Lake Chelan Winterfest returns to Downtown Chelan and Manson this January with fireworks, ice sculptures and so much more.
A winterfest with fireworks, ice sculptures and an ice bar is coming to Lake Chelan
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Our View: Finding ways to give back
’Tis the season for fall leaves, turkey and thankfulness.
Mispillion Art League hosts Perfect Gift show for holiday shopping
A diverse collection of works contributed by Mispillion Art League members, the Perfect Gift exhibit exhibit will be on display through the end of the year at the MAL gift shop, 5 N. Walnut St., Milford. Pieces comprise a spectrum of different…
HP Envy Move Has a Handle on Desktop Computer Portability
What do you think of when you read “portable desktop PC?” Maybe a powerful gaming laptop delivering desktop tier performance, or perhaps an all-in-one desktop that can be moved when needed, but is mostly intended to stay put. The HP Envy Move is something entirely different, neither a laptop nor a dedicated all-in-one desktop like the Apple iMac – a genuine portable desktop PC designed to be moved from desk to anywhere else in the home with the handled ease of a suitcase completely untethered from a power cord.
Announced earlier this month during the company’s press event, HP’s Envy Move All-In-One PC features a modern, if quietly unassuming design, that gives off strong dedicated 24″ monitor vibes. It is in fact a 5K QHD (2560×1400) LCD touch-sensitive display, with a built-in Bang & Olufsen engineered speaker running the length of the bottom of the screen.
An elegant touch is the use of the same fabric material used to cover the computer’s acoustic Bang & Olufsen speaker front and its integrated keyboard storage pocket pouch, essentially wrapping around the device’s lower front and back sections.
Turning the corner you’ll notice the Envy Move’s prominent handle and kangaroo-style keyboard pouch, and it becomes more obvious this machine is designed with portability in mind. Weighing a smidge over 9-lbs, comparable to a large laptop, and like those machines it is engineered to operate under its own power using a cache of built-in batteries capable of delivering up to 4 hours per charge.
One keen feature is the integrated self-deploying kickstand feet; upon placing the computer onto a surface, the weight depresses two small protractions enacting each of the PC’s feet stands to swing outward to create a stable stand, a clever design when moving a portable, but still large 24″ screen.
The Envy Move’s specs – up to 13th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, 6-16 GB of memory, and up to 1 TB of storage – categorize this machine as a family computer. To further make its case as a multi-functional PC for everyone, HP showcases the portable desktop’s range, from bringing it into a room to do yoga, for children’s homework, or serving as a portable home theater solution.
A 5MP camera with an integrated AI image signal processor can determine when anyone is seated in front of it, with an ambient light sensor set to dim or boost brightness optimizing battery life. And perhaps most interesting, HP has included an adaptive sound system that kicks in to complement viewing distance, pushing back the sweet spot a few feet when a person is seated further away to watch, versus listening from a closer distance while working.
The HP Envy Move’s form factor optimized for sharing amongst family family members or roommates with the ease of a laptop or even a tablet is a novel approach to address the evolution of how and where we use computers. It’s unfortunate for many households that this portable device didn’t arrive earlier when many needed this degree of flexibility paired with desktop power.
The Envy Move is available now on HP.com for a starting price of $899.99.
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Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners for 2023 capture nature in all its splendour and fragility
From a horseshoe crab gliding over mud to a mushroom surrounded by a cloud of spores, some of the images in this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition seem as if they’re from another world. Other photos offer a glimpse of how nature intersects with the urban environment, or how humans have cut an irreversible swath through otherwise pristine areas.
Run every year since 1965, the competition is the oldest of its type in the world. Photographers of all skill levels submit images for judging – almost 50,000 entries this year – in categories including animal portraits, urban wildlife and underwater photography.
An exhibition of 100 photos from the contest, run by London’s Natural History Museum, opens Saturday at the Royal Ontario Museum, showcasing the incredible skill needed to capture parts of our world that seem out of this world.
The art of courtship, by Rachel Bigsby, U.K.
