Year-round venue site is under construction in Sisters

Local artists and volunteers gathered behind Sisters Art Works at 204 W. Adams Ave. early Friday morning, July 28, to lay sod for a new venue for the Sisters Folk Festival. The new site will provide a venue to host outdoor shows and concerts for the festival and other organizations throughout the year.

The new space will consist of a covered stage and a grassy area for people to bring lawn chairs and blankets when attending performances.

Erin Deggendorfer, Executive Director of the Sisters Folk Festival said, "What the Folk Festival is trying to do is become a catalyst for cultural tourism in Sisters. Sisters is a great tourist location. Unfortunately, our tourist season is only three months long. So we're really trying to bolster that by creating events off-season."

Under cool, smoke-laden skies, volunteers put on their gloves and within a short period turned a desolate, dirt covered space into a lush sea of green.

"All sorts of folks really stepped up to help." said Deggendorfer.

Tommy Hiatt of Heart of Oregon brought a crew of students to help lay the sod. Others who pitched in and helped were: local artists, Paul Bennett and Steve Mathews; Victoria Graves of Cycle Oregon; Brad Tisdel, Director of the Sisters Folk Festival's Americana Project and his wife, Tiffany; Travis Ehrenstrom, an Americana Project student; Jeanne White of 5 Elements Healing Arts; Jeff Mayernik of Barclay Gallery; Kathy, Frank and Erin Deggendorfer; and Sue Stafford and Diane Kellstrom of Hospice of Redmond and Sisters.

Additionally, area businesses and professionals have donated materials, services and time to the project. Shane Lundgren of Dutch Pacific donated the top soil. Robinson Owen Heavy Construction delivered the dirt to the site and brought a backhoe to move it around. Frank Deggendorfer and Mike Scherrer from Cascade Bobcat smoothed out the dirt. Tim Clasen, with assistance from Frank Deggendorfer, installed the irrigation system. OrePac Building Products of Lake Oswego and Hoyt's Hardware and Building Supply donated the decking and roofing materials for the stage. Juan Durante designed the space itself, and Jerry Bogart from Steelhead Construction is working with stage plans.

The Sisters Folk Festival is also utilizing donations received last year earmarked to help create year-round programming to fund the space.

Deggendorfer said, "We are using some of those donations from last year to make this really happen. We've been really fortunate because so many people have come together to help with this effort to create this space and assist in the cultural tourism of Sisters."

For more information visit http://www.sistersfolkfestival.org.