Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Benefit July 17

We invite all Riggity Jig fans to enjoy good music for a good cause right after work on Tuesday, July 17. There will be a benefit show for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at 5:30 that evening at the Pyramid Alehouse in Sacramento. It's a cost/benefit kind of thing: the cost is $25 at the door ($20 in advance), and benefit is good music, food, and drink, and the knowledge that your money is going to a good cause. We're raising money to sponsor our friend and supporter Angela, who is in training for the Pacific Grove Triathlon coming up in September. The money she raises will go toward research into curing and preventing leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, and myeloma.

The Pyramid Alehouse event is a great opportunity for you to cool off (on what could conceivably be a warmish Sacramento day) before you continue to travel home in a sober and responsible way.

Mark your calendar today -- or better yet, email Angela for your advance tickets -- and we'll look for you there!

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Gourd Festival, wedding, and into summer

Since our last post, we played the Gourd Festival at Greg and Mary Leiser's ranch. That was loads of fun! We caught the very end of the Putah Creek Crawdads' act on Saturday and played to appreciative audiences both Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

The Leisers had bins and bins of dried gourds of all shapes and sizes, and under huge, shady tents they hosted artists who were selling statues, boxes, birdhouses, marionettes, and more, all made from gourds. A number of artists also led workshops on how to clean, cut, and paint your own decorative gourds. I'd be out of my gourd if I didn't say most of these artists were out of my league, but it did make me want to try my hand at some gourd projects. Fortunately for me, the Leisers' ranch is just across the river from my house, so I plan to go back soon and find a suitable gourd. Guess you could say I've been bit --
cucurbit, that is -- by the gourd bug.

Another big event was Saturday, June 23, when our drummer Pat (Kelsey) Olson tied the long-distance knot with her sweetie Jouko Salo. "Long-distance" because Kelsey lives in Sacramento and Jouko lives in Helsinki, and they'll each stay put for the time being. Kelsey and Jouko are heavily into wireless communication, though, and with cell phones long-distance is much less of an issue these days -- at least in terms of billing. I don't know about cooing. I think this has maybe gone far enough for now, but please join the band in wishing Kelsey and Jouko many years of happiness! You can add your good wishes by adding a comment to this post.

We're looking forward to more opportunities to perform this summer, and will let you know as we fix dates.