Damian Regalado is opening up for us on Saturday, June 22nd, from 7-7:30 pm at Memorial Park for the Weiser Fiddle festival. I think that is the coolest thing ever! I would love him if he could make my wrinkles disappear! At any rate, he is a sword swallowing, fire eating, extraordinary magician!
Damian Regalado’s magic show is far from a typical magic show. Since the age of seven, he started performing magic after watching a YouTube video on how to make a card float. After that, he went on to learn as much as he could and created his own show to perform for neighborhood kids. Since then, he has gone on to create slightly better shows.
With his unique combo of mixing sleight of hand magic, with genuine sideshow skill, he creates an experience unlike anything seen before. In one show he’ll swallow swords, eat fire, read minds, perform sleight of hand, swallow needles and bring them all back tied onto a foot of thread, and so much more. And at the age of 18, he is one of the youngest professional sword swallowers in the world.
So, come one come all! If you ever wanted to see a one-man circus. Minus the clown look of course.
Jim Bateman performing at The Sandbar in Marsing, Idaho
We met Jim Bateman for the first time at a showcase we were hosting for local talent at Powderhaus Brewing Company in Garden City. This sweet hearted musician is always smiling. One of the things I find so endearing about him, beyond his personality, is that I could always tell when he makes a mistake because he gets this funny smile on his face. He has also performed with us at The Dale Grovesnor’s Car Show in Parma and The Sandbar in Marsing. We adore him!
Jim Performing at Powderhaus Brewing Company
Jim’s Story
” I started out with music by being amazed at the way my mom could play the harmonica, sing, and dance around the house when I was knee-high to a grasshopper. My dad could play harmonica, too, but not like my mom. She used to play a song called “Old Shep”, which made me cry every time because it was so sad.”
“When I was in the 6th grade, we owned a grocery store in Norland, Idaho. One day a couple that was down on their luck came into the store wanting to swap a guitar for some groceries. Of course, my folks went ahead with the deal, and that started my music career.”
“I used to run the checkout stand, and we had that guitar sitting behind the counter. One day a cowboy who worked at the Bruneau Sheep Company herding cows came in and asked if he could play a song on our guitar. I said, “Sure.” Man, that guy could play! I was totally amazed and wanted to play like him!”
“I met a guy my age named Jimmy Pena, and he taught me a couple of chords, E, A, and D, and off I was into the music. I learned the rest of the chords and practiced. By the 8th grade, we had a group called “The Precious Few.” We played at a talent contest at the high school and really sucked, but I kept on playing.”
“One of the guys from that group, Delphino Martinez on rhythm guitar, his brother Cedro on bass guitar, a guy named Neil Lewis on lead guitar, and myself on drums started another group called “The Sun Cycle.” We became pretty tight. We played a couple of weddings, a couple of small get-togethers, and also played in a Battle of the Bands in Jerome, Idaho. We came in 3rd place out of 3 bands, but we sounded pretty good.”
“Our band broke up, and I sold my drums to go see Jethro Tull in Salt Lake City, Utah. I kept on playing my guitar and bought myself an acoustic Yamaha. I kind of let my music take a back seat to work and raising a family. I got pretty rusty, but I continued to play occasionally.”
Wyatt, Kristi, and Jim at Powderhaus Brewing in Boise. Photo by Jaz Fagan
“I played rhythm guitar with a worship band in Boise and really began getting serious about music again. We started a band called “The Third Tradition” playing at dances. After playing four dances, our bass player quit to go out long haul truck driving and our band broke up. We were really starting to get good.”
“My brother and I started up a trucking company. We went out long haul truck driving and, all of a sudden, I began writing songs. I’m pretty much about writing about God in my music because I probably wouldn’t still be here if it weren’t for God. Not all of my songs are about God, but some of the best songwriters I listen to like, Bob Dylan, The Doobie Brothers, and many others write about God.”
“I love music and would like to just write, play, and perform, but I haven’t quite got to that point yet. I guess you could say that God isn’t done working on me yet. Music is part of my soul and keeps me out of the blues, it rejuvenates me, and I just love music.”
You can catch Jim at Memorial Park during Weiser Fiddle Festival on Wednesday, June 19th, from 3-4 pm, and again on Saturday, June 22nd, from 6-7 pm where he will be opening up for Saturday night’s headlining band “The Sofisticats,” You can also go to https://www.reverbnation.com/silverado9 to listen to some of his wonderful songs.
I first met Walt and Teresa Huntsman when we were hosting a showcase of local talent at Powderhaus Brewing in Garden City. They are a very talented couple. I think that one of the things I found most unique about them was that Teresa was playing guitar and Walt was singing. You don’t see that often, if ever, usually it’s the other way around. The guy plays guitar and the girl sings. You can catch their act at Memorial Park during The Weiser Fiddle Festival on Saturday, June 22, from noon-1 pm. All the events are free for this week long festival.
Walt Huntsman is originally from Seattle and does the lead vocals, percussion, and harmonica. Teresa is from the deep-south and plays acoustic guitar and does backing vocals. They serve up an acoustic stew of folk-pop, seasoned with a dollop of blues, and a dash of country. Their original songs are crafted from everyday events, stories inspired by the past, and observations about life and love.
If it crosses Walt’s mind, there’s a good chance it will end up coming out of Teresa’s guitar. This year they have taken the band name “Seattle Goes South.” They cover tunes from artists who inspire them such as James Taylor, Tom Petty, John Prine, and many others.
Walt Huntsman
“Music was pretty much the one constant in my life growing up. After I was born in Seattle, the family moved to Portland, Oregon for a short stay, then on to Los Angeles. After my parents divorced, my mother remarried, and we moved to Rosamond, California, a small city west of Edwards Air Force Base. When I was 12, my mother, my sister, and I moved back north to Seattle.”
Walt and Sister Laura
“During this time, I gravitated to classic singers such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, and Sarah Vaughan. I also had a real affinity for big bands, like Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Buddy Rich, and Duke Ellington. In fourth grade, I began my first forays into music, taking up the alto saxophone, an instrument I played until I finished high school.”
