Old Town Center for the Arts ~ Cottonwood, AZ

The Old Town Center for the Arts ~ Cottonwood, AZ

In celebration of Cultural Diversity Week

Yes We CAN
An evening of storytelling, poetry and music
exploring our cultural roots and common ground

Saturday, May 16, 7:30 pm
$7 in advance and at door

“We need the arts to teach us how to breathe and beat our blood.”
~ Ray Bradbury

On Saturday May 16th at Cottonwood’s Old Town Center for the Arts at 7:30 PM the varied sounds of storytelling, music, and poetry will come together to explore cultural roots and common ground. This special evening will present an uncommon example of the cross-pollination of the Verde Valley’s surpassing creative talent. Perhaps nowhere else in America does there exist a region so brimming with more tales, or a more diverse oral tradition, which was ancient when history was born, according to Sally Stryker of Page Springs (see photo). Rounded up for the program are some of the unsurpassed around: Marge Fallon, Ginny Kaiser, Steve Benedict, Diane Dearmore, Jade Geneve and Stryker. Also on hand will be Cottonwood Mayor Diane Joens to read a proclamation recognizing “Cultural Diversity Week” in Cottonwood / Verde Valley.

Interspersed with ‘telling’ will be poetry presented by several illustrious poets. If poetry is the language in which man explores his own amazement, then the invited poets have done much exploring: Adele Seronde, painter, author founder of Gardens for Humanity; Dr. Devin Mikles, founder of Choices of Integrative Healthcare, a widely published poet who fell in love with words at age nine; Mary Bragg and Amy Calhoun from Prescott’s Mad Women Poets; Bonnie Hartenstein, celebrated teacher, artist and veteran poet, and Dan Seamans, also from Prescott.

Woven between the words will be music by Sunny Heartley and Bridge Dreamweaver. As a composer, multi-instrumentalist, recording engineer, and craftsman, Sunny plays his own line of Native American Flutes. He recently gained national recognition, receiving a Peoples Choice Award for “Best New Healing CD, at the International New Age Trade Show. Bridge will play music on a traditional and contemporary shaman’s bow, reenacting the present time awareness of ancient storytellers conversing with the surrounding living landscape, animals, humans and the more-than-human world.

This event is co-sponsored by the City of Cottonwood, Cultural Diversity Council of Verde Valley, Yavapai College, Cornucopia Community Advocates and Old Town Center for the Arts. Everyone is invited to bring a few cans of food to be donated to nearby Old Town Mission.

For more information call James Bishop at 928-300-1301.

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