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Show The Ogden Valley news Page 14 Volume XVI Issue VII April 1, 2009 Movement & Connection with Community! Theme of the 5th Annual Music and Arts Festival! Movement and Connection with Community! Was the unofficial theme for the 5th Annual Music and Arts Festival held for the first time at Old Town Eden, on Saturday, February 21. “What a spectacular event! We were very excited to see so many people in attendance and having such a great time,” stated Kris Wilkerson, Festival Organizer. Wilkerson Fine Art & Design gathered together some of Northern Utah’s finest artists and musical performers for the 5th Annual Music and Arts Festival. The festival featured a multitude of talented artists, dance groups and singer/ songwriters and performers. “With so many artists, dancers, attendees, and musicians gathering in one place, at one time, the air was filled with an energy that carried through the evening via Joy Nelson, Kris Wilkerson, and Conny Kenny. both physical and emotional movement,” stated Nanci Lifer, festival committee member. A huge thank you goes out to singer/songwriter Loribella Green of Huntsville who not only performed for the event, but also created the flyer and organized the musical portion of the schedule. “We were very lucky to have Lori’s participation, her creative talents, organization, and the musical talent that she connected with and brought to the Festival was incredible,” stated Wilkerson. There were many pieces of exceptional art and a dozen or more artists were able to join the festivities. The art exhibit included new figurative pieces, abstracts and landscape art, as well as pottery. Deja Mitchell of Valley Dance Ensemble coordinated numerous dancers and drummers from Northern Utah. The crowd was delighted by the movement and creativity that the dancers brought to the festival, with adults and children participating. The energy was intense and the “crowd” of attendee participants moved to the music as they were inspired by the art and music culminating in a rhythmic modern circle of movement. Wilkerson Fine Art & Consulting was proud to co-sponsor this very popular annual event with OgdenValleyMagazine.com, Loribella Graphic Design, Dottie Becks, Clear Day Capital, High Altitude Fitness, Harley & Bucks, Ogden Valley Business Association, and Old Town Eden. For more information, or to see video of the event, we invite you to visit <OgdenValleyMagazine.com> If you would like to be on the Festival Committee for the 6th Annual Music and Arts Festival, please contact Kris Wilkerson at (801) 745-9557 or <kris@wilkersonfineart.com> Four Friends, Thousands of Crocodiles & Seventeen Little Sweaters . . . Jessie was elated when we arrived at African sun. Jessie also took us to the hatchAt the end of January, I received sev- By Drienie Hattingh It was 7:00 in the morning when Aleta and Irma picked me up at my Mother’s house in Delarey, Johannesburg, South Africa. The reunion was wonderful. The last time I had seen them was in 2004. On this beautiful summer’s day in December, we had three hours of travel time ahead of us. Our goal was Lalele, a crocodile farm, in Northern Transvaal, which belongs to our fourth friend Jessie. We had planned this day from the time I had told them, early in January, that I was coming to South Africa for my mother’s 80th birthday. Frowning, Aleta and Irma watched as I lugged a huge plastic bag to the car. Then it dawned on Irma what the bag contained. “Good Heavens Drienie! Don’t tell me you brought the sweaters with you all the way from America!” Irma took one colorful little sweater after another out of the bag. “The children are going to love them,” she said, her eyes brimming with tears. Just as Irma, Jessie, and Aleta made plans for my visit to South Africa, so did the Knitwits in Eden, Utah. It all started in early 2008, when I told the Knitwits—Pat, Cindy, Janet, Sandee, and Rosemary—that Irma volunteered at an AIDS orphanage in Johannesburg. I asked the Knitwits if they would be interested in knitting sweaters for those orphans. The Knitwits loved the idea so they started knitting. And, sure enough, when I packed for my trip to South Africa, I filled one whole suitcase with 17 sweaters. As we traveled to Lalele, I marveled at the scenery. The African bush was lush and green after weeks of torrential rains. As always when I go to South Africa, I kept one whole day open to spend with Irma, Jessie, and Aleta. We’ve known each other ever since our children went to school together in Bryanston, South Africa in 1978. Our children went to the same school and we went to the same church. We often played tennis and met for tea. We were friends from the start, and some 30 years later, even though I moved to America, we still are. Through the last 24 years, we have continued to share each other’s lives through countless letters, just as we did when we lived around the corner from each other. Lalele. She invited us for breakfast on the huge veranda of her thatch roofed restaurant where one can order anything from a crocodile steak to a yummy yogurt and fruit sundae. We opted for the last. We spent four hours catching up, eating, and drinking several