“My musical tastes are somewhat eclectic. My record collection of over 500 albums and later several hundred CDs ranged from ABBA to ZZ Top. I listened to everything from Barry Manilow and John Denver to Jethro Tull, Robin Trower, and David Bowie. In more recent years, I have begun listening to more artists that aren’t as well known, such as John Gorka, Mary Black, and Luka Bloom. I’ve also developed a real affinity for the music of Leonard Cohen and John Prine,”
“After I graduated from high school in 1974, I began my first attempt at a college education. This is when I began writing really bad song lyrics. By now, I had also started listening to more contemporary artists. In 1978, I began a life-long love affair with the music of Elvis Costello. In 1978, I left college without a degree to seek fame and fortune in broadcasting, taking a radio announcer job in Raymond, Washington.”
“When the station was sold, I left and worked in retail for several years before landing a television job in Miles City, Montana, (once again) resuming my search for fame and fortune. Ten years later, after stops in South Dakota, Louisiana, returning to Montana and Louisiana, and on to Alabama, I ended my broadcasting career, having found neither fame nor fortune.”
“By this time, I had begun to take a more active role in music, joining one of the church choirs at a Catholic church in Madison, Alabama, where I met Teresa. Throughout this time, I had continued to write lyrics. In 1993, when Teresa and I were engaged to be married, we collaborated on the music for our wedding, which was a full wedding Mass. After marriage, I continued to write lyrics, although I still wasn’t doing anything with them. (I returned) to college and pursued the degree I had abandoned in 1978.”
“I stopped writing lyrics for several years and only wrote sporadically after we moved to Idaho in 2003. It was after attending a concert at Lucky Peak Park in September 2014 and learning about the Idaho Songwriters Association that I began writing again with an actual goal of one day sharing my songs with others. Up to this point, they seemed more like journal fodder.”
“With Teresa’s help that became a reality when we stepped on the stage of The Sapphire Room at the Riverside Hotel for the first time in February 2015. Since then, I’ve continued to write and have since begun learning how to chord and arrange some of my songs. Over the years, I have written lyrics for an estimated 1,500 songs. We currently have more than 100 original songs chorded and arranged that we can perform with more coming all the time. Now that I have some mileage under me, I feel I am writing the best songs of my life at this stage. I hope the people who give us a listen will agree”
Teresa Huntsman
Teresa grew up in the ’60s and ’70s in south Alabama listening to her sister’s Herman’s Hermits, Tommy James, and Gary Lewis & The Playboys mixed in with her brother’s Cream, Johnny Winters, Seals & Crofts, Three Dog Night, and Leo Kottke records. In 1972, Teresa discovered Chicago in the midst of their classic influential jazz-rock years and began her life-long love affair with their musical stylings.
Teresa Huntsman
Two years later, she started to play rhythm acoustic guitar at age 14 and played in the church choir through high school and college where she attended Auburn University and got a degree in industrial engineering. Over the years, she played with different guitarists and pianists, learning, growing, and progressing with every musician.
Her favorite past time as a teen was to record pop music off the radio onto a cassette player to try to figure out the words and chords so she could play the songs. This skill was to become a big part when, in 2014, Walt resumed his songwriting. Since he could not play the guitar, he had not learned yet how to use chords.
Walt would sing his song creations to Teresa, and she would figure out how to play them on guitar. Later, Walt took guitar lessons and over time increased his ability to chord his own music. Teresa continues to come up with chord progressions and rhythms that inspire some of his songs. Teresa still loves learning new songs after researching them on the internet and perfecting them, and Walt has become more prolific in his songwriting.
In 2015, they began to perform occasionally in the Boise area. Today they perform over 100 originals and nearly 300 songs by over 150 different artists. These songs range from tender love songs to pop and rock tunes. Please, check them out at The Weiser Fiddle Festival on Saturday, June 22.
Doug Slagle Playing at The Saphire Room, Idaho Songwriters Forum, in Boise in early 2000. Photo Jim Gilmore
I have worked with many different musicians throughout the years, but Doug Slagle is by far one of the most creative and innovative musicians I have ever met. He is an amazing lead guitar player and vocalist, banjo, fiddle, and mandolin player. Don’t even get me started on the penny whistles that he made out of PVC pipe! Yes, he actually sat down with PVC pipe and made penny whistles, tuned them in, and set them up! That was my birthday present one year from him.
I was at the beginning stages of being a rhythm guitar player and had been a lead vocalist for well over 30 years. Doug comes into my life when I was playing at Crescent Brewery. He’s this amazingly talented guitar player. He also just happens to play mandolin and fiddle. We hooked up playing music together and he made me better at rhythm guitar. He loved the Celtic music that I was playing at that time, and we became fast friends.
He’d been side skipping over the world of music for many years. in the 1950s their mother had twins. They were singing cowboy songs at the local fair and talent shows in their hometown at an early age. They were bookends. Probably cute, but, more of a comedy act.
Dave and Doug Slagle playing ukeles at a very young age!
Around 1960 their cuteness faded fast as did their budding cowboy bookend careers. They moved on to tap dancing, Doug thought his mom was hoping he’d be the next Danny Kaye.
“With zero coordination, a shaky voice and a tin ear, there was little hope. Growing up in a little town with three and a half TV stations and a few AM stations, big band, country, and bubble gum rock… kind of stunted my musical growth… the big bands and country swing was pretty good. Some of the folk stuff was OK. Every now and then you heard Johnny Rivers doing a remake of some old blues or R&B tune.” Doug recalls.
He found music that really moved him like John Lee Hooker and some of the R&B songs floating around at the time like “You Put a Spell on Me”, and “Midnight Special”. Early stuff by Elvis was pretty good, then, along came the Beatles! Their music was OK, but, the hoopla surrounding them was about as alien as anything he’d ever seen. “What was the big deal?” He asked himself. Of course, the bubblegum pop station was buried in The Beatles.
