SOU’WESTER EVENTS!
Discover what’s happening during your next stay or plan a visit around our free live music, workshops, wellness offerings and more!
SUMMER ART CAMP For Adults (and kids) Program*
Time-Lapse to Scaven-Journals: Workshops with Damon Ayers and Tessie Word
Textured Landscapes (A Workshop for Children and Parents)
Three One-Day Workshops: RSVP for 1 or all 3
All three workshops will be fun and physically active. You are encouraged to attend with your child or if you like, drop them off, for a creativity-filled early morning exploring the multiple textures of the Long Beach Peninsula.
The minimum age for drop-off is 8 years old.
Tues June 28 9:30am – 12:30pm
Day One: Scavenjournal
In this workshop we will begin to expand the textual and visual potential of being–in-place. We will create collaborative journals with comics, poetry and collage inspired by the settings and materials we find around the Sou’Wester and the Long Beach peninsula. Each participant will leave with a notebook filled with shared creative exercises for further exploration.
Wed June 29 9:30am – 12:30pm
Day Two: Texternal Rewards
For this ramble/ derivé we will be armed with charcoal, paper-mache and large paper for making rubbings and recordings in the variety of landscapes around the Sou’Wester Lodge. We will walk or bike from the ocean beach to the Lone Fir Pine cemetery a half mile or so inland. Along the way we sample different interesting textures in the environment and then over-lay them with the cut and paste poetry we are able to find on the tombstones of Lone Pine. Everyone will leave with new impressions of the natural world and our place in it and also some unique artworks.
Thurs June 30 9:30am – 12:30pm
Day Three: Natural Theaters
Time lapse photography and stop motion animation.
In this workshop, we will explore the cinematic potential of the gorgeous and dramatic landscape around the Sou’Wester Lodge. Beach and rock, rippling grasslands and forests of low surf pines become the stage for our exploration of the art of beautiful images and fluid frame rates. Participants are encouraged to bring their favorite doll, action figures, or toys but we are also open to exploring the way the landscape changes over time and how we might use the materials of nature to creatively engage with the visual sensations of time. If possible, participants should bring a smart phone, tablet, laptop or other portable electronic device that is wifi compatible and can run apps. We can provide two or three that we will share but personal devices are very encouraged.
Damon and Tess are both practicing artists and licensed K-12 teachers who are also parents of a two and a half year old daughter. We are learning to turn seemingly conflicting demands as parent-artists into new opportunities for creativity in family life. As workshop facilitators, we aim for participants of all ages to feel actively and creatively engaged, and to have opportunities for thinking critically about essential questions for continuing art practice.
Cost $75 for all three days or $30 each day. An additional material fee of $3 for the scavenjournal class, paid directly to instructor. Each class will have a short walk or fieldtrip, please wear comfortable shoes and clothing. Please also bring a backpack or tote bag for carrying a notebook and collecting samples. If possible, participants in day three will need a smart phone, tablet, laptop or other portable electronic device that is wi-fi compatible and can run apps. Please bring a sack lunch and/or snack (optional lunch together after the workshop). Hot tea and coffee provided. Workshop for students ages 2+. All skill levels welcome. Max # of students:16.
Please RSVP souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360 – 642 – 2542
*Currently Our SUMMER ART CAMP Workshops are Only Open to Guests Staying at The Sou’wester and they may fill up fast! Plan ahead.
Audios Amigos is an instrumental muscle car filled with guitars and hot sauce…
Audios Amigos are an instrumental, guitar fueled musical entity, who drive between the lanes of surf, country, latin, soundtrack, garage…etc etc. They consistently bring a high energy live show that will induce voluntary and involuntary movements of the arms, legs, and any other bodily attachments. They often wear mariachi or classic western inspired suits, however authentic suits are impossible to find in Portland Oregon (especially on a musician’s budget), so the band has made their own homespun versions. The Amigos love surf music, however they are not primarily a surf band, they traverse all styles of instrumental music with experience and reverence…they have shared the gigs with Red Fang, Sir Richard Bishop, Bob Log III, The Pork Torta, Pierced Arrows, Southern Culture on the Skids, The Reigning Sound, The Chop Tops…you get the picture, a wide berth of musical styles!