Winner, Natural Artistry • Taken at Noss National Nature Reserve, Shetland, Scotland
Rachel Bigsby frames a gannet pair against the guano-painted curves of sandstone cliffs.
From her boat in turbulent sea swell, Rachel realized that achieving her vision of showcasing gannets set against the towering cliffs would be tricky. But as the boat aligned with the rocks, she spotted this pair “isolated on a lower ledge, intertwining their necks and framed by streaks of guano.”
Each summer, the Isle of Noss hosts more than 22,000 northern gannets, which return to breed on the ledges carved by the elements. This species was hardest hit by the 2022 avian flu outbreak.
Last gasp, by Lennart Verheuvel, the Netherlands
Winner, Oceans: The Bigger Picture • Taken at Cadzand-Bad, Zeeland, the Netherlands
Lennart Verheuvel shows the final moments of a beached orca. Lying on its side in the surf, this orca had only a short time left to live. Initially rescued, it soon was stranded again on the beach and died. A study later revealed that not only was it severely malnourished, it was also extremely sick.
Research shows that orcas in European waters have the world’s highest concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls. These banned chemicals can persist for many years in marine food webs, weakening immune systems and reducing breeding success in whales, porpoises and dolphins.
The dead river, by Joan de la Malla, Spain
Winner, Wetlands – The Bigger Picture • Taken at the Ciliwung River, Jakarta
Joan de la Malla provides a bird’s-eye view of the polluted Ciliwung River winding through Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. To find a time when lower air pollution allowed a clear view, Joan returned to the scene over several days. His image documents one of the most polluted rivers in the world and illustrates the growing global issue of river pollution.
Plastic rubbish, human waste, agricultural fertilizers and factory waste are suffocating the Ciliwung River. As a result, Jakarta’s residents are having to use groundwater for drinking water. This has resulted in widespread subsidence and the city is now sinking.
Lights fantastic, by Sriram Murali, India
Winner, Behaviour: Invertebrates • Taken at Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India
Sriram Murali showcases a night sky and a forest illuminated with fireflies. Sriram combined fifty 19-second exposures to show the firefly flashes produced over 16 minutes in the forests near his hometown. The firefly flashes start at twilight, with just a few, before the frequency increases and they pulse in unison like a wave across the forest.
Fireflies, which are in fact beetles, are famous for attracting mates using bioluminescence. Darkness is a necessary ingredient in the success of this process. Light pollution affects many nocturnal creatures, but fireflies are especially susceptible.
The tadpole banquet, by Juan Jesús Gonzalez Ahumada, Spain
Winner, Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles • Taken at Ojén, Málaga, Spain
Juan Jesús Gonzalez Ahumada watches as toad tadpoles feast on a dead fledgling sparrow. The drama unfolded near Juan’s home when a newly fledged sparrow launched itself from a nest on his neighbour’s roof and fell into a nearby pond, where it drowned. Juan had to pick his moment to show the tadpole formation and the sparrow’s eye.
Common toad tadpoles have varied diets consisting of algae, vegetation, and tiny swimming invertebrates. As they grow larger, they become more carnivorous so when a banquet like this arrives, they take full advantage.
Silence for the snake show, by Hadrien Lalagüe, France
Winner, Behaviour: Birds • Taken at Guiana Space Center, between Kourou and Sinnamary, French Guiana
Hadrien Lalagüe is rewarded for his patience with a perfect alignment of grey-winged trumpeters watching a boa slither past. Hadrien set up his camera trap by a track in the rainforest surrounding Guiana Space Center. He spent the next six months maintaining the camera kit against high humidity, plastic-munching ants and damage by poachers. This image was his reward.
Trumpeters – named for their loud calls – spend most of their time foraging on the forest floor, eating ripe fruits, insects and the occasional small snake. The boa constrictor, more than three metres long, could have made a meal of them.
Whales making waves, by Bertie Gregory, U.K.
Winner, Behaviour: Mammals • Taken at the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica
Bertie Gregory tracks a pod of orcas as they prepare to “wave wash” a Weddell seal.
