Category Archives: Community Events

Center for the Arts, Community Events

Tim Hicks, Coming to The Center for the Arts, Grass Valley

Coming at The Center for the Arts this coming Friday, December 17. 2010 at 8 pm.  General admission is $25 Buy tickets online Click Here

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXX4R7GrodE

As in years past, Dan, the Licks, and the Hot Licks will don their jingle bells and Santa hats for another season of holiday fun. This year, the crew has a special treat for your Christmas stocking, a new recording, “Crazy for Christmas”. Included are seven original tunes, along with Dan’s unique twist on traditional favorites like “Here Comes Santa Claus,” “Run Rudolph Run,” and a scat version of “Carol of the Bells”. There will also be plenty of other slightly off-kilter (but never off-key) material from a singer-songwriter who’s a true American original.

Beginning as a drummer in the seminal 60’s San Francisco rock band The Charlatans, and continuing with his unique and legendary Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks, Dan Hicks is widely acknowledged as one of the defining figures in American roots music. Having earned a reputation as a true original with his signature eclecticism and humor, Hicks continues to carve his way through a number of genres from proto-psychedelia to western swing and jazz, from tin pan alley to country blues — all the while cultivating his own unique sound. The original Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks recorded five ground-breaking and Billboard-charting records for the Columbia, Blue Thumb and Warner Bros. labels. They toured worldwide, and Dan appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine three times.

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Community Events

Animal Save of Nevada County 10th Annual Silent Auction and Wine Tasting This Saturday

Animal Save is having their 10th Annual Silent Auction and Wine Tasting this Saturday, November 13th, 6-10pm.  Wine tasting is from 6-7:30pm.  This year it will be at the Miners Foundry in Nevada City.

A great night of food, wine, music, and holiday shopping all to benefit the animals!

Tickets $25 includes a commemorative wine glass

For more information visit their newly launched website www.animalsave.org

This is for a great cause and they are a dedicated group working hard to save our animals that need help  in Nevada County

Community Events, nevada county fair

Contests, Costumes and a Cupcake Walk at the Nevada County Fair

The Nevada County Fairgrounds Foundation is hosting a scarecrow contest and a costume contest at its Halloween event on Saturday, October 30, from 2 – 5 pm at the Nevada County Fairgrounds.

If you’re interested in entering the scarecrow contest, your scarecrow should be dropped off at the Main Exhibit Building at the Fairgrounds between 10 am – noon on Saturday, October 30. Winners will be announced at 4 pm.  Additionally, a costume parade and contest will take place at 4 pm at the Main Exhibit Building.

There will be games and treats for kids and even a cupcake walk! A live and silent auction will be happening throughout the day. We’ll be serving hamburgers and hot dogs and there will be toe-tapping live entertainment for all to enjoy. Additionally, Empire Carriage Company will provide wagon rides around the Fairgrounds.

Grass Valley Rotary Club’s annual community “Ball Drop” will take place at 5 pm. For only $5/ticket, you get the chance to win $1,000!  Rotary will be selling tickets at the entrance to the Halloween event and also at the Ball Drop area.

This family-friendly Halloween event is hosted by the Nevada County Fairgrounds Foundation, in partnership with the Nevada County Ag Youth Boosters and Grass Valley Rotary Club. All three organizations have come together to support improvement projects for our community Fairgrounds, as well as to support youth programs in Nevada County.  This event is sponsored by Extreme Roofing.

It’s all happening, rain or shine, on Saturday, October 30 from 2 – 5 pm at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. The cost is only $5 per person and includes food, treats, games and entertainment!  Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Nevada County Fairgrounds, at the Grass Valley and Combie Road Citizen’s Bank branches, or at The Book Seller in Grass Valley. Tickets can also be purchased on the day of the event at the Fairgrounds.  Visit www.NevadaCountyFair.com for information or call (530) 273-6217.

Community Events, nevada county fair

Nevada County Fairground’s 26th Annual Christmas Faire

Country Christmas Faire, November 26, 27 & 28, 2010

GRASS VALLEY – Mark your calendar for the 26th annual Country Christmas Faire at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley on November 26, 27, and 28. Rated as one of the top handcrafted shows in Northern California, this year’s Country Christmas Faire will feature unique gifts and crafts from top artisans from across the state.