Creative Writing with Nick Jaina
Creative Writing For People Who Hate Staring At An Empty Page
Three One-Day Workshops: RSVP for 1 or all 3
Tues July 5 10am – 1pm
Wed July 6 9:30am – 11:30am
Thurs July 7 9:30am – 11:30am
This set of workshops (sign up for 1 or all 3) focuses on all the good things that writing can do for your mental and emotional state, how it can bring you closer to people, and how it can help you understand the world. Rather than just trying to make something marketable, we will work on discovering the interesting, funny, and wonderful ideas that are sitting inside of us.
Nick Jaina is a musician and author from Portland, Oregon. His book Get It While You Can is a finalist for the Oregon Book Award in Creative Non-Fiction. He has taught writing workshops for ten years at Pendleton Rock Camp.
Cost $75 for all three days or $30 each day.
Please bring a laptop or pen and paper. Please bring a sack lunch and/or snack. Hot tea and coffee provided. Workshop for students ages 15+. All skill levels welcome. Max # of students:15.
souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360 – 642 – 2542
Creative Writing with Nick Jaina
Creative Writing For People Who Hate Staring At An Empty Page
Three One-Day Workshops: RSVP for 1 or all 3
Tues July 5 10am – 1pm
Wed July 6 9:30am – 11:30am
Thurs July 7 9:30am – 11:30am
This set of workshops (sign up for 1 or all 3) focuses on all the good things that writing can do for your mental and emotional state, how it can bring you closer to people, and how it can help you understand the world. Rather than just trying to make something marketable, we will work on discovering the interesting, funny, and wonderful ideas that are sitting inside of us.
Nick Jaina is a musician and author from Portland, Oregon. His book Get It While You Can is a finalist for the Oregon Book Award in Creative Non-Fiction. He has taught writing workshops for ten years at Pendleton Rock Camp.
Cost $75 for all three days or $30 each day.
Please bring a laptop or pen and paper. Please bring a sack lunch and/or snack. Hot tea and coffee provided. Workshop for students ages 15+. All skill levels welcome. Max # of students:15.
souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360 – 642 – 2542
Creative Writing with Nick Jaina
Creative Writing For People Who Hate Staring At An Empty Page
Three One-Day Workshops: RSVP for 1 or all 3
Tues July 5 10am – 1pm
Wed July 6 9:30am – 11:30am
Thurs July 7 9:30am – 11:30am
This set of workshops (sign up for 1 or all 3) focuses on all the good things that writing can do for your mental and emotional state, how it can bring you closer to people, and how it can help you understand the world. Rather than just trying to make something marketable, we will work on discovering the interesting, funny, and wonderful ideas that are sitting inside of us.
Nick Jaina is a musician and author from Portland, Oregon. His book Get It While You Can is a finalist for the Oregon Book Award in Creative Non-Fiction. He has taught writing workshops for ten years at Pendleton Rock Camp.
Cost $75 for all three days or $30 each day.
Please bring a laptop or pen and paper. Please bring a sack lunch and/or snack. Hot tea and coffee provided. Workshop for students ages 15+. All skill levels welcome. Max # of students:15.
souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360 – 642 – 2542
Welcome Lonesome Leash opening for Nick Jaina.
Nick Jaina is a musician and writer from Portland, Oregon. His most recent album, Primary Perception, was released in April 2013 on Fluff and Gravy Records. As the Portland Mercury said, “I’d feel embarrassed describing Nick Jaina as a genius outright, and I’m sure he’d hate that too, but it’s so tempting– because he is so clearly the real deal.” He is a co-founder and musical director of the Satellite Ballet and Collective in New York City. He has composed the music for three ballets and three contemporary dances with that group, featuring dancers from the New York City Ballet, Ten Hairy Legs, and Juilliard, performing at the Baryshnikov Center and the Joyce Theater. Their most recent performance was two sold-out shows at Brooklyn Academy of Music in May 2014. Of that show, the New York Times wrote, “[The] pure, pungent, earthy music for strings, piano, and percussion… was the most physically bracing part of the night.” He released his first book, Get It While You Can, a work of non-fiction, through Perfect Day Publishing in January 2015. It is a finalist for the 2016 Oregon Book Awards.
Lonesome Leash is the solo moniker of Los Angeles-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Walt McClements. Known for previous involvement in Dark Dark Dark, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and Why Are We Building Such A Big Ship?, McClements, as Lonesome Leash, channels all of his musical experiences into a lean and gorgeously messy solo affair.
Songwriting Workshop with Catherine Feeny
Songwriting: the Art and the Business
One Three-Day Workshop
Tues July 12 9:30am – 12:30pm|
Day one will focus on awakening creativity. We will use exercises designed to open our ears to that unerring inner voice, and move us past blocks to honest expression. Students may use one of the exercises explored in class to begin writing a song in their free time on day 1.