Bertie took two month-long expeditions searching for orcas. “We spent every waking minute on the roof of the boat, scanning,” he says. After battling high winds and freezing conditions, he captured this remarkable behaviour with his drone.
These orcas belong to a group that specializes in hunting seals by charging towards the ice, creating a wave that washes the seal into the water. With rising temperatures melting ice floes, seals are spending more time on land, and the behaviour of “wave washing” may disappear.
Face of the forest, by Vishnu Gopal, India
Winner, Animal Portraits • Taken at Tapiraí, São Paulo, Brazil
Vishnu Gopal records the moment a lowland tapir steps cautiously out of the swampy Brazilian rainforest.
Finding hoofprints on a forest track near his campsite, Vishnu waited nearby. An hour later, the tapir appeared. Using a long exposure and torchlight to capture texture and movement, Vishnu framed the tapir’s side-turned head as it emerged from the forest.
Lowland tapirs rely on the forest for their diet of fruit and other vegetation and in turn the tapirs act as seed dispersers. This important relationship is threatened by habitat loss, illegal hunting and traffic collisions.
Last breath of autumn, by Agorastos Papatsanis, Greece
Winner, Plants and Fungi • Taken at Mount Olympus, Pieria, Greece
Agorastos Papatsanis reveals the magic of a fungus releasing its spores in the forest.
Long fascinated by fungi, Agorastos used his silver photographic umbrella to stop his camera getting wet, and covered his carefully positioned flash with a plastic bag. The colourful touches come from refraction of the light passing through the spore-laden air currents and rain.
Parasol mushrooms release spores from the gills under their cap. Billions of tiny spores travel – usually unseen – in the air currents. Some will land where there is moisture and food, enabling them to grow networks under the forest floor.
Hippo nursery, by Mike Korostelev, Russia
Winner, Underwater • Taken at Kosi Bay, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa
Mike Korostelev reveals a hippopotamus and her two offspring resting in the shallow clear-water lake.
For over two years Mike has been visiting the hippos in this lake and knew they were accustomed to his boat. He spent just 20 seconds under water with them – enough time to get this image from a safe distance and to avoid alarming the mother.
Hippos produce one calf every two to three years. Their slow-growing population is particularly vulnerable to habitat degradation, drought, and illegal hunting for meat and ivory from their teeth.
Birds of the midnight sun, by Knut-Sverre Horn, Norway
Winner, Urban Wildlife • Taken at Vardø, Troms og Finnmark, Norway
Knut-Sverre Horn offers a glimpse of kittiwake chicks illuminated in an abandoned factory.
From his vantage point inside an abandoned fish-processing factory, Knut-Sverre kept watch on the black-legged kittiwakes tending to their chicks on the windowsill. As midnight approached, the low summer sun struck the north-facing window, sharpening the birds’ silhouettes and giving him the image that he wanted.
Kittiwakes naturally nest on the narrow ledges of high, steep coastal cliffs. Recently numbers have plummeted, and some have headed for urban areas due to shortages of food caused by warming oceans and pollution.
The tourism bulldozer, by Fernando Constantino Martínez Belmar, Mexico
Winner, Photojournalism • Taken at Paamul, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Fernando Constantino Martínez Belmar shows the devastating path of a new cross-country tourist railway line.
To reach a point from where he could launch his drone, Fernando was guided through four kilometres of an underground cave system. The result of his challenging trek was this image.
The government-funded railway line connecting tourist destinations brings economic benefits to Mexico’s southeast, but it also fragments ecosystems, threatens protected reserves and archaeological sites, and impacts Indigenous peoples. While trains are a more environmentally friendly form of transport, conservationists warn of devastating consequences.
The unprotected, by Karine Aigner, U.S.
Winner, Photojournalist Story Award
Contestants line up to have their bobcats weighed in the March 2022 West Texas Big Bobcat Contest, the highest-paying predator-hunting contest in the United States. There are a number of prizes, one of which is for the heaviest bobcat. In 2022 the winner of that category took home US$35,530 (around £28,000).