One day, in the early 60s, his dad brought home a guitar. It was a wall ornament really. The bridge was in the wrong position. Doug couldn’t make anything work so, he hung it up, and never thought about that guitar again until a few years later. His dad got a guitar and amp as collateral for a bill at the store his family owned. He tried some stuff on the guitar, and he could finally make sense of it. That guitar went away when the bill was paid off by the customer. Later on, in 1966, when he was in high school, he got an acoustic guitar with a sound hole pickup and just started making noise. He’s been doing it ever since.
Eventually, he created a band. His twin brother Dave was on drums, with a few friends from town, and Doug on the guitar. They made their own brand of noise everywhere they could. The band was more of a social club than a musical entity. It kept them out of trouble.
Dave and Doug Slagle, High School Era.
He played in the marching band in school. He wanted to play sax or trumpet but was persuaded by the instructor to take up the sousaphone. Music and sports all in one instrument. The music instructor heard he was playing guitar and told him if he learned some stage band charts he could play in the stage band. So he did.
“I think the band instructor took pity on me when I got near high school graduation and recommended me for a music scholarship at the Junior College in the “big” city, (Wenatchee, WA). All I wanted to do was play music. All this real-world stuff kept rearing up its ugly head. I spent a year playing and studying all kinds of music and attending Wednesday night keggers. I decided the following year (that I) would be just playing music. Spent most of it playing bass guitar for a band in a strip joint. What an education!”
Of course, the world had other plans for Doug. The Vietnam war was still going on, and his draft number was low. Eventually, he wound up doing pushups in “The Ice Plant” on a beach in California. Yep, he was in the military now. “Well, my illustrious military career included staying stateside with minor excursions elsewhere. I’d have to shoot you if I told you,” said Doug.
The Army got him into other music though, more blues, soul, southern rock and a bit of Irish. The Irish and southern rock stuck with him. The Irish thing was weird to him. He was hitchhiking from Fort Belvoir to Washington D.C. when a young fellow picked him up and had Irish music playing on his car stereo.
“I think it was the Chieftains. The modality and voices and rhythms all stuck with me. I spent some time trying to find Irish, Scottish stations/programs. I was at the time pretty much convinced that I was mostly German background. Little did I know my background, more Celt and Anglo Saxon than German Saxon.” He loved it and carried it with him through the next few years.
He got out of the Army in the middle 70s and all of the music that was just happening. The artists that died like Hendrix, Morrison, and Joplin all had effects on him. Then eventually Ronny Van Zandt and Stevie Ray Vaughn all affected his music. He did one semester at Washington State University right out of the Army. He didn’t like his advisor and, as a result, his major in college. He decided it wasn’t for him.
After the military, and his semester at WSU, he was now living on the Columbia River, and then in the Cascade mountains. There were working orchards in the valleys where he could find work but it was the end of the hippy era.
He was now playing guitar in the local taverns with some coastal musicians. They played lots of Bay area music from Santana to Mark Almond, as well as The Grateful Dead. At this point, he worked the harmonica into his repertoire.
Doug Through the Years
Doug got married and decided to go back to college, this time at a trade school in Spokane. He liked music technology, so he got a degree in analog electronics. He took the digital courses that were available at the time but felt that music was always going to be analog. So far only the transducers, guitar pickups. microphones and other electronic equipment had remained analog.
Spokane introduced him to a fellow from Texas that performed everything from Tex Mex to western swing. He didn’t realize that he had missed country western as much. “Good stuff. My maternal grandmother died, and I wound up with a fiddle. I started playing that. Picked up a banjo and toyed with that as well.”
After he graduated, he wound up in Oregon working for a scientific instrument manufacturer. Oregon introduced him to fusion music. He ran into music such as Jean Luc Pontee, Chick Corea, Bob James…some blue grass as well.
Move forward to the 1980s. While in Oregon he was taking Engineering classes. After his son was born, he got an opportunity to go to college in New York. In Central New York he wound up playing more country music and old rock and roll with many different bands in many situations. The Irish thing started working back into his life. He had some exposure to Celtic bands through local music societies.
In 1990 he moved back west after ten years of being away. He learned more old-time fiddle, bluegrass and Celtic tunes involving contra dancing and bluegrass bands associated with folk music societies. He also played banjo in a light opera called “Shenandoah.” It was at this point that he picked up the mandolin.
Doug’s marriage ended. He spent months working on a suite of guitar instrumentals that go from alternate tunings that flow from one to another to minimize stress on the guitar. He wound up moving to Idaho, where his twin brother Dave lived and picked up playing with him again. They started playing venues with a female vocalist playing top forty country music with a smattering of Irish as a sideline. When that ended, they took up with a five-piece vocal-oriented band and played a few venues. At this point, he got a day job back in NY.
In 1996 Doug and Dave formed Slaglebois, a 2 piece guitar duo that plays country, rock, folk, and originals at Crescent Brewery and other venues. Doug, always being the forward thinker that he is, is always looking for the next great adventure with music.
In the 2000s in New York state, he revisited and played mostly country music with sideline work in a light opera playing bass with “Always Patsy Cline”. He played with a country band and did weekly dances and many honky tonks in central New York. He also became interested in Harley Davidson bikes. He’s an avid rider to this day.
He did solo gigs playing instrumentals and his own tunes in local restaurants and at art shows. Had a friend who made guitars and they started an owner’s group. They had get-togethers with folks having pretty eclectic music styles. They wrote several tunes together and Doug, as always, moved forward.
In about 2010 he moved back to Idaho. He got a duet going with his brother. They played the local bars using MIDI backup tracks. They played originals, Celtic, old country and rock tunes and played lots of free shows. He wound up doing some shows at the Crescent Brewery in Nampa. There he met me and I was performing mostly Celtic tunes of the Welsh variety. They wound up doing many shows together. It was quite the learning experience.
These days he solos sporadically. “…not as young as I used to be. I do a Celtic round every Monday in Nampa at Crescent Brewery that is called Ceol de Luain, and once or twice a month Dave and I play a show with our MIDI backup tracks. Dave’s wife Barbie sings many tunes with us.”
His solo show at Weiser will consist mostly of his own tunes with some of his favorite Celtic tunes that he’s learned over the years. Since he’ll be performing solo, he will be playing acoustic guitar and six-string banjo.
