Gratitude as an inherent quality in our lives that we can always
access. This is the basis for The Nature of Gratitude, an annual
community gathering exploring diverse aspects of gratitude through
live music, spoken word, photography and more. This years theme of
exploration is Returning. Each gathering is an opportunity to raise
awareness and proceeds for a different local grassroots cause. This
event will benefit Transition Projects, an organization with five
decades of experience providing shelter, housing and supportive
services for very low-income people. The Nature of Gratitude will
include live music from Grammy-nominated Native American flute master
Gentle Thunder, accomplished songwriter and Oregon Book Award-winning
poet Beth Wood, and songwriter Alexa MacDonald. Performance poet Jorah
LaFleur will contribute spoken word pieces. Other contributors include
Tom Titus, author of Palindrome: Grateful Reflections from the Home
Ground; Christi Krug, creator of Wildfire Writing workshops and the
book Burn Wild; and Eric Alan, photographer and author of Wild Grace:
Nature as a Spiritual Path, and the forthcoming Grateful by Nature.
Gentle Thunder is a GRAMMY® nominated multi-instrumentalist,
recording artist and musical intuitive sound healer from Mount Shasta,
California. She plays an array of extraordinary Native American
flutes, exquisite grand hammer dulcimer and drums. Having recorded six
CDs to date, her third CD release, "Beyond Words with Will Clipman &
AmoChip Dabney", was GRAMMY® award nominated for Best New Age album
alongside Enya, Peter Kater, Andreas Vollenweider and Enigma. Known
for her heartfelt signature sound, Gentle Thunder says, I allow myself
to be played as an instrument through which Great Spirit speaks and am
deeply dedicated to walking a path of beauty, honoring all life as
sacred and bringing the vision of wholeness to all I do. Gentle
Thunder's recent focus is working as a musical intuitive with groups
and individuals offering sound healing sessions, flute lessons,
occasional concerts, musically supporting those in transition and
weaving into The Nature of Gratitude collaborations whenever her
schedule allows. www.GentleThunder.com Beth Wood is an award-winning
poet and singer-songwriter who has toured the country playing music
and delighting audiences for over twenty years. While performing,
writing, creating, and collaborating non-stop, Beth has released
eleven independent albums, two books of poetry, and one book of silly
essays about ridiculous merch table conversations. Beth formed the duo
Stand and Sway with Ara Lee James, and their stunning debut album Deep
Blue is forthcoming in October, 2019. Joy is the currency that runs
through Beths work through story and song, and her sensitive,
intuitive nature allows her to address sorrow in a way that resonates
and moves audiences and readers. Beths work has expanded to include
teaching and song coaching as well as leading workshops at festivals,
songwriting retreats and beyond. Beth believes that engagement in the
process of creation is as important as its outcome, and that there are
no wrong notes. Beth is a winner of the prestigious Kerrville Folk
Festival New Folk Award, and her poetry book Ladder to the Light is
the 2019 the Oregon Book Award Peoples Choice Award winner.
bethwoodmusic.com Alexa MacDonald started singing in folk music clubs,
choirs and musical theatre in her teens. Although she has pursued many
diverse interests and professions including design, fiber arts,
publication arts, radio and concert production, music is the medium
she has come back to over and over again. Her original songs have been
released on a single album, Compassionate Heart, and a duo album, The
Spirit in the Bone, with Tom Agostino. In 2002 she and Tom co-founded
The Folk Sessions radio show, which still airs on KJZA in Arizona, and
co-created the ongoing Folk Sessions Concert Series. Alexa now lives
in Portland, Oregon, where she is Artistic Director at Artichoke
Community Music. Artichoke is a nonprofit music school, music store
and café listening room. Alexa performs as a solo act and in
collaboration with other Portland-area musicians. Tom Titus is a Ph.D.
biologist, family man, forager, free-form philosopher, and writer at
the messy interface of human experience and the natural world. His
latest book, Palindrome: Grateful Reflections From the Home Ground, is
a collection of essays and poems celebrating gratitude for the emerald
ripple of the Pacific Northwest. His memoir, Blackberries in July: A
Foragers Field Guide to Inner Peace, is a seasonal chronology of the
hunting and gathering of his spirit. Toms writing has also appeared in
the collection Forest Under Story, Oregon Quarterly magazine, and
Turtle Island Quarterly. His wife and cats share their home with him
in Eugene, Oregon. tomtitus.com Jorah LaFleur is a writer/performer
who enjoys wearing many different hats. She finds herself on stage as
a spoken word poet, actor, and event emcee. She also loves working
with youth as a spoken word educator and teaching artist. Jorah has
spent the last 20 years exploring the joys and terrors of showing up
on stage. Running and hosting the Eugene Poetry Slam for over a decade
left her comfortably harboring the belief that live performance is,
literally, magical. She is committed to helping others experience the
transformative power of being heard, and to promoting the arts as
tools of social change and community building. Jorah loves words,
courage, and really dark chocolate. Her favorite color is zebra.
Connect with her online at jorahlafleur.com Christi Krug's
award-winning, soulful, and sometimes divergent writings have appeared
in everything from handmade zines to international magazines, from
Sunday school take-home papers to horror anthologies. In addition to
several works of poetry, speculative fiction, literary fiction, and
memoir, hundreds of her nonfiction pieces have appeared in print and
online. Christi is the creator of Wildfire Writing, which she began
teaching at Clark College in 1998. She has brought her inspiration to
libraries, camps, retirement homes, retreat centers, elementary
schools, and national parks. She serves new and emerging writers
around the world as a writing coach and is the author of Burn Wild: A
Writers Guide to Creative Breakthrough. Eric Alan is completing his
fourth book, Grateful by Nature. It includes photography and prose
from his contributions to Celebrate Whats Right with the World, a
project founded by National Geographic photographer Dewitt Jones. His
previous books include Wild Grace: Nature as a Spiritual Path. Eric is
a founding board member of Cerro Gordo Land Conservancy, and currently
the full-time caregiver for his 93-year-old mother.
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21/11/2019 Last update