Editorial: Art, Auburn Symphony, storytelling, Christmas traditions

Auburn artist Kathy Ryan invited me "to see my one-man art exhibit at the Flour Garden through Thursday, Dec. 31. (The show) features watercolors and colored pencil in a variety of subjects. Hope you get a chance to see it." Oh boy, a chance to place myself in the same area as all those Flour Garden goodies. So I meandered into the bakery/coffee shop and gazed at Kathy's 12 pieces on the walls. They're a lovely addition to the shop. Four of them caught me: "Friends and Partners," two horses in colored pencil; three bright wheelbarrows, untitled; "Community Garden," watercolor – looks like lots of peaches, but I might be wrong; and "Head Start on Morning," watercolor, of coffee, lamp and newspaper. Ah, a newspaper. … Anne Brown, executive director of the Auburn Symphony, shared that the symphony now has a documentary on YouTube: "Auburn Symphony: Scaling the Heights." The website: youtube.com/watch?v=K43KKdvjNGc&feature=youtube. Be careful. To begin watching is to be drawn in and continue watching. It starts with the orchestra giving me chills with Conductor Peter Jaffe at Mondavi Center in Davis – and he's THRILLED at what the musicians are doing with their instruments and each other. The documentary is a history of the organization, with musicians sharing their delight, their silliness (and there's a lot of it), their camaraderie and skill (ditto) and their music (again, ditto). Anne urges me to "give a shout out to Tommy Merry, who was our videographer and editor. He did a phenomenal job with this film and deserves some credit!" For information: auburnsymphony.com. … Storyteller Mark Berry shares info about the Auburn Winter Storytelling Fest, set for Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021. This is a virtual, free festival, lots of professional tellers as well as locals. It lasts all day. Investigate at www.auburnwinterstorytellingfestival.com, and register at eventbrite.com. … OK – I know Christmas is over, but you probably still have physical evidence of it all around you. Either you've just finished packing it all up or it's all still there. So it's not too late to talk about your holiday traditions. I ordered my basic pound of chocolate macadamia nut coffee at Depoe Bay this past week, and I asked barista Brielle Nicholson if her family has a specific tradition for this holiday. "We always make cinnamon rolls," she said. "It's the only time we get them." There are eight in the family, so it's a lot of cinnamon rolls. Oh, m-m-m-my. … Delaney Keddle at Depoe Bay shares that "on Christmas eve, we always open one present. My mom decides – and it's usually pajamas." Ahhh. Brand new PJs on Christmas Eve. … Larry Gosch, reigning over Encore Music, grins that, "I used to be Scrooge, but my wife's joy with the season has brought me around. We have nine trees, and they're all decorated." Not to mention wrapped presents in every corner and every not-so-corner. They have other traditions. One: The family celebrates and opens and eats when it's convenient for their son-in-law. He works for Sacramento Fire. And, Larry boasts, "I get to stand outside and smoke the prime rib." … At Uptown Signs, receptionist Jennay McCubbin shared that, just like Delaney at Depoe Bay, everyone gets a new set of pajamas on Christmas Eve. Plus a book. This has happened "for as long as I can remember. And I have a 4-year-old," so the tradition is bound to continue. Shop owner Aaron Kopp didn't have to think: "The 24th is my mom's birthday, so we celebrate that, too," he said. And he has wistful memories of the days when "the older generation" was around – one side Italian, the other side Greek – and there was flurry and scurry and chatter and hurry, making tortellini for the Christmas lunch that lasted for hours. That was on the Italian side. On the Greek side: Kourabiedes, wedding cookies that also pass as butter cookies. So the tradition? Food. Lots of food. Employee Kevin Winters has memories of giving away "'white elephants' on my dad's side, eating prime rib and crab." More food! "And on my mom's side? When we could – in years past – 30 of us would get together in the back room at Sizzler." … I delivered more face masks to Winston Smith books and asked Glen Sewell about his family's traditions. He said before he and his wife were empty-nesters, they'd spend time "talking about what Christmas really is, with Jesus coming to do what he did for us." And then came movies, stories, gifts, football, go-karts and food. "There were 30 or 40 of us at my mom's house at any given time." … Finally: I caught up with Janis Wikoff, the State Theatre's executive director. "We have a Douglas fir that we planted a long time ago. Now it's huge. Starting in 2013, every year we cut off a few branches and shape it with baling wire and bring it in to decorate it." She also smiled as she talked about "enchiladas with red sauce on Christmas Eve … or spinach lasagna. Two family specialties." And the pleasure of listening to as much Jo Stafford as they can find, and they've found a lot. Happy memories, and Happy New Year. Stay well. Got any items for me? Email me at goldcountrydenizens@gmail.com.