Arts in the Valley, Saturday, May 4 (8 pm) and Sunday, May 5, 2013, 1480 KYOS AM, Merced, CA

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Arts in the Valley host Kim McMillon interviews UC Merced professor Manuel Martin-Rodríguez, and poets Sonia Gutiérrez, and Angel Sandoval on Saturday and Sunday, May 4 and 5.

To Listen to the interview with ALTERNACTIVE PUBLICACTIONS publisher Manuel Martin-Rodriguez, and poets Sonia Gutiérrez, and Angel Sandoval, click onto the link:

Manuel M. Martín-Rodríguez is Professor of Literature at the University of California, Merced. His publications include a scholarly edition of Gaspar de Villagrá’s Historia de la nveva Mexico (Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, 2010), Gaspar de Villagrá: Legista, soldado y poeta (Universidad de León, 2009), Life in Search of Readers: Reading (in) Chicano/a Literature (University of New Mexico Press, 2003), Rolando Hinojosa y su “cronicón” chicano: Una novela del lector (Universidad de Sevilla, 1993), La voz urgente: Antología de literatura chicana en español (Editorial Fundamentos, 1995, 1999, and 2006), as well as numerous articles in edited volumes and journals, including PMLA, Modern Language Quarterly, The Bilingual Review, The Americas Review, La Palabra y el Hombre, Hispania, Revista Iberoamericana, Latin American Literary Review, REDEN, and Aztlán, among others. Martín-Rodríguez is also the publisher of alternative-publications, a virtual press that has published books by Latinos/as.
For more information about ALTERNACTIVE PUBLICACTIONS, please visit http://alternativepublications.ucmerced.edu.

Sonia Gutiérrez is a poet professor, who promotes social justice and human dignity. She teaches English Composition and Critical Thinking and Writing at Palomar College. Her bilingual poetry collection, Spider Woman/La Mujer Araña, is her debut 2013 publication. She is at work on her novel, Kissing Dreams from a Distance, among other projects. To learn more about Sonia, visit http://www.soniagutierrez.com.

Angel Sandoval was born and bred in Brawley, California, a small city in the Imperial Valley desert. He received his M.F.A. degree from San Diego State University (SDSU) and is currently an adjunct instructor at Imperial Valley College (IVC). He spends part of the time grading student papers–the other part he dedicates to creative writing.

Arts in the Valley, Saturday, April 6 (8 PM), & Sunday, April 7, 2013, 1480 KYOS AM, Merced, CA

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Al Young will speak on Friday April 12, 2013
UC Merced, California Room
4:00pm
ALL ARE WELCOME!

To listen to Al Young, click onto the link: al young

Al Young, California’s Poet Laureate Emeritus is the Keynote Speaker for The First Annual Center for Research in the Humanities and Arts (CHRA) Graduate Student conference, which will be held at the campus of the University of California, Merced, on April 12-13, 2013. From Monadism to Nomadism: An Hybrid Approach to Cultural Productions will focus on the intersection and interplay of cultural studies, the social sciences, and the humanities and encouraging the exploration of various theoretical frameworks, case studies and fieldwork, and research.

Al Young is California’s Poet Laureate Emeritus. Born in Mississippi, he held a variety of colorful jobs (folksinger, lab aide, disk jockey, medical photographer, clerk typist, employment counselor) before graduating with honors from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in Spanish. He has been described as “an educator and a man with a passion for the Arts” and “an original American voice”. Coming from San Francisco, we are honored and thrilled to have a scholar and artist with such a diverse voice and esteemed reputation join us for our first conference in this series.

Arts in the Valley, Saturday, September 29th, 6 am, 1480 KYOS AM

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Listen to Gail Benedict, producing manager of Arts UC Merced Presents, on Arts in the Valley at 6 am this Saturday on 1480 KYOS AM.

To Listen to Gail Benedict’s interview, click onto the link:  lulu dance-2

Innovative dance company performs at Merced Theatre 

By KRISTA BJORN – Sun-Star Correspondent  –

Wednesday, Sep. 26, 2012

MERCED — This weekend Arts UC Merced Presents will host the Lula Washington Dance Theatre at the Art Kamangar Center at the Merced Theatre.

“The Lula Washington Dance Theatre is a Los Angeles-based dance company that performs innovative and provocative choreography,” said Gail Benedict, producing manager of Arts UC Merced Presents.

“Lula Washington’s powerful, high-energy choreography is derived from many dance styles: ballet, jazz, performance art and street dancing.