Alpine exposure, by Luca Melcarne, France
Winner, Rising Star Portfolio Award
To enable an early ascent into ibex territory, Luca had spent a bitterly cold night in a temporary shelter in the French Alps, having skied for six hours across the natural park. Luca thawed his camera with his breath and took the ibex’s portrait.
The wall of wonder, by Vihaan Talya Vikas, India
Winner, 10 Years and Under • Taken at Nallur Heritage Tamarind Grove, Karnataka, India
Vihaan Talya Vikas watches as an ornamental tree trunk spider prevents its prey from escaping.
This was Vihaan’s first visit to the tamarind grove. Fascinated by stories of the Hindu god Krishna, it seemed to Vihaan as if the spider had positioned its web after being entranced by the sound of Krishna’s flute.
This spider is an orb weaver, which creates a wheel-shaped web of sticky threads to catch flying insects. As the spider grows, it elongates its web, which entangles anything that lands on it.
Out of the blue, by Ekaterina Bee, Italy
Winner, 11-14 Years • Taken at Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Ekaterina Bee shares her intimate encounter with some common bottlenose dolphins.
Ekaterina’s trip to the west coast of Scotland was filled with wildlife encounters, but bottlenose dolphins were an unexpected surprise. From the boat she composed this image, which highlights the surface patterns on the water created by the dolphins’ movements.
Common bottlenose dolphins can be found throughout the world’s oceans except in polar regions. Living in small groups, they are highly social animals, and are one of the top marine predators living in Scottish waters.
Owls’ road house by Carmel Bechler, Israel
Winner, 15-17 Years • Taken at Hof HaSharon, Israel
Carmel Bechler discovered several barn owls in an abandoned concrete building near a busy road.
Returning to where he had spotted a barn owl the previous year, Carmel and his father used the family car as a hide. He made the most of the natural light and used long exposure times to capture the light trails of passing traffic.
Israel has the densest barn-owl population in the world. A national project has provided nesting boxes near agricultural fields, encouraging owls to nest near farmland. Because the owls hunt rodents that eat seeds and crops, this arrangement has reduced the use of pesticides on farms.
The ancient mariner, by Laurent Ballesta, France
Winner, Portfolio Award
A tri-spine horseshoe crab moves slowly over the mud. Its golden protective carapace hides 12 appendages. Above the horseshoe crab, a trio of juvenile golden trevallies are poised to dart down for edible morsels ploughed up by its passage.
Life on the edge by Amit Eshel, Israel
Winner, Animals in their Environment • Taken in the Zin Desert, Israel
Amit Eshel witnesses a dramatic cliffside clash between two Nubian ibex.
After hiking to a vantage point on the clifftop, Amit slowly crept closer, using a wide-angle lens to set the action of two clashing Nubian ibex against the dramatic backdrop. The battle lasted for about 15 minutes before one male surrendered, and the pair parted without serious injury.
In the run-up to the mating season, part of the males’ coat darkens, and their neck muscles thicken. Rivals will raise up on their hind legs and ram their heads together. Their horns sometimes break as they collide.
Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun’s Thanksgiving Story #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth #NAHM #AINAHM
The story of Keepunumuk is a Thanksgiving story told in Native tradition. Written by Danielle Greendeer (Mashpee Wampanoag), Anthony Perry (Chickasaw), and Alexis Bunten (Yup’ik and Unangan)
The Thanksgiving story that most Americans know only celebrates the Pilgrims. Without members of the Wampanoag tribe who already lived on the land where the Pilgrims settled, the Pilgrims would never have made it through their first winter. Without Weeâchumun (corn), the Native people wouldn’t have helped.
Keepunumuk is an important picture book that retells the Thanksgiving story for a more inclusive America, a story that honors the Native peoples who made it possible.
