Arts in the Valley, Saturday, June 25, 2011, 8 PM, 1480 KYOS AM, Merced, CA

To listen to the program, click onto the link:062511SEG1

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Join Arts in the Valley host Kim McMillon as she discusses the issue of pet over population in the San Joaquin Valley, and rescue animal programs. McMillon will also interview local watercolorist Kate Jackson,and Publisher of Downtown Life Magazine Tom Price.

Guest for the Animal Rescue segment include: Renate Schmitz, founder and director of Last Hope Cat Kingdom, an all-species no-kill animal rescue and sanctuary in Atwater; Kristi Caseri, Merced County Animal Shelter Supervisor; John Hinton, one of the directors of the central valley coalition for animals; Pam Moody, Last Hope Cat Kingdom volunteer
and UC Merced employee; and Laura de Cocker, the Deputy Director for Child Welfare Services.

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Kate Jackson’s watercolor show opens on Wednesday, June 29th at the Merced Multicultural Center’s Main Gallery with a reception on July 7th.
Kate Jackson is a fourth generation native Californian. Kate Jackson has painted almost exclusively in watercolor for over 25 years and trained primarily in the Los Angeles and Santa Barbara areas. Jackson has a loose, bold, expressive style of painting, is known for her vivid color, and often incorporates collage in her work. Her paintings, known as Watercolor Expressions, are colorful abstract images of “landscapes of the mind.” Kate has taught watercolor to adults and children through the Merced Multicultural Arts Center and Merced Community College and Tri-College campuses. She is an International Workshop instructor, recently having conducted a workshop in Lynmouth, UK.

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Tom Price is the Publisher and Editor of Downtown Life Magazine published monthly in print and on the web. Its focus is on arts, music and culture, with a distribution of 5,000 print editions every month to more than 70 locations in Merced.

Arts in the Valley, Saturday, June 18, 2011, 8 PM, 1480 KYOS AM, Merced

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To listen to Maxine Hong Kingston, click onto the link:SEG1-2
Arts in the Valley host Kim McMillon interviews Maxine Hong Kingston, and Native American Author Kim Shuck on issues of peace, art, community, and life on Saturday, June 18th at 8 PM on 1480 KYOS AM in Merced, CA.

Born in 1940, one of eight children, Maxine Hong Kingston is the daughter of Chinese immigrants to America. Her father, a scholar in China, ran a laundry business and a gambling house in California; her mother, a doctor in China, helped with the laundry and worked in the fields. Maxine won scholarships to the University of California at Berkeley, where she returned to teach as Senior Lecturer in the Department of English. But alongside her academic life, she had embarked on a career as a writer, and her extraordinary books have become key texts in the American canon. In many ways this memoir recalls her first major work “The Woman Warrior” in which she blended Chinese myth with fiction and autobiography to reflect on her mother’s past life in China and the experience of immigrants to America. In “I Love a Broad Margin to My Life”, she writes from the point of view of being sixty-five, looking back on a rich and complex life of literature and political activism, always against the background of what it is like to have a mixed Chinese-American identity. Passages of autobiography, in which she describes such events in her life as being imprisoned with Alice Walker for demonstrating against the Iraq war, meld with a fictional journey in which she sends her avatar Wittman Ah Sing on a trip to modern China. She also evokes her own poignant journey, without a guide, back to the villages of her father and mother. Beautifully written, endlessly thought-provoking, this is an important book from one of the major writers of her generation. Hong Kingston is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including, in 2008, the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

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To listen to the interview with Kim Shuck, click onto the link:
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Kim Shuck is a poet, weaver, educator doer of piles of laundry, planter of seeds, traveler and child wrangler. She was born in her mother’s hometown of San Francisco, one hill away from where she now lives. Her ancestors were and are Tsalagi, Sauk and Fox and Polish, for the most part.

Kim received a Master of Fine Arts degree in weaving in 1998 from San Francisco State University. As a poet Kim has read her work around the United States. In late summer and fall of 2005 she toured through Jordan with a group of poets from many countries in the interest of peace and communication.

Shuck is co-curator of the Spoken Word Series of the Native American Cultural Center. Kim sat for a time on the board of directors for California Poets in the Schools.

To listen to the entire program, click onto the link:ARTSINVAL061811-3

Arts in the Valley, Saturday, June 11, 2011, 8 PM, 1480 KYOS in Merced

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To listen to the program, please click on the link:SAV1-9
Are you interested in making a difference by supporting arts programming in Merced? Then tune into Arts in the Valley on Saturday, June 11th at 8 PM to hear the Executive Director of the Merced Arts Council Staci Santa, and co-owner of J & R Tacos Janna Rodriguez discuss Arts 24.

