Spring 2014
With this issue, we mark the start of our third year at The Gorge Magazine. We’d like to say a heartfelt “thank you” to all of you, advertisers and readers, contributing photographers and writers—everyone who has supported us since our launch in the spring of 2012. We set out with the mission of exploring, discovering and celebrating what it means to live in and visit the Gorge, and we continue with you on this singular journey. We thought it would be fun to celebrate our birthday by giving the magazine a little makeover in the form of a few style and format changes. We hope you like them. As always, feel free to give us feedback. We love when we hear from you.
Another notable event this spring is the 8th Annual Gorge Artists Open Studio Tour. The tour has helped put the Gorge on the Northwest arts map, and this year it will showcase a remarkable 40 artists—testament to the talent present in our midst. Don Campbell profiles a few of the artists who will open their studios to visitors April 11-13 (page 48). If you’ve enjoyed the tour before, welcome back. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend it. It’s always fun to meet the artists, and it’s fascinating to see them in the places where they create.
In this, our Arts Issue, writer Steven Hawley explores yet another aspect of art: its vital connection to nature—and more specifically, to wilderness (page 37). This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, and events are happening around the country to commemorate this landmark conservation bill, which has resulted in the preservation of more than 100 million acres of wildlands. Locally, the Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River has partnered with the Mount Adams Ranger District of the U.S. Forest Service to commission 21 artists to create art that celebrates the wilderness areas surrounding the Gorge. The show will hang in the Arts Center gallery during August.
There are some other interesting explorations in this issue as well. Among them, Ruth Berkowitz writes about raw food expert Amie Sue Oldfather (page 58), Christopher Van Tilburg takes a spin on the Historic Columbia River Highway (page 64), and Lori Russell takes a look at The Dalles physician Miriam McDonell and her quest to help people reach and maintain a healthy weight (page 72). Delve in, and welcome to springtime in the Gorge.
Janet Cook, editor
