The Shasta River - important salmon habitat

Yreka is a hot spot this weekend with two events: first, on Friday night, former Broadway Phantom of the Opera lead Franc D’Ambrosio will be performing his one man show “Hollywood: Songs of the Silver Screen” at the Yreka Community Theater at 7:30pm. Saturday the Yreka Salmon Festival is loaded with activities for kids and families to entertain and educate.

D’Ambrosio played the Phantom on Broadway and San Francisco for 6 1/2 years, then went on to start a series of one-man cabaret shows. The Hollywood show in Yreka is the second of his shows, which began with “Broadway: Songs of the Great White Way”. His performance in Yreka on Friday, sponsored by the Red Scarf Society, will be his return performance, after a very well received  show in 2008. For a quick Friday night date option, call 530-842-1649 for tickets.To read more about D’Ambrosio and his shows, check out the October issue of Enjoy Magazine.

Saturday’s Salmon Festival is about celebrating the annual return of salmon to Siskiyou County’s rivers and cultivating civic stewardship through education about salmon and salmon habitat restoration efforts. A watershed model, wildlife puppets, a stream simulator, storytelling, animal track stamps and other activities will communicate the story of salmon to kids. Adults can connect in their own way with fly tying demonstrations, a fish monitoring booth that includes live fish, video from fish weirs and local watershed maps and models.  There will also be connections made to the local Native American cultures and the importance salmon play in their lives.

The whole family can join in a fish spawning field trip out to the Shasta River, an important salmon habitat corridor where The Nature Conservancy is working to rebuild conditions suitable to salmon spawning. On the field trip you can visit The Nature Conservancy’s Shasta Big Springs Ranch to watch female salmon guard and build their nests (redds) and males compete with each other for spawning opportunities. This is a tremendous opportunity to visit this beautiful, historic ranch, and if you’re in the area you shouldn’t pass up this opportunity. A docent will be available throughout the day and another docent will be leading short hikes every hour on the hour. Follow the link for directions to the field trip meeting site.

The Yreka Salmon Festival will be held at the Siskiyou County Fairgrounds in and around Winema Hall from 9am to 4pm. Food booths will be offering barbecue salmon, Indian tacos, Elks Club hamburgers, Thai food and blackberry cobbler.

Here is more from their website on the performers:

Comprised of three classically trained young tenors from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – Romanza bridges the gap between opera and pop with operatic favorites, much-loved ballads and popular folksongs in a performance that is accessible to music lovers of all kinds.

The three: Philip Grant, Todd Jang and Frederik Robert, infuse their performances with camaraderie, intimacy and humor while blending their incredible voices in an enchanting harmony of original arrangements for the contemporary audience.

Philip Grant’s musical career has taken him to Mexico, the United States, Italy, and across Canada. He has performed more than a dozen lead roles on the operatic stage and is known for his exciting rich tone and excellent musicianship.

Todd Jang’s passion for music encompasses not only opera and classical genres, but spans a broad spectrum of styles, including jazz, rock and hip-hop. He sings a Mozart aria with the same commitment and enthusiasm as he does an Elton John ballad.

Frederik Robert is versatile in opera, oratorio, recital work, musical theater, and pop. At only 26 years of age, he has already sung roles in many companies throughout Canada including: Calgary Opera, Prince George Symphony and Canada’s National Arts Symphony Orchestra.

Each, individually, has delighted audiences across North America and Europe and now together as Romanza, they have been winning people’s hearts everywhere they perform.

The RSSPA is pleased to offer this caliber of entertainment that is Romanza, on Thursday, January 29, 7:30pm at the YCT. Tickets, $20.00 and $5.00 for students, include the reception to meet the artists after the concert at the Community Theater They are available at: the Yreka Chamber of Commerce office, Surroundings, Nature’s Kitchen, Scott Valley Drug and in Mt. Shasta at Village Books or visit www.redscarfsociety.org.