color to start with like the tree “Sylvan Revelry.” Reds and blacks can make a dramatic statement.

Copper, olive green and off white make a beautiful color scheme.

Red and black add drama and elegance to a tree.

3. Get your decorations in a row before starting.
All Festival decorators seem to be very organized, with their lights and ornaments spread out on long tables. Maybe it’s time to cover a table with my decorations to inventory what I own, what I should toss, what might look better on a gift package than on a tree and which ornaments could be fun to add to a wreath or garland.

Don't hang one ornament until you are organized!

Do an inventory of your ornaments before you start.

4. Put the lights on first and feel free to mix them.

I knew that lights should go on the tree first. But it never occurred to me that you could mix different kinds of lights. One Festival tree has mixed strands of small white lights with blue snowflake lights for a charming look.

A mix of white lights and blue snowflakes illuminate this tree.

5. Go elegant.

Flowers. Butterflies. Birds. Ribbon. Words. All can bring an elegance to your tree.

Bejeweled butterfly ornaments can help create a stunningtree.

Joy is what your holiday decor should be about!

6. Go whimsical.

There are some very silly and fun decorations out there. One of the Festival trees is covered with hilarious deer ornaments.

A charming deer ornament.

Yet another deer!

A matching deer top completes the tree.

7. Make your own tree topper.

The days of a lone star on top of the tree are gone. Make something fun or unusual to crown your creation.

The decorator made this top for her snowman-themed tree.

Add vertical elegance to the top of your tree.

8. You can’t go wrong with birds.

Okay, it goes without saying that birds and trees belong together. So why not do a tree that focuses on our feathered friends like one of the Festival creations?

A charming feathered ornament.

Another feathered friend.

Owlet ornaments.

Every bird-themed tree needs a bird house.

9. Pull it all together.

Think about your complete picture. Do you want a matching wreath and gift wrap to go with your tree? Check out this Zebra-themed design.

A fully coordinated theme and look for your tree.

10. For more ideas, you need to visit Vancouver Rotary Foundation Festival of Trees!

The trees will be on display at Pearson Air Museum on Friday, November 26, noon to 9 p.m.; Saturday, November 27, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, November 28, Noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free.

Other events include the Community Tree Lighting on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. at Esther Short Park followed by the Vancouver Pops Concert at the Hilton at 7 p.m. Runners and walkers will enjoy Hot Buttered Run and Kids Kandy Kane Race on Sunday at Pearson Air Museum at 10 a.m. (Fees, registration and details at Energy Events)

See you at Vancouver Rotary Foundation Festival of Trees!

In the tradition of these painters, Daybreak Youth Services volunteers created a massive outdoor mural in downtown Vancouver in 2008. “A group of us sat in the shade of the wall one Saturday morning in 2008 and talked about addiction and recovery,” says Donna Wiench, Daybreak Youth Services Development Director. “We discussed the darkness, the constant dissatisfaction and restlessness of addiction and how recovery is like coming into the light and peace.” The teens started drawing and art teacher Heather Fukuchi “put the images together to illustrate the story of going from darkness to light, with the help of community, responsibility, family and love.”

The theme, From Addition to Freedom, depicted the struggles of addiction, along with words like “pain,” “crime” and “hate” and then colorfully morphed into a rainbow and sun, along with words like “responsibility,” “recovery” and “love.” It was a massive act of creativity, which involved more than 30 staff, volunteers, youth ranging from grade school through high school, and teens in recovery.

Imagine how they felt when, even after “offending words” were removed, a building owner completely painted over the mural in the middle of a summer night in 2009. Personally, I was extremely offended by that act, as were many, many other community members.

The good news? The mural lives!

Bookmark © Daybreak Youth Services. Reproduced with permission.

The message of the mural has made the transition from a half-block wide downtown wall to a 3” x 8” bookmark. “Where are you in the mural?” it asks. It’s a fine reminder about the road from addiction to recovery, the drug and alcohol treatment provided to more than 1,100 teens annually by Daybreak Youth Services in Vancouver and Spokane, and power of words, art and paint on the side of a downtown wall. Welcome back, Daybreak mural and thank you, artists!

For more information:
Where to find the bookmark:
Fort Vancouver Regional Library branches, Vintage Books, the law firms of Scott Horenstein (900 Washington #1020) and Miller Nash (500 E. Broadway, #400), among other locations.

Mural Information: Daybreak Mural

Clark County Mural Information: Clark County Mural Society