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Singing for their breakfast

Going out for breakfast is a fun, family tradition, especially when it involves special delights such as multi-grain blueberry pancakes. Even better when it includes talented musicians. And best of all when it doesn’t involve the hordes of tacky tourists who now gather to star-seek in Sonoma.

  Yes, the breakfast I’m proposing does involves stars … rising stars of the best kind: young and talented musicians who are truly deserving of our admiration and, especially, support.

  That would be the students of Sonoma Valley High School’s music department.

  Their goal is to raise sufficient funds to travel to Southern California this year. After winning three silver medals and one bronze in last year’s Heritage Festival in Anaheim, our local high school musicians have been invited to return and play in-studio for an animated feature created just for them by Disney animators.

  This weekend, Sunday, Jan. 22, the place to be is the Sonoma Valley Veterans Memorial Building for a fundraising event called a “Taste of Star Quality” where you’ll get to meet many of these students. Yes, you’ll get those pancakes, earlier advertised, along with the rest of a hardy breakfast. You’ll also have the opportunity to participate in their live auction, but – most of all – you’ll get to enjoy the music of the three high school bands, and three high school choirs. Sure, talented adults are in abundance, too, but it’s the kids who are the rising stars.

  All of this was planned and coordinated by Lauren Popenoe, a senior at Sonoma Valley High School who grew up in Glen Ellen. Lauren plays the saxophone and loves music so much that her childhood dream has been to be in the orchestra pit, playing for live plays. She loves theater almost as much as she does music. Lauren shared that as a child, her parents and others in the neighborhood organized an informal acting troupe. Their theater talents and appreciation bloomed. Then Doug Bates sparked her love of music in sixth grade when she wanted to be with a friend who was in band, but not in any of Lauren’s classes. Thus she combined her theatrical enthusiasms with her music talents.

  Lauren’s mentor on this complicated and time-consuming senior project of creating this event has been exercise instructor, singer and thoughtful organizer Anatasia Encarnacion. If you have questions about this event (or even just want the list of talented adult performers who will be there, too) call Anatasia at 939-6709.

  For those of you interested in becoming more involved with the Glen Ellen Historical Society, their annual business meeting will be held this Saturday, Jan. 21, 2 p.m. at the Mayflower Hall. All members are welcome. While a business meeting may not be the most exciting event of the year, their upcoming talk on Glen Ellen’s railroad history just might be. We’ll tell you more about that as the time approaches, for now we just want to give a shout-out to talented artist Tina Luster: would you be willing to display your stunning quilted piece on America’s railroads at the meeting? Surely it would inspire some of our local quilters and give this amazing piece of art more exposure than it gets in your Sweetie’s office.

  Along with news of the historical society in coming weeks I’ll share some adventures of ocean experts and a hail of kudos to the folks at our local P.O.

  See you on Sunday at the “Taste of Star Quality.” 

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  Share your good news with friends and neighbors in Glen Ellen. Call or write me at 707 996-5995 or P.O. Box 518, GE 95442. Or email me a creekbottom@earthlink.net. Glen Ellen chatter rarely requires timeliness; however, if your news does, please be sure to contact me at least two weeks before the run date.