Flagstaff- The Arboretum at Flagstaff’s Summer Plant Sale and Penstemon Festival are scheduled in early July to take advantage of the monsoon rains. Horticulturists at The Arboretum are propagating herbaceous perennials, vines, shrubs, and trees that are acclimated to our area and are sure to do well in your garden.

The Member’s Preview takes place on Friday, July 9. From 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., a presentation by horticulturists and vendors will feature plants for various garden microclimates and Arboretum members will get first pick of the best penstemons and other plants available this season.

On Saturday, July 10, the Plant Sale and Penstemon Festival will be open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Local growers from Warner’s Nursery and Flagstaff Native Plant & Seed will have a wide selection of specimens to choose from. There will also be homegrown species of penstemons, as well as plants from Mountain States Nursery in Phoenix. Members from the Audubon Society will be tagging bird-friendly plants that are for sale.  In addition to the plant sale, visitors can enjoy a selection of Arboretum-themed merchandise and gardening books. Plant-inspired face painting will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The Arboretum is a botanical garden, research center, and nature preserve dedicated to educating the public about the plants and plant communities of the Colorado Plateau.  It is located four miles south of Route 66 on scenic Woody Mountain Road in West Flagstaff.  The Arboretum is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., April through October.  General admission is regularly $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, $3 for children 3-17 and free for children under the age of 3.  For more information, visit thearb.org or call (928) 774-1442.

Enjoy an evening of fine dining in the gardens at The Arboretum.

Flagstaff- The Arboretum at Flagstaff’s 2010 Summer Soirée will take place on the evening of Saturday, July 17.  The 2010 event includes a silent and live auction, with the feature painting donated by renowned Navajo artist, Baje Whitethorne, Sr.  Whitethorne will be present at the event.  Auction items from local artists and businesses can be viewed in advance on The Arboretum’s website, thearb.org.

New this year is the “Remembrance Photograph” station as guests enter, sponsored by Cameron + Kelly Studios.  Dinner is provided by Thornager’s Catering, featuring carving stations of smoked turkey and grilled leg of lamb.  Local jazz trio, Zazu, will be the musical entertainment.  Bill Blume, always a crowd pleaser, will serve as the auctioneer once again.

The evening in the gardens will be relaxing and entertaining with the San Francisco Peaks as a backdrop.  Appetizers and a silent auction begin at 5:30 p.m.  Dinner and the live auction begin at 6:30 p.m.  By attending The Summer Soiree and contributing to the fundraising activities, you are helping to sustain the beautiful gardens and supporting important programming that visitors continue to learn from and enjoy.  Please call to reserve tickets ($100 each) or sponsor a table at the $1000 level.  For more information, please call (928) 774-1442, ext. 124 or email Elizabeth.Vogler@thearb.org.

The Summer Soirée is sponsored by Morning Dew Landscaping and Viola’s Flower Garden. Beverages provided by Pesto Brother’s Piazza and Nackard Beverage Company.  Flowers donated by Splendid Things.

The Arboretum is a botanical garden, research center, and nature preserve dedicated to educating the public about the plants and plant communities of the Colorado Plateau.  It is located four miles south of Route 66 on scenic Woody Mountain Road in West Flagstaff.  The Arboretum is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., April through October.  General admission is regularly $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, $3 for children 3-17 and free for children under the age of 3.  For more information, visit thearb.org or call (928) 774-1442.

www.apexreviews.net
info@apexreviews.net

The Creation Myth
David Seals
ISBN: 9780120178719
Northern Arizona University Press
Reviewed By Chelsea Perry

Official Apex Reviews Rating:

In slightly over 100 pages of classic blank verse, author David Seals offers up his own dramatic vision of the origins of humanity in The Creation Myth. Riffing off the standard Judeo-Christian version of our spiritual beginnings, Seals incorporates a distinctly post-modern mythology all his own as he bridges the worlds of the physical and metaphysical in relating an eye-opening account of precisely how the world as we know it came to be.

Steeped in metaphorical, abstract language, The Creation Myth certainly has an acquired literary taste; however, the combination of wisdom, insight, and applied effort that Seals lends his narrative proves him to be a foremost authority on all matters spiritual – and thus, ultimately solicits a heady respect from the reader. While his chosen topics may be difficult for some to follow, Seals nonetheless shows considerable skill in using them to invoke his readers to ponder the age-old questions of “Who/what is God?” and “Why are we here?” In so doing, his dramatic, sweeping tale successfully inspires ascension to a level of higher thought, which is the ultimate goal of all quality literature. A dynamic,
highly thought-provoking read.