Learn more! and Read up on ways you can rethink Thanksgiving
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What fans can eat, see and do when they visit Abu Dhabi
The Formula 1 season finale is always a truly spectacular affair, taking place under lights in the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi. Located on an island in the Persian Gulf, this culturally rich and progressive Arabic country always extends a warm – literally and figuratively – welcome to the visiting F1 fraternity and race fans, putting on a show that befits its standing as the last race on the calendar, ensuring that the season goes out with a pyrotechnic bang.
Seasoned F1 traveller Amy Overy has all the tips you need if you’re heading to out to Abu Dhabi for the Grand Prix this weekend.
Where and what to eat
Abu Dhabi boasts a rich mix of cultural influences when it comes to its cuisine, taking inspiration from neighbouring countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and India – which ensures dishes are imbued with flavourful spices – and ingredients from across the Middle East and Asia.
Its position as a key coastal trading post means there’s always an abundance of fresh fish and seafood on the city’s restaurant menus.
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And with a growing number of well-known, big name international chef offerings in many of the luxury hotels you’ll be truly spoiled for choice when it comes to eating well in the city whatever your budget.
Traditional dishes to try include the popular al madrooba – a tasty sweet and savoury mix of salted fish and spices in a thick sauce, served with sweet caramelised onions and sugary saffron coloured rice.
And for a sweet end to your meal, be sure to order some luqaimat – deep fried dough balls smothered in date syrup, perfect when washed down with a cup of Arabic coffee flavoured with aromatic cardamom.
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With several outposts across the city – including within the popular Yas Mall on Yas Island – and serving an extensive menu of Emirati dishes, Al Fanar Restaurant and Café aims to transport diners back to the nostalgic ambiance of the 1960s with its décor and artefacts on display, whilst preserving traditional Emirati food identity amidst a growing global culinary landscape.
For dinner with an ever-changing view, take a cruise on the Al Dhafra Restaurant’s beautiful traditional wooden dhow where you will be served a variety of dishes from delicious freshly caught seafood, to local dishes whilst enjoying breathtaking views of the Corniche.
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Inspired by family traditions and Arabian hospitality, and with a warm and authentic atmosphere, Yadoo’s House (Grandmother’s house) is a charming restaurant where people come together to eat in true Emirati style.
The menu features many traditional dishes such as machboos – a mildly spiced pilaf-like rice dish, often served with chicken – and delicious kofta (meatballs), while those with a sweet tooth will want to save room for kunafa, a traditional Middle Eastern dessert made with thin noodle-like pastry or semolina dough, soaked in a sugar syrup and layered with cheese and nuts.
Located in the heart of Yas Island, Art Market is a unique space connecting food, art and music – with a barbers thrown in for good measure. With an international menu leaning towards healthier options and featuring locally sourced produce, Art Market is open early for breakfast and goes right through until dinner.
Nominated in the Best Restaurant category in Time Out Abu Dhabi’s 2023 restaurant awards, this is a popular eatery where diners can immerse themselves in the locally produced artworks surrounding them as they eat, and enjoy live music performances… oh, and get a haircut afterwards if they wish.
WATCH: Five great Abu Dhabi Grand Prix battles from the F1 archive
Yas Island Rotana Hotel’s Rangoli restaurant is a chic venue decorated in earthy colours, which imbues the space with a warm and inviting atmosphere.
Serving North and South Indian cuisine, with freshly cooked tikkas and kebabs from the authentic tandoor oven alongside flavourful curries and fragrant biryanis, paired with a carefully curated and extensive wine list, Rangoli is a popular and stylish restaurant which keeps locals and visitors coming back for more.
Where to stay
Without a doubt, the best place to stay for the race is on Yas Island itself, ensuring close proximity to the track and full immersion in the vibrant party atmosphere that surrounds it.
With plenty of hotels to choose from you can opt for one of the standard big name places within walking distance of the circuit, or go all in and opt for the W Hotel with its enviable position as an integral part of the 5.2km track and accompanying party vibe, thanks to its cool bars and dining options.
For a quieter stay and the opportunity to explore the heart of authentic Abu Dhabi, head over the bridge to mainland downtown where you will find many accommodation options just a short drive away from the action.
