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Frank Dolphens Jr. of Omaha, Nebraska, won the 2019 California Duck Stamp Art Contest with this painting of a northern pintail.


A painting of northern pintails by Frank Dolphens Jr. of Omaha, Nebraska, has been chosen as the winner of the 2019 California Duck Stamp Art Contest.

The image will be the official design for the 2019-2020 stamp.

The contest judges praised the anatomical accuracy of Dolphens’s painting, as well as the accuracy of the habitat.

They complimented the excellent body shape and the contrast between the subjects and the background, which seems to make the pintails “pop” off the canvas. The judges also appreciated the three-bird composition and the fact that both sexes were represented.

“I have always admired the northern pintail,” said Dolphens. “I am inspired by their mysticism and their colors and was anxious to enter this year’s contest to portray these characteristics in the painting. I wanted to present the pintails in a grouping to show the strength of their colors in a background setting that enhanced their features.”

Artists from around the country submitted entries for the contest, sponsored by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

John Nelson Harris of Groveland, Fla., placed second, Jeffrey Klinefelter of Etna Green, Ind., placed third and Roberta Baer of Redding received honorable mention.

The top four paintings will be displayed at the Pacific Flyway Decoy Association’s 49th Annual Classic Wildlife Art Festival, which is scheduled for July 20 to 21 in Sacramento.

Since 1971, the California Duck Stamp Program’s annual contest has attracted top wildlife artists from around the country. The contest is traditionally open to artists from all 50 states in order to ensure a wide pool of submissions. All proceeds generated from stamp sales go directly to waterfowl conservation projects throughout California.

In the past, hunters were required to purchase and affix the stamp to their hunting licenses. Today, hunters are no longer required to carry the stamps because California’s modern licensing system prints proof of additional fees paid directly onto the license.

However, CDFW still produces the stamps, which can be requested on CDFW’s Web site at www.wildlife.ca.gov/licensing/collector-stamps .

All of this year’s top finishers can be seen here.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Auditions will be held next week for actor-singers (18 or older) for the original musical “Even In Shadow,” which will be shot on video in Lake County.

You may audition online or come to one of the live auditions.

Live auditions will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 11, and 1 p.m. Saturday, July 13, in the Friendship Hall at Kelseyville Presbyterian Church, 5340 Third St.

The deadline for online auditions is Monday, July 15, at 11:59 p.m.

Information on the production is on the Web site www.eveninshadow.com with a list of characters and their sides.

This play was originally produced in 2002 for Summer Theater Workshop. It has been revised and rewritten by its producers, Carolyn Wing Greenlee and Dan Worley of Kelseyville.

This is a unique opportunity for those who have desired to be involved in making a movie. Involvement also offers profit sharing for cast and crew.

Singers who are non-actors (18 or older) are also welcome to audition for the soundtrack, which will be recorded in-studio before the video is released. This is a great opportunity for singers who don't want to act, or don't match the look or visual age of one of the characters but can deliver a fitting vocal.

Crew members of all skills are also welcome to come out and meet with the producers.
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TOY STORY 4 (Rated G)

Launched in 1995, “Toy Story” marked a major milestone in animated moviemaking as the first fully computer-animated feature film. But there’s so much more to the franchise than Pixar’s trailblazing artistic technology.

The character-driven franchise hooked audiences young and old to stay attached to the story of beloved toys like the relatable pull-string cowboy Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), the delusional Space Ranger with an identifiable catch phrase.

That “Toy Story 4” has come to fruition nine years after the third installment is remarkable in that “Toy Story 3” seemed like the end of the line for Woody and company when Andy, heading off for college, no longer needed his toys.

Yet, Andy’s handoff of the toys to live with Bonnie (Madeleine McGraw), a young friend of the family, turns out to be, just like in life, a situation where every ending is a new beginning.

With Woody and his friends moving on, transition is a big thematic piece of the fourth chapter. For one thing, Woody, now consigned to the closet, must adapt to a new role but he makes sure to remain very much in the picture.

Confident about his place in the world, Woody’s priority is to take care of the young Bonnie, and as she approaches kindergarten with a little apprehension, the cowboy stows away in her backpack so that he may stick by her side.

During the arts and crafts class, Woody retrieves a discarded spork from a trash can that enables Bonnie to shape her own toy, Forky (Tony Hale), by adding googly eyes, pipe-cleaner arms, popsicle stick feet and red waxy lips.

Well aware of his origin, Forky declares himself trash and not a toy, leading Woody to show Forky why he should embrace being a toy and give up his desire to jump back into the nearest trash receptacle.

Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang, including newcomer Forky, accompany Bonnie on a vacation road trip to in the family’s RV to the tourist town of Grand Basin to enjoy the big carnival where plush toys hanging in game booths eventually get liberated.

Before reaching this destination, Forky leaps from the moving RV to escape his newfound role of Bonnie’s toy in search of a trash heap, while Woody, adhering to his self-appointed duty as a protector, sets off in hot pursuit.

While Buzz and the other toys fret about losing their friends, Woody and Forky, hiking along a desolate highway, finally catch up to the gang but not without encountering some distractions.