What:   An Un-cooking class and tasting

When: Saturday, June 26

Time:   11 am

Where: New Frontiers Natural Marketplace,

320 S. Cambridge Lane (Butler Ave. at Sawmill Rd.)

Who:  Sunny Lee Savage, Raw Food Chef

Cost:   $15

Flagstaff, AZ.

Learn how to transition into a raw food diet the easy way!

Meet raw food chef, Sunny Lee Savage at New Frontiers

Natural Marketplace, Saturday, June 26 at 11AM and discover

simple raw dishes that can be the beginning of your raw food

transition. Sunny will teach you how to make nut milks, nut butters

and a green smoothie and explain how she and her family

eased into their own raw food makeover four years ago. You will

participate and taste everything made during the 2 hour class,

take home recipes and learn firsthand the benefits of eating

supercharged, nutritious foods.

Call New Frontiers Natural Marketplace, customer service at 928-774-5747

to reserve your place by June 23.  Class fee of $15 per person may be paid

with a credit card at time of reservation.

Sunny Lee Savage has been preparing raw foods for her family for the past

four years. A Flagstaff resident, she works with health challenged and

healthy people, teaching the benefits of a raw food diet.
New Frontiers -  “We’re all about Your quality of life!”

What:   A talk about meditation

When:  Wednesday, June 23

Time:    6 PM

Who:    Julian Lynn, certified energetic practitioner

Where: New Frontiers Natural Marketplace,

320 S. Cambridge Ln., Flagstaff

Flagstaff- What is energetic healing?
Join Julian Lynn, Wednesday, June 23, 6pm at New Frontiers Natural Marketplace and find out what constitutes energy work and what it can and cannot do for you.

Whether is it laying-on-of-hands or long distance healing, it is important to know exactly what you can expect from your healer and when to consult a medical practitioner, psychologist or spiritual advisor. Join Julian Lynn as she sifts through the variety of therapies in the marketplace and gives straightforward guidance to help you make the best decision in your self-care.

Julian Lynn is a certified energetic practitioner and an experienced registered yoga teacher.

New Frontiers “We’re all about your quality of life!”

Grupo Fantasma’s Summer Tour & 4th Studio Album, El Existential, Paves Way For Your Summer Bliss - Out Everywhere June 15th
Nat Geo Music

CD’s/MP3′s, Photo’s, Interviews, & Guest List Available Upon Request

Offer the first 2 singles off ‘El Existential’ to your readers: “El Consejo” & “Telaraña” (feat. Curt Kirkwood from The Meat Puppets)

The members of Grupo Fantasma have been doing things their own way for over a decade now, which continues with the subsequent summer tour in support of their highly anticipated and self-produced ‘El Existential’ on Nat Geo Music, heating stores up everywhere June 15, 2010. An exceptional follow up to their Grammy nominated ‘Sonidos Gold’ (2008), this new effort’s love for exploration using the sounds and fundamentals of traditional Latin styles is uniquely reminiscent of Fania Records; and GF, like Fania’s staple of artists in its prime, has been on the corner long enough to not only be tough, resilient and self-assured, but also be mature enough to turn out top quality material repeatedly on its own terms. On stage expect unraveling spools of cumbia, salsa, son montuno, Afro-funk, psychedelia, bolero, jazz, folkloric, cinematic soundtrack and even startling hints of new wave integrate naturally with a tightness and explosive stage presence that only Grupo Fantasma can provide.

The band’s incendiary live show has stockpiled rave reviews across North America, Europe, and beyond. After catching Fantasma at the 3rd annual Fun Fun Fun Fest in their hometown of Austin, Texas, Dead Milkmen frontman Rodney Anonymous noted that “You haven’t lived until you’ve seen these guys come out of a Tex-Mex drum solo into Led Zeppelin‘s Moby Dick.” “Grupo Fantasma is as tight as one would expect from a band that routinely backs up Prince” exclaimed LA Weekly and the Washington Post affirmed that “the ten members represent a new generation of latin music.” Highlights from the past few years include the New Orleans Jazz Festival, Bonnaroo, Jelly NYC Pool Party, Montreal Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, the horn section performing with Prince at Coachella, London’s 02 Arena and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and a two ten day engagements to entertain troops stationed in Kuwait and Iraq. Grupo Fantasma was also selected to perform at WOMEX, the exclusive world music expo in Copenhagen, Denmark this past October. 2010 will have the band once again criss-crossing the globe with club shows and festivals worldwide! DON’T MISS THEM LIVE!

