Things you may have missed in the valley if you weren't paying attention

I think I'll start a new blog about all the wonderfulness that occurs in this burg. In the past several days,  I have enjoyed a great documentary that closed at the Darkside due to lack of attendance, a sold out concert with a recent Austin City Limits headliner  (accompanied by a true hometown boy, talented Alex Hargreaves), a box of tasty fresh-picked produce from a local farmer, an art auction/benefit by Engineers Without Borders, an amazingly complex salad eaten al Fresco at a long-time vegetarian restaurant, breakfast at a cafe' I'd seen for years and never tried with a great colleague I've known of for as many and sat with only once before.   There was more, but that's all I can recall this late on a Friday night.

True, I left a lot of laundry undone and weeds untended.  But i think it was worth it.  And trust me, they'll be here tomorrow.  Not true for the documentary, which I watched as 50% of the audience on closing night.

Coming up,  I can check out the annual rose show, go hear scientists talk about vegetable breeding while sipping a locally made brew,  see more live music, watch a dance recital,  tour a family farm, sit in my lawn chair in Central Park and see the community band, dance salsa, or see a local author read.  Heck, I can do the latter three times:  novelists Keith Scribner and Katy Kacvinsky are both on board, though Keith's all the way in Portland; and Marjorie Sandor 's giving a workshop on memoir writing Sunday at Grass Roots Bookstore.  And that only gets us through Tuesday.

We have a wealth of local treasure to explore, gifting all of our senses and attracting all manners of sensibilities.  For a town of our size there is a heck of a lot going on.

The last few posts have talked about paths to increased happiness.  Some key common factors are community,variety of experience, learning and play.  If you are tired of too much Have To and not enough Want To in your life; if you are hungry for community and stimulation-- go try something new, right here in the heart of the valley.

See you out there,
Jana
Here's a vid of a previous performance by Sarah Jarosz, Nathaniel Smith  and Alex Hargreaves, who sold out one of the biggest lvie venues in Corvallis tonight.  If you like what you see, check out their recorded concert on NPR.