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Where to watch the race
If you can’t get yourself a trackside view from a room at the W Hotel and don’t have a friend with a boat in Yas Marina, the next best thing is to bag yourself a seat in the West Grandstand where you’ll have a great spot to watch all of the action going into Turn 6.
Alternatively, soak up the general atmosphere and enjoy the spectacular pyrotechnics by nabbing a seat in the Main Grandstand along the start-finish straight – but make sure to get a spot high up if you want to avoid the strong Abu Dhabi sun.
Non-F1 highlights
There is no shortage of entertainment on Yas Island and for thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies, Ferrari World is the place to get your fix. Adjacent to the F1 circuit, this world-class theme park boasts the world’s fastest roller coaster – Formula Rossa – where you will reach a top speed of 240 km/h in just 4.9 seconds.
It also has the world’s highest loop ride, the tallest space frame structure ever built, and over 40 record breaking attractions. It’s the ultimate destination for non-stop, heart racing fast fun, and a stone’s throw from the action on track making it the perfect destination between sessions.
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Combining the UAE’s vision of bold cultural progression with France’s expertise in the world of museums and art, the Louvre Abu Dhabi is an architectural masterpiece which brings together different cultures to shine a fresh light on common stories of humanity.
Since its opening in 2017, the museum has quickly established itself as one of the city’s biggest attractions for both residents and visitors alike. Featuring pieces by the likes of Leonardo da Vinci and Henri Matisse, to more contemporary works by Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol, the impressive art collection rubs shoulders with a treasure trove of antiquities such as ancient Egyptian tombs and beautiful Middle Eastern artefacts.
If the collections inside weren’t impressive enough, the building’s magnificent architecture is worth the visit alone. Designed by renowned French architect Jean Nouvel – who was also responsible for the striking National Museum of Qatar – the structure is a symphony of concrete, water and reflected light, with a design inspired by the museum’s unique location at the point where the Arabian sky meets the sands of Saadiyat Island and the warm waters of the Arabian sea.
Get a unique perspective from the water by taking a kayaking tour around the outside of the museum and learn all about the cultural gems inside with options to experience the iconic architecture at sunrise and during a full moon.
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With its dazzling white marble exterior, vast mosaic artwork and gold-plated Swarovski chandeliers, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is undoubtedly the jewel in Abu Dhabi’s cultural and architectural crown – and is a must see.
This active mosque which welcomes up to 50,000 worshippers daily also has an open-door policy and welcomes visitors from all over the world who come to marvel at its majestic beauty and grandeur whilst gaining a deeper understanding of Islamic culture.
Take a free guided tour along the marbled halls decorated with columns embedded with amethyst and jasper, with an experienced guide who will direct your attention to the finer details you may have missed such as the extensive gold-leaf calligraphy which encircles the hollow domes of the mosque’s remarkable 82 domes.
Open to visitors until 10pm each evening, make sure to pay a visit as the sun goes down to witness the façade light up with the warm, golden light which is then reflected in the many still pools designed for quiet contemplation.
Alternatively, have some adrenaline-fuelled fun in the expansive desert landscape and go dune bashing! Traverse the golden sand valleys in a 4×4 and experience the desert with a side of thrills – or perhaps have a go at sand boarding in the beautiful dunes before combining your trip with a camel ride or falconry for the complete Arabian desert adventure.
Many tour operators offer add-ons, so there is plenty of choice when it comes to tailoring your experience to ensure you make the most of the stunning landscape.
With more palm trees than houses, the UAE’s oasis city of Al Ain is a natural wonder and located approximately an hour and a half’s drive from Abu Dhabi and well worth the trip to experience a taste of authentic Emirati life. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a heady mix of historic forts, bustling souks and camel markets, whilst ancient waterways nourish this desert oasis.
With its relatively short flight time from Europe, guaranteed warm winter weather coupled with an end of school term vibe, Abu Dhabi is an excellent choice for Formula 1 fans who want to see out the season in style with the added opportunity to extend their trip to make the most of the beach hotels, rich culture and an agreeable climate.
