1st Saturday in Three Rivers

1st Saturday, February 4th, "HeARTs"

2012-02-04T16:50:00.000-08:00

FOOD, FUN and fabulous art. Every 1st SATURDAY, the artists, restaurants and merchants of Three Rivers, California, open their doors and invite you to join in a town-wide celebration from 11 to 5 o’clock. You can pick up a map and schedule at Anne Lang’s Emporium – the flier shows all participating venues, art to see, locations and times for special events. Anne serves a great breakfast sandwich, so you might start there, or try Antoinette’s Coffee and Goodies to start your day. Later on taste the amazing fare at Sierra Subs and Salads. They all offer discounts for 1st Saturday.

THERE ARE several galleries to see. Nadi Spencer has a colorful studio and gallery – showing watercolor and acrylic original paintings, along with prints, cards and gift items. And she serves one of her “Recipe Greeting Cards" each month just for you to try. The Art Co-op features 12 artists, and offers jewelry, masks, print-making, pottery, paintings, and more. Colors Art Gallery highlights whimsical furniture and oil paintings by owner Wendy McKellar, along with weaving, jewelry, quilts, pottery and metal art from 20 local artists.

A DIFFERENT theme each month flavors the paintings, decorations and edible treats. You might find egg rolls, bird soup, dollar bills in red envelopes, and a dragon dance for Chinese New Year. We host a trike and bike decorating contest for National Bike Month in May. This month we are celebrating ”HeARTs”..

IN ADDITION to shops and galleries, some artists open their studios for the day, a rare chance to see how the creative mind works and lives. Nikki Crain demonstrates her weaving, while Shirley Keller explains her “Ink Quilts” and rusty art.

EVERY MONTH is different – the best way to keep informed is to visit the website. It is up-dated monthly. If you are an artist and would like to show your work at the event, the cost is only $7 to participate and the deadline to enter is always the Friday 2 weeks before 1st Saturday.

Out Of Passion

2012-02-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

OUT OF PASSION is an all original band hailing from Three Rivers. This alternative rock, highly percussive style band has grooves and beats that can really stick in your head. The music features the unique sounds of an instrument called a Chapman Stick. It's like a bass tapping. It's definitely something different.

BAND MEMBERS include Danny D on congas/ percussion, Kevin Fanning, mandolin/ percussion, Mike Perez, acoustic guitar and vocals, and Chas. A. Haws, Chapman Stick and vocals.

THE BAND will be playing at the Cort Gallery starting at 1:00.
CHECK THEM out on Youtube!

2011-11-20T20:08:00.000-08:00

Anne Lang's Emporium

2011-08-01T14:27:00.000-07:00

ANNE LANG grew up in Exeter, and while in high school, fell madly in love with Dick Lang, a builder from Three Rivers. She married him the day after she graduated, and began a 42-year adventure with him. In 1979, in the smallest of the Newman building spaces on Sierra Drive, Anne opened up a bakery called "The Staff of Life", where she taught women to bake bread. She also carried 200 herbs, spices and teas. While shopping for display baskets at a gift show, Dick liked the greeting card idea, and that's how the store became a gift shop.

ANNE'S SUCCESS is partly due to her genuine desire to help. "When people ask for something, I try to find it for them," says Anne. "One day, a bride-to-be came in and asked if I could make a bouquet. I thought, 'I can make a bouquet', and that's how the store became an FTD flower shop. Then one cold day, a man came in wishing for a hot bowl of soup and I thought, 'I know how to make soup.' Next, a man came in hungry for a sandwich and I thought, 'I know how to make sandwiches.' And that's how the store became a deli."

THE STORE grew and Anne moved into both of the other spaces in her building, needing a bigger space each time. In 1984, it moved to its final destination – the house on the corner of North Fork and Sierra Drives. With Dick's remodeling talents and Anne's marketing skills, "Anne Lang's Emporium" has become just that – a place to find all your needs, a space of familiarity and a hub for our little community.

Spirit Hill Studio

2011-07-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

SHIRLEY KELLER explores nature through photography, art, ceramics and writing. Multi-media collages, drawings, and "stitching" with ink, make up what Keller calls Ink Quilts. Many of the Ink Quilts are illustrations of chapters of a memoir that is a work in progress.
FACES attract Keller so when she began to play with clay, ceramic masks became her focus. She was introduced to Clay Mono Prints at a workshop in Petaluma and, since then, set up a workshop with three of her friends, where they gather to learn more about this medium. Shirley is also secretary/treasurer for 1st Saturday, working each month with Nadi to make this event successful.
THROWN AWAY OBJECTS made into art is a recent exploration. Keller takes rusty items, such as tools and machine parts, and transforms them with paint.
SPIRIT HILL STUDIO is tucked up against a hill, filled with food for the eyes and a delight to visit. Shirley opens her door every 1st Saturday, offering you a glimpse into her world. 43641 Skyline Drive.