Wed July 13 9:30am – 12:30pm
On day two, we will focus on what makes a song powerful, and explore the significance of writing as a tool for deeper connection with oneself and others. We will look at successful works and discuss our own songs in terms of tools like metaphor, melody and rhythm. Students who are open to workshopping their material may bring a song they started on day 1, or a song they wrote before the workshop for the class to hear and discuss. Sensitive souls, fear not — we will create a safe space for artists at their most vulnerable.
Thurs July 14 9:30am – 12:30pm
On day three, we will talk about the business of songwriting. Royalties, publishing companies, synch agents, collection agencies — the ins and outs of making money as a songwriter can be challenging to navigate. Come with questions and take away ideas about how to take your craft and your career to the next level.
Portland, OR-based songwriter Catherine Feeny has been a professional songwriter for ten years. She self-released her debut album in 2003, which garnered an audience in Europe that led to extensive touring abroad. Feeny moved to the U.K. in 2005, where her song “Mr. Blue” received an A-list at the country’s most listened to radio station, BBC Radio 2. After being dropped by record company EMI in 2008, she relocated to the Northwest and in 2013, won the Peace Promotion Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest with the song, “United.” The revolutionary anthem also caught the attention of writer/activist Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues), who commissioned Feeny to compose a song for her organization, One Billion Rising. Feeny has shared the stage with acclaimed songwriters The Indigo Girls, Suzanne Vega, John Prine and Wilco. The confessional “Afraid,” from her most recent album (on Fluff & Gravy Records) has received more than 700,000 plays on Spotify. Her songs have been featured in film and TV in Europe and in the U.S.
It is possible to RSVP for just 1 or 2 days of the workshop,
but preference is to sign-up for all 3 due to structure of teachings.
Cost $75 for all three days (preferred) or $30 each day.
Participants should bring their own musical instrument (unless they plan to write for vocal only) and a recording device (phone is OK). Also bring a notebook and a writing instrument, or a laptop for writing and notes. Please bring a snack if needed. Hot tea and coffee provided. Workshop for students ages 16+ (exceptions made for very mature and interested younger teens). All skill levels welcome.
Max # of students:10.
STATUS:there is still availability souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360 – 642 – 2542
Songwriting Workshop with Catherine Feeny
Songwriting: the Art and the Business
One Three-Day Workshop
Tues July 12 9:30am – 12:30pm|
Day one will focus on awakening creativity. We will use exercises designed to open our ears to that unerring inner voice, and move us past blocks to honest expression. Students may use one of the exercises explored in class to begin writing a song in their free time on day 1.
Wed July 13 9:30am – 12:30pm
On day two, we will focus on what makes a song powerful, and explore the significance of writing as a tool for deeper connection with oneself and others. We will look at successful works and discuss our own songs in terms of tools like metaphor, melody and rhythm. Students who are open to workshopping their material may bring a song they started on day 1, or a song they wrote before the workshop for the class to hear and discuss. Sensitive souls, fear not — we will create a safe space for artists at their most vulnerable.
Thurs July 14 9:30am – 12:30pm
On day three, we will talk about the business of songwriting. Royalties, publishing companies, synch agents, collection agencies — the ins and outs of making money as a songwriter can be challenging to navigate. Come with questions and take away ideas about how to take your craft and your career to the next level.
Portland, OR-based songwriter Catherine Feeny has been a professional songwriter for ten years. She self-released her debut album in 2003, which garnered an audience in Europe that led to extensive touring abroad. Feeny moved to the U.K. in 2005, where her song “Mr. Blue” received an A-list at the country’s most listened to radio station, BBC Radio 2. After being dropped by record company EMI in 2008, she relocated to the Northwest and in 2013, won the Peace Promotion Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest with the song, “United.” The revolutionary anthem also caught the attention of writer/activist Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues), who commissioned Feeny to compose a song for her organization, One Billion Rising. Feeny has shared the stage with acclaimed songwriters The Indigo Girls, Suzanne Vega, John Prine and Wilco. The confessional “Afraid,” from her most recent album (on Fluff & Gravy Records) has received more than 700,000 plays on Spotify. Her songs have been featured in film and TV in Europe and in the U.S.
It is possible to RSVP for just 1 or 2 days of the workshop,
but preference is to sign-up for all 3 due to structure of teachings.