Read more here: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2012/09/26/2560179/innovative-dance-company-performs.html#storylink=cpy

“Many of her works reflect the African-American culture and history. Her athletic dancers are highly trained professionals, many from the inner city of Los Angeles,” Benedict said.

Ticket prices reduced

Normally tickets to such an event run as high as $100, but this special performance will be presented to Merced audiences at a cost of $10 to $15 per ticket.

“The only reason Arts UC Merced Presents is able to bring such a high-quality program to the community is because the Lula Washington Dance Theatre received a grant from the James Irvine Foundation to tour the Central Valley’s smaller communities, who might not have access to these kinds of performances,” Benedict explained.

“The grant has allowed us to keep the prices low so that as many people as possible have an opportunity to attend the performance,” she said.

The Lula Washington Dance Theatre’s activities include community outreach.

“We’ve arranged for them to do a presentation at Golden Valley High School for the high school theater students on the Friday before their performance,” Benedict said. “Following that, they will arrive on campus to do a presentation to our biggest lecture class called ‘Core Friday’ in the Lakireddy Auditorium.”

Kim McMillon has worked with Benedict and other women in promoting the Lula Washington Dance Theatre throughout the Merced community.

“What is powerful and exciting about this event is that not only will the audience watch some of the most innovative choreography on the planet,” McMillon said, “but they will also have the opportunity to hear icon Lula Washington speak about her company, her work in underserved communities, and the magic of dance.

Youth perspective

“Lula Washington uses dance to explore social issues and culture,” she said. “Her dancers are athletic, so that when they dance, they excite, bringing an energy and power to dance.”

McMillon is excited to see the responses of area high school students.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Merced youth watching this incredible dance company,” she said, “knowing that just as I remember seeing The Alvin Ailey Dance company, or Pilobolus Dance Theatre for the first time, they will also have wonderful memories of the power of dance.”

Lula Washington Dance Theatre

The Lula Washington Dance Theatre will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Art Kamangar Center at the Merced Theatre.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for general admission, and $10 for students and children under 12. They are available at the Merced Theatre box office.

Call (209) 381-0500 or go to www.mercedtheatre.org. Box office hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call Gail Benedict at (209) 228-4566.

Read more here: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2012/09/26/2560179/innovative-dance-company-performs.html#storylink=cpy

Arts in the Valley, Saturday, November 26, 2011, 8 PM, 1480 KYOS AM, Merced, CA

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Tune into  Arts in the Valley on Saturday, November 26th as host Kim McMillon interviews Club Mercedes boardmember Les Contreras, Merced Shakespeare Festival founder/artistic director Heike Hambley, and  UC Merced Community Coordinator Geneva Skram.

To listen to Les Contreras discuss Club Mercedes, click onto this link:club mercedes-2

Les Contreras will discuss Club Mercedes upcoming holiday programming, and their Social, which happens the last Wednesday of the month.  There is a free dinner at 6:30 pm.  The next social is the last Wednesday in January.  Club Merced is located at the corner of 9th & “M” Street in Merced.

For more information, call 383-9906 or 769-9282.

Club Mercedes, 64 years of raising money, and giving back to the community

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To Listen to Heike Hambley discuss Merced Shakespearefest, click onto this link:Merced Shakespearefest

Heike Hambley will produce The Merchant of Venice this winter. Performances are Feb 24-March 4, 2012. Rehearsals will be in January and February. Heike loves Shakespeare and all his characters, the lovers, the fools, the witches, the witty servants, the warriors and the timeless poetry. She also lovesShakespeare festivals and Renaissance fairs and theatre and working with people to put on a finished production everybody can be proud of and have fun with.

Merced’s own Shakespeare festival was born out of these sentiments and helped by a successful production of “Twelfth Night” that she directed for Merced Center for the Performing Arts, now Playhouse Merced, in February 2002. Cast and crew had so much fun that at the cast party they decided to explore the possibility of bringing a Shakespeare festival to the whole community. Wonderful Shakespeare enthusiasts like Michael Egan, Julianne Aguilar, Carolyn Hart, and others brainstormed and discussed and worked hard. Three months later they had raised some money from generous friends, relatives and art lovers, got rehearsal space from the Playhouse, a non-profit umbrella from the Merced Arts Council and had rented the rarely used Merced Open Air Theatre in Applegate Park. This stage is a perfect Shakespearian space, wide open with pillars on both sides, a lot of sun and natural light for the performers, but green grass and shade trees for the audience.