Doug will be performing from 12-1 pm at the Weiser Fiddle Festival at Memorial Park on Friday, June 21st. Stop by and check him out. He’s an amazing musician, and I am very fortunate to know him. He has enriched my life as both a musician and a friend.
I met Sandy Cooper 4 years ago when I was doing a solo project and played the Festival that year. This is our 3rd year back working together and you couldn’t ask for a nicer person to deal with. She is warm, inviting, and just a lovely person to be around and talk to, I wish all festival directors could be so easy. I swear she needs to be an octopus to handle all of the great things she does for The Weiser Fiddle Festival. She gives 100% of her time and energy to all the musicians and performers she juggles. She’s an amazing friend and a beautiful spirit. I am going to reprint her bio, as she puts it, because that is so much easier than me trying to put words in her mouth.
National Oldtime Fiddlers’, Inc. Executive Director Sandra Cooper is a Weiser native who grew up on a cattle ranch north of Weiser. She brings experience garnered from diverse business ventures and careers. She spent ten years in farming, ranching, and real estate sales after graduating high school, then moved to Southeastern Idaho, married and opened a daycare center in Shelley, Idaho. In 1988, she purchased a hotel and restaurant, the Nezperce Inn, in Nezperce, Idaho, operating there until returning to Weiser in 1990 to help with the care of her mother.
From 1990-1997, Sandra worked for Hillcrest and Vencore Corporations as an occupational and physical therapy aid, working primarily with geriatric patients. She spent many weekends and evenings attending Idaho School of Massage Therapy and The Dynamic Arts Institute in Boise, Idaho, from 1993-1996 and became a Certified Massage Therapist. She continued to work full-time for Vencore as she built her massage therapy practice, eventually splitting the working hours between the two until 1997 when she opened her practice full-time in downtown Weiser. In 2001 and 2002, she operated Enrituals School of Massage in Weiser, teaching others healing arts and anatomy and physiology.
She
continued with her massage therapy practice until 2005 when she and her
husband, Dennis M. Cooper, attended “Income Builders International” training in
Los Angeles. Inspired by the program and
the concept of “Super Teaching,” they spent two years traveling, as Dennis, a
musician, entertained at resorts in the Southwest. Sandra spent her time booking his
appearances, selling his CDs and other merchandise at their booth at the
Arizona Marketplace in Yuma, AZ. Between
customers, she wrote a beginners’ harmonica instruction book entitled
“Harmonica Boot Camp.” The first
printing was sold out before it was printed.
The Coopers recorded an accompanying 75-minute instructional CD demonstrating the techniques taught in the book, enabling many students to experience “break-throughs” in their playing when concepts of “Super Teaching” were employed. The book and CD are entirely self-produced, from its design and printing to its marketing. As a result of the book and CD’s popularity, she was contracted by Bass Pro, Inc. to write the accompanying instruction booklet for their Special Edition “Camo” diatonic harmonica in their 2007 Holiday catalog.
She became active in the Weiser Little Theater beginning in 2002 as an actor, then as director of five plays, and is a past president of the Theater Board. She remains active in that organization. In 2010, she wrote, directed, and acted in a play, “All the Best- Love, Daddy” for a special program presented by the Weiser Architectural Preservation Society that honored the history of the Little Theater. She is currently writing a comedy, “Runnin’ for the Gumbo,” based on her grandparents’ lives during the Great Depression.
In the spring of 2007, Sandra went to work with National Oldtime Fiddlers, Inc. as an administrative assistant. In the Fall of 2007, she was promoted to Festival Director, a position she held until 2010 when she became the Executive Director. Since taking that position, she has worked to broaden the scope of activities within the organization, including the purchase of a permanent headquarters, historic Slocum Hall, where developing the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Hall of Fame is a cherished project. Additional events are now being held throughout the year, such as concerts, workshops, and music camps.
Sandra believes strongly in using the organization’s influence and reputation for perpetuating old-time music to further nurture and preserve the knowledge of related traditional arts. She has had a long-standing vision of creating a place where families and individuals can come together to study and perpetuate traditional music, folk arts and crafts, creative writing, and other artistic means of expression.
This vision is being fulfilled in the creation of Co-Opportunities, Inc. a 501 (c ) 3 corporation that is the parent company of The Bee Tree Folk School, currently being developed in two historic downtown Weiser, Idaho buildings. Founded by Sandra and husband Dennis, along with Gary Eller, the school became recipients of nine collections from the Simpson-Vassar Collection, gifted by the estate of Roderick E.Simpson. The non-profit’s volunteer staff is creating a museum with music and reading libraries, African Folk Art collection and many other items of artistic, educational and historical significance that will enhance the offerings at the Folk School, which will re-open in mid-summer at the historic Pythian Castle in downtown Weiser.
The National Old Time Fiddlers’ Contest Begins Monday, June 17th, and wraps up Saturday, June 22. There are 46 performances at Memorial Park by musicians, dancers, cloggers, magicians, and storytellers. The contest in and of itself is a different venue up at the high school that is organized by Cindy Campbell and Aimee Burdett and all of their very hard work. Dennis Cooper and his band of merry men and women run sound for all the musicians playing at Memorial Park and help bring the music to life! It’s an amazing time, and there is also a carnival and parade to keep the kiddies happy. For the adults there is a beer garden near the stage hosted by Crescent Brewery in Nampa and owner Jerry Ferguson, as well as other beer hosts. I am going to try to cover as many performers as I can before it kicks off, so stay tuned. I felt that Sandy was the best place to start, as she is responsible for lining everyone up at Memorial Park. It is due to her work as well as all the other volunteers that this turns out to be the best week in Weiser, Idaho.
Mike and I sold our home in Caldwell and really didn’t have a vision as to where we wanted to live, we just knew we wanted to be away from the insanity that has moved into the Boise, Nampa, Caldwell area. Boise is becoming crazy with traffic, and we wanted to get away from the ever expanding busy life in the Treasure Valley.
I found an ad on craigslist advertising a beautiful 1500 square foot manufactured Fleetwood home. This was a huge plus! We doubled our size and our payments were staying about the same, plus we got a few fun neighbors and a great view!
