BIG NIGHT

Okay, it’s taken me awhile to get a grip!

But let me express my huge, heartfelt thanks to every single one of you who flooded the Rio Saturday night, August 25, for the Celebrating James event. You made it such an amazing success!

You came from all aspects of James' life: friends, neighbors, far-flung family members, comic book and monster movie fans, yoga classmates, artists, artisans, art instigators and collectors, art buddies, chess buddies, food buddies, travel buddies, trivia buddies, harbor buddies. The list goes on and on!

They stashed me in the front row, so I couldn’t always tell what was going on behind me. But I was blown away when I stood up from my seat and got a load of the size and scope of this crowd.

It all went by in a blur for me, as you can imagine. But now that a photo slideshow of the event has been made available online, bits and pieces of the night are starting to come back to me. I also get to see who all was there — and just how jam-packed the Rio was.


Just wow!

It will take me awhile to process all these images (visually and emotionally). But here's an early favorite from the front rows. I don't know what we were all laughing at, but that's the kind of night it was — full of tears and laughter, usually at the same time.

There wasn't a dry eye (or nose) in the house when Joe Ferrara sang his aching rendition of "For Good" (from Wicked), with James' smiling face beaming down on us all!





James’ Swedish relatives (brother David Aschbacher, his wife, Maria, niece Helena Ashbacher Malm,and nephew Tobias Wallster) took the stage to honor “Uncle Jimmy.” They were among the biggest hits of evening!

 The one and only Wallace Baine led the crowd in a champagne toast to James!

Lime Green Productions cohort Donna Mekis was there with Marcia and Bruce Mcdougal. She spoke about all our many adventures together!

And two more Lime Green co-conspirators, Ann Ostermann and Jana Marcus! Thank you, ladies for your tireless efforts on behalf of my Art Boy!

So pleased to see Robbie Schoen from Felix Kulpa Gallery out and about (foreground, front row). Go, Robbie!

I'm so sorry I didn't get a chance to speak to every single one of you — I'd have had to get myself cloned. But I'm so grateful to everyone who was there. And you know who you are!

Big kudos to the intrepid fearsome foursome of Lime Green Productions — Ann Ostermann, Linda Bixby, Jana Marcus, and Donna Mekis — for pulling off this extraordinary event.

And above all, thanks to all of YOU who helped me give my Art Boy the celebration he deserved!

Big thanks to photographer Jade Loftus! (And thanks to Jana Marcus for helping us access these pics!)

And even more heartfelt thanks to everyone who came to celebrate my sweetie. James would have loved it!

Thank you, Santa Cruz! You people rock!


(Above, right, a view of the poster table. Thank you, Karen Kefauver!)

CELEBRATING JAMES UPDATE

Don't forget, friends, this Saturday, August 25, we'll be Celebrating James at the Rio Theater!

I was going to suggest that anyone who felt inclined to help out in various crowd-wrangling positions should check out the volunteer sign-up sheet. But it looks like all the volunteer positions are already filled.

Thank you, Santa Cruz!

You are still welcome to simply show up at the Rio for volunteer orientation at 5:15 on the afternoon of the event, for any last-minute celebration emergencies.

James' longtime friend and former business partner, Joe Ferrara will sing. Speakers will speak, and a brilliant slide show of candid photographs from my vast archive, alongside images of James' paintings, will be on a loop upstage. (Put together by the miraculous Jana Marcus!)

And of course there will be bubbly! Doors open at 6, and festivities begin at 6:30.

As difficult as it is to say goodbye to my Art Boy, I hope we can give him a rousing send-off!

I'll see you there!

LOCAL LEGENDS

Funny how time flies!

10 years ago, Art Boy and I were honored with a Gail Rich Award for our various attempts to muck about in the Santa Cruz arts community. (We were a twofer!)

We were thrilled to join an illustrious group of artists, writers, musicians, performers, movers and shakers recognized every year in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, to be profiled by Wallace Baine and photographed by Shmuel Thayer (two local legends in their own right).

Mucking about in the arts.

Flash forward to now. The "Gailies," as they're called, are celebrating their 20th anniversary! And here's something I've discovered as a Gailie recipient: It's not only an honor, it's a lifetime commitment!

Okay, once a year, we go to the Gailie Awards at the Rio to cheer on the new inductees, sip free champagne, and nibble on chocolates and cookies.

But this year's list of events keeps expanding. An exhibit of 20 years of Shmuel's splendid portraits of Gailie recipients opened last week at the Cabrillo Gallery, beautifully curated by Rose Sellery.

Also, in honor of the 20th anniversary, 2016 recipient Jana Marcus spearheaded the book, The Creatives Among Us, a coffee table-sized paperback devoted to all of Shmuel's fabulous photos and Wallace's witty words. As a time capsule of 20 years of the Santa Cruz arts scene, it's irresistible. Order yours today! 

