Featured artists will include the Clear Lake Quilt Guild, renowned weaver Sheila O'Hara and her students, and members of the Sheep Thrills Spinning and Weaving Guild.

Works include quilts, weavings, tapestries, clothing and other fiber art items, in soft and subtle pastels to bold colors and textures.

The Exhibition runs from Aug. 6 through Aug. 27 at the Lower Lake Historic Schoolhouse Museum, 16435 Main St.

Open hours are 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.

For more information, call the museum at 707-995-3565.

The Konocti Art Society's annual art show, which will take place during the annual Kelseyville Pear Festival on Saturday, Sept. 24, will feature gourds like those pictured here. Photos courtesy of the Konocti Art Society.

KELSEYVILLE, CA – Local artists of Konocti Art Society will be holding their annual sale, art show and raffle during the Kelseyville Pear Festival at the Westamerica Bank on Main Street in Kelseyville, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24.

This year’s raffle is a wonderful selection of hand painted and decorated “Artsy Gourds” done by Konocti Art Society artists.

A portion of the raffle proceeds will benefit Kelseyville’s Lake Family Resource Center which serves our community by providing assistance to families.

During the month of August, the community may preview the “Artsy Gourds” at the Main Street Gallery in Lakeport.

All during September the gourds will be on display in the Westamerica Bank in Kelseyville.

On Pear Festival day, Sept. 24, oil paintings, acrylics, watercolors, ceramics, and silk paintings will be available for purchase.

This is a once-a-year opportunity to purchase originals, prints, cards, jewelry and sculpture from local artists.

Raffle tickets will be sold in the Westamerica Bank on the day of the Pear Festival, and the drawing will be at 3 p.m. Tickets are $1 each or six for $5.

On Friday, Sept. 23, the festival kickoff features cowboy singer/poet Dave Stamey in concert and a western style barbecue.

This event is held at the Wildhurst Tasting Room courtyard, 3855 Main St., Kelseyville, starting at 5 p.m. The gourds will be on display and raffle tickets will be sold.

Konocti Art Society artists participating in the art show and/or raffle will be Judy Cardinale, Diana Constable, Pat Courtney, Barbara Funke, Jan Hambrick, Annette Higday, Barbara Kossen, Jeanne Landon-Myers, Barbara LeVasseur, Diana Liebe, Karen Magnuson, Gaylene McComb, Ruth Morgan, Carolyn Morris, Marie Newsom, Patty Oates and Diane Tembey-Stawicki.

Auditions will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2, and Wednesday, Aug. 3, at the Lakeport Senior Center, 527 Konocti Ave.

Roles exist for 10 men and three women of all ages.

The show, written by James Rosenberg, will be directed by Deon Pollett and Linda Schreiber from Pollett Players.

The play will be the first two weekends in October. A dinner will be served on opening night with the play.

Dates and times are 5p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30; 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2.

The following weekend the show will occur at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7, and Saturday, Oct. 8, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9.

The production also needs help with costuming, painting, set building, lighting and sound.

For more details visit www.pollettplayers.com or call 530-710-2353.

Presented by 94.5 K-Wine, Max 93.5 and Russian River Records, this fourth annual event is held to benefit multiple local charities.

The daylong event on Oct. 1 will be held at the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds from noon to midnight.

Rising Stars will encompass as many musical genres as possible showcasing the often-unheard talents of musicians of all ages.

Solo musicians and group musicians from all genres are encouraged to enter the competition.

Bands from all genres are encouraged to enter this competition by going to the Web site at http://www.risingstarscompetition.com and submitting their entry.

Bands will be placed in divisions according to their genre of music and be judged on an individual basis with each judge scoring individual acts on stage performance and presence, talent and audience reaction.

Prizes will be awarded to the winners in each genre with overall winners receiving the grand prize of studio time at Russian River Records.

The deadline for entry is Aug. 31.

Being a family-friendly event, Rising Stars is an opportunity for local nonprofit organizations to raise much-needed funds.

Nonprofits and businesses alike are welcomed to rent booth space at this popular event. For-profit businesses must select a designated nonprofit to which they will donate a portion of their proceeds. Booths can be anything from selling items to participatory games. Vendors must sign up by Aug. 31.

Limited food vending spaces are available for certified food businesses wishing to rent them. Inquiries about booth spaces may be directed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This showcase of talent is an effort to promote awareness of all of the musical talent in the area along with helping community organizations.

Musicians, businesses and organizations are encouraged to participate in some way to help keep the music alive and help keep vital services for those in need.

Information can be obtained at the Web site, through email or through calling Mary Chadwick at 707-272-6514.

They play every Thursday for lunch from noon to 12:45 p.m.

They always need musicians and you don't have to be a senior citizen to join the band.

Visit the band's Web site at www.reverbnation.com/harmoniouswhale or call Flipper at 707-263-3391.

Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. Photo by UNL Publications and Photography.

Humans first prized horses for their strength and speed, but we have since been captivated by their beauty, their deep eyes and mysterious silences.

Here’s a poem by Robert Wrigley, who lives in Idaho, where the oldest fossilized remains of the modern horse were found.

After a Rainstorm

Because I have come to the fence at night,

the horses arrive also from their ancient stable.

They let me stroke their long faces, and I note

in the light of the now-merging moon

how they, a Morgan and a Quarter, have been

by shake-guttered raindrops

spotted around their rumps and thus made

Appaloosas, the ancestral horses of this place.

Maybe because it is night, they are nervous,

or maybe because they too sense

what they have become, they seem

to be waiting for me to say something

to whatever ancient spirits might still abide here,

that they might awaken from this strange dream,

in which there are fences and stables and a man

who doesn’t know a single word they understand.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2010 by Robert Wrigley from his most recent book of poetry, Beautiful Country, Penguin Books, 2010. Introduction copyright ©2011 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.