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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Trails & Vistas "Reflections and Rhythms"
Spooner Lake, NV
September 17-18, 2011
June 21, 2011, Truckee, CA -- You've never experienced anything like this.
Featuring poetry, music, dance and art amongst nature, Trails and Vistas strives to inspire individual participation in both artistic exploration and environmental stewardship.
Connect to nature's beauty and explore your creative power within at the 8th annual Trails and Vistas "Reflections and Rhythms" art hike on September 17 and 18 at Spooner Lake in the Lake Tahoe-Nevada State Park.
Tickets are now available for only $30 for adults and $10 for children when purchased before September 1, 2011.
What started as a small grass roots event by local artists has blossomed into one of the most unique collaborations between nature and art that attracts visitors from all over. Trails and Vistas Founder Nancy Tieken Lopez works with choreographer and Executive Director of InnerRhythms Dance Theatre in Truckee, Elizabeth Archer, to create the interactive art hikes where the participants become part of the experience.
Audience members are led by an experienced guide, and hike in small groups pausing at eight art venues, each set against the striking backdrop of towering granite rock faces and cascading mountains. Blending installation art with nature, the hike has a profound effect on participants who become integral members of this unique experience.
Trails and Vistas Artistic Director, Nancy Tieken Lopez, explains, "The purpose of Trails and Vistas is to re-establish bonds between individuals and between individuals and nature. Nature belongs to all of us and putting art in this context changes the experience and the audience."
Musicians, poets, sculptors, dancers and performers interact with participants to create a cherished experience between people and between individuals and place. In "Reflections and Rhythms," audience members will walk along a gentle two and a half mile single-track trail, with an experienced guide, pausing at creative, artistic expressions.
While earning her masters in fine arts degree at San Jose State University, Nancy Tieken Lopez thesis project was Spring Streams, an art hike held at Alum Rock State Park. Spring Streams evolved into the Truckee-based nonprofit organization now called Trails and Vistas. Today the art hike, in its' eighth season, is collaboration between artists and nonprofit collaborators including the Truckee Donner Land Trust, InnerRhythms Dance Theatre and the KidZone Children's Museum. Trails and Vistas 2011 sponsors include Christina and Kent Young of The Richardson House, For Goodness Sake, Cedar House Sport Hotel, and Tahoe Mountain Resorts Foundation.
2011 Artist highlights
Since the beginning of Trails and Vistas, dancers from the InnerRhythms Dance Theatre have brought unforgettable performances to the art hike. Elizabeth Archer, Trails and Vistas' co-director and the director of InnerRhythms Dance Theatre, hopes that the experience inspires audience members. "Discover your own rhythm. Trust that there is a rhythm inside of you. Once you discover it, you are completely loyal to it," says Archer.
Award-Winning Children's Artist and REMO Endorsed Drum Circle Facilitator Norman Jones will perform this September. Jones is from The Rhythm Child Network, a group formed in 2003 that uses drums and movement to foster creativity. By using the drum as a vehicle for building confidence, communicating positive messages and encouraging group dynamics, Rhythm Child helps people connect with their inner rhythms.
Famous for her magnificent egg art and inspirational storytelling, Cathee vanRossem-St.Clair, a Truckee resident, returns to Trails and Vistas. St. Clair's painted eggs have earned national recognition. One of her eggs, The California Thrasher, created for the Whitehouse Christmas Tree, is now in the National Archives. "Like most artists, my creative journey began at an early age. Since I lifted that first crayon, storytelling and language – the language of birds, the language of the earth, and the silent language we humans use to interact with our inner and outer landscapes, have fed my art. Images from dreams, observations, and quirky musings push their way into my sketchbooks to this day," shares St. Clair about the beginning of her artistic journey.
Another Tahoe-Truckee local resident, Emily Tessmer of Orenda Blu Music, will share sacred chants during the art hike. Tessmer explains the root of her inspiration and muse, "The river of music has carried me back to my ancestors…I feel the embrace of the divine like never before. The miracles are continually abounding in my life and my heart calls for the caress of my grandfathers and grandmothers in their wisdom." She adds, "I am so grateful to be a part of Trails this year. Being a part of it last year was so inspiring and contributed to all that I envision for this year at Spooner Lake."
By popular demand, Chief Red Hawk will return to Trails and Vistas. He uses stories to inspire people to reflect on the value of the land, and he shares wisdom about animals and the natural environment. He is the winner of two TELLY awards and performed at the Winter Olympics ceremonies in Utah. The most captivating aspects of Red Hawk's storytelling are the stories of his Native American ancestors that he shares through music and song.
Angelika's Healing Music is another returning artist. She is an internationally acclaimed performer, composer and recording artist whose main intention is to promote oneness, peace, healing and goodwill through music. Angelika sings ancient Sanskrit healing chants and mantras in different languages and performs original songs, sharing love and celebration accompanied by a handmade tamboura monochord and twelve-string guitar.
Angelique Benicio, an illustrator and sculptor, is driven to convey impressions of the living experience with a child's sense of wonder. She is a published children's book illustrator, has worked in France as a freelance illustrator and as a painter and sculptor for French cinema productions.
Visit Facebook and the Trails and Vistas web site at www.trailsandvistas.org for updates on artists and to purchase tickets for 2011.
Trail and Vistas
Saturday and Sunday
September 17 and 18, 2011
Lake Tahoe-Nevada State Park, Spooner Lake
Hiking shoes, water and appropriate attire are recommended. This is an outdoor event and subject to varying weather conditions. Although we all love dogs, they have to stay home. And photography is not allowed.
TICKET PRICES
Tickets, offered at 2009 rates through Sept. 1, are now available. The cost is $30 for adults and $10 for children when purchased before Sept. 1, 2011.
Adults (13 years & older) $25.00
Children (5 to 12 years old) $10.00
Children 4 & under FREE
Log on to www.TrailsandVistas.org for more information and to purchase tickets. Hurry, Trails and Vistas has sold out the past four years!
About Trails and Vistas
Trails and Vistas is a 501(c)(3) organization that combines hiking with artistic expression in the majestic Sierra Nevada. The organization’s mission is to create art experiences in nature that inspire environmental awareness. Trails and Vistas’ distinctive art hike is a collaborative effort led by Trails and Vistas’ Artistic Director Nancy Tieken Lopez and Elizabeth Archer with local non-profits with InnerRhythms Dance Theatre, The Truckee Donner Land Trust, and Kidzone Children’s Museum and Arts For the Schools. Trails and Vistas Sky Sponsorship, which is our signature sponsor, has been secured thanks to The Richardson House. Trails and Vistas is thankful for the Host Sponsor of Squaw Valley USA, and grantors of the Lahontan Foundation, Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce, the Truckee Rotary, For Goodness Sake, and The Cedar House Sport Hotel. To learn more visit www.trailsandvistas.org.
Contact:
Media Relations
press@trailsandvistas.org
(530) 563-6557
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Eric Zang, Eva Fleming, and Chris Spheeris perform at Trails and Vistas 2008.