El Existential EPK (Photo’s, Bio, Video’s, Album art, and some other goodies)

US & Canada Dates
6/9 Iowa City, IA @ The Mill
6/10 Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
6/11 Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
6/12 Madison, WI @ Marquette Waterfront Festival
6/14 Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone
6/16 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
6/17 Houston, TX @ House of Blues
6/18 San Antonio, TX @ Scout Bar
6/19 Snoqualmie (Seattle, WA) @ KEXP World Music Festival
6/22 Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
6/23 Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room
6/24 San Diego, CA @ Casbah
6/25 Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
6/26 Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theatre
6/30 Little Rock, AR @ Revolution Room
7/1 Huntsville, AL @ Flying Monkey
7/2 Chattanooga, TN @ Miller Plaza / Nightfall Concert Series
7/3 & 7/4 Dayton, OH @ City Folk Festival
7/5 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
7/7 Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Blues Festival
7/8 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
7/13 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall
7/14 Boston, MA @ Middle East
7/16 Corvallis, OR @ DaVinci Days
7/18 Great Neck, NY @ Steppingstone Park Waterside Theatre
7/20 New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge

Abroad Dates + Vancouver
7/23 Sainte Croix Volvestre, France @ Festival Terre De Couleur
7/24 Vic Fezensac, France @ Tempo Latino Festival
7/29 Sines, Portugal @ Festival Musicas do Mondo
7/31 Luzern, Switzerland @ Blue Balls Festival
8/4 Paris, France @ New Morning
8/5 Karlsruhe, Germany @ Zeltival
8/6 Brugge, Belgium @ Klinkers
8/7 Vence, France @ Nuits Du Sud
8/12 Vancouver, BC @ Venue Nightclub
8/13 – 8/15 Salmon Arm, BC @ Roots & Blues Festival
9/4 Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles @ North Sea Jazz Festival Curaçao

www.GrupoFantasma.com
Making of ‘El Existential’ mini-documentary

Po’ Girl

with Dave McGraw & Mandy Ferrarini

Coconino Center for the Arts

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Doors Open 7pm, Show at 8pm

Tickets – $15

Flagstaff- Different dimensions of modern folk music will snare the Northland on evening of June 23^rd. Po’ Girl returns to Flagstaff for a special engagement in the intimate and perfect acoustic setting in the theatre at the Coconino Center for the Arts. Local favorite Dave McGraw and emerging musician Mandy Ferrarini will open the night’s show with a dulcet duet. The show starts at 8pm with doors opening at 7pm. Tickets are $15 both in advance and day of the show. Tickets can be purchased either online at www.greenhouseproductions.net or by stopping by or calling Coconino Center for the Arts at (928) 779-2300. Tickets are also available at Rainbow’s End in downtown Flagstaff (12 E. Rout 66). The interplay between Allison Russell, Awna Teixeira, Benny Sidelinger, and Mikey “Lightning” August of Po’ Girl is truly something to behold. They are distinct voices with incredible harmonies; multiple instrumentalists who bring the perfect sound to each song and songwriters who pen poetic tunes you’ll find yourself humming. Po’ Girl showcases a wide array of instruments-from gutbucket bass, accordion, clarinet, banjo, dobro, guitar, to electric bass, glockenspiel, piano, harmonica, bicycle bells, drums– and they all frequently trade off instruments with each song. Po’ Girl stops in Flagstaff after touring Europe and debuting their new album, “Follow Your Bliss,” which is released in the United States on June 8^th, a mere two weeks before their Northland show. For more info about Po’Girl, visit their website www.pogirl.net. Both local musicians Mandy Ferrarini and Dave Mcgraw also have new music to celebrate. Ferrarini’s first solo album, “The Other Side,” was released in April 2010 (www.mandyferrarini.com). Dave McGraw recently recorded new music with his band, Crow Wing, and a new EP from the group can be expected this summer (www.davemcgraw.net).

Flagstaff Hullabaloo

Wheeler Park

Flagstaff, Arizona

Saturday July 10th, 2010

11am-7pm

Flagstaff- On Saturday July 10th, the Flagstaff Hullabaloo will take place at Wheeler Park in downtown Flagstaff. Hullabaloo is a celebration of all things Flagstaff-everything from the great outdoors to the thriving local music scene. This festival is presented in partnership with Flagstaff Biking Organization which will receive 25% of event proceeds. The Hullabaloo will kick off with a bike parade. There will be a kids area with bounce houses, face painting, and more. Live music is an important part of this event and will include Tucson-based Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta, Sedona’s Yin Yang and Zen Some, Hopi drummers and dancers, and many more acts to be announced. Prescott-based Living Folklore will provide giant puppets, stilt-walkers, clowns and children’s workshops. Micro brews will be available as well as great food from some of our best local restaurants including Fratelli Pizza and Big Foot Barbecue.  There will be a costume contest with a new bike going to the best costume.

