The evening was a warm and festive showing of support for the programs and women of WVE. 100 friends gathered in the Governor’s Room in downtown Missoula for a bounty of locally-grown organic food, locally-brewed soda and beer, and locally-made wine.

As guests walked through the front door of the Florence Building, they were greeted by Miss Oh La La, a balloon artist who made each guest a personal balloon friend matched to their outfit. Then guests traveled upstairs to the Governor’s room to be greeted by volunteers dressed in cabaret style costumes. As dinner was served, Melissa Case, union activist, began her duties as evening MC. She introduced a line of performers intermixed with Jim Jensen as live auctioneer. The party was a tremendous success and we thank everyone who attended and supported the evening. (Please look below for a list of performers, sponsors, and volunteers.)

The following poem was a beautiful tribute to WVE written By Danielle Lattuga for the tenth anniversary of Women’s Voices for the Earth. Thank you Beautiful Women…

Woven    
by Danielle Lattuga

Raven
Black and slick against the startled blue sky
Calls the morning down with a throaty roar
And there is reprieve in the broken silence

Silence has two faces
Or maybe more, and at times, it brings an answer to the day
In the way an aspen leaf turns on a branch,
Distinct and shining gold
But often, especially in the days surrounding now,
Silence brings questions,
Churning
In the great swirling belly of mystery,
Inexplicable, and
Out of reach for hands wanting to shape fire
 

Raven takes flight
And my eyes follow its passage
Distracted by the single thread of gossamer twine
Trailing from the talon,
Thread of light
If I could, I would wrap my fingers around the spider silk
And follow the black messenger into the sky
Just to see how the earth is put together
But instead,
I must let the air between my fingers
Be enough

Ten years ago, my feet danced
On African soil
And my voice was one of many
Women’s voices
Singing
Blessing
Praying
For the rains to come

I had never chosen my words
Or heard my voice
Until it rose in that shared song
Of milk and blood
And when I speak today
I still hear the Samburu song
Lift and flutter within me
Fine filaments of joy
And power
Carrying words
Into form

Faith dwells in the simultaneous occurrence that
On this soil
Here in this place
A spark held and
Women claimed their voices
Resolving to help others
Claim their own
In collective spirit

And without,
We may never have learned
to recognize
The nature of silence
To say
What we are afraid to say
To call out
The unwanted that sinks
Below
The surface of our skin,
To expel the unwelcome
that would claim
Our bodies,
Our manifestation of
Earth and Animal glory

I can see
What I cannot hear
Because the women around me
Choose a song
Of truth
And a voice of community

So that children
May
Play in the grass
A river may flow clear
A curl of white
in the sky
May hold nothing but rain
A strand of hair may not be entangled with any shape of poison
and
A girl may climb a rope
to the top of the world

A line of words
Becomes a chorus of questions
And the song grows louder
And the answers come clear
And the unanswerable is recognized
As beauty
And out of your hands doesn’t
Feel so huge and scary
Because in your hands
You have

A blade of grass
A ribbon of river
A thread of cloud
A strand of hair
A line of words
A rope of hope
And you’ve woven them together
To make a net that holds your dreams and your health
A basket that carries the voices
that carry you

Raven drops earthward
With its thread of light
The filament of intangible
Illuminating your woven life
Talons grip basket
Wings lift
And the raven gives a raspy farewell
Carrying voices across the sky

I am grass
I am silk
I am words
I am