Five exhibit buildings will be filled during the Thanksgiving weekend, giving shoppers a chance to start their holiday shopping with quality hand-made holiday items, ornaments, jewelry, wooden crafts, soaps and lotions, hand-woven baskets, stained glass, candles, beadwork, and dozens of other unique gifts.

Visitors to the Faire will enjoy strolling live entertainment, festival foods, the magical Gingerbread House exhibit, Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus, errand elves, and a community bon-fire. Wagon rides around the Fairgrounds will be offered; and Victorian singers, the bell ringing RiverBells, and the Sierra Symphony quartet will perform throughout the event.

Free babysitting will be offered by local Girl Scouts, so parents can drop off their children while they enjoy holiday shopping.

The Country Christmas Faire begins Friday, November 26, and runs through Sunday,

November 28. Admission is $4 for adults and children 12 and under are free. The hours are 10 am – 5 pm on Friday and Saturday, and 10 am – 4 pm on Sunday.

The Nevada County Fairgrounds is located at 11228 McCourtney Road in Grass Valley, 50 miles northeast of Sacramento, off Highway 49. For more information, to visit the Fair’s web site at Click Here or call (530) 273-6217.

By: Wendy Oaks
Publicist, Nevada County Fairgrounds
(530) 273-6217
wsoaks@gmail.com

Center for the Arts, Community Events

Billy Bragg Folk-Rock Singer Song Writer Coming to the Center for the Arts

Billy Bragg is coming to the  Center for the Arts in Grass Valley on October 30 at 8:00 PM. Tickets are $30.00

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jphA05ka6E

Billy Bragg has been described by The Times in London as a “national treasure.” Finding inspiration in the socially conscious folk tradition of Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, Bragg has spent over two decades making an indelible mark on the conscience of British music that has carried over to the US and Canada. He has released consistently celebrated solo records as well as two Grammy nominated albums with Wilco – Mermaid Avenue and Mermaid Avenue, Volume II. Bragg’s most recent CD Mr. Love and Justice blends social justice with the power of personal relationships.

He was born Steven William Bragg in Essex, England. He has worked alongside British parliamentarians, unskilled unemployed workers, members of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, young music hopefuls, unsung buskers in the street, incarcerated convicts, newly liberated refugees, punk rockers and striking dockers.

Billy Bragg has recorded hit singles, composed Top Ten albums, penned political anthems sung at rallies, kept alive traditional English folk songs, put his own spin on America’s greatest folk catalog and sung his heart out doing so. He has appeared on both MTV and late night talk shows. He’s written essays for many daily newspapers and several notable weekly journals.

In 2006 he authored his first book, The Progressive Patriot, an eloquent protest against the extremist British National Party electing twelve councilors in his east London hometown.

Bragg was awarded the Classic Songwriter award by Q magazine. One of the first in the audience to shake his hand in congratulations during that warm moment was Sir Paul McCartney. Typically Bragg used the attention of the record industry audience to make a plea for contributions to his program to supply guitars to prison inmates. The name of this program is Jail Guitar Doors, a name Billy chose in honor of his early heroes, The Clash, who had a song by that name.

Tickets at:

The Center Box Office – 314 W. Main St, Grass Valley, 530-274-8384 ext 14
Box Office hours: noon to 5:00PM, Wednesday through Saturday

BriarPatch Co-op – 530-272-5333

After the Gold Rush Records – 530-265-3090

Cherry Records – 530-823-2147

Community Events, nevada county fair

Halloween Fun at the Nevada County Fairgrounds


Halloween Event Planned for Saturday, October 30, from 2 – 5 pm

Bring your family and friends to the Nevada County Fairgrounds for some Halloween fun on Saturday, October 30, from 2 – 5 pm. Rain or shine, in costume or in street clothes, we have fall festivities and activities for all to enjoy.

Hamburgers and hot dogs will be served, and “Running for Cover” will provide live musical entertainment. There will be treats for the kids, a live and silent auction, a cupcake walk, and lots of games. Plus, you don’t want to miss the costume and scarecrow contests and a chance to win some great prizes!

This family-friendly Halloween event is hosted by the Nevada County Fairgrounds Foundation, in partnership with the Nevada County Ag Youth Boosters and Grass Valley Rotary Club. All three organizations have come together to support improvement projects for our community Fairgrounds, as well as to support youth programs in Nevada County.

