Page 69 - Sonoma County Gazatte May 2017

The Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation, in conjunction with concert organizers Bill Myers and Linda Pavlak, announces the return of the Funky Fridays concert series to the lawn of the historic Hood Mansion.
From Rags to Center Stage
The Art of Maria Isabel Lopez
In 1982, Maria Isabel Lopez broke onto the world
stage representing
her country – the Philippines - at
the Miss Universe Pageant in Lima, Peru. Her crown did not come easy, however. The tabloids and monied elite, reflecting conservative social norms in the majority Catholic country, fought to have her crown withdrawn. “In working my way out of poverty, I appeared as a “sexy model”. By some, I was branded “low class”, but fought for my crown until
I backed the jury
panel down, proudly continuing my reign as Miss Philippines. Little has come easy
for Isabel, who has led a Cinderellaesque life growing up in Manila’s poverty. Regardless of humble origins, she won a coveted slot at the country’s top school – the University of the Philippines – graduating with a degree in fine arts.
“While art is my first love, I’ve been blessed to have a very successful career in the film and TV industry. I’ve probably made over 300 films. My film Kinatay won best director at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009, beating out Quentin Terantino’s In Glorious Bastards, Broken Embraces, which reunited Pedro Almodovar with Penelope Cruz, and Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock.
“Last year, I returned to Cannes where our entry, Ma Rosa won best actress. Who would have thought that a poor girl from the barrio would walk the Red Carpet at Cannes twice in her life?”
“While film and TV put bread on my table and paid my bills so I could raise my two children as a single mom, I never gave up my love of art and continued to create paintings and drawings, which I sold over the years. In fact, my art career recently reached a pinnacle when I held my first one-woman mosaic show. I was very lucky as the show sold out to Manila’s Who’s Who in the political and business world.”
“The overwhelming success of my one-woman show inspired me to display some of my mosaics in the United States. I will be a participating artist in one of the North Bay’s iconic cultural events – the 23d Art at the Source – the annual free, self-guided open studio tour in Western Sonoma County on June 3-4 and 10-11. Founded in 1995 by the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, one of the most vibrant art organizations in Northern California, the event is a long-established creative ritual for thousands of regional art lovers and wine country tourists.
Everyone is invited to the Preview Exhibit at the Sebastopol Center for
the Arts (the old Veterans Building) located at 282 S. High St. in Sebastopol. Reception is on May 18th at 6pm, where each participating artist will display one original artwork. Gallery hours are Tues.-Fri. 10-4pm and Sat.-Sun. 10-5pm from May 19 - June 12.
Visit www. mariaisabellopez.com or www.artatthescource.org
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The concerts will begin on Friday, May 26 with the well-known 5-piece band, The Bruthas, and run through September 1. Hood Mansion is conveniently located in Sonoma Valley off Highway 12 at Pythian Road, and concerts are 7-9 p.m. each Friday night.
“We are pleased to return to the lawn at Hood Mansion for the 5th season of this family-oriented event,” said Myers and Pavlak, who co-founded Funky Fridays in 2013. “We love organizing Funky Fridays, bringing these affordable c c o o n n c c e e r r t t s s t t o o o o u u r r f f r r i i e e n n d d s s a a n n d d n n e e i i g g h h b b o o r r s s i i n n t t h h e e S S o o n n o o m m a a V Va a l l l l e e y y, , a a n n d d r r a a i i s s i i n n g g f f u u n n d d s s for our beloved parks.”
“Our organization is so grateful to Linda
and Bill for creating Funky Fridays,” said
Melissa Kelley, executive director of the
Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation.
“Last year, Funky Fridays raised $50,000 for
parks in the Sonoma Valley, including Hood
Mountain Regional Park and Open Space
Preserve. We expect this year to be even
more successful with the addition of Funky
F F r r i i d d a a y y s s s s e e r r i i e e s s s s p p o o n n s s o o r r s s T T e e r r r r a a F F i i r r m m a a G G l l o o b b a a l l P P a a r r t t n n e e r r s s a a n n d d S S o o l l a a r r C C i i t t y y . .” ”
This year’s concert series brings the return of the area’s most popular
bands, as well as some newcomers to the event. Audiences will once again enjoy Rosetown Soul, Volker Strifler, Hour of Tower, Funky Dozen, The BluesBurners, Gator Nation, Soul Fuse, Soulshine Blues Band, Jami Jamison Band and A Case of the Willys. Newcomers include Frobeck, Stax City, The Poyntlyss Sistars and Dylan Black Project. The complete band schedule
and more details about the event are available on the event website at www. funkyfridays.info.
Ticket prices remain $10 per person. Parking will be $10 per vehicle or free for Regional Parks members with a parks pass. TIPS Tri Tip Trolley and
the award- winning Rainy Day Chocolates will again sell food at the event. HenHouse Brewing Company returns as the Funky Fridays beer partner, and Kenwood Vineyards has signed on as the event’s first wine sponsor.
Additional wine sponsorship opportunities are still available, with wine and beer sales benefitting the Rotary Club of Glen Ellen – Kenwood and the Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation. People are welcome to bring their own picnics, but a special event liquor license prohibits outside alcohol.
raises funds, fosters partnerships and advocates on behalf of Sonoma County Regional Parks. The Parks Foundation has directed more than $3.5 million to county parks projects since its inception in 1998. The nonprofit currently is raising funds to build more trails at Taylor Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve, sponsor environmental field trips for local school children, and support swim classes and water safety programs operated by Regional Parks.
Audiences this year will see several improvements to the site, including a
new industrial grade 600 square foot dance floor. Additionally, the stage location will change; it will face the mansion, creating more of an amphitheater effect for the audience.
The Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation
SonomaCountyGazette.com for MORE DETAILS
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