cappuccinos, all while surrounded by Jessie’s tropical garden that included palm, acacia, thorn trees, and lots of flowers. In a distance I could see the crocodile dams, enclosed within four foot high walls. And as always, we talked about a dream of ours: One day the three of them visiting me in Eden, Utah. I often send pictures of our trips to Utah’s awesome national parks. So the four of us have dreamed about how we would one day go on a road trip to these parks and the Grand Canyon! Later Jessie gave us a tour of Lalele. We walked through the beautiful gardens so lush with all the shade trees. It felt like an oasis in a desert. In a distance we could hear the baboons making a racket in the green hills surrounding Lalele. We then walked over a bridge and looked down on the enclosed dams that were home to different aged crocodiles. One held about 400 month-old crocs that were about a foot long. Another held hundreds of crocs that were about one year old; these were a couple of feet long. Then we all looked into the big enclosure that held the older crocodiles—about a thousand of them. They were between 12 and 15 feet long. I stood in awe, looking at these prehistoric reptiles, so strong and so unique to Africa, sunning themselves in the hot ing rooms where drawers were filled with thousands of crocodile eggs. We witnessed a little crocodile hatched and Jessie picked up a little croc, one a week old, and put it on my outstretched hand, warning me to keep my hand steady because it can actually bite. The creature was cold and wet and so perfect. It was about 8 inches long and looked exactly like those fifteen foot long crocs in the big enclosure. As we strolled back I thought how amazing it was to be back in the African Bush, being part of it all. Then I got a great idea, and I asked Jessie if it were possible. Jessie, being an adventures person like me, understood. She called out to her son Henning who co-manages the farm with his dad Pine. “Henning! Aunty Drienie wants to climb in with the big crocs!” And so I experienced what only a few have. I climbed into the enclosure and stood between fifteen-foot crocodiles. Henning, who climbed in with me, gave me a huge bamboo stick, for “just in case . . .” Irma and Jesse stood outside taking pic- tures. Aleta stayed on the veranda, refusing to come with. “I am not going to be the one to call Johan if a croc has Drienie for lunch!” And so another wonderful day with my friends came to an end. We group hugged with tears in our eyes, not knowing when we’d see each other again. All the while, the bag full of colorful little sweaters waited in the trunk of the car. Irma said she would take them to the orphanage after the summer vacation ended in January. eral pictures of Irma’s visit to the orphanage. Happy little faces looked back at me, proud of their new sweaters. For the first time, after knitting 250 sweaters, the Knitwits saw children wearing sweaters they so lovingly had knitted. All of the orphans weren’t back from foster homes yet when Irma’s son Jaco took the pictures. Nevertheless, he managed to get pictures of some of the children. It was a difficult task! The children would choose a sweater and then run out of the room to go and show their friends. And then the lunch bell sounded, and they all took their sweaters off because they did not want to spill anything on their new sweaters during lunch. Irma with some of the orphans wearing the sweaters knitted by the Eden Knitwits. A sentence from Irma’s e-mail: Die kinders is in ekstase oor hulle truie. Te danke aan julle (Knitwits) gaan meer lyfies die komende winter seisoen heerlik warm wees. Translation, “The children are in ecstasy about their sweaters. Thanks to you. (Knitwits) More little bodies will be warm this coming winter season.” Irma closed her e-mail with the following, “Weereens baie, baie dankie vir jou en jou vriendinne (die Knitwits) se wonderlike werk en dat jy die truitjies al die pad Suid Afrika toe gebring het—Again thank you so, so much to you and your friends (the Knitwits) for your wonderful work, and that you brought the sweaters all the way to South Africa. A week after Irma’s e-mail, I received an e-mail from Jessie. I could not believe my eyes. “Drien, I’m so happy I had to tell you immediately. Aleta and I’m coming to visit you! We’re waiting to hear back from Irma. Our dream is coming true!” I could hardly tell Johan the wonderful news because I was all choked up. He was so happy for me, knowing how much this means to my friends and me. We agreed that September 2009 would be a good time to do the road trip to the national parks. And what a beautiful time of year to introduce my friends to our Valley—autumn! Yesterday I received an e-mail from Irma. “Of course I’m coming! I would not miss THIS for the world!” SAVE THE DATE Saturday, June 20, 2009 The Ardent Gardener Landscape Design is pleased to host a Spring Garden Tour Jacqueline “Jaci” Hoff Realtor, Certified Residential Specialist Real Estate from Snowbasin to Powder Mountain & everything in between! All proceeds to benefit The Ogden Nature Center Call me for all your real estate needs. 801-920-8853 call: 801-920-8853 email: jaci@move2mountains.com visit: www.move2mountains.com |