Nevada County Ag Youth Boosters, which supports youth in agriculture, will provide games at the event, as well as host a silent auction.  Grass Valley Rotary Club will be hosting its annual community “Ball Drop,” which raises funds for local youth and senior organizations. For only $5/ticket, you get the chance to win $1,000! For tickets for the “ball drop,” contact any Grass Valley Rotary Club member or call/e-mail Larry at (530) 271-5544 or fallerl@aol.com.

The cost for the Halloween event at the Fairgrounds is only $5 per person and includes food, treats, games, and entertainment! Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Nevada County Fairgrounds, at the Grass Valley and Combie Road Citizen’s Bank branches, or at The Book Seller in Grass Valley. Tickets can also be purchased on the day of the event at the Fairgrounds.  Visit Nevada County Fair for information or call (530) 273-6217.

Center for the Arts, Community Events

Martin Sexton Coming to the Center for the Arts, Grass Valley

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kzxRdeA-74

Martin Sexton is coming to our local Center for The Arts in Grass Valley this coming weekend, October 1, 2010. Tickets are $30 for information they are located at 314 West Main Street, Grass Valley, California 95945, telephone 530-274-8384.
Box Office hours: Noon to 5:00PM, Wednesday through Saturday

Martin Sexton is one of the most talked-about arrivals on the “new folk” acoustic music scene. The guitarist, singer, and songwriter has an amazing vocal range and makes effective use of it on his recordings and in his live shows. His vocal style can be described as truly soulful, combining the best qualities of singers like Van Morrison, Al Green, Aaron Neville, and Otis Redding.

Sexton, a self-taught guitarist and singer, was raised in a family of 14 and formed his first rock & roll band in eighth grade. In high school he was in a profusion of garage bands, playing the music of the Beatles, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin. He left his home in Syracuse, NY — and the rock & roll life — in 1988 and headed for Boston, encouraged by what he’d heard about the coffeehouse scene in that city. Despite the ultra-competitive nature of the Boston scene, with too many folksingers and too few coffeehouses, Sexton quickly rose through the ranks. He began playing his brand of soul-filled folk music around Boston’s open-mike nights and street corners in 1989.

His 1992 collection of self-produced demo recordings, In The Journey, was recorded on an old 8-track in a friend’s attic. He managed to sell 20,000 copies out of his guitar case busking. From 1996-2002 Sexton released Black Sheep, The American, Wonder Bar and Live Wide Open (mixed by Jon Alagia – Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer). The activity and worldwide touring laid the foundation for the career with an uncommonly loyal fan base, selling out venues from Nokia Theatre (NY) to LA’s House of Blues.

In 1994, Sexton won the National Academy of Songwriters’ Artist of the Year Award. By 1996, Sexton was sharing stages with Art Garfunkel, Jackson Browne, and John Hiatt on tours. His songs are featured in film and television including recent placements on NBC’s Scrubs and Showtime’s hit series Brotherhood. His latest studio release, Sugarcoating, finds this one-of-a-kind-troubadour doing what he does best: locating larger truths within the specific details of the life he’s living.

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Community Events

Fund Raiser for Nevada County Habitat for Humanity Heritage Oaks Project in Grass Valley

Enjoy an evening of celebration and of building community – All to benefit the first four homes of Habitat’s Heritage Oaks Project in Grass Valley. 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PPBDVBIzbk
Learn more about Nevada County Habitat for Humanity

This year the funds raised will go directly towards building the first four homes of the Heritage Oaks 16-home “Green” project on Joyce Drive. They are working hard to increase the number of homes they are able to build in order to serve more hard-working families and uplift the community at the same time.

In 2009, the Street of Dreams event had 180 guests and raised enough money to purchase construction materials for a third of a home.  In 2010, their goal is to double event attendance to raise enough money to purchase the construction materials to build half of an entire home.

Delightful Food – Live Band – Great Auction Items – Wine & Beer          A Special Habitat Signature Drink and More!

This event is Friday, October 22, 2010 at 6:00 pm at the Miners Foundry in Nevada City

Tickets $30 Event sells out fast so register today!

For information call or e-mail  – (530) 274-1951 or lorraine@nchabitat.org

Location Map of Event


View Larger Map

Community Events, nevada county fair

Free Childcare Provided at Country Christmas Faire

fair-grounds

The Northern Mines Girl Scouts will offer free babysitting services at this year’s Country Christmas Faire, held November 27 to the 29 at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. This benefit is provided by this youth service organization so that parents can drop off their children while they enjoy holiday shopping. Free babysitting will be provided in the Community Center at the Fairgrounds; hours for babysitting are the same as the Faire, Friday and Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm; and Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm. 