Nadi's Studio and Gallery

2011-06-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

NADI SPENCER has been painting full-time for 40 years. When not working on a commissioned mural she paints what she loves – Three Rivers, Sequoia, horses, dogs and food. Her colorist style can also be seen throughout Three Rivers in the murals she has painted with grades K – 8th each year.

PAINTING A DAY is her latest challenge. Together with Wendy McKellar of Colors Art Gallery, she is painting a picture a day for 80 days. And to make it even more interesting, all of the pieces must be depictions of something in the distance between her home and her studio- a 2 mile space.

"1ST SATURDAY has been fabulous. What can I say – good food, good people – lots of laughing. (OK– and lots of compliments.) And, sure, I make sales. But, more than money, I need to be passionate. Those who enjoy my studio and my art are all talented people in their own right- and it's that bouncing off each other's ideas that I love. It's such a rush."

JOIN NADI in her studio on July 2nd. She will be featuring her latest recipe greeting card Blueberry Bell Pepper Salad (colored red, white and blue, and vegan of course). In addition to her food cards, she has mugs, tiles, mousepads, prints, and original paintings to brighten your walls. .
41838 Sierra Drive, 11:00 – 5:00.

LASSO

2011-06-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

LANDON SPENCER first learned to ride and rope when she was 11 years old, performing with Riata Ranch in rodeos and shows across the US and Mexico. After earning a master's degree in English, she took the next practical move: she joined the circus. She'd been 10 years out of the saddle when she began touring with Cavalia, the equestrian show created by one of the founders of Cirque du Soliel.

LANDON stayed with Cavalia for 5 years, performing trick riding and lasso throughout the US, Canada, and Europe. Last year she returned to Three Rivers to "settle down" and married the woman she loves. But just when she thought her lasso days were over, she was recently roped into performing for the National Day of the Cowboy and Cowgirl in LA at the Gene Autry Museum with an old sidekick from Riata Ranch, Kansas Carradine. "I keep thinking I'm done with performing, but something interesting always comes up," Landon explains.

LANDON is thrilled to bring her lasso show home to Three Rivers for 1st Saturday. She will be performing at the Courtyard of the Art Co-op and Sierra Subs at 1pm and 2pm with demonstrations to follow. Come try your hand at lasso. Children welcome!

Kacey Fansett

2011-05-19T16:38:00.000-07:00

KACEY FANSETT has lived in Three Rivers for 10 years, moving here with her husband Jim, when he became Deputy Sheriff. Her art career spans 28 years, starting in college, and continues today with her business, The Graphic Sett. Kacey's passion is watercolor, and she currently teaches classes at Arts Visalia on Monday nights, and at the Three Rivers Art Center on Tuesday nights.

ON 1ST SATURDAY, you can paint with Kacey at Anne Lang's Emporium, getting a sneak peek at the artist in you. Kacey can explain it better. "When you're in kindergarten, everyone's an actor, everyone's a dancer, everyone's a singer, and everyone's an artist. Something happens in the summer between kindergarten and first grade. Someone asks you to draw an elephant, they think it's a giraffe, and you never draw an elephant again. I'm helping people rediscover what they knew in kindergarten."

JOIN Kacey this 1st Saturday to paint watercolor for fun, and take home a framed masterpiece – it just might be the 1st of many.

2011-05-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

WENDY McKELLAR has always dreamed of owning her own gallery and gift shop. When space became limited at My Sister's Closet, she looked around for the perfect space, a place to show her own art and that of local artists as well. She fell in love with 41763 Sierra Drive. The great windows allowed light and the high ceilings ample room for large paintings – her current passion.

McKELLAR'S LOVE of color has evolved over the years, darting from faux wall decorating to oil paintings to hand-painted furniture. So what better name for her gallery – Colors Art Gallery – "Colors" for short. The gallery is a feast for the eyes. In addition to Wendy's furniture and oil paintings, her whimsical hutches hold quilts, purses, jewelry and scarves made by Three Rivers artists. Weaving by Nikki Crain, pottery by Ann Brown and metal art by Leslie Powell round out the plethora of colorful items.

WENDY is always painting. Stop in any time and watch her wood-burn or paint. "My gallery is my studio," she says, "but my family has to put up with canvases and brushes laying around the house in whatever room the light permits. Everywhere I look now, I see a painting. I've started "plein air" painting and I'm obsessed with it. I love to paint poppies and lupines because it is so Three Rivers. Nature inspires me."

Heart's Desire Creations

2011-04-26T15:41:00.001-07:00

HAVE YOU ever read a book that changed your life? Teresa Wickersham, of Tempe, Arizona, has. Eleven years ago, after 20 years of working in the non-profit world, including 9 years with Big Brothers Big Sisters, Teresa read the book, "Manifesting Your Heart's Desire," by Fred Fengler. Having created jewelry for years, the book was the impetus she needed to re-evaluate her life. She quit her job and began making jewelry her career.

NOW Teresa travels all over the country. Her fine, one-of-a-kind jewelry consists of sterling silver, semi-precious stones, brass, and Czech glass. She is known for her 'funky' creations, searching for toys, animal teeth, snake vertebrae, vegetable pods, nuts, and other natural products she can incorporate into her designs. Continuing a relationship with BBBS, she is also the sole creator of their logo jewelry, keeping her involved with a cause she believes in.

