MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The “Battles at the Mansion,” a fundraiser event for the Gibson Museum & Cultural Center in Middletown, is shaping up although Friends of Gibson have just been informed that the cavalry and mounted units will be unable to attend due to problems with an equine virus.

There will be a couple of hundred militia-for-the-day in Blue, Gray and colorful Zouave uniforms with muskets, rifles and cannon putting on the traditional “really good show.”

When not chatting with the soldiers and examining their camps and equipment, the crowd at the Middletown Mansion the weekend of June 24 and 25 will have plenty of good entertainment.

My Divas, Lake County’s women’s a Capella group will open the festivities both days. The Divas grew out of Middletown’s long-running holiday season Renaissance Pageant, a favorite since the 1990s. The years have brought changes in the cast. The current seven Lake County women’s wide variety of music styles have gained popularity throughout the county, and recently at Castillo de Amorosa in Calistoga.

David Neft still operates the realty company started by his parents in Middletown 50-some years ago, but his heart is in his music. Neft toured with a rock band in the ‘70s, open for top-name stars at Konocti Harbor Inn and played for local musical productions of Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof and Wizard of Oz. He’s been featured during brunches at the Calistoga Inn for over ten years, and regularly entertains with his traveling keyboard throughout Lake County.

Don Coffin and Andi Skelton are both members of the Uncorked band and regulars at the Fiddlers’ Jam every first Sunday of the month at Ely Stage Stop & Country Museum on Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville, where avid audiences love every minute of it.

Coffin is a member of the Hot Fritattas band, and sings as well as playing guitar and mandolin. He is a recording artist, music teacher and has a bluegrass show on KPFZ radio.

Skelton is concertmaster for the Lake County Symphony, plays with the Ukiah symphony and leads the Konocti Fiddle Club. She also teaches.

Barbara White has been entertaining crowds at Civil War reenactments for more than 20 years with her giggle-producing demonstrations of squeezing into corsets, petticoats and hoop skirts in order to go out in antebellum society. In between, she is a diligent zone archaeologist in the Mendocino Forest for the U. S. Forest Service delving into the history of native peoples.

Voris Brumfield taught theater arts at Yuba College, directed Lake County Repertory Theater, and wrote and directed the Middletown Renaissance Pageant for 10 years. She was a county supervisor and more recently has acted as lay pastor for two Methodist congregations.

At the mansion event, she will assume the persona of her freed slave grandmother to deliver the Gettysburg Address.

A schedule of appearances is available at www.friendsofgibson.com . Further information at Gibson Museum, 21267 Calistoga, in Middletown, 707-809-8009.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Local mindfulness teacher, life coach and author JoAnn Saccato, MA is hosting a monthly companion circle at A Positive Light Meditation Center in Kelseyville.

This month’s event will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Monday, June 16, at the center, located at 6470 Kelsey Creek Drive.

It is open to the public, though space is limited.

The guest presenter this month is local meditation and QiGong teacher Joanie Lane, who will lead the group in Healing Movement QiGong.
 
The ongoing monthly events include exploring a mindfulness or intentional living topic, a guest presenter, and time to mingle with others over a light snack.

"Companion Circles are monthly gatherings for those curious about or committed to a mindful practice and/or intentional living," said Saccato. "One of the best supports we can give ourselves to deepen and ensure our continued wellness is to come together in community on a regular basis."

Mindfulness is a popular health and wellness practice that invites one to purposefully pay kind, non-judgmental attention to their direct experience.

The scientifically supported approach helps reduce stress and stress-related illnesses, increase focus and attention, decrease incidences of and relapses with depression, reduce anxiety, reduce relapses in addiction, and aid in sleep and digestive disorders.

Lane is a longtime practitioner of insight meditation and the Mahayana and Zen Buddhist traditions.

She is the director of A Positive Light Meditation Center in Kelseyville and has taught QiGong in the Rinzai Lineage of Wisdom Healing Qigong tradition for 12 years, teaching her own unique style of qigong "Healing Movement Qigong" for eight of those years. She is also a Reiki Master/Teacher.

Qigong roughly translates from Chinese to mean to cultivate or enhance the inherent functioning (energetic) essence of humans.

The health benefits of a Qigong practice include positive cardiopulmonary effects, balance and related risk factors, and more.

The benefits come about both by supporting the body's natural tendency to return to balance and equilibrium and by gently creating strength and flexibility in the muscles and joints through gentle flowing movements.

As a mindfulness practice, slow flowing movement invites the practitioner to stay connected to the direct moment by moment experience in the body in motion, helping bring more mindfulness to other daily activities.

Attendees are invited to wear comfortable clothing and bring a light finger food to share. Tea and water will be available. There is a suggested donation of $10.

Ms. Saccato teaches mindfulness courses and offers mindfulness-based life coaching in Lake County and abroad. She is the author of “Companioning the Sacred Journey: A Guide to Creating a Compassionate Container for Your Spiritual Practice” and the forthcoming, “Mindful and Intentional Living: A Path to Peace, Clarity, and Freedom.”
 
For more information on the monthly gatherings, Saccato and her work, visit www.Compassion-basedMindfulness.com or call 707-350-1719. For more information on Ms. Lane and A Positive Light Meditation Center, visit www.APositiveLight.com or call 707-279-6031.