Merrill Shindler, famous food critic in Los Angeles, spotlights the 2011 West Coast Eisteddfod!

Merrill Shindler

Merrill Shindler will be spotlighting the 2011 West Coast Eisteddfod: Welsh Festival of Arts on his Saturday night radio program 'Feed Your Face!'

Listen in on Saturday Sept 3rd and Sept 10th between 6pm and 8pm, and a special interview on Sept 17th with head chef Alex Webber of Alex Catering to talk about his preparations for the Welsh festival and what he will be cooking. Yum!
 

This is really exciting for me and I hope it is for you too, as Merrill has a vast reach of listeners and will help bring even more people out to learn about Welsh and Welsh-American culture! Thank you Merrill!

Merrill is editor of the Los Angeles Zagat Survey, host of Fine Living: Critics on the Fine Living Network, restaurant critic for the Copley and San Gabriel Valley Newspapers, and host of a weekly program on how much fun it is to put things in your mouth on KABC Radio.

 
Alex's Menu for the 2011 West Coast Eisteddfod: Welsh Festival of Arts will include:

Festival Menu (prices tba / subject to change)

Welsh Omelet (Bacon, Mushroom, Leek) Welsh Cawl (Lamb, Potato, Leek Stew) Bowl of Soup Toasted Welsh Rarebit (Cheese, Leeks and Beer on Toasted Bread)

Glamorgan sausage with Fries and Peas Grilled Liver and Onions with Stwns Pork, Leek and Chive Sausage with Stwns (mashed roots)

Vegetarian Curry Leek Burger and Chips Fish and Chips

For more on Alex Catering goto: http://alexcateringonline.com/

This is just one of the four delicious ways to spend the weekend. So how about trying Welsh Cakes from the Welsh Baker - flavors include classic (plain), raisin, cranberry, blueberry, cinnamon, chocolate chip, lemon poppy, pecan and walnut maple! Almost forget to mention their cake popsicles - oh so good! 

Or step up and drink a cold Sir Nathan's Red Dragon Lemonade, where money raised goes to help childrens cancer needs. The drink is named in honor of Nathan Lev a young artist who is battling cancer with his art and the help of the Red Dragon! Further afield, you may also have a inkling to taste Oberon's famous ale! But beware, this joint has a Welsh pirate theme so you may be asked to walk the plank if you can't handle your liquor. All in good fun of course, and Oberon's brings their own bardic entertainment! 

A little more about the festival:

The 2011 West Coast Eisteddfod: Welsh Festival of Arts is sponsored by the Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation in association with AmeriCymru and A Raven Above Press and will take place at The Barnsdall Art Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA, 90027 on Sept 23-25, 2011.

Friday Sept 23rd on the Barnsdall Grounds and the Theatre from 6pm to 9:30pm

Opening Ceremonies with performances by Paul Child (the official voice of Welsh Rugby), Michael Aston of Gene Loves Jezebel, Monica Richards/InfraWarrior. Beginning the evening we will have a Druid blessing by Brian y Tarw Llwyd and Garan Gwyn, followed by choral music from the Cor Cymraeg De Califfornia (Welsh Choir of Southern California). Also opening of the Welsh Mythology and Legend Art Show!

Saturday Sept 24th in the Barnsdall Theatre from 3pm to 9pm

Eisteddfod Prize Competitions in Poetry, Voice, Comedy, and Storytelling.

Sunday Sept 25th in the Barnsdall Theatre from 1:30pm to 6:30pm

Film Festival: Film Festival and Lecture screening ‘Otherworld’, ‘Eldra’ and the ‘Quarryman’. Special guest host Aparna Sharma, Assistant Professor of Dept of World Arts and Cultures at UCLA (with expertise on Welsh Cinema), will be introducing each film with a brief commentary on its importance.

Tour the legendary Hollyhock House, designed by Welsh American Frank Lloyd Wright, residence of Aline Barnsdall and built in 1919-1921. Hollyhock House will offer an Open House on Saturday and Sunday, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Docents will be on hand to introduce Hollyhock House to visitors and interpret individual rooms inside the house. Visitors are welcome to enter at any time during our operating hours. Tickets for the house will be on sale at the Municipal Art Gallery, a short distance from the house.

FREE OUTDOOR EVENTS On Saturday Sept 24th and Sunday Sept 25th from 11am to 5pm, Welsh Games, Vendor Marketplace, crafts, and classes, including Language instruction by Jason Shepherd of the Learn Welsh Podcast, Magic Show by Joseph Schneider, Welsh Storytelling by Peter Anthony Freeman, traditional Music by vocal/harpist Nerys Jones and ‘Wake the Bard’, Crwth demonstration, contemporary music by Lyn Mackay and Tom Jones tribute band ‘Sexbomb’. Appearance by the Mari Lwyd, demonstration of Gwyddbwyll. Workshops and lectures by Genealogist Annie Lloyd, Jude Johnson, Joe Praml, John Gower, Llwyn Swynedig, Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, R. Merlin, Jymie Darling, Segni Pembroke Welsh Corgis, Sam Wenger, Los Angeles Rugby Club, and Peter Paddon.

