Grind Marks 30 Years of Homemade Talent

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Created on Thursday, 03 October 2024 15:02

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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Haiku contests, songs and dances from Sitka and far flung cultures, dozens of ukuleles and more desserts than you can count are reasons you may have attended a Sitka Monthly Grind in the last 29 years.
But it’s the audiences as much as the performers who make the Grind the Grind, and performers and organizers say the 30th season will bring the same spirit as the first.

Jeff Budd hosts a Monthly Grind in 2016. (Sentinel File Photo)

“The audiences are as good as you could find anywhere, as far as being supportive and helpful,” said co-producer Jeff Budd, who brought the Grind concept here from Ketchikan in 1995, shortly after moving here. “It brings a variety of people together, and you can come there and not have to worry about getting inundated with different points of view because it’s nonpolitical and family oriented.”
The 30th season of the popular variety show will kick off at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi.
In addition to acts by Grind favorites there will be a retrospective slide show put together by Bobbi Jordan with photos by her and Christine Davenport; a Grind trivia contest; and a haiku challenge.
The other acts are the Palof Family, Cindy Edwards and Jami Guinn-Osborne, the Poetry Brats, the PCR Trio (Rick Fleishman, Rob Woolsey, Lois Verbaan), and Sitka Studio of Dance.
As usual, there will be a dessert potluck at intermission, with “three first prizes” for best desserts. The Grind provides free coffee and hot drinks.
Performers over the years have commented about the friendly and welcoming atmosphere created by the audience and volunteers.
“It’s one of the warmest gatherings of humans that we have in Sitka,” Edwards said. The mix of volunteers, performers and audience members creates a unique setting for the show every month.
“We have all ages come together, all walks of life. It’s a lovely audience, just happy to be together, and it just feels like family has come together,” she said.
Melinda McAdams, the co-producer of Saturday’s Grind, said she appreciates the friendly audience, which takes the pressure off performers when they want to try out something new on stage.
“They might not normally have had a place where they could do that, if they’ve just been playing guitar in their bedroom,” she said. “Then suddenly they think, I want to see if I can do this in front of people. The Grind is perfect for that. I always tell people it’s the nicest audience in town. If you’re nervous they’re going to make you feel better.”
The group she’s bringing to the Grind learned their dance, set to “Hero,” by Mariah Carey, at a summer dance workshop. McAdams is the choreographer.
Edwards and Guinn-Osborne will perform music by MaMuse, Bomdadil and Jamestown Revival, including one sung a cappella. Edwards said she’s always been struck by the nature of the Grind, and what it says about Sitka.
    “It’s just how deeply woven our fabric is, we care about community and supporting each other, and we really care about cheering each other on, in a soulful way,” she said. “It’s like encouraging one another to be the best we can be and taking risks, and coming together, and sharing recipes. It shows the depth and the genuineness we have in our town. .. It’s a little special glue we have here.”
Jordan hopes the audience will enjoy the slide show reflecting a “hodgepodge” of Grind acts and performers.
“You see some pictures of the kids, when they were little and they performed, and now they are in high school, or they’re adults, and doing stuff in town,” she said. “I tried to do a little bit of different things just to kind of give it a flavor.”
Looking ahead, the schedule includes the WhaleFest Grind on November 1, Winter Wonderland December 14, the Fiddle Grind on February 15, the Original Grind March 15. No themes have been set for January 11 and April 12 Grinds.
Tickets are $5 at Old Harbor Books and at the door, but Budd encourages people to purchase in advance because the last several Grinds have sold out.