The tourist town has a secondhand store with a lamp in the window that Woody spots as the one from his former home that was adorned with the porcelain doll Bo Beep (Annie Potts), his long-lost friend.

Slipping into the store through a mail slot, Woody and Forky search for Bo Beep but instead, at first, find a host of other toys, including Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks), her creepy ventriloquist dummy henchmen, and daredevil Duke Caboom (Keanu Reeves).

A vintage pull-string doll, Gabby Gabby has a manufacturing defect in her voice box that has left her sounding anything but adorable, and hence a toy that would not be inviting to be adopted by any child.

Gabby Gabby proves to be borderline creepy herself when she takes Forky hostage because she has the misguided notion that if she could purloin Woody’s voice box that she would finally get the love and affection of the store owner’s granddaughter.

The antique store is the closest thing to a chamber of horrors for any toy so unfortunate to be trapped by Gabby Gabby and the foreboding ventriloquist dummies who patrol the premises with a looming quietness that is inherently unsettling.

Meanwhile, Bo Beep has left the old lamp behind, transforming into an adventurer to enjoy life on her own terms as she rides around in fake skunk mobile with her diminutive sidekick Giggles McDimples (Ally Maki).

The reunion between Woody and Bo Beep is arguably the emotional core of the story, where the cowboy stands tall, just like the hero of any Western, and the porcelain doll, unlike a fairy-tale character, is a free spirit whose strength and sarcasm belie her delicate exterior.

The magic of the “Toy Story” franchise comes in large part from the view of the world from a toy’s perspective, with Woody being the wisest one of the bunch and Buzz probably the most comical.

Welcome additions to the series include the carnival prize stuffed animals Ducky (Keegan-Michael Key) and Bunny (Jordan Peele) and Canadian action figure Duke Caboom, who imagines that he has the fearless confidence of doing Evel Knievel-style motorcycle stunts.
“Toy Story 4,” perfectly flawless family fare, appears to be likely the franchise’s fitting last chapter suffused with genuine feelings of love, friendship and loyalty that deliver the proper coda of a masterful animated franchise with astonishing heart and soul.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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The French Oak Gypsy Band will headline at the Soper Reese Theatre’s Bastille Day celebration on Sunday, July 14, 2019, in Lakeport, Calif. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – If you’re a Francophile and even if you’re not (but you love parties), the Soper Reese Theatre invites you to a Bastille Fête on Sunday, July 14, at 7 p.m. to celebrate France’s national holiday, Bastille Day.

This evening of French-themed fun includes live music, dancing, surprise guests, food á la française, wine and song.

Wear your favorite French outfit, bring your worst French accent and get ready for a rousing sing-along of the French national anthem.

Headliner the French Oak Gypsy Band gives a fresh spin on French and American Swing Era classics with a repertoire from French Chanson, Gypsy Jazz, Dixieland Jazz.

North Bay vocalist Stella Heath and French/American guitar player Gabriel Pirard, lead this group of gypsies in their undeniably fun performances.

Reed player, James Inciardi, rounds out the group. With their French-inspired sound, spotlighting Heath’s magnetic vocals and the band’s tight rhythms they'll transport you straight into the bygone era of swing.

Tickets are now on sale for $25, $20 and $15. All seats are reserved. The dance floor will be open and dancing is encouraged, mais oui!

Tickets can be purchased online at www.soperreesetheatre.com or at The Travel Center, 825 S. Main St., Lakeport, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The theatre is located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport, telephone 707-263-0577.
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Ted Kooser. Photo credit: UNL Publications and Photography.

I am often asked if I know of a good poem to be read at a wedding, and here's one by James Bertolino, from his new and selected poems, “Ravenous Bliss.”

Bertolino lives in Washington state and I have been a reader of his poetry for almost 50 years.

When he and I were younger, we often published in the same literary journals, most of which have slipped away into the past.

A Wedding Toast

May your love be firm,
and may your dream of life together
be a river between two shores—
by day bathed in sunlight, and by night
illuminated from within. May the heron
carry news of you to the heavens, and the salmon bring
the sea’s blue grace. May your twin thoughts
spiral upward like leafy vines,
like fiddle strings in the wind,
and be as noble as the Douglas fir.
May you never find yourselves back to back
without love pulling you around
into each other's arms.

American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It 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 ©2014 by James Bertolino, "A Wedding Toast," from Ravenous Bliss, (MoonPath Press, 2014). Poem reprinted by permission of James Bertolino and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2019 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.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The 1939 classic, “The Wizard of Oz,” starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley and Bert Lahr, screens at the Soper Reese Theatre on Tuesday, July 9, at 1 and 6 p.m.

Entry to the film is by donation.

This adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s classic children’s fairy tale has something for all ages: strange lands, funny moments, scary moments, a dazzling assortment of imaginative characters, songs that take us over the rainbow, a peerless Judy Garland performance, and meaningful messages in abundance.

Continuously enthralling, this is one hardy perennial you will never tire of watching. It’s a must-see on the big screen.

The movie is sponsored by Jean Mead and Vivian Wilson.

Rated G. Run time is 1 hour and 47 minutes.

The Soper Reese Theatre is located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport, 707-263-0577, www.soperreesetheatre.com.

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