Errand elves will be available to assist Faire-goers throughout the event. The Errand Elves, provided by students from Clear Creek School, are available to carry packages for shoppers or patrons may use their “Will Call” service and leave their packages in the elves’ care as they continue shopping. Clear Creek students will also be offering mistletoe to Faire-goers. All donations received for the elves and the mistletoe will go towards these young students who are trying to earn money for an outdoor science education camp.  

Additionally, the Nevada City Explorer Scouts will coordinate the free parking in the fairgrounds parking lot; Nevada County 4-H clubs will provide volunteers to serve as the trash clean-up crew for the Faire; Will and Paulette Snyders of Empire Horse & Carriage Company and Randall and Trish Gross of Grass Valley’s Rock-n-Horse Ranch will provide wagon rides around the grounds; and Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus will be on hand to greet children. A photographer will be available to capture the special moment with Santa.

The 25th annual Country Christmas Faire begins Friday, November 27, and runs through Sunday, November 29.  Admission is $4 for adults, and children 12 and under are free. Parking is also free. Artisans from across the country fill the Fairgrounds exhibit buildings with quality hand-made crafts and unique gifts. Visitors to the Faire will enjoy strolling live entertainment, festival foods, and a community bon-fire. 

The Nevada County Fairgrounds is located at 11228 McCourtney Road in Grass Valley. For more information, visit Nevada County Fair or call (530) 273-6217.

Community Events, Local Writers & Contributors

Amateur Astronomy in Nevada County

universe

An important point of astronomical activity in the county is the science museum, with education and sky shows.  Regarding education, this is the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) 2009, and the Imaginarium Science Museum is celebrating the event this fall with astronomy exhibits and activities for local school children during the week throughout the fall into December.  For November, two public events are:

Nov. 13th Imaginarium Open to the Public

Time: Noon to 5 pm

Astronomy exhibits and activities supplement other science exhibits
COST: $4 Student $6 Adults
Nov. 20th, Astronomy Event – Movie Night:  The Universe in Powers of Ten
Time:

5:00 – 6:00 Museum Open
6:30 – 7:00 Films:  Powers of 10 and Zoom, 12 and 8 minutes, respectively
7:00 – 7:30 Film:  Cosmic Voyage, 35 minutes
7:30 – 8:00 Discussion and talk featuring Wayne Watson,
                   the Astro Guy on the Size and Shape of the Universe
COST:  $4Student $6 Adult

The three spectacular movies (Zoom, Powers of 10, Cosmic Voyage) present a common theme of exploring the universe that is visually developed further with each successive film under newer technology. They will be followed by a 20-30 minute discussion and talk on the size and shape of the Universe. You’ll learn about some the very unusual, fun, mind warping features of the universe that weren’t featured in the films.  The first two movies are appropriate for children 6 and older, child care will be provided from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. For more information check the museum’s information line at 478-6415.  For sky show schedules see local media, radio, newspapers, as below for other sky shows.

The museum’s monthly sky shows from April to November have supported the IYA with views of the sky, and short talks on various subjects from April to November. The next sky show is at Tobaissen Park 300’ up the hill from the Madelyn Helling County Library parking lot on Friday, November 13, from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

Another important group is the Nevada County Astronomers club, NCA, which meets at the Madelyn Helling Library County Library Community Room  near Nevada City  the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m., except during the summer months.  They feature discussions and talks by astronomy enthusiasts.  Their web link is Nevada County Astronomers

Additionally, popular and informative sky shows are provided by Alan Stahler of KVMR-FM who hosts sky watches throughout the year near Grass Valley and Nevada City, and famed comet hunter, Donald Macholz, who hosts sky shows throughout the year in Auburn.  Auburn is just out of our county, but close to much of our population.  For schedules on Alan’s shows see KVMR-FM, KNCO-AM announcements, and The Union’s Thursday Prospector. For Don’s shows see similar radio and newspaper outlets in the Auburn area.

If you want to enjoy our good skies for astronomical viewing, then latch onto the activities above. You’ll find plenty of knowledgeable amateur astronomers and resources at the museum to help you.

Source: Wayne Watson, Imaginarium Science Museum Sky Show Host

Wayne Watson’s Website