MIDDLETOWN – D’s Coffee & Tea Shop will host the Cobb Stompers in concert this Friday, April 23.

The event will begin at 7 p.m. with an open microphone for children, and the Cobb Stompers at 7:30 p.m., to be followed at 8:30 p.m. by a general open microphone.

For more information, call the shop at 707-987-3647.

D’s Coffee & Tea Shop is located at 21187 Calistoga St., Middletown, Calif.

 

LAKEPORT – Veteran blues/rock guitarist Mike Wilhelm plays Konocti Vista Casino's expanded Point Bar with his band Hired Guns this Friday from 8 p.m. until midnight.

The recently formed band has already proven its ability to keep people boogying on the dance floor with its potent mix of Rhythm & Blues and Rock 'n' Roll spiced with harmony vocals.

Friday's line-up has Wilhelm on guitar and vocal; John Beckwith, bass; Mark “Street Dog” Phillips, drums and vocal; the smoky vocals of Kathie Kent; plus the honking sound of Jim “Jimmy the Lion” Leonardis on tenor sax.

Konocti Vista Casino is located at 2755 Mission Rancheria Road, Lakeport, Calif.

Further information is can be found at www.konocti-vista-casino.com. For information about Mike Wilhelm go to www.flyingsnail.com/Scrapbook/Mike_Wilhelm.html. For bookings call 277-7912 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

LAKEPORT – The Lake County Arts Council's 29th Annual Spring Dance Festival is fast approaching and is the premier dance event in Lake County.

At long last, this year's performances will be held at our own Soper-Reese Community Theatre at 275 S. Main in Lakeport, with a matinée at 1 p.m. and an evening performance at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 1, and a Sunday matinée at 2 p.m. on May 2. Doors open one-half hour prior to the performance.

This year's theme is "We Should Be Dancin" and is being assembled by a stellar cast of local choreographers who include Antoinette Goetz, Sheila LaVine, Michelle John-Smith from Lakeport and Annette Lee from the Konocti Dance Academy in Clearlake.

These studios, partnering with the Lake County Arts Council, will delight you with a jam-packed program featuring more than 130 Lake County dancers, including young and talented budding choreographers, who will present two hours of a wide variety of dance styles from delicate ballet to robust clogging.

Add the nostalgic rhythms of Broadway and tap, hip-hop, belly dancing, hula, ballroom dancing and a grand finale with the entire cast, and "you will be dancin'" as you exit the theater.

General admission tickets cost $15 and children's tickets cost $10.

Tickets can be purchased at the Main Street Gallery located at 325 N. Main St. and at Catfish Books in the Willow Tree Plaza on 11th St. in Lakeport, and at Wild About Books on Olympic Drive in Clearlake.

Reserved seating at $20 are available at the Theatre box office on Thursdays from noon until 5 p.m., or by calling 707-263-0577 or online at www.soperreesetheatre.com.

UKIAH – Aspiring writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry are invited to participate in several workshops offered Saturday, April 24, as part of this year’s Literary Festival at Mendocino College.

“LitFest 2010,” featuring more than 20 local writers and poets will take place at the College, 1000 Hensley Creek Road, starting at 10 a.m. and continuing until 5 p.m. that day.

Admission to LitFest and the included workshops is free, and the event is open to the public.

Workshop topics will include the importance of rewriting, creating a writers’ group, writing poetry and building good story lines.

Published writers, poets, and book and magazine editors will be among the workshop presenters.

Participants are encouraged to come prepared to write or share unpublished works of writing. Pre-registration is urged by festival organizers. Descriptions of the workshops and registration is available on the event Web site, www.mendocino.edu/litfest2010. Interested individuals may also call 707-468-3051.

Sponsored by the Mendocino College Foundation and its affiliate organization, Friends of the Mendocino College Library, as well as other various supporters, the one-day literary festival is advertised as “A Celebration for Word Lovers.”

“We are pleased to be able to bring so many talented individuals to the College to share their writing, poetry, and knowledge with our students and other members of our community,” said John Koetzner, head librarian at Mendocino College. “The workshops promise to be entertaining and informative. They are always popular and fill quickly. That is one reason we suggest early sign-up.”

Morning workshops will include “Story Stalking,” a discussion about good story telling, presented by author Molly Dwyer; “Writing Poetry for Publication,” presented by poet/editor/publisher C.E. Chaffin; “Writing for Young Adults” presented by author Pamela Pizzimenti; and “Collaborative and Spontaneous Writing,” a discussion of techniques and ideas for new writing, presented by poet, designer, and letterpress printer Theresa Whitehill.

“How to Create and Maintain a Writers’ Group,” led by Jean Hegland and Sean Swift, and “Finished? Congratulations! Now Rewrite,” with presenters Peg Kingman and Doris Eraldi, are scheduled for the afternoon. Additionally, Armando Garcia-Davila, author of three poetry collections, will give examples of his writing process in an afternoon workshop entitled “A Writer Shares His Secrets.”

A special children’s workshop and reading has just been added to the LitFest schedule, according to Koetzner. Elizabeth Vega, author of “The Laughing River, “ will conduct the interactive session for youngsters.

LitFest attendees will have an opportunity to hear readings and talks by many contemporary authors and poetic artists who reside in the Mendocino, Lake, and Sonoma county areas, according to Koetzner. They include fiction writers Marc Bojanowski and Tara Sufiana, and poets Dan Barth, Blake More, Robin Rule, Ethel Mays, Armand Brint, Mary Norbert Korte and Sandra Wade.