Cost $75 for all three days (preferred) or $30 each day.
Participants should bring their own musical instrument (unless they plan to write for vocal only) and a recording device (phone is OK). Also bring a notebook and a writing instrument, or a laptop for writing and notes. Please bring a snack if needed. Hot tea and coffee provided. Workshop for students ages 16+ (exceptions made for very mature and interested younger teens). All skill levels welcome.
Max # of students:10.
STATUS:there is still availability souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360 – 642 – 2542
Songwriting Workshop with Catherine Feeny
Songwriting: the Art and the Business
One Three-Day Workshop
Tues July 12 9:30am – 12:30pm|
Day one will focus on awakening creativity. We will use exercises designed to open our ears to that unerring inner voice, and move us past blocks to honest expression. Students may use one of the exercises explored in class to begin writing a song in their free time on day 1.
Wed July 13 9:30am – 12:30pm
On day two, we will focus on what makes a song powerful, and explore the significance of writing as a tool for deeper connection with oneself and others. We will look at successful works and discuss our own songs in terms of tools like metaphor, melody and rhythm. Students who are open to workshopping their material may bring a song they started on day 1, or a song they wrote before the workshop for the class to hear and discuss. Sensitive souls, fear not — we will create a safe space for artists at their most vulnerable.
Thurs July 14 9:30am – 12:30pm
On day three, we will talk about the business of songwriting. Royalties, publishing companies, synch agents, collection agencies — the ins and outs of making money as a songwriter can be challenging to navigate. Come with questions and take away ideas about how to take your craft and your career to the next level.
Portland, OR-based songwriter Catherine Feeny has been a professional songwriter for ten years. She self-released her debut album in 2003, which garnered an audience in Europe that led to extensive touring abroad. Feeny moved to the U.K. in 2005, where her song “Mr. Blue” received an A-list at the country’s most listened to radio station, BBC Radio 2. After being dropped by record company EMI in 2008, she relocated to the Northwest and in 2013, won the Peace Promotion Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest with the song, “United.” The revolutionary anthem also caught the attention of writer/activist Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues), who commissioned Feeny to compose a song for her organization, One Billion Rising. Feeny has shared the stage with acclaimed songwriters The Indigo Girls, Suzanne Vega, John Prine and Wilco. The confessional “Afraid,” from her most recent album (on Fluff & Gravy Records) has received more than 700,000 plays on Spotify. Her songs have been featured in film and TV in Europe and in the U.S.
It is possible to RSVP for just 1 or 2 days of the workshop,
but preference is to sign-up for all 3 due to structure of teachings.
Cost $75 for all three days (preferred) or $30 each day.
Participants should bring their own musical instrument (unless they plan to write for vocal only) and a recording device (phone is OK). Also bring a notebook and a writing instrument, or a laptop for writing and notes. Please bring a snack if needed. Hot tea and coffee provided. Workshop for students ages 16+ (exceptions made for very mature and interested younger teens). All skill levels welcome.
Max # of students:10.
STATUS:there is still availability souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360 – 642 – 2542
Acclaimed songwriter Catherine Feeny met jazz drummer Chris Johnedis after recording her rebellious fourth solo album. She had just come back from the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York, and he was returning from 2 years of working and studying in Thailand. The two hit it off, and Johnedis helped translate the varied rhythms of “America” — which ran the gamut between vintage drum machine sounds and captured field recordings — into a live show setting.
Two years later, working with producers Sebastian Rogers (Floetry) and Sheldon Gomberg (Ben Harper, Ricki Lee Jones), in a live four-day session in Silverlake, CA the two create a universe of sound that is sparse and propulsive, yet playful, for their eponymous debut as a duo.
Catherine’s career as a solo artist began with Joe Purdy recording her first album, a self-titled affair that garnered acclaim for its compelling songwriting and stark, nostalgic feel. The album won Feeny an audience in Belgium where it was championed by French-language radio station Classic 21.
However it is Feeny’s second album, 2005′s “Hurricane Glass,” for which she is best known. The song “Mr. Blue” was picked up by KCRW in LA, and later featured in “Running with Scissors,” “The O.C.,” and “Miss Conception.” The attention won by “Hurricane Glass” resulted in the album being picked up by EMI Records.
Catherine is teaching a songwriting workshop here at the Sou’wester Tuesday July 12th, Wednesday July 13th and Thursday July 14th, so this performance will be a real treat. Songwriting at its best.