CAN WE create the lives we want? Teresa did. Ask her about it. You can visit her at Colors Art Gallery on 1st Saurday in Three Rivers, where she is showing her Heart's Desire Creations.

Chinese New Year

2011-01-26T16:08:00.000-08:00

CHINESE NEW YEAR, or Spring Festival, celebrates the beginning of spring, a time to say goodbye to the past and welcome the future. It begins on the 2nd new moon after the winter solstice and lasts about 2 weeks, ending with the Lantern Festival. The holiday dates back thousands of years and many believe commemorates the conquest of Nian, a terrible man-eating beast that was scared off with loud noises and red fire. Years are grouped in sets of 12, each year represented by an animal.

2011 is the Year of the Rabbit. This year's rabbit is the metal rabbit, last appearing in 1951. The inner nature of the rabbit lends its characteristics to both people born that year and the year itself. Rabbits are peaceful, virtuous and wise, so look for those attributes in the coming year.

RABBITS are trustworthy, clever, ambitious, articulate and the luckiest of the 12 zodiac animals. They love to express themselves, excelling in art, music and literature. They can be obsessive – immersing themselves in their projects – and are kind, have a strong sense of justice and love beauty. They are diplomatic and organized. The rabbit's serious facade hides a vulnerable interior. They love family and friends.

IN PREPARATION for new beginnings, homes are cleaned to remove any bad luck from the previous year and to appease the Kitchen God, who will return to the Jade Emperor with a full report. Brooms and brushes are put away and doors painted. Debts are paid and differences resolved.
THE COLOR RED represents joy and luck and is used liberally in decorations. New red clothes are worn to ward off evil spirits and red envelopes are given out containing an even amount of "lucky money" or sweets.

FOODS that symbolize abundance and good fortune are served during the festivities – fish and chicken for prosperity (served whole, including feet, to symbolize completeness), peanuts and noodles for longevity, coconut for unity, oranges for wealth and persimmons for happiness. Gourds are a symbol for health and longevity. Tangerines are given with leaves intact to assure that relationships remain strong and lettuce wraps are filled with lucky foods to bring rising fortune. It is traditional to serve a "Togetherness Tray", a round tray containing sweets (candy for a sweet year and circular for togetherness).

2011-01-25T16:29:00.000-08:00

THE CHINESE DRAGON is a good and gracious creature and is believed to be the Ruler of Lakes and Rivers. He is a symbol of strength, heroism and optimism. When he first appeared in the sky at the birth of an heir to the throne, peace and prosperity came to all for many years, and so he is also a symbol of good fortune.
NANCY BLOOMFIELD, volunteer at Lake Kaweah with the Army Corps of Engineers, has been working with the students of Three Rivers Union School to create their very own dancing dragon for Chinese New Year. On her initial visit to Three Rivers in October, Nancy was inspired by the foothill fog, the mythical home of dragons. She taught art in Virginia and owned a martial arts school as well – her love of both gave her the idea for creating the dragon.
SEVEN STUDENTS make up the dragon and, together with Amy Dolcourt-McElroy, art director at TRUS, Nancy will lead the dragon through town, the first leg starting at Nadi's Studio at 11:00 and ending at Anne Lang's. They will then carpool to the Village Market center, and end the day at Calle Jasmin 198 Gallery for cookies. Support the art program at TRUS and come out for this highlight of the Chinese New Year festivities.

Antoinette's Coffee & Goodies

2010-09-03T16:45:00.000-07:00

ANTOINETTE CLOUTIER has been in the food service business for 30 years. She loved the area and, in 2001, in order to stay close to family in Visalia, she moved to Three Rivers, taking the job as sous-chef for the Shoshoni Restaurant. In August of this year she and her partner DANNY DENIS opened Antoinette's Coffee and Goodies, a much-needed addition to our town.
COFFEE served is made of locally-roasted beans and soon there will be a fair-trade house blend that is 90% organic. To accompany your coffee or tea, enjoy a variety of scratch-made baked goods and breakfast specials.
HOLIDAY PIES, party trays, gift baskets and catering are all available. Local art dons the walls. Mention 1st Saturday and get a 11% discount on all art and muffins.
41727 Sierra Dr.

Red Barn Gifts and Sequoia Souvenirs

2010-08-26T18:11:00.000-07:00

THE FRASERS, Rick, Susan and Tyler, moved from Huntington Beach to Three Rivers 7 years ago, continuing to develop their company, In the Light Urns, one of the most unique cremation urn companies today. They recently renovated the Red Barn, adding a large variety of Sequoia Park and Three Rivers souvenirs, along with art from local artists. They also offer engraving and printing on almost anything, from champagne glasses to family reunion t-shirts and hats to Army knives. The store offers gifts for family and friends, year round.

Stop in for a visit and get acquainted – and get a free ice cold bottled water! See you then!

40838 Sierra Drive.