Casey and Junior
John and Shirley
Bob
Ruger and John Crippen
Sophie
Doug Photos by Jaz Fagan
Barbara Photos by Jaz Fagan
Everything here is peaceful and quiet. The worse thing you hear is owls in the trees at night and a sense of peace. The people that stay at the park are the nicest people you could ever want to meet.
Many people come out and play games, fish, play a family game of kickball, volleyball, ride bikes, play a game of horseshoes or just sit around the campfire. Whatever makes you happy! Even hanging out and reading is fun. Each camp site has a fire brazier and the restrooom facilities have showers and a laundry room. The sites are all on grass with pull throughs for even the biggest rigs! There are also smaller sites for tent campers. Each site has a water pump and the grounds are emaculately maintained by the park manager Dave Ellis and his crew of merry men and women!
The most amazing thing I have found is some really cool people that come from all over to hang out here. Because we live in an RV park you get to meet people coming from as far away as North Idaho and others that live as close as Nampa that just want to experience camping without going into the mountains and it definitely has that feel here. We meet people from all walks of life including church groups.
12 members of the L.I.F.E. Sunday School class from Karcher Nazarene Church in Nampa gather here and have done so for the last 4 years. They say they absolutely love it. The members include Paul and Judy Battershell, Milo and Yvonne Wittkopf, Pam and Boyce Crass, Steve and DeAnna Brumbaugh, Wayne and Judy Skeen, and Joy and Jerry Kern.
DeAnna and Steve Brumbaugh
Yvonne Wittkopf
Paul and Judy Battershell
Milo Wittkopf
Photos by Jaz Fagan
You meet tons of people in your path in life, but nothing tells you more about people than the way they smile and treat their animals. We had the good fortune to meet Dennis and Jackie Sims and their lovely little dog Sokie from Sagle, Idaho.
Sokie
Jackie and Dennis Sims with Sokie
Dennis Sims
Jackie and Sokie Photos by Jaz Fagan
We also met Terry, Desi, Casey, and Kiara Bostard and their HUGE Mastiff Dungey, who has the sweetest personality ever. He’s a gigantic dog with a big heart. You can’t help but love him. Casey seems to be flipping over being here at Snake River Resort!
Casey Bostard
Dungey and Casey, dad Terry and Desi Bostard in the background
Casey and Dungey
Kiara and Dungey
I was also fortunate enough to meet another fun group that included Tom and Debbie Graham and Hal and Julie Rene. They are so much fun and full of life! This was the last photos I was taking for the magazine article while I was shooting Dave Ellis and they made the whole thing amazing! Such fun people!
One of the really super cool things about the park is the manager, Dave Ellis. He runs this park like a smooth engine. If there is a problem he takes care of it swiftly and without any trouble. He is a very talented person that can handle many issues. He goes above and beyond as a park manager.
At the end of the day it is absolutely lovely living here. Mike and I can’t begin to believe how lucky we are to be here. It is everything we could have wanted and more because we are so far removed from the stress. It’s not perfect by any standards, but what is? We are very lucky, we have great neighbors and we meet very cool people along the way! Sure the drive is a little out of the way but most days it is simply peaceful. I want to leave you with this very cute photo of a Schnauzer.
FloweringRock Farm owner Janna Deulen and son Rylee. Travis Deulen, Vice President of the Nampa Farmers Market in the background. Photo by Jaz Fagan
The Nampa Farmers Market was bigger than ever this year with more vendors than in previous years and a huge influx of customers. Opening day was a smashing success, and they had a very nice ribbon-cutting ceremony to start it out with Nampa City Mayor Debbie King, members of the Nampa City Council, and the President of the Nampa Farmers Market, Bob Wagner.
From left to right: Nampa City Council members Randy Haverfield, Rick Hogaboam, and Sandi Taylor Levi. In the center are Bob Wagner, President of Nampa Farmers Market, and on his right is Nampa City Mayor Debbie King. On the Far right are Nampa City Council members Darl Bruner and to his right, Victor Rodriguez. Photo by Jaz Fagan Photo by Jaz Fagan
There’s always something fun to see when you are watching people attending Nampa Farmers Market. The children have a ball, and it’s fun to watch them in their brightly colored outfits, running around the market, laughing. There are also quite a few individuals that stand out with their wonderful uniqueness.
Photos by Jaz Fagan
Photos by Jaz Fagan
The Nampa Farmers Market was established in 1989 by John and Afine Relk. This wonderful market has grown into a fun place to go from April through October on Saturday mornings. The market hosts vendors that sell produce, meats, craft, and art items, fresh flowers, and so much more! Each week there’s live music or entertainment provided by some of the most creative people in the Treasure Valley. There’s always hot food and cold drinks offered by local vendors in a tantalizing array of tastes and smells.
Mom & Double Image the live music for opening Day Photo by Jaz Fagan
Arash Alidjani cooking his heart out at Jammi’s Dawgs Photo by Jaz Fagan
This year’s opening day entertainment was provided by the cutest group of kids you will ever see! They are all training at Scorpion Martial Arts dojo in Nampa under Sifu Jim Kreftmeyer. His Assistant Instructor, Chloe Ramirez, led the children through different martial arts exercises in front of a very appreciative market audience. Chloe is currently seeking her black belt. The children are all very serious and studious, even as they are jumping around on the stage and doing Martial Arts poses. It was, by far, one of the coolest Martial Arts exhibitions that I have ever seen.
Scorpion Martial Arts students led by Chloe Ramirez. Photo by Jaz Fagan
Chloe Ramirez and other students display their techniques with stances and weapons Photos by Jaz Fagan
The Nampa Farmers Market is dog-friendly, and they welcome dogs of all sizes, as long as they are on a leash. Some you can even pack around as this young lady did with her 5-month-old Doberman Pinscher. Seeing all the cute dogs is just one part of the entertainment value of coming to the market.