READ MORE: Did Ferrari’s qualifying gamble on rear wing levels cost them a win in Las Vegas?
Fun fact
Nicknamed the ‘Rainbow Sheikh’ due to his love of colour, Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan al Nahyan of the UAE ruling royal family is a self-confessed petrolhead and over his lifetime has amassed a collection of rare and quirky automotive creations – some of which hold world records – housed across four museums spread across the UAE and Morocco.
Favouring supersized replicas and off-road vehicles over supercars, the Sheikh holds the world record for the largest collection of 4×4 vehicles with 718 cars, many of which are on display in the pyramid shaped Emirates National Auto Museum.
He also built a dedicated museum for some of the craziest automotive creations which were designed and built by the Sheikh himself, including a giant globe caravan which contains an astonishing nine guest rooms and nine bathrooms.
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In a collection which includes the world’s biggest SUV and pick-up truck, the piece de resistance is a gigantic replica of a Word War II era Willys Jeep, which at 21 feet tall and weighing 4.4 tons was crowned the world’s largest motorised car in 2010.
And the reason for the Sheikh’s unusual moniker? In the 1990s he famously asked Mercedes to build him an entire fleet of S-Class cars finished in every colour of the rainbow as a wedding present.
Abu Dhabi Destination Guide
- Population: Approx 1.5million
- Currency: Emirati Dirham
- Language: Arabic
- F1 race first held: 2009
Registration Open for Western Loudoun Arts Studio Tour
Visual artists may apply online to participate in the 17th annual Western Loudoun Art and Studio Tour to be held June 7-9.
Racine’s 16th St. Studios to host open house Dec. 2
RACINE — The public is invited to visit the 23rd annual 16th Street Studios open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, at the Racine Business Center,
Front Row Seat: Bob Dylan, Buffy Sainte-Marie and reckoning over folk revival
DULUTH — Music fans around the world are grappling with
which uncovered a birth certificate indicating that folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie was biologically born to white parents in Massachusetts and not, as she has long claimed, adopted by that couple from birth parents of the Piapot First Nation in Saskatchewan.
Unique Nicole / TNS
The revelation comes amid a reckoning with the practice of Indigenous identity fraud, in which people falsely claim to have Native ancestry. While Sainte-Marie forged close ties with a Piapot family, the doubt over whether her journey to Saskatchewan literally constituted a homecoming has caused sorrow and anger among generations who have embraced Sainte-Marie as an icon of Indigenous music and culture.
Reading this news in Duluth, I couldn’t help but think of Sainte-Marie’s peer, Bob Dylan. I’m not the only one — in the CBC News article, Dylan’s is the first name mentioned among fellow members of Sainte-Marie’s 1960s musical circles.
Dylan and Sainte-Marie both rose to prominence during what became known as the “folk revival” in American music. Both were born in 1941, and both took stage names: Dylan was originally named Robert Zimmerman, while Sainte-Marie was born Beverly Jean Santamaria.
Both left the areas where they grew up — Minnesota’s Northland for Dylan, the Boston suburbs for Sainte-Marie — and joined burgeoning urban coffeehouse scenes. Dylan made his way to New York via Minneapolis, while Sainte-Marie cut her musical teeth in Toronto and elsewhere.
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Their paths converged in Greenwich Village. By Sainte-Marie’s account, Dylan heard her perform and urged her to see the manager at the legendary Gaslight coffeehouse. “I owe him a debt of gratitude,” Sainte-Marie told
magazine in 2020. Robert Shelton, the New York Times critic who wrote Dylan’s breakout review, did the same for Sainte-Marie.
“The folk-music revival is continuing to splash color on the canvas of show business,” Shelton wrote in 1963. “Brightening the local entertainment scene (is) a local Algonquin Indian girl who has written more than 200 songs.”
Early in Dylan’s career, he took considerable creative license in discussing his origins. Journalists eventually discerned that Dylan grew up in northern Minnesota, but when the artist first started getting press, he would answer questions about his origins obliquely and would often add wild untruths.