But wait: there's more!

This Saturday night, there will be a special The Creatives Among Us performance at the Crocker Theatre, Cabrillo College, featuring an unheard-of treasure trove of Gailie-winning local legends in concert—singers, musicians, dancers, drummers—onstage together.

Everyone from Santa Cruz Ballet Theater to Watsonville Taiko; from Pipa Pinon, Ginny Mitchell, and Mary McCaslin to Tammi Brown, Eleazor Cortes, and The Great Morgani.

And so many more, some 30 acts in all.

One night only!

Cruise over here for the complete line-up, and ticket info. You don't want to have to tell your grandchildren you missed it!

Gailie class reunion and photo shoot from September, 2015, by Kevin Johnson.

HERE COME THE GAILIES

Get ready for the biggest party in the Santa Cruz arts community since the demise of the old Hearts for the Arts. That would be the Gail Rich Awards, celebrating its 15th anniversary this Wednesday, January 26, at the Rio Theater, where six new inductees will be initiated into the tribe and presented to a grateful public.

Don't expect suspense. Recipients are announced in advance; Price-Waterhouse is not involved. There are no winners or losers, because it's not a contest, just a chance for the community to come together and celebrate some of the folks who make this the kind of place we all want to live in.

Under the auspices of the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County Associates, the idea behind "the Gailies" was hatched at the Sentinel by arts reporter Wallace Baine and photographer Shmuel Thaler. They were looking for a way to honor the abundance of creative artists—dancers, craftspeople, musicians, writers, artists, actors, entrepreneurs, teachers, clowns, exhibitors, purveyors—who make our home town so culturally rich. The award, "recognizing people in the arts who inspire our community," is named for the late and still beloved Gail Rich, onetime Sentinel arts correspondent and member of CCSCC Associates, who was a tireless champion of the local arts scene.

The original plan was to recognize each year's new honorees with a lavish photo spread in the Sentinel, featuring Shmuel's dynamic black-and-white portraits and Wallace's adroit commentary. Then someone got the idea to stage an awards ceremony in the beckoning intimacy of the Kuumbwa, an event that quickly took on a life of its own. These annual Kuumbwa events (always in January, when it's usually pouring outside) became the place to schmooze and be schmoozed with all strata of our thriving arts community. Wine was poured by the ever-gracious Robert Kelley of Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre (who went on to receive his own Gailie with co-founder Diane Cypher), and there was always a spread of fabulous local treats after the ceremony. Peter McGettigan (also a future Gailie recipient) started filming the event for rebroadcast on Community TV. After a few years, there were so many folks lined up outside in the rain, hoping to get in, that last year they switched to a new venue at the Rio.

While we all miss the intimacy of Kuumbwa, the sheer capacity of the Rio ensures that no one has to resort to Machiavellian ploys just to get a seat. Master of ceremonies Wallace's jokes are just as funny and the montage of Shmuel's photos just as impressive in a larger auditorium. Of course, the Rio is an alcohol-free venue, but that didn't dampen the spirit one iota at last year's event.

We're even looking forward to clear skies this year. So come in a party mood to celebrate this year's honorees: photographer Bob Barber, singer Lori Rivera, musician Bryn Loosley, artist Rose Sellery, Rick "Ukelele Dick" McKee, and artist/writer T. Mike Walker. Doors open at 7:10 pm sharp; showtime is 7:30 pm. Admission is free. Read all about it at the CCSCC website. And to really get in the groove, check out this cool slideshow of all 84 of Shmuel's fabulous photos of Gailie honorees.



Speaking of people who are an asset to our community, did you see the exhibit, "Transfigurations" by local photographer Jana Marcus? Begun as a thesis project at San Jose State University, this important show documents a handful of transgendering men and women who allowed Jana to photograph the stages of their progress and record their unique stories. From the initial showing at SJSU in 2004, various reinventions and updates of the exhibit have been seen in New York, Seattle, Illinois State University, Stanford University and San Francisco, as well as local showings at the Attic in 2006 and at Cabrillo College last fall.

As a pioneering work in the still marginalized field of LGBT studies, the exhibit has garnered many awards and citations. For years, fans have been pestering Jana to bring it out as a book, but no such luck in today's belt-tightening, play-it-safe publishing environment. So this month, Jana decided to get a grip on her destiny and posted the "Transfigurations" book project on Kickstarter.com, the website that functions as a kind of creativity matchmaker, presenting artistic projects in need of funding to a cyber-pool of potential donors. Response so far has been tremendous. Donations accepted until February 23, but the project looks like a go. Click here to see how she's doing and cheer her on.

(Above: Jana hangs her exhibit at the Attic, May, 2006.)