They are incorporated as Merced Shakespearefest, Inc. and have their own non-profit status. The city of Merced is co-sponsoring their events and many individuals and businesses are contributing.  It pays to dream.

For more information about  Merced Shakespearefest, call Heike Hambley at (209) 723 3265 or visit mercedshakespearefest.org.

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To Listen to Geneva Skram discuss the Community Engagement program, click onto this link:uc merced conf-1

UC Merced Community Coordinator Geneva Skram will discuss the Community Engagement and Scholarship program, which took place on December 2nd at UC Merced.

University of California, Merced Chancellor’s Task Force on Community Engaged Scholarship hosted a conference on its campus in Merced focused on youth development in Merced County. The conference was intended to advance the agenda for the Building Healthy Communities (BHC) initiative in Southwest Merced/East Merced County, which has as a primary goal to improve health outcomes for youth.

The aim of the conference was to inform our community about youth development and stimulate new ideas and efforts in Merced County. The conference  featured community engaged research and programs that are based on research evidence that advance youth development.

Geneva Skram was hired 5 months ago as UC Merced’s Community Coordinator within University Relations. Through the Chancellor’s Task Force on Community Engaged Scholarship she is responsible for promoting, supporting, and highlighting Community Engaged Scholarship on-campus and in the community through workshops for community members and UC Merced faculty, students, and staff, database building, organizing an upcoming conference, among other activities. Currently, the Task Force’s work is being funded by The California Endowment’s, Building Healthy Communities initiative which is a 10 year, $10 million goal of radically improving the health in 14 California communities one of which includes Southwest Merced/East Merced County. Geneva and the Task Force are working hard to strengthen collaborations between faculty, staff, and students at UC Merced and community members with a focus on building a body of knowledge about community health issues and factors that influence health equity in Merced County.

For more information visit communityresearch.ucmerced.edu or contact Geneva Skram, UC Merced Community Coordinator, at gskram@ucmerced.edu.

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

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Tune into Arts in the Valley’s October 8th show as host Kim McMillon interviews healer Julia Carmen. Julia Carmen was born with a gift of a Curadora de Alma (Healer of the Soul). Kim will also interview UC Merced’s Hip Hop Movement (HHM), a group designed to promote awareness of hip hop in society by preserving the positive, artistic roots and tradition of the culture. They do this by performing what they call the four branches of hip-hop — dance, graffiti, DJ, and spoken word. Finally, Kim will interview Kevin Hammon, and Kimberly Zamora, the founders of the Merced Art Hop, which will take place this Saturday, October 15th from 5 pm until 9 pm in downtown Merced.

To listen to Julia Carmen, click onto the link: spiritual psyphic
Healer Julia Carmen, School Without Walls
The School Without Walls is a school for healers to awaken to their soul self of the ALL. The School Without Walls provides a space for healers to release the busy mind of the Self and to hear their soul of heart so they can be in their fullness of themselves.

The School Without Walls focuses on the individuality and uniqueness of the One Self. The School Without Walls is a place that nurtures Soul Self and reminds of the Soul Self. The School Without Walls is open to all.

The School Without Walls offers several workshops, trainings, and retreats for those seeking truth and reverence in who they are. The School Without Walls also offers individual guidance through the Curandera de las Curandera’s(Healer of Healers), which is the vessel for individuals into their Soul Self.

Please check “Events”for upcoming retreats and workshops. Retreats and workshops are located in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Hawaii. http://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net

To listen to an interview with Hip Hop Movement, click onto this link:hip hop
Hip Hop Movement of UC Merced (HHM)
HHM is a group designed to promote awareness of hip hop in society by preserving the positive, artistic roots and tradition of the culture. They do this by performing what they call the four branches of hip-hop — dance, graffiti, DJ, and spoken word.
Hip Hop Movement Mission statement:

To preserve traditional hip hop culture and promote awareness of the art within the campus and community of Merced.

We are a student-led organization of expressionist representing the four elements of hip hop:

Graffiti, DJ, MC, and Dance.

Learn. Educate. Appreciate. Express. Life.
http://www.youtube.com/UCMHipHopMovement

To listen to information about the Merced Art Hop, click onto the link:art hop
The Fall version of the Merced Art Hop will be presented on Saturday, October 15, 2011 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., in shops and spaces all along Main Street in downtown Merced. Come and see local artists inside your favorite stores, and listen to live music along the sidewalks.
Merced Art Hop was founded by Kevin Hammon and Kimberly Zamora as an opportunity for artist to show their work and for downtown business to to market one-on-one with customers.