Arts 24 will take place at 645 West Main Street, From Friday, June 10th at 6 PM through Saturday, June 11 at 6 PM. Merced’s arts community is calling upon every person in Merced, and the outlining communities to help raise $12,000 in 24 hours for the Arts Council. This is not a wish list. The Merced Arts Council is in financial need. Staci Santa wants donors to know that whether you have $2 or $2,000 to spare, it doesn’t matter. Every dollar counts to ensuring that Merced keeps the doors of Merced’s Multi-Cultural Center open to the public. For more information about the fundraiser, visit http://www.artsmerced.org.

Arts 24
24 hours to raise $12,000 for the Arts Council

…what will you do?

Friday, June 10 6pm through Saturday June 11 6pm

The Merced County Arts Council is raising at least $12,000 in 24 hours, to support the Arts Center. Sounds like a big goal? It is. With your help, we know we can achieve it. Here’s how you can be a part of the most successful fundraiser ever.

1. Claim only one hour between 6/10 at 6pm and 6/11 at 6pm as yours. Act fast—time slots are going quickly!

2. Host an activity or sale to raise donations for the Arts Council. Ideas/suggestions on back.

3. Guarantee at least a $500 contribution from your hour. If your activity or sale does not raise at least $500, you (or your business) commit to making a donation to make up the difference. For example, if your business only sells $425 worth of tacos, you will write a check for $75, to total the $500 minimum.

4. Advertise your hour to your constituents. This step is key to the success of the entire 24 hours.

5. Promote the future hours’ activities and sales to your participants during your hour. We’ll provide a list of each hour’s sponsor.

6. Tally your donations at the end of your hour and call in your results to the Arts Council. Donations do not need to be delivered that day; we will make arrangements with each sponsor separately, for your most convenient time.

Each sponsor will receive:

Advertisement in local media outlets before the event;
Recognition on all event posters and promotional material, at least 2 weeks before the event;
Printed thank you from the Arts Council in the following issue of the Downtown Life Magazine, which will include each sponsor’s total donation;
200 postcards promoting your particular hour;
Credit card slips to accept Visa/MasterCard donations on-site (cash and checks made out to MCAC also accepted);
Donation receipts for on-site donors.

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To listen to Tony Slaton & Nailah Hubbard discuss the Boys & Girls Clubs of Merced, click onto this link:Arts in the Valley
Just as important as the arts are Merced’s youth. The Merced Boys & Girls Club has been nurturing and supporting young people through programming that teaches leadership, social, and educational skill.

Tony Slaton, a former professional football player for the LA Rams, has used that same energy and drive to build a program that is open to children and volunteers, and supports the young people of Merced. Beginning June 13th summer camps will be offered to interested youth. To find out more about the Boys & Girls Clubs’ summer programming, call (209) 722-9922.

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To listen to Eileen Vidales interview, click onto the link:Eileen Vidales
Health Educator Eileen Vidales returns to Arts in the Valley to discuss her Thursday afternoon walking program, and free yoga afterwards. I spent the afternoon walking and doing yoga with Eileen. This program is a wonderful opportunity to educate yourself about health and fitness.

Afternoon Delight Walking Group 
is a new mid-day walking group in Merced, CA.
 They meet on Thursdays, from 12:30-1:00pm at Bob Hart Square in Downtown Merced. The group has an option at 1:00 to walk back to Pilates Plus for a core workout with Armando or they can join Eileen Vidales for a free 30 minute beginner yoga class in the Sam Pipes room at the Civic Center.

Eileen is currently working in her studio on Main St, doing Yoga classes at the City of Merced during lunchtime, and working with 40 students at Snelling schools for an hour and a half class once a week.

For more information about Arts in the Valley, contact Kim McMillon at kimmac@pacbell.net.

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Click onto the link to listen to the program:SAV1-5
Arts in the Valley host Kim McMillon interviews Brenda Cobb, the Founder and Director of the Living Food Institute in Atlanta, Georgia on dealing with menopause, and the aging process through a raw vegan diet. This program aired on June 4th at 8 PM on 1480 KYOS AM in Merced, CA.

Ms. Cobb overcame the early stages of breast and cervical cancer without the use of drugs or surgery by following the simple principles of detoxification and nutrition. She also got rid of allergies, acid reflux, indigestion, arthritis, obesity, age or liver spots, and gray hair. Her eyesight even improved! She looks and feels 10 years younger than she did 10 years ago. Brenda now devotes her life to educating others.

The Living Foods Lifestyle® is Brenda Cobb’s fascinating first work on Living Foods. In her book, Brenda describes her healing journey from breast and cervical cancer. She also highlights the stories of many students that have gotten tremendous results from a variety of ailments and diseases by adopting The Living Foods Lifestyle®. Additionally, she discusses the cause of disease, why Raw and Living Foods is so beneficial, and the contribution of our thoughts to our overall health. Finally, the book is packed with over 50 delicious recipes that Brenda has perfect.

To learn more about the Living Food Institute, and Brenda Cobb, please visit (http://livingfoodsinstitute.com).