SFF poster celebrates harmony

Music and art enthusiasts gathered at Sisters Gallery & Frame Shop for the official unveiling of Sisters Folk Festival's (SFF) poster Wednesday evening, featuring original artwork by Dennis McGregor.

A little after 5 p.m. the 2017 SFF poster was revealed to overwhelming applause and cheers as folks gazed upon Lady Liberty holding a guitar in front of the world painted in warm hues of blue and yellow.

"The Statue of Liberty stands in New York Harbor, but belongs to all Americans. She has welcomed countless immigrants since her own arrival in 1886, and she is seen here holding a small-bodied parlor guitar - which came into being around the same time," McGregor says "Stories and poems from around the world evolved here with this uniquely American instrument. And the music became known as 'folk music,' for the folks who wrote and played it. The songs often celebrated liberty, and over the years have also become known for protesting injustices."

Sisters was designed to resemble a Western town of the 1880s, the same period as Lady Liberty and the parlor guitar.

"As today's America searches for common ground, there might be some here - in songs written by and for the people," adds McGregor. "How fitting that our little festival grew up here, and that today 'all the town's a stage.'"

McGregor's poster image title, "For You and Me," hails from one of the most famous folk songs in America, "This Land is Your Land," written by Woody Guthrie.

During the 1940s Guthrie became one of the prominent songwriters for the loosely knit folk group called Almanac Singers. They took up social causes such as union organizing, anti-fascism, peace, and just plain fighting for the things they believed in the best way they could: through songs of political protest and activism.

A decade later, the Almanacs re-formed as The Weavers, the most commercially successful and influential folk music group of the early 1950s.

Guthrie also traveled all over the country, and the Pacific Northwest was one of his favorite spots in the nation.

This year marks the 22nd anniversary of the Sisters Folk Festival and the 17th year that McGregor has been commissioned to paint original artwork for the annual SFF poster image that attracts thousands of people to the three-day music festival.

"Dennis came to me in 2000 and volunteered to paint an image for SFF, and he also wanted to help with the music aspects for the festival. He was one of two instructors we brought in as guest artists for the very first Americana class," said Brad Tisdel, SFF creative director.

Some feedback from Sisters folks regarding the 2017 poster image:

"I think the image is magnificent. There is something about blue that's peaceful and honest. The image is strong, patriotic and brings us all together and that's what we need now," said Helen Schmidling, Sisters Gallery manager.

"Dennis captures the feeling and the vibe within our community and in our country, and I think he's done that in a way that represents diversity, inclusion and acceptance for everyone," said Tisdel.

"I think that's the value of the SFF. We want to be diverse culturally and we want to be diverse musically and we want to be accepting and unifying. That creates an opportunity for solidarity," he added.

Katy Yoder, developmental director for SFF, was on hand to share her excitement with The Nugget.

"I think that this is a powerful message for solidarity. And I'm really happy to see that because it's what we need."

Tisdel divulged that SFF has 17 acts confirmed, with The East Pointers as the encore artists.

McGregor's original artwork for the poster is displayed in Sisters Gallery & Frame Shop on Hood Avenue.