(Photo above courtesy of Sisters Folk Festival)

My Own Two Hands: A weekend of community celebration and support par excellence!

For 17 years now, Sisters Folk Festival has been producing a weekend of community events including a parade, a visual and musical Art Stroll through a dozen galleries and performance spaces in downtown Sisters; student and professional artist projects; a free, all-ages concert at The Belfry; and to cap it off, a dinner, dance and fine art auction known as My Own Two Hands. This fundraising evening provides nearly half of SFF’s annual investment in the community’s art and music programs.

This year was no exception, with another amazingly successful event illustrating how the supporters of SFF can “Take Flight” (this year’s MOTH theme), providing the kind of lift that elevates the whole Sisters community. Ann Richardson, SFF managing director, reported that “Our patrons truly honored our artists by purchasing their work, and when all is said and done, we will have close to $100,000 that will support arts and music programs, education, scholarships and community concerts in the coming year.”

Let’s all show our gratitude with a big thank-you to all the donating artists, volunteers and board members, buyers and contributors and in-kind donors including Lange Estate Winery, Tate & Tate Catering, and Deschutes Brewery. These are the heroes of My Own Two Hands!

Also, thanks to the Roundhouse Foundation for supporting the Common Canvas community art project; to Laura Campbell and all the students that worked on the Alpine to Desert installation project at Sisters Elementary School; all the students in the Americana Project and those who participated in the parade; as well as all the business-owners that welcomed this year’s Art Stroll! It was truly a weekend of community coming together.

With year-round support from our Sisters Folk Art Circle members, our annual Premier Sponsors, Starview Foundation in support of the Deschutes Land Trust, Oregon Arts Commission, and the Oregon Community Foundation, we can now focus on an exciting Summer Concert Series and the Sisters Folk Festival itself, which is just around the corner!