Crossword: Grin and Bear It #01
This week’s crossword: storied ursines. Solve it directly in the article or download a PDF to print. Next week’s crossword: “Cabaret 2025.” More crosswords under the Culture menu.
This week’s crossword: storied ursines. Solve it directly in the article or download a PDF to print. Next week’s crossword: “Cabaret 2025.” More crosswords under the Culture menu.
Review: This year’s production of “A Christmas Carol,” playing at the CTP and directed by Tommy Statler, is original, imaginative and lighter than last year’s production of the same. The story of the miserly curmudgeon who finds redemption in the meaning of Christmas keeps with the spirit of the season.
Curtain Call: You might want to rethink offering the classic theater sendoff “Break a leg!” to Ryon Lane, who currently is playing Capt. Georg von Trapp at Talent’s Camelot Theatre. It might be a little too close to home for a guy who broke his neck in 2008. In true theatrical tradition, Lane made a stunning comeback — recovering not only to act again but to run the New York City Marathon just two years later in under three hours.
The Israeli Chamber Project, a New York-based music ensemble, came to Ashland for the first time Wednesday, Dec. 4, to give a recital in Southern Oregon University’s Music Recital Hall presented by Chamber Music Concerts, now in its 41st season.
Sage on Stage: Jessica Sage, artistic director of the Rogue Theater Company, emphasizes the importance of collaboration among all the people involved in a performance. It’s the foundation of a strong, successful production.
This week’s crossword: 5 plays from Camelot Theatre’s 2025 season. Solve it directly in the article or download a PDF to print. Next week’s crossword: “Grin and Bear It #01.” More crosswords under the Culture menu.
Santa flipped the switch officially launching Ashland’s holiday season Friday evening, shortly after anchoring a parade along East Main Street from the library to the Plaza, accompanied by merry bands of bicyclists, stilt walkers, dancers, marching band members and a feisty troupe of devoted reindeer.
More than 200 people turned out Thursday for the ninth Community Peace Meal and Thanksgiving Celebration at the First Presbyterian Church of Ashland, according to organizers Jason and Vanessa Houk of Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice, which does the Peace Meal every Thursday and Friday in Lithia Park near the bandshell at 3:30 p.m., rain or shine.
Last March the Ashland Community Food Bank saw a 140% spike in demand. SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, benefits were reduced and many COVID protection programs such as eviction protection ended. Now, it takes about 60,000 pounds of food every month to feed those directly “shopping” at the food bank, but also to restock little satellite pantries around Ashland, such as at the library and at the Ashland Senior Center.
This week’s crossword: selected course titles from OLLI’s Winter 2025 catalog. Solve it directly in the article or download a PDF to print. Next week’s crossword: “Camelot 2025 #01.” More crosswords under the Culture menu.
Obituary: Proud mom and devoted wife, Mary Louise “Mary Lou” Viola Carlson, 93, passed away in hospice Jan. 19 in Medford. A celebration of life will be held this spring when the flowers are blooming and the birds are singing.
Because the list of Ashland’s accomplishments in 2024 would be too long to read out loud, she would have to stick to the highlights, Mayor Tonya Graham said Wednesday, starting off her annual State of the City address in a packed Rogue River Room in Stevenson Union at Southern Oregon University.
Review: “Spotlight on the Judds,” starring Livia Genise as Naomi, Rebecca K. Campbell as Wynonna and Janina Brown as singer and narrator, is playing at the Camelot Theatre through Feb. 9. Rebecca K. Campbell as Wynonna performs with such confidence. She possesses a strong, muscular voice that you can feel right down to the tips of your toes.
A 76-year-old man died after colliding with a tree at Mt. Ashland Ski Area on Friday morning, according to a ski area news release. The helmeted skier, whose name was not released, was on Windsor Chairline, a trail categorized as “most difficult,” the release said.
People in Southern Oregon and far Northern California will likely see ongoing changes in weather patterns in coming years, and those changes aren’t necessarily positive. During a Wednesday evening presentation, “Southern Oregon Climate Trends, Projections, and Consequences,” Dr. Alan Journet, co-facilitator of Southern Oregon Climate Action Now (SOCAN), offered a series of possible scenarios if steps are not taken to immediately stop or at least slow climate change.
As part of an ongoing commitment to addressing homelessness in Jackson County, individuals are invited to volunteer for the annual “Point in Time” (PIT) Count, which will take place throughout the last week of January, beginning Monday, Jan. 27.
(It’s free)