Photo by Jaz Fagan
Some of the vendors include Jammi’s Veggies, which is owned by Michele and Arash Alidjani. They have wonderful items such as a huckleberry jam that Michele and her mom Marsha bottle themselves from berries that they went into the woods and foraged. The 8 oz bottles are $10 each or 2 for $18, which in my mind is a deal because I love huckleberry anything!
Michele Wadsworth Alidjani owner of Jammi’s Veggies Photo by Jaz Fagan
Barbara Withbeck was there with her beautiful handcrafted gourds. I was fortunate enough to share Barbara’s Handcrafts booth selling my hemp chokers, and I got to watch her selling technique in action. She is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to selling capability. She is funny, warm, inviting, educational, and a great salesperson, as well as being a gifted artisan. You can read more about Barbara in an article I wrote about her in April. https://idahogazette.home.blog/2019/04/04/meet-the-amazing-artisan-barbara-whitbeck-from-caldwell/
Barbara Whitbeck educating young kids on her thunder gourds Photo by Jaz Fagan
Two talented pottery artists were attending with their beautiful hand-thrown bowls, plates, cups, and vases. I love the name of Braeden Pugmire’s shop. It’s called BPug Pottery, and the name immediately brings a smile to my face. I am a huge fan of hand-thrown pottery and have done sculpting in the past with clay but have always wanted to learn the art of doing what both of these young gentlemen do best!
Braeden Pugmire owner of BPug Pottery Photo by Jaz Fagan
BPug Pottery items Photos by Jaz Fagan
On the other end of the spectrum, we have two fabulous craftswomen that make handcrafted soaps. O’s Handcrafted Goat Milk Soap & Boutique owned by Anne and Gail Pitcher provides more than just soap. They also have backscratchers and soft books. Anne is also a member of Nampa Farmers Market Board and handles the live music and entertainment. If you are looking for a sweet treat look no further than the Oasis Honey booth. Kathy Harwell sells locally made fresh honey as well as beeswax, candles and table runners.
Photo from FacebookOasis Honey and owner Kathy Harwell Photo by Jaz Fagan
FloweringRock Farm has some of the most beautiful, fresh flowers. They come in such vibrant, deep colors that almost make your mouth water. There are these unique flowers that are called peony tulips. They are a Moris Gudanov tulip and so very uniquely beautiful with there purple-black velveteen petals! The booth is run by Janna Deulen with a big help from son Rylee and husband Travis Deulen, who is also the Vice President of the Nampa Farmers Market and owner of Tombstone Ink.
Queen of the Night tulips Photo by Jaz Fagan
You can also stop by Nampa Therapeutic Massage and get a relaxing massage by Linda Summer to take off the aches and pains before heading over to Signs by Design and get a handcrafted sign or tie-dye shirt made by owners Mark and Brenda Dietrich.
Linda Summer giving a relaxing massage
Brenda Dietrich from Signs by Design
I don’t know exactly how many vendors were there, but I can guarantee there’s a little bit of something for everyone at Nampa Farmers Market. I wanted to take a moment to thank all of the vendors who gave me their time for photos and talking with me. As an artist and craftsperson myself, I know how passionate we are about the things we love to make and sell.
A special thank you to all the Nampa City Council members and Mayor Debbie King. Thank you to all the members of Nampa Farmers Market Board, President Bob Wagner, Vice President Travis Deulen, Secretary Barbara Whitbeck, Market Manager Michelle Anderson, members, Tamara Wright, Anne Pitcher, Gail Lambert, Lori Goettsche, Michele, and Arash Alidjani. You folks are all amazing, and it’s due to your hard work that we all have a wonderful venue to display and sell our wares at, whatever the wares may be. Cheers!
Moris Gudanov Tulips sold by FloweringRock Farm Photo by Jaz Fagan
If you have never been to Lava Hot Springs in the south-east part of Idaho, you don’t know what you’re missing. It’s a cool town with great restaurants, hot pools galore, and in April there is an amazing music festival that breaks out, and it is a festival with a cause. All of the money raised goes toward the Lava Hot Springs Elementary Music School Program to put instruments into the hands of children that couldn’t afford those instruments and education programs otherwise.
This is the fifth annual Lava Hot Springs Folk Festival, and it kicks off on Friday, April 12, 2019, at 2:00 pm and continues through until Saturday, April 13, 2019, at 9:00 pm. There are musicians from all over the United States that perform a wide variety of folk styles, including country folk, Celtic folk, modern folk, as well as some tunes you are sure to recognize from the past. Here is this years line-up:
This is our 3rd year back performing, and we can honestly tell you that we have never had so much fun at any other festival that we perform! There are amazing and talented musicians set up all over Lava Hot Springs at different venues, and the owners have agreed to allow the musicians to graciously share their space for a couple of hours. Each venue, whether it is a restaurant, hotel, retail store, or grocery store, gives each musician a place to play their innovative music, and the sponsors pay for the musicians and their lodgings.
There are two fundraisers in addition to the raffle ticket sales that go on around town all weekend. The major fundraisers are at the Wagon Wheel and one at the brand new art gallery called Dragonfly. Dragonfly has a silent auction where people can bid on unique and original handpainted chairs. There are 5 beautiful chairs that are designed by local artisans.
Music programs are so very important as to how we develop as musicians and adults. When you play in an orchestra or band, you learn about teamwork. It sets the structure and tone for how you are going to develop as an individual when you become an adult. It also teaches you the life skills of communication, cooperation, and artistic creativity surrounded by your peers. I know that for me, music was my savior when I was growing up. It helped me through some of my worst times and has also been some of the most joyous times in my life.
You can buy tickets that are being sold all over Lava Hot Springs for just a few dollars for so many tickets. Each ticket gives you a chance to win wonderful gifts sponsored by each of the many venues in Lava Hot Springs. Admission to all of the events is free, and monetary donations or instruments are gladly accepted.
This great event is hosted by participating downtown merchants, restaurants, and hotels and coordinated with the support of The Greater Lava Hot Springs Prosperity Foundation and the Greater Lava Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce Main Street Businesses. A very special thank you goes out to Gail Palen and Liz Tuttle from Riverside Hot Springs Inn & Spa, the two wonderful Media Contacts that help with hiring and placing the musicians at the different venues!
