Event ticklers
Ackamoor takes flight at Rafter’s next Thursday. (PHOTO: Speyer/Capparell)
A cultural odyssey
Thanks to sponsorship by the California Arts Council, Cultural Odyssey and musician Idris Ackamoor will make a special tour stop at the new Rafters in Mammoth for a FREE concert this coming Thursday, March 18, at 8 p.m. The concert series is partly supported with funds provided by the CAC and the California Department of Justice’s 2003 antitrust settlement with major music distribution companies and national retail chains.
Ackamoor and special guest musician Frederick Harris will present “Artistic Being,” combining jazz, world and new age music, as well as tap dance, which they are taking to geographically-diverse rural regions of California, as well as urban cities.
“Artistic Being” features Ackamoor on alto sax, flutes, mbiras, tap dance, percussion and “invented” instruments, and Harris on electric & acoustic piano and drums in original compositions, meditative and spiritual jazz, and works jazz legends John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker.
More info: www.culturalodyssey.org/v2/season/artisticbeing/.
Spring equinox theory
This year’s Spring Equinox Fundraiser for Mono Basin Historical Society presents An Evening with “String Theory,” on Friday, March 19, at 7 p.m. in the Lee Vining Community Center.
“Escape the doldrums! Celebrate St. Pat’s Day and Spring Equinox with some fresh, acoustic treatments of standards, originals, Celtic and English folk, jazz, swing, country/bluegrass, humor and lots more,” suggested String Theory’s Charles Broten.
Donation at door: $5. A portion of the proceeds benefit Mono Basin Historical Society. More info: Janet 760.647.6431 or Charlie 760.872.1779. Visit www.charliebroten.com and click on the String Theory tab.
Eastern Sierra women
The Eastern Sierra Cultural Heritage Alliance presents “Women of Eastern California,” an exhibit on the pioneering women of the Mammoth Lakes area, on display at the Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center, 2510 Hwy 203, through Sept. 30. Imagine what it was like to leave your home and travel by wagon train to the west. Discover hardship and joy in the diaries of those that made the journey. Early settler dresses and belongings will be on display. Books will be available for purchase include: “Ho for California,” “Westward the Women,” “Westering Women,” and “Women’s Voices from the Mother Lode.”
More info: contact the Mammoth/Mono Lake Ranger District at 760.924.5516.
Learn on the wild side
Valentine Eastern Sierra Reserve staff are collaborating with the Mammoth Lakes Library to bring animal stories to pre-school kids. On Saturday, March 13, and again on Saturday, March 27, VESR’s Leslie Dawson and Ms. Edyth will present special story hours at the library with wildlife stories, followed by a show and tell with skins and skulls and ending with a craft project.
Story hour begins at 10:30 a.m. in the Ellie Randol Reading Room. Be there early to get a good seat and bring a camera! Free, open to the public! Info: 760.934.4777.
