Get ready for another Sierra Art Hop weekend

You're Invited

By Al Joyal

(Updated: Friday, May 09, 2008, 5:53 PM)

It's all about the art

Enjoy the many artists of the Sierra Art Hop Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Featured artists this month are: painter Phyllis Overstreet at the Community Art Gallery of North Fork and photographer Christine White Loberg at Willow Bridge Books in Oakhurst.

The Community Art Gallery and Gift Shop of North Fork is located on 9 Mammoth Pool Road (Rd. 225) at the Old Saw Mill Site in North Fork. For more information call (559) 877-2487.

Willow Bridge Books in Oakhurst will feature nature photographer Christine White Loberg for the Art Hop with a presentation at 2 p.m.

Loberg is a California photographer who spends much of her time capturing images of Yosemite National Park, the Sierra National Forest and the surrounding foothills.

She is a landscape photographer, most at home hiking the trails of the Central Sierra Nevada mountains. Loberg enjoys sharing her passion for the beauty of the natural landscape and hopes to capture this in her work. She works as a park ranger and photography instructor, conducting photo walks and slide presentations in Yosemite Park.

Come and share the beauty of her photography and her warm, friendly personality and gentle sense of humor at Willow Bridge Books from 11 am to 4 p.m., with a presentation at 2 p.m. For more information, call the bookstore at (559) 692-2665.

The Sierra Art Hop is always on the second Saturday of each month, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and features an art reception at most of the local art galleries and other places that feature local, original art. For more information, call the organizing host gallery, Timberline, in Gallery Row at (559) 692-3345.

Golden Chain

Ms. Patti Law's "Fussn' N Feudn' Spring Dance Extravaganza" at the Golden Chain Theatre will be held beginning May 17.

Ask any long-time Oakhurst family who Ms. Patti is, and most likely they'll have a story of how some family member was in a show at the Golden Chain Theatre and dressed as a worm, cookie or elephant.

The dance show this year is themed with hillbilly madness and fun for the whole family.

Show dates are Friday, May 17 at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 17 at 7p.m. and Sunday May 18 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $6-$12. Arrive an hour before show time for good seats.

The Patti Law School of Dance will feature a cast of more than 50 dancers, including students ages 4 and up performing a variety of original, choreographed dances of Patti Law's. Enjoy the cute, tiny tots, the talented teens and the dancing grannies. Patti's productions include the Christmas Variety Show and the Spring Recital at the Golden Chain Theatre located just north of Oakhurst, and are truly an only-in- Oakhurst experience.

For tickets and more information, call (559) 683-7112.

Laurie B. at Castillo's

The Laurie B. Ballard Trio will perform upstairs at Castillo's Restaurant in Oakhurst on Saturday, May 10 from 7 to 10 p.m. Ballard sings, play guitar and sax and writes the words and music to much of what the band plays. Her original works have a easy rock-county feel to them, and her lyrics use local themes or ideas such as riding a Harley through Raymond on a hot day. She will also share new songs from her Mexico trip, such as Pepita Maria Louisa Garcia. For more information, call Ballard at (559) 683-2000.

More classes with Vision

The Vision Academy of the Arts offers many one day workshops throughout the year. The next few class are Dichroic Glass Fusion and a watercolor workshop. The proceeds from the classes benefit a scholarship fund for students with an interest in the arts.

The annual "Interpreting Yosemite in Watercolor" will feature teachers Diane Astier, Mary Cambell-Mann, Diane Detrick-Bopp and Phyllis Overstreet. It meets in the national park July 14-18 and is $250. For more information about these and other classes, call Jackie Byers at (559) 683-7071.

For more details on the France painting trip you may of heard about, check the VAA catalog, look online at www.rousset-perigord.org or call Grace at (510)794-5468.

The VAA catalogs are available at the local branch libraries, or by calling Jackie at (559) 683-7071.

Yosemite Jazz Band

The Yosemite Jazz Band plays free from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. every Thursday in the summer at The Pizza Factory in Oakhurst.

Check the band's Web site for more information at www.yosemitejazzband.com.

Al Joyal can be reached by e-mailing aljoyal@sti.net.