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Event
The Nature of Gratitude
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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LocationCafé Artichoke (View)
2007 SE Powell Blvd
Portland, OR 97214
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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