The Rogue is headed this way, look out! This annual nine-day, fringe-style festival showcases the work of independent artists from around the world, and Fresno’s Tower District becomes a hub of theater, dance, music, spoken word, puppetry and just about anything else you can think of.
“I need to talk to you.” Under certain circumstances those words would be a source of anxiety, but not this time. This was Tower District Marketing Committee Director, Felix Muzquiz's response to a question about the annual Tower District Mardi Gras Parade.
Christmas is on the way, and Central Valley towns are getting into the spirit of the season with parades, parades, and more parades! Last weekend I attended three in a row, each representing the values and histories of the communities in which they took place.
Fall is here and, after a summer break, the parades are back! Dust off the floats and tune up the tubas, because I am ready!
“So why do you want to do this?”
I'm standing in the middle of a storage unit in north Fresno, staring at endless racks crammed with a variety of costumes and for the life of me I can't remember the answer to that question. The person who presented this query was Joel Abels, Artistic Director of Stageworks Fresno. “This” is designing costumes for an upcoming production of the musical Dogfight.
In 1964, Barbra Streisand had a hit song in which she declared that nobody was gonna rain on her parade. Had Babs been in Clovis in 2015, she would have been disappointed. The 98th Annual Clovis Rodeo Parade was the third on my list of parades to see this year, and it was a wet one. A steady downpour made the cancellation of this popular event a definite possibility. But this is Clovis, rough and tough, a way of life! The show must go on! So, appropriately attired in boots, cowboy hat, and red raincoat, I staked out my place deep in the heart of Old Town.
My name is Mallory Moad and I love parades. This year, 2015, I will be embracing my passion for pageantry by attending as many parades in the Central Valley as possible.
If you’ve ever been to Fresno’s Rogue Festival or attended Jazz @ the Library, you might be familiar with the jazzy swing sound of Fresno band Scats on the Sly.
This four-member band of cool cats, comprised of vocalist Mallory Moad, bassist Martin Hansen, guitarist Mike Newton and violinist Sue Beevers, has been making music together for almost eight years.