Arts in the Valley, Saturday, July 9, 2011, 8 PM, 1480 KYOS AM, Merced, CA

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Arts in the Valley, Saturday, July 9th program
To listen to the show, click onto the link:ARTSINVAL070911-1

Host Kim McMillon interviews David Hosley, the interim Vice Chancellor for University Relations at UC Merced, and Dan DeSantis, the CEO of the Fresno Regional Foundation.

Arts in the Valley will look at how both UC Merced, and the Fresno Regional Foundation support Merced County, and what both organizations see as their future involvement with local nonprofits, and the community.

David Hosley oversees communications, government and community relations as well as development at UC Merced. Prior to joining the administration last year, he was president of the Great Valley Center, a regional planning organization based in Modesto. He spent the bulk of his career in broadcasting, most recently as president of KVIE Public Television in Sacramento. http://www.ucmerced.edu

Established in 1966, Fresno Regional Foundation is a nonprofit community foundation serving California’s Central San Joaquin Valley. Fresno Regional Foundation is led by a board of directors and CEO, Dan DeSantis, to fulfill its mission of improving the quality of life in the local community through philanthropy.

http://www.FresnoRegFoundation.org

Kimberly Zamora discusses the July 16th Art Hop. The Merced Art Hop offers the public the opportunity to meet local artists, visit downtown stores, have a night of shopping, and networking. The Next Art Hop is October 15, 2011 5-9pm, registration deadline is 30 days before the Art Hop. Artists in order to participate you have to upload images of your artwork, if you don’t have your images uploaded you can not participate. http://mercedarthop.com/

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

Saturday, November 27, Arts in the Valley, 8 PM

ARTSINVAL1127 Click this link to listen to the November 27th show.

Mitch Horowitz, Author, http://www.mitchhorowitz.com/

Mitch Horowitz is a writer and publisher of many years’ experience with a lifelong interest in man’s search for meaning. He is the editor-in-chief of Tarcher/Penguin in New York and the author of  Occult America (Bantam), which The Washington Post Book World called: “Fascinating…a serious, wide-ranging study of all the magical, mystical, and spiritual movements that have arisen and influenced American history in often-surprising ways.”

A widely known writer and speaker on the history and impact of alternative spirituality, he has appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, Dateline NBC, All Things Considered, Air America Radio, The History Channel, The Montel Williams Show, and Coast to Coast AM. He has written forThe Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Parabola, the Religion News Service, and the popular weblog BoingBoing.

Mitch Horowitz‘s Occult America is the winner of the PEN Oakland-Josephine Miles National Literary Award. “This book is a delightfully original tour through American history, as seen through the lives of men and women devoted to all manner of mysticism. Across these pages troop spiritualists, prophets, seers, psychics, numerologists, transcendentalists, theosophists, and historical figures from Mary Todd Lincoln to Marcus Garvey to Henry Wallace. Their stories are part of the deep-seated American tradition of searching for the new—a tradition that Occult America both explains and enriches.” — Stephen Kinzer, author of Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq and All the Shah’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror

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Michael Winder, Playwright, http://writingprogram.ucmerced.edu/resources

UC Merced Lecturer Michael Winder with the Merritt Writing Program will discuss UC Merced students collaboration with Playhouse Merced.  On November 13th,  Playhouse Merced and UC Merced’s Merritt Writing Program  collaborated on A NIGHT OF LOVE AND MUTANTS: NINE ORIGINAL PLAYS WRITTEN BY UC MERCED STUDENTS.  Winder discusses this program, and the upcoming 2011 season.  

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Gerald Haslam, Author, http://www.geraldhaslam.com

Gerald Haslam is a professor emertius of English at Sonoma State University, whose The Great Central Valley: California’s Heartland won several major non-fiction awards in 1993 and whose Workin’  Man Blues won Rolling Stone’s Ralph  J. Gleason Award in 2001. His novel, Straight White Male, won the 2000 Western States Book Award for fiction and was named Book of the Year by Foreword magazine. He is a native of Oildale.

In Haslam’s latest novel, Grace Period, journalist Marty Martinez thinks his life can’t get any worse: His beloved son has died of AIDS, his wife has divorced him, his daughter blames him for the disintegration of their family, and a medical examination reveals that he has prostate cancer. Then he meets a divorced doctor named Miranda Mossi and everything takes a turn for the better.  The action takes place in two communities: Sacramento, and Merced, CA.