Wine & Jazz Festival offering genre for every aficionado

When the 10th renewal of Michael Kissinger’s Wine & Jazz Festival opens Friday, Aug. 24, in Esther Short Park, the three-day wine, fine arts and international jazz listings , which has become one of the most important jazz venues in the Pacific Northwest, will offer jazz—and plenty of it—for just about every jazz taste bud.

Impresario Kissinger has come a long way from the first festival in September 1998 on the graveled over site of the derelict downtown Lucky Lager Brewery to the shaded greenswards Esther Short Park, in recent years.

Here’s the lineup for 2007:

Friday, August 24: All Blues

4:00-5:30 PM: Shelly Rudolph (sultry blues & jazz vocalist)

6:00-7:30 PM: Norman Sylvester Blues Band (hard drivin’ Northwest blues band)

8:00-10 PM: Blind Boys of Alabama (4-time Grammy-winning Blues, Gospel and Soul legends!)

Saturday, August 25: Straight Ahead Jazz & Pop

11:30-12:30 PM: The Kung Pao Chickens (Gypsy Jazz)

1:00-2:00 PM: John Nastos E4 Band (New York infused electric jazz)

2:30-4:00 PM: Joe Powers (International harmonica sensation)

4:30-6:00 PM: Melissa Manchester (Grammy-winning singer songwriter)

6:30-8:00 PM: Take 6 (America’s #1 vocal jazz ensemble & 8-time Grammy winning jazz artists)

8:30-10:00 PM: Ramsey Lewis (2007 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master & 3-time Grammy winning jazz pianist)

Sunday, August 26: Jazz Fusion—Smooth Jazz—Hot Latin Jazz!

11:00-12:00 PM: Ben Darwish Group (Portland’s hottest young jazz quartet)

12:30-1:30 PM: Tall Jazz (Portland’s #1 Jazz Trio)

2:00-3:00 PM: Reggie Houston & Janice Scroggins (Straight ahead jazz)

3:30-5:00 PM: The Yellowjackets (America’s #1 fusion jazz band & 2-time Grammy winners)

5:30-7:00 PM: Kenny Loggins (legendary pop singer/songwriter & 2-time Grammy winner)

7:30-9:00 PM: Poncho Sanchez Jazz Band (Latin jazz master & Grammy-winning virtuoso percussion

Ticket prices areas follows: Friday $20; Saturday $25; Sunday $25. 3-Day passes are $50 advance, $60 at the gate. Tickets are at TicketsWest online at: www.ticketswest.com or 503-224-8499 or 1-800-992-8499.

Highway 502 connecting Battle Ground
and Interstate 5 to be along corridor

After considering several alternatives to create a wider, safer State Route 502 from I-5 to Battle Ground, the State Department of Transportation has elected to widen the existing corridor.

The WSDOT decision was made after several alternatives were considered, including alignments both north and south of Highway 502.

Business owners in the Dollars Corner area helped WSDOT conclude that off-corridor improvements were not the answer, WSDT officials say.

Safety was considered to be a key goal, according to WSDOT. The final design will add two additional travel lanes and median barriers to separate traffic.

An interchange for Highway 502 and Interstate 5 is already under construction. Construction of the new 502 will begin in 2012,with completion scheduled for 2014.

Columbia Land Trust auction
and dinner set for Sept. 7

The annual auction and dinner benefit for Vancouver-based regional Columbia Land Trust is Friday, Sept. 7, in the Oregon Convention Center

Auction donation items, sponsorships and volunteer applications are still being accepted, reports land trust auction chair Kathie Dietrich. Admission is $75. For further information, call 696-0131, or go to www.columbialandtrust.org.

News brief

Deadline for nominations for 2007 General George C. Marshall Public Leadership Award is Friday, Aug. 24. Celebrating the legacy of the World War II five-star general, United States Secretary of State and Nobel Peace Prize winner, who prior to World War II was stationed at Vancouver Barracks, the leadership award has been presented to county college graduates under the age of 35 years, annually since 1989. VaNessa Duplessie was last year’s winner. Nomination information is available by calling B992-1801.

Calendar

Stephanie Schneiderman’s jazzy, acoustic sound will entertain visitors in Esther Short Park this evening during the final presentation of Riverview Community Bank’s Six-to-Sunset Concert Series. The concert is free.
Food and non-alcoholic beverage vendors will be on hand. <> The Portland Guitar Duo performs in the Arts Equity Onstage Main Street Theatre, 606 Main Street, at 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Aug.17 through Aug. 19. Tickets range from $12 to $16. For further information, call 695-3770.

Headlines Thursday, Aug. 16

County sees replacement cost rise for emergency radio system—Columbian, Jeffrey Mize

Clark County man nabbed in federal warrant sweep—Columbian, Don Hamilton

Officer exonerated in fatal shooting—Columbian, Kelly Adams

Vandals attack three schools, one severely—Columbian, Isolde Raftery

Donations bolster parks scholarships—Columbian, Tom Vogt

Hurricanes batter Texas coast—CNN.com

U.S. troop level likely to increase this fall—MSNBC.com

Jose Padilla convicted on all counts in terror trial—New York Times, Abby Goodnough