Authors Arthur Slade and Candace Savage will present readings from their work at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 19, at Eastend United Church.  Everyone is welcome to attend.

The two writers will also be offering writing workshops from 10  a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, August 20, on the theme “Writing People.”  Participants will have a choice of working with Slade on imaginative writing or with Savage on life writing.  A Showcase Reading for workshop participants will be held on Saturday evening, at 7 p.m., also at Eastend United Church.

All events are free, but pre-registration is required for the workshops and Showcase Reading. For more information or to register, please contact Mary at 295 3673

Arthur Slade is the son of Anne and Robert Slade of Tompkins and a graduate of the Gull Lake High School.  He is the author of 15 books and the winner of the Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature, among other prestigious awards.  (See www.arthurslade.com)

Candace Savage has maintained a home-away-from-home in Eastend for the last ten years. She is the author of more than two dozen books and the winner of several Saskatchewan Book Awards. (See www.candacesavage.ca)

“Writing People” is sponsored by the Saskatchewan Writers Guild, Canada Council for the Arts, Eastend Arts Council and Southwest Quest for Art and History.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

In late May the Arts Council had the great pleasure of a visit from Marion Stegner and her partner Lee Wright. Marion was Wallace Stegner’s daughter-in-law and is the mother of his first two grandchildren.  Wallace was a real mentor for Marion and she has always wanted to visit Eastend, the place so pivotal in the forming of Wallace’s character and his literary direction.
EAC member Laurie Reynolds generously provided accommodation for Lee and Marion at the Silver Willow Gallery and on the evening of May 25th the EAC held a well attended reception in the United Church. Chairs were arranged in a circle and Marion began our discussion with a bit of background information. Several people remembered their parents’ recollections of Wallace’s family and of his incognito return to Eastend in the 50s.
Marion was a charming guest and we all got new insights about WS.
Marion and Lee live in Greensboro Vermont. Lee is a retired architect and Marion is a jewellery maker – www.marionstegner.com.

See the pdf file:  Wallace Stegner’s Studio is scheduled for closure

The pictures below were taken by Laurie Reynolds.

 
The Eastend Arts Council invites you to meet Marion Stegner,  1st daughter in law  and friend of Wallace Stegner.

THE TRAVELLING ART SHOW

Where is the art show now? Here’s the great news!

Our “Visions of Eastend” travelling art show is currently at the Shurniak Gallery in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan. It is enjoying and extended stay courtesy of a request by owner Bill Shurniak. For the remainder of 2011 it will be travelling to Maple Creek, Medicine Hat, Regina Legislature Assiniboia Gallery, Swift Current and short stays in Eastend at Silver Willow Gallery and at AGES Gallery at our library.

You are invited:

A Reception open to the public will be from 2-4 p.m.

on Monday June 13

at the Shurniak Gallery in Assiniboia.

Maple Creek: – Jasper Centre Gallery – Sunday, June 26, 2-4 p.m.

Medicine Hat – The Hive Artist Residency and Gallery – July 22, 3-6 p.m.

We hope that you can invite friends to any of these events and if available be in attendance yourself

Alice Hanlin

Click here for the Juried Art Show Schedule

Laurie Reynolds, the owner and operator, purchased the Silver Willow Gallery building and set it up such that local artists in the community would have a place to exhibit their work. The Guest House part made it possible financially.

Below is a picture of the performers from last season (2010-2011).

It was a fantastic evening with beautiful dancing and a very big crowd, please check out the pictures on Sangeetha’s website.    http://www.sangeethabalasingam.com/index.html

This year’s highlights of the evening were the delightful singer/songwriter Andrea Menard of Saskatoon and singer/songwriter/guitarist Robert Walsh of Edmonton. The audience was mesmerized with the beautiful voices, harmonies, energy and talented music of Andrea and Robert. The theme, honouring Andrea Menard’s heritage, was reflected in the decorating and the food. Arts Council member Mary Thomson chose Red River Carts with Metis sashes as runners on the tables. The meal, which was created by Nicole Couture, included the traditional Metis dish, Tourtiere. It was exceptional and served with Granny Statford’s apple and tomato chilli sauce and Shelley’s Saskatoon berry chutney. Also, on the menu was Spring Summer Vegetable Mix, Wild Rice Pilaf with cranberries and mushrooms; garden green leaf and herb salad with blue cheese dressing or raspberry vinaigrette.  The dessert buffet is always amazing to look at and delicious to devour. The Arts Council endeavours to use as much Saskatchewan grown and locally sourced produce as possible.  Organizers of the fundraising are to be commended for making the silent auction items well worth it. The 50/50 table was a new addition this year.  Ticket prices for the Dinner not only include the entertainment, the meal but also, help to support the maintenance of the Stegner House in Eastend.

All details are carefully planned, including the entertainment, the menu, the decorating theme, the fundraising and who is responsible for what job that night. The Arts Council members put their hearts and souls into this evening, hoping that all who come and support the Wallace Stegner House Dinner and Fundraiser, will feel extra special with the quality of the evening. Thank you to everyone who attended and who helped in any way to make this year’s fundraiser so successful!

The Eastend Arts Council appreciates any donations, anytime, towards their worthwhile project of maintaining the Stegner House as a writers retreat. Charitable receipts are supplied.

Next year, the Eastend Arts Council will host the 25^th anniversary of the Wallace Stegner House Dinner and Fundraiser. Get ready for a spectacular celebration!

The purpose of the first dinner in 1988 was to celebrate the completion of  renovations to Wallace Stegner’s boyhood home and its opening as a residence for writers and artists.

Succeeding dinners were, by and large, literary events featuring readings, always a reading from Stegner’s opus and usually a guest writer who read from his/her works.

The Arts Council continues to fulfil its mandate of bringing the arts to Eastend and area, however more emphasis is focussed on the fundraising element of the evening. The Stegner House is now over 90 years old and almost 30 years have passed since its major renovation. Funds are required to maintain the house in good condition.

To this end the Arts Council brings in bigger names, and this year Andrea Menard a singer songwriter from  Saskatoon was the guest performer. She and her accompanist Robert Walsh gave us an evening of wonderful music. The meal and decorations were Metis based in honour of Andrea’s heritage.

Luckily, in the midst of a month of horrendous weather, the driving conditions were good and everyone had a good time.

Southwestern Saskatchewan is prairie, a geography that is too often overlooked by people whose busy minds are only stopped by landscape which towers over them or crashes at their feet. They can’t slow down enough to let this undulating geography set its hook. The hook that set in Wallace Stegner was never dislodged. The west in all its manifestations became the touchstone of his life.

When the Stegner family moved here in 1915 Eastend was a brand new town on the banks of meandering river on a rolling and infinite prairie. George Stegner, Wallace’s father built a house here and for the next 5 years the two boys had their first taste of stability and freedom.

This house still stands and is currently operated as a residence for writers and artists. The landscape has been altered very little in the last 90 odd years. A visitor can quickly catch a sense of the lure that Stegner found.

Many visitors come looking for hints of Stegner, for keys to his adult view.

It is almost one hundred years ago, the people Wallace Stegner would have known at Eastend are gone, but for the present residents of Eastend, his legacy is very much alive.

We would like to hear from people who knew him in his adult life.