He’d describe living on the Great Plains and in the desert Southwest as a child, then traveling with a carnival in his teen years. Dylan acknowledged being born in Duluth, but cast a bit of doubt even between the Twin Ports. “Maybe it was Superior, Wisconsin, right across the line,” he said to Shelton.
Dylan was casting himself in the mold of his
itinerant Okie hero Woody Guthrie.
Dylan’s dissembling was in the spirit of a long history of artists obscuring their origins so as upend expectations surrounding their work. It also, though, spoke to the highly contested notion of authenticity during the folk revival.
In that politically turbulent era, young people saw folk music as a way to amplify grassroots voices — including the voices of people of color who were fighting for civil rights. Dylan spent time not only in New York but in Harvard Square, where a more academic coffeehouse scene was embracing folk music as a way to tell a truer, more inclusive story about the origins of American popular music.
Contributed / Rowland Scherman / U.S. National Archives
There was tension, though, in the fact that even in calls for racial justice, lighter-skinned artists’ voices were often elevated. This phenomenon was vividly on display in the national coverage of musical performances at the 1963 March on Washington. Odetta, a Black artist whose music had
the young Dylan, was seldom seen on television. By contrast, Dylan and Joan Baez, as well as Peter, Paul and Mary, were all over the news.
Baez, who met Dylan in Cambridge and became a key advocate for his work, was a defining celebrity of the folk revival. She had a voice of extraordinary power, performing with a riveting gravity and sincerity. In person, she had a razor-sharp wit and the kind of physical beauty that turned heads wherever she went.
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Joan’s father was born in Mexico; her mother, in Scotland. The family traveled widely, and Baez came to music with an ironclad commitment to social justice. Her advocacy was lasting and impactful, yet Odetta eventually initiated a frank conversation with Baez over the fact that the star’s light skin opened doors that Black folksingers found closed. Those doors were opened all the wider for white men like Dylan.
This was the context into which Sainte-Marie emerged, hailed as an underrepresented voice. While the injustices Sainte-Marie highlighted in songs like “My Country ‘Tis of Thy People You’re Dying” are real, it matters if the singer claimed a narrative that was not, in fact, her own.
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While Dylan has never publicly claimed Indigenous ancestry, it seems he was not entirely averse to wrapping ersatz Native identity into the web of stories he wove in his early years. The young Dylan told some of his New York friends that he was of Sioux descent, fellow musician Dave Van Ronk recalled.
“One night he spent something like an hour showing a bunch of us how to talk in Indian sign language, which I’m pretty sure he was making up as he went along, but he did it marvelously,” wrote Van Ronk in his memoir. “And when we found out that a lot of his stories were bull—t, that didn’t really lower his stock all that much.”
There was more than a whiff of appropriation to the entire folk revival, in which white musicians like Dylan often performed songs that emerged from the experiences of Black Americans and other communities of color. Still, Dylan
from many Black Americans for crediting his influences and repeatedly confronting the nation’s racial injustices.
The reality of Dylan’s own origins is that he was born to middle-class parents in Duluth and came of age in Hibbing. While
and others have movingly sung of the plight of the largely white working-class Minnesota miners exploited by industrial titans, popular musicians have had much less to say about the Indigenous history of regions like the Iron Range.
“The land from which the mines were carved was coercively taken from the Ojibwe, largely for its mineral resources,” wrote scholar Joseph Whitson in a 2019
about the erasure of Indigenous history on the Iron Range. “The white ethnic immigrant workers’ ‘sylvan wilderness’ was only created by the coercive, and often violent, removal of the Ojibwe to reservations.”
Sainte-Marie did sing, however disingenuously, of real abuses such as these. It seems the breathtaking irony of her career is that even in elevating the most prominent voice speaking on Indigenous issues during the folk revival, mainstream U.S. and Canadian media may still have been neglecting the voices of Native artists who were definitely not, as Dave Van Ronk might put it, making stuff up.
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