Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez and Arts Activities & Opportunities

Mardi Gras on in February 16 and Longview is celebrating! St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church is celebrating a bit early - February 4 - with a Let the Good Times Roll Zydeco Dance - see Activities below.

My husband and I lived in New Orleans for 6 months in 1991. We were there for Mardi Gras and it was fun. Mardi Gras is so much more than the day before the start of Lent. Depending on when Lent falls, the celebration, which really starts after New Years Day, can run from 6 - 10 weeks. And every week there are several parades - float parades, day parades, night parades, truck parades, walking parades - leading up to the major parades that take place the last 4 days of Mardi Gras. We saw at least 25 parades and were in the French Quarter on Mardi Gras. At midnight, the city water trucks come through the Quarter and wash everybody off the streets (and into the bars).

But, I must confess, my favorite part of Mardi Gras is the King Cake - a gooey, yeast coffee cake covered with frosting and colored sugars (purple, green and gold). Each King Cake contains a tiny plastic baby figure (I am pretty sure it is pushed into the cake after it is baked) and whoever gets the baby has to buy the next cake for the next party. I miss them a lot. I have been known to order them from New Orleans and to bake them myself (I just can’t get them gooey enough).

First Thursday - February 4

1. Broadway Gallery, 1418 Commerce, Longview www.the-broadway-gallery.com/

   Feature artists are Karen Price (Watercolors), Stan Gibson (Pottery), Debra Chase (Pastel Painting) and Scott Dennis (Pottery).Reception: 5:30 – 7:30pm. Live Music by Dave Mongeau and Dian Norman.

2. Teague’s Interiors Mezzanine Gallery, 1267 Commerce, Longview teaguesinteriors.com/

   Teague’s shows the works of 15 local artists and craftspersons in the Boutique & Gallery. Max Wade, teacher and painter, will begin a series of talks on art collecting and appreciation. Hours: 5:00 - 7:00.

3. The Bistro, 1329 Commerce Avenue, Longview www.thebistrobuzz.com/

   Wine Tasting. Live music. Door Prizes. Reservations Recommended. Hours: 5:00 - 8:00pm.

4. ZoJo Coffee, 1335 14 th Avenue, Longview zojocoffee.com/

   Featuring Max Wade (paintings). Open until 7:00pm.

5. Cowlitz County Historical Museum, 405 Allen Street, Kelso www.co.cowlitz.wa.us/museum/

   Was It Really That Wet for the Corp of Discovery? George Miller, retired meteorologist with the NWS, will be discussing the weather encountered and recorded by Lewis & Clark while in our area. Program begins at 7:00pm.

Arts Events

Feb 3 - 27: Annual Quilt Show. Castle Rock Exhibit Hall. Wed. - Sat. 10:00am - 2:00pm. 147 Front Street, Castle Rock.

Feb 4: Mardi Gras Dance - music by Leon Chavis and the Zydeco Flames. 7 - 8:00pm Dance Lesson; 8 - 11:30pm Dancing. All ages welcome. National Guard Armory, 819 Vandercook, Longview. Sponsored by St. Stephens Episcopal Church. Benefit for Hurricane Ike relief. Information: www.sslv.org/

Feb. 5: Piano Recital - Pianist Jeffrey Gilliam honors Chopin’s 200th Birthday. 7:00pm. St. Stephens Episcopal Church, 1428 22nd Avenue, Longview. Sponsored by the Cowlitz Chapter of the Washington State Music Teacher’s Association. Information: Karla Dudley, 360-577-1366; Sharon Moe, 360-636-1715.

Feb. 11 - March 12: Ken Turner - In the Moment, an exhibit of Photographs. Reception February 11, 5 - 7:00pm. LCC Gallery at the Rose Center, 15th & Washington, Longview. Information: lowercolumbia.edu/community/art-and-entertainment/the-art-gallery/

February 19 - 20: Plomondon Independence Film Festival. Feb. 19, 7:00pm; Feb. 20, 1:00pm. Morgan Arts Centre, 190 Plomondon Road, Toledo, WA. Information: 360-864-4278 or www.morganartscentre.com/

Feb. 24 - 27, Mar. 4-6 and 11-13: Eurydice - 2008 play by Sarah Ruhl that tells the Orpheus and Eurydice myth from the viewpoint of Eurydice. Lower Community College Center Stage. 7:30pm. Rose Center for the Performing Arts.

Feb. 26 - 27, Mar. 5-6: The Winter’s Tale - Mainstage Theatre community production of Shakespeare tragedy. 7:30pm; also 2:00pm on March 5. R.A. Long High School Auditorium, Longview.

February 27: Columbia Theatre Tours/Open House. Events marking completion of the year-long $11 million renovation of the theatre. Dedication at 10:00am; self-guided tours and local performances from Noon - 5:30pm. Information: www.columbiatheatre.com/

February 27: The 9th Annual Soup-Off - a fundraiser for Longview Stageworks. 6 - 9:00pm. Canterbury Park, 1335 3rd Avenue, Longview. Tickets: 360-575-8499 or buy online at www.columbiatheatre.com/

Arts Opportunities

Call for Artists: Columbian Artists Association extends a call to artists for the 34th Annual Judged/Juried Spring Show to be held at the Rose Center Gallery on March 26 - April 2. Entries are open to artists age 18 and older from Cowlitz, Clark, Wahkiakum, Lewis and Pacific counties in Washington and Clatsop and Columbia counties in Oregon. Entries will be received from 10:00am to 5:00pm on March 22.

The show opens Friday, March 26th and closes Friday, April 2nd. Prospectus can be obtained at the Broadway Gallery in Longview or from the Rose Gallery at Lower Columbia College in Longview. Information: Irene Bacon, 575-9751, Nubby Erickson, 503-728-2975 or www.columbianartists.org/

Call for Artists and Writers: The Salal Review, LCC’s arts magazine, invites local artists to submit their work for possible publication in the 10th issue, to be released May 28. The submission deadline is January 31. Information: Joseph Green at 442-2632 or lowercolumbia.edu/salal

Art Classes

Icon Workshop: Bernette Weber is offering a series of classes on Icons every Saturday afternoon, starting February 6. Teague’s Interiors. Information: teaguesinteriors.com/