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by Pride Wright
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Greetings, friends and neighbors! Hope you’re having a blessed Earth Day. I’m taking some time away from the Harbinger to work on a project I’m really excited about. It’s a new not-for-profit called the Wilderness Institute for Leadership Development, or more charismatically, WILD. The mission of the group is to nurture the next generation of environmental stewards. We’ll ultimately be providing a variety of weeklong “floating educational experiences” for both high school and college students. I’m helping to organize one of two pilot trips this June, a sustainability intensive that will unfold on the Colorado River in spectacular Cataract Canyon in Utah. Along for the ride are Nathaniel Corum (author, activist, green building authority, and Program Manager for Architecture for Humanity), Trathen Heckman (permaculture expert, founder of Daily Acts, executive director of Green Sangha, publisher of the quarterly journal ripples), and Bay Area singer/songwriter Megan Slankard. We’ll have a film crew in tow to chronicle what promises to be a spectacular week.
As you might have guessed, we’re in the process of pulling together a WILD fundraiser to offset part of the expense of getting these trips on the river. What’s on tap is a veritable mini-music festival, featuring lots of old friends and a notable new one. Two weeks ago, we were planning a special acoustic evening at the Black Bart Playhouse in Murphys with Megan Slankard. Then it turns out our old friend Jim Brunberg (from Box Set) is going to be in the Bay Area that week and offered to come up and play a set. As luck would have it, Austin’s Patrice Pike is also on tour on the West Coast that week and volunteered to join us. As if that isn’t enough, sterling Portland singer/songwriter Garett Brennan (think a backcountry Tom Waits) is contemplating coming down as well. (Brennan is part of Clif Bar’s "Green Notes" roster of conscious artists that also includes the John Butler Trio, Martin Sexton, and Brett Dennen, among others.) Seems our little fundraiser has morphed into a total acoustic extravaganza! So mark your calendars for June 12, and stay tuned for details…. |