Event sponsors include Flagstaff YMCA, Girls on the Run, Flagstaff CSA, Fratelli Pizza, Big Foot BBQ, Tacos Locos, Black Hound Gallery, Pay ‘n Take, Marriot Courtyard and Springhill Suites, Greenhouse Productions, Rooftop Sunpower, the Green Room, Rainbow’s End, and Late for the Train.

The event begins at 11am and will run until 7pm. The festival is 21+ except for children accompanied by a parent. The event is free 11am-noon (first 500 people only) and $5 from noon until 7pm.

TICKETS ON-SALE NOW! Tickets are available at Rainbow’s End (12 E Route 66), the Green Room (15 N Agassiz) online at www.flaghullabaloo.com or by calling 888-512-SHOW.

For more information check out www.flaghullabaloo.com

Flagstaff- The innovative paintings and sculptures of Phoenix artist Ed Mell depict majestic panoramas of the desert Southwest and the nuances of its flora and fauna. Mell uses contrasting light and shadow, deep space, and colors to accentuate his subject and capture ephemeral moments in nature. Ed Mell—Paintings of the New West, a new exhibit at the Museum of Northern Arizona is the result of a partnership between MNA and the Tucson Museum of Art. Opening Sunday, June 20 through October 31, this exhibit highlights 38

Ed Mell paintings and sculptures from 1990 to 2009.

Decidedly Western in theme and expression, Ed Mell’s name is synonymous with the desert Southwest. His luminous canvases of sculptural clouds stretched over distant mesas have become his stock-in-trade, earning his trademark incandescent sunsets the designation of an “Ed Mell Sky.”

MNA Curator of Fine Art Alan Petersen says, “Mell’s modernist approach recalls Cubist principles of space, while his luminous color elicits a surreal sense of other-worldliness embodied by the desert. Like the distilled Western vistas of acclaimed artist Maynard Dixon, Mell abstracts his images of nature to intensify a scene. His paintings are celebrations of color and space that exalt the microcosm and the macrocosm of the West.”

“Primarily interested in bringing emotion to a painting, Mell approaches the landscape from two perspectives: expressive realism and abstraction,” Petersen continues. “When he works in a realist style, he pictures the scene as if his canvases are windows to the vistas in front of him, resulting in a tribute to nature in the tradition of painting as illusion. When he approaches the landscape from an abstract point of view, he suggests landforms and cloud formations with edges and planes energized by sublime color and lighting.”

Rather than a photographic representation of nature, Mell brings out dramatic juxtapositions to reveal what he describes as “the impact that nature has in real life.” He has worked en plein air in Arizona and Utah. The immediacy of these visual experiences allows the artist to react in a direct manner, with his signature sense of space and color.

Born in 1942 in Phoenix, Arizona, Ed Mell attended the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles to pursue an interest in advertising and illustration. Soon after graduation in 1967, he accepted a position in New York as an art director for a large advertising agency. Within two years, he opened Sagebrush Studios, featuring his airbrush illustration technique of angular forms inspired by art deco. Among the many publications that commissioned him for cover illustrations are National Lampoon, Esquire, and Psychology Today. He also created advertisement illustrations for Air France, Helena Rubinstein, Tang, Fabergé, among many other national accounts.

Mell received national recognition for his illustrations, but in 1971 he found a renewed connection with the landscapes of the West after spending a summer teaching art on the Hopi reservation. A year later, he returned to the Southwest to open an illustration business in Phoenix with his brother, and created landscape paintings when time permitted. Over the years, his passion for fine art gradually supplanted his commissioned illustration work.

In 1978, he began to concentrate solely on oil painting. His dramatic approach to the Southwestern landscape included aerial views inspired by helicopter trips over important Arizona natural landmarks with Jerry Foster, a pilot and newscaster for Phoenix’s KPNX-TV, and occasionally accompanied by Senator Barry Goldwater. As noted author Donald J. Hagerty notes, “The helicopter showed Mell a vertical scale and a horizon-to-horizon cinematic perspective that no earthbound traveler could see.” In the mid-1980s, he expanded his oeuvre to include bronze sculptures, the most notable of which is Jack Knife, a large-scale cowboy on a bucking bronco that adorns a prominent intersection in downtown Scottsdale, Arizona.

Early recognition and success as a landscape painter allowed the artist to explore new subject matter such as stunning representations of desert flowers, longhorn cattle, bucking broncos, and cowboys.

The Museum of Northern Arizona’s Lockett Gallery presents changing exhibits of fine art from the Colorado Plateau. The Museum sits at the base of the San Francisco Peaks, in one of Earth’s most spectacular landscapes. With a long and illustrious history, MNA evokes the very spirit of the Colorado Plateau. Three miles north of downtown Flagstaff on Highway 180, and on the way to the Grand Canyon, the Museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is $7 adults, $6 seniors (65+), $5 students, and $4 children.