Occidental Oriented by MacKenzie Nekton - May 2017
“April showers bring May flowers” has never been more true! What a month of rain we’ve had! And what a month of glorious spring we have ahead of us…
With springtime in mind, you, like me, might be feeling the urge to get our and sink your fingers into some dirt. If you don’t have a garden of your own to work in, then you should head over to the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center. Every Wednesday from 10am to 5pm, you can drop by their Mother Garden. You can come for all, or just part of the day, but keep in mind that at 12:30 there is an organic, vegetarian volunteer lunch made from foods harvested from the Mother Garden. Bring a hat, sunscreen, and a water bottle and wear sturdy shoes if you are planning on going! There’s no registration required, so just show up!
If you do have a garden of your own, and are looking for high-quality plants to plant, then you should check out the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center’s plant sale. Every weekend, from 10am to 5pm, you can buy plants from their vast inventory of perennial plants. The OAEC has the widest selection of perennial food crops in the Bay Area, as well as rare medicinal and culinary herbs, habitat plants for pollinators, and drought tolerant ornamentals. If you like Salvias, you’ll be happy to hear they have a collection of 40 species you can purchase. All of the plants for sale are propagated on-site from plants in the Mother Garden and Nursery.
After all the sunny weather you may want a little inside time... If so, then you’ll be happy to hear that on Friday, May 19th, from 6:30 to 8:30pm, the Occidental Arts Center is hosting the West County Film Society. The event is a filmmaker’s meetup and they will be screening of “NOW,” a micro-budget film. “NOW” is the story of a whistleblower who tries to reconnect with his estranged son, but faces a tough inner journey as well. The filmmaker’s meeting portion focuses on conversation with Malachi Roth, who will be answering questions, and discussing the difficulty of making a micro-budget film in ten days without a crew. There will also be networking opportunities and an opportunity for attendees to introduce projects they are working on or film related services that they can offer. There will be refreshments, and there is no charge to attend. Donations are welcome, however.
In other arts-related news, the Occidental Community Choir is having a show on Saturday, May 6th; Friday, May 12th; and Saturday, May 13th at the Occidental Center for the Arts. It’s called DNA - Music: It’s in Our Genes, and it costs $15. Now, you may be wondering “how many songs about DNA actually exist?” Well, here’s a few funny examples of DNA-related songs. (Disclaimer: I don’t know if any of these are on the program.)
“Don’t Blame Me” by Reeta Roo and Andy DelMonte:
“The scientists say we share our DNA with every living thing on earth.
Our ancestors thru time evolved from simple slime,
From which we all took birth.
As the aeons passed, creation grew and added to the building blocks.
Now we share twenty five percent of our genes with bagels,
And seventy percent with lox.”
A Parody of “The Thing” byPhil Harrisby Bev Riverwood:
“As I was working in my lab one bright and sunny day,
I saw a great big helix a-floating in my way.
I cut its chroms and wrote it up, and much to my surprise,
I found a way for DNA to change most all our lives.
I found a way for DNA to change most all our lives.”
Birch’s very clever “Mighty C’Andrea,” (its title a huge pun; get it?):
“Down beside the sulfur vents,
near deep sea rifts, in pressure dense
prokaryotes of diff’rent orders
naughtily ignored the borders.”
“Roll in the Hay” by Jules & Janine Bamberger & Gordon Stubbe
“Let’s go for a roll in the hay
And exchange some DNA….”
Just a quick KOWS update... On May 5th KOWS will be moving stations from 107.3 to92.5! Remember to reset your presets!
Unrelated… When I left for my spring break trip on the 31st Occidental was blemished by sandwich signs. When I returned, much to my delight, the signs were largely gone! Sure, the OCA still had four signs up, and the hardware store had theirs up, but on the main intersection, there were only two. TWO! It was delightful. My heart was positively filled with joy. Please, Occidental, let’s keep this up. Downtown looks so much prettier, so much cleaner, so much better without all those signs!
In keeping with the town beautification efforts, the Occidental Community Council is spearheading an effort to update the town mural on the side of The Bohemian Market. Not only are the businesses out of date, but it needs some TLC and restoration.
I’d like to extend a very special thank you to the Occidental Post Office, who not only managed to get my birthday gift to me despite it being incorrectly addressed, but also are winning the unofficial contest for prettiest spring garden in town! Their blooming irises are lovely!