This year they have had several local residents join The Folk Festival Committee who have greatly contributed to the vision of the event and organization. They are professional musicians and educators. Another big highlight is the instrument drive. They are hoping that some people will donate instruments to the school. There will also be someone there that has donated their time to make minor repairs on any instruments that may need a little help.
I met Barbara Whitbeck about 4 years ago at the Nampa Farmers Market when we were playing music there. We had taken a break, and I was walking around checking out all the goodies that the market vendors had to offer when I saw her beautiful gourds with all of these gorgeous designs and rich colors. They were unlike anything I had ever seen before. The quality of the work was immaculate, intricate, and very original.
Each gourd has its own unique characteristic that makes it a one of a kind piece. The images, whether they are of wolves, tribal designs, Celtic knotwork, birds, or dragonflies, are beautifully burned into the gourds by hand. Over the years I have bought a few pieces from Barbara and even had her design one with the dragon from the Welsh flag for me. It represents my family, and where we came from and it’s one of my most cherished pieces and is a family heirloom.
My Gourds Photo By Jaz Fagan
Although I have known Barb for quite a while, I really didn’t know much about her, beyond the fact that I loved her artwork and I adored her. When we sat down and chatted yesterday, I realized how much she and I really have in common. Kindred spirits really do flock together I believe. We are really just a couple of old hippies at heart. When someone says “You’re weird.” we reply “Thank you!”
Barbara has spent her entire life in the arts. Somebody handed her a gourd in the mid-2000s and she thought “Oh, what can I do with this? I love this canvas because it’s not blank.” Some designs don’t work well on a gourd because of the rounded shape and all the different parts to it, so a huge part of the creative process with gourds is knowing which designs will work or not. As with many of her artistic endeavors she doesn’t do things in small quantities. “My nature is not moderate…If I get an idea to make something, then I have to make a bunch of them, and all these different variations on them…Then I started making them, and I thought, ‘I really love doing this, but I can’t have all these gourds around.'”
Her first memories of doing handcrafts was in the fourth grade. She had started making doll clothes and sewed them by hand. That was the first product she remembers making. She said “They were terrible, but they had construction to them. They weren’t just wrap and ties.”
She had always drawn, and by the 6th grade she made pencil portraits of all her classmates. She would use rulers because she didn’t know what a grid process was. So she used this ruler to enlarge from a small picture to a large portrait. In the 8th grade, she made all of her Christmas presents that year. She had made stockings to hang. Like many artists, she has always been doing art or crafting on some level or other.
When she was in her 20’s she did farmer’s markets. She would go to a thrift shop and buy old clothes that she would redesign into the fashion of the day. She thought “That’s a dream I would love to do, so I started back at the farmer’s market here bringing my gourds. It was really exciting the first day. Someone actually bought something…It cost me $15 to (set up a booth at) the market, I made $16.” It didn’t matter because she was happy.
It wasn’t about the amount she made, it was about the fact that someone would spend money to buy her gourd. One of her favorite things about being at the market is all the people she meets. She loves just hanging out and talking to people, even if she doesn’t make any sales.
We talked about her process with the gourds and I asked her if she had to hollow them out and she said that isn’t an issue because they are like a pumpkin, they are full of seeds in the middle. They are really hollow. She has a farmer that occasionally brings her green ones that she sticks out on her back patio and she lets the sun take care of them. In the spring they are dry, and at this point, she soaks them, scrubs the outside off, and then if she is going to open them up, she decides where she is going to cut them at. At this point, it’s the scraping process.
There are two kinds of gourds. They are much like pumpkins on the inside. There are the fluffy kind, and then there’s the really icky, slimy kind. Gourds are the same way, but they are all dried out. When the fluffy stuff dries, you have to really scrape it out, and it’s a pain. The other stuff gets crispy and you just kind of pick it out. She prefers the slimy part. No one ever said that creating art was going to be easy.
After the gourds are prepped and ready to go, she has what she calls blanks, which are the gourds, prior to any design element being placed on them. She has blanks that will become bells, night lights, and birdhouses. There is a bag here and a bag there. They are everywhere. She then decides what design to put on a particular gourd. Taking graphite paper, she places the design on the gourd, and then burns the design into the surface.
The burning process Photos By Jaz Fagan
Photos From Barbara’s Handcrafts Facebook Page
Like many artists, Barbara has evolved and will continue to evolve. The end of the evolution for us comes when we are in the ground. “It’s too ingrained in who you are. There’s no end of the line because the end of the line is when you are gone. The urge to create is what I call a maker. I’m a maker by nature. I’m going to make something, period. It doesn’t matter what it is, I’m going to make something.”
She also makes little felt finger puppets that she sells on Etsy. She has a doorway puppet theater that she puts on a tension curtain rod. You stand behind it and do a puppet show with it. That sells really well on Etsy.
She has been meaning to start weaving on a loom that is in her spare room. She has had it 10 years and has never weaved on that loom yet. Barbara has a friend, Anne Pitcher, who makes goat milk soap and vends at the Nampa Farmers Market. Anne raises her goats, milks them, and then uses the milk to make yogurt and lye which is used to make the soap. Anne wanted to get into fur goats that you shave and use the fur like wool, carding it and then spinning it for weaving.
Barbara and Anne were going to use the loom that Barbara has along with Anne’s wool to weave, but neither one of them has ever gotten there yet. They were going to take the loom to Anne’s house where it would be easier to work with, but they have to take the doors off of the room where the loom sits in order to get it out. They decided that the loom would stay where it is. Who knows? That may very well be Barbara’s next artistic evolution.
Recently she has been working with children in the arts. She has been helping them to make designs out of Sculpey clay. The kids make food, flowers, animals, and whatever else their minds can conjure up. The designs are so cute!
Sculpey designs Photo By Jaz Fagan
“The cool thing about it is that these were all middle school kids, and they came from all over the valley…There was a group of refugees that spoke Swahili, so they were from Africa. We had a group of immigrants from Mexico, we had some Marshallese Islanders, we had caucasian kids. It was this big mix of children. It was absolutely fabulous. One of the groups chose to teach the other groups the clay work.”