Come and see the traveling exhibit 'Welsh in America': Learn about Welsh-American history with this special exhibit on loan from the Welsh Assembly Government.

West Coast Eisteddfod - Barnsdall Arts Park, Los Angeles 2011

"Biggest Thing Since Sliced Laverbread"

Plans are already well advanced for neaxt year's West Coast Eisteddfod to be held at the Barnsdall Arts Park in Los Angeles in September. L.A. Event Coordinator Lorin Morgan-Richards has said that this will be, "the biggest thing since sliced laverbread" and organizers are planning to host a wealth of talent, some local and some international, at the three day event. With competitions in vocal performance, short story telling, poetry and stand-up comedy already confirmed and others to be announced it promises to be a worthy successor to this years Portland event some of which was preserved for posterity on the 'Night of The Living Bards' DVD.

The organizers who are actively seeking contestants for the 'live' and online competitions as well as vendors for the market area can be contacted via their email addresses at the bottom of this page. There follows a quote from the proposal and mission statement for the event:-

"The Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation (MLMEF) is requesting your presence and support for the West Coast Eisteddfod Festival to be held next year, 2011, in Los Angeles, CA, on September 23rd, 24th, and 25th at the Barnsdall Art Park (at 4800 Hollywood Blvd., CA). The West Coast Eisteddfod celebrates Welsh and Welsh American traditions in art, history, language, and oral and literary competition. We will hold an election of our first annual young adult representative and pay tribute to Welsh entrepreneurs and Welsh Americans. The expected attendance is 2,500 through the course of three days and will be open to the public. Our goal is to raise awareness about Welsh American identity and encourage continued growth between the United States and Wales.

The festival is to celebrate Welsh identity and expression. In doing so, it fosters positive self-esteem and creativity for the benefit of the greater community. The public will be encouraged to participate in these classes and competitions displayed in the Welsh tradition. Welsh Americans will benefit from learning about their culture through ongoing workshops and activities. The designated young adult representative will be evaluated on personality, talent, and community leadership. The appointed person will therein represent the West Coast Eisteddfod in the United States for one year as an upstanding role model, assisting in addressing issues important to the community and will help promote a meaningful association with Wales.

The West Coast Eisteddfod will be held at the Barnsdall Art Park, in Los Angeles, California. This location was chosen for its beautiful vista of Griffith Park, named after Griffith J. Griffith a Welsh philanthropist. The park sits atop a hill with a home built by Frank Lloyd Wright, an esteemed Welsh American architect, and is open for tours. Isolated from the urban sprawl, the Barnsdall Art Park is a quiet getaway with a historic theater amidst the Art Nouveau scenic grounds.

Los Angeles provides the best visibility for Wales through media outlets and presents it equally amongst other Celtic Nations. Additionally, it is the home of many notable Welsh figures including Patricia Arquette and Anthony Hopkins, as well as Welsh American film legends like Bettie Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Bob Hope, among others. In 1926, Los Angeles was the place for an Eisteddfod where local authors presented one-act plays to the public. To hold such an event in Los Angeles would bring back a historical Welsh tradition.

The MLMEF will be acting in accord to our non-profit status; volunteers directed by the Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation and its members will run the event. All revenue will go towards funding future events and paying expenses incurred.

The Meriweather Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation is an Oregon non-profit corporation recognized by the IRS as a 501 (c) 3 public charity. MLMEF was organized to raise public awareness of Welsh heritage in North America, to celebrate American-Welsh culture and preserve its works and to foster and encourage art and creativity in the Welsh tradition."

The full schedule will be available soon. Watch this space for details..

Foundation contact: Ceri Shaw americymru@gmail.com

Announcement: Eluned Phillips (27 October 1914 – 10 January 2009) Memorial Service at the Welsh Church in Los Angeles

"This Great Welshwoman was born in Cenarth,on the same day that Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea. She knew Dylan well, but did not number him among her close friends. Her friends included Augustus John, Pablo Picasso and that fantastic French singer, Edith Piaf. Her autobiography The Reluctant Redhead relates the story of her unusual upbringing in west Wales, and her periods in London, Paris, USA and Patagonia. She died of pneumonia aged 94 at Glangwili Hospital in Camarthen. At the time of her death she was the oldest member of the Gorsedd of Bards. Being also the only woman to win the bardic crown at the National Eisteddfod of Wales twice, a feat she accomplished in 1967 at Bala and 1983 at Llangefni. There may be a Memorial Service for her at the Welsh Church in Los Angeles. For more details please contact Caroline Roper-Deyo cariadcaroline@yahoo.com"

Diolch yn fawr to Michael Barnes of BritishSocialNews.com for this information.