Working with children is probably closer to what she will be doing in her future endeavors by teaching them art. Barbara is a Baha’i, which is a religion and one of the tenets of this religion is the transformation of the world one heart at a time. One of the best ways to teach this philosophy is to start with the young. Barbara was a middle school teacher that taught math and science which is inately tied to art.
One of the ways they have found efficacious is to work with children, imparticularly with the middle school aged child. The middle school class is called Spiritual Empowerment and through these teachings the children see at a young age that they can make a difference in the world.
They located a group of kids that were wanting to go to children’s classes, and they meet once a week. They have 16-25 children that come and 3 adults that supervise. The group that they work with in the Caldwell area is made up of immigrants, mostly Mexicans. One group is from 5th grade down with the youngest being 2 or 3 years old. They sing with them, they tell stories, they say prayers, they do art, and they play games. It is an amazing program!
Barbara sitting at her work desk Photo By Jaz Fagan
When I think of a renaissance woman, I think of Barbara Whitbeck. She is an amazing artisan and craftsperson, and far beyond that, she has the sweetest, most pure heart of anyone I have had the honor to meet in my lifetime. There is only one other woman in my life that has touched my heart the way she does and that was my beautiful grandmother Marion Ward.
To find out more about Barbara, or how to acquire one of her beautiful gourd masterpieces, please got to her web site at Barbara’s Handcrafts https://www.facebook.com/Barbaras-handcrafts-103300746425445/. You can also find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/barbara.whitbeck. She will be at the Nampa Farmers Market as well, so if you want to get a good look at her work that’s a great place to come and check it out.
Jill Choate Teaching a student how to weave a basket Photo Courtesy of Jill Choate
I came across Jill Choate Basketry when I was doing research on willows for my Idaho wildflowers book. I was curious to know how many basket weavers we have in Idaho. I found her while doing my research and her baskets are amazing! They are vibrant, colorful, and fun, and I knew I had to learn more about this basket weaver.
She makes her baskets from rattan reeds and dyes them herself. Many of her clients and customers have commented on the unique colors of her baskets. They are unlike anything else out on the market. She incorporates antlers and driftwood into many of her baskets which I find very cool!
Photos By Jill Choate
The story of how Jill got into basket weaving is interesting. When her family was living in Heron, MT they had a farm and did all of the logging and farming with draft horses. They used to do the local farmer’s market. At the farmer’s market one day she met a woman named Rane who turned her on to basket weaving. Rane was kind of a wild hippy chick who would do crazy things like float down the river, whack down some willows, and make a basket. She didn’t have a lot of technical basketry skills, but it caught Jill’s attention, and from then on she was hooked. She is a self-described renaissance woman, and basket weaving is an age-old craft that she wanted to learn.
From there she went to a class in Missoula, Montana and was taught by a woman named Bobbi Marshall Harris in antler basketry. Jill fell in love with antler basketry and began making her own designs. They left Montana and they soon moved to Alaska. They were dog mushers and had come to the south side of Denali, Alaska in the remote area of the Petersville area. They lived off the grid with 60 dogs at one time, but they did have an outhouse and sauna for some luxuries.
Photo Courtesy of Jill Choate
When they were living in Alaska, she was approached by a sales rep that wanted to sell her baskets. Her baskets ended up being sold all over the state of Alaska. Jill decided that she didn’t want to spend every moment of her waking life making baskets. It was at this point that she decided to teach basket weaving.
After that, she toured the lower 48 teaching from coast to coast with the entire family in tow. Her daughter Jennah was homeschooled, so, wherever Jill thought that Jennah needed to have an experience they booked classes. When Jennah went to college Jill had gotten tired of being on the road and teaching.
Years later she was doing a farmer’s market in Sandpoint, Idaho selling bike baskets for her daughter. This woman came up to her and said, “These are really cool baskets! My name is Rane.” and Jill said, “Well, yes it is. You are the woman that sent me down this path.” What a small world it is indeed.
Rane and Jill at The Farmer’s Market Photo Courtesy of Jill Choate
Jill Choate on Basket Weaving and Retreats
“There are a lot of different methods and techniques, and really one thing leads to another. I’ll get an idea of something (that) I’d like to create… I have to think about it to figure out if it’s actually possible to construct. If it’s a twill or design element, I have to get the paper and pencil out and graph it to see how it will work in the round.”
“I think that the intriguing thing about basketry is the math that’s involved in it. It’s sort of like solving a puzzle, and then you can take that puzzle and simplify it to teach it to others. That’s magic! So, basically I inspire people to push past their comfort zones at the retreats and try something daring. After 30 years, I don’t want to make your basket over and under baskets anymore.”
“People come to the retreat for different reasons. Some are dedicated basketmakers that are there to soak up every bit of information that I can offer. Others are there to enjoy the ambiance of the mountains, take a trail ride, hike, and maybe make a basket. Either way, it’s all good.”
“I have students that come from Alaska to Maine to attend the retreat, and it’s always a great time, with a great group. Women bring their husbands, and the husbands go fishing. I’ve got a couple of guys that attend regularly that weave.
“When you get to the Guest Ranch, it’s like you’ve just been incorporated into their family for a couple of days. Maybe a colt is being born, or something is up, and they just want to welcome you into the process. Dogs are in and out of the lodge. One of the reasons I decided to do it there was because of the accommodations and the food. Both are top notch.”
She made bike baskets at one point, but eventually gave that business to her daughter Jennah. Jennah’s business is called Cool Bike Basket and can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/coolbikebaskets/. There’s a very cool video showing Jennah making a bike basket with a friend.
Beyond that, Jill also makes brooms. Her latest endeavor is making mittens out of recycled sweaters that she gets from thrift stores. The mitten company is called Mad Mitt Co. and can be reached here https://www.facebook.com/madmittco/. She’s quite an amazing renaissance woman and an incredibly talented artist! For more information about the retreat, to purchase a basket, or to get a pattern for a basket please go to her website at https://www.jchoatebasketry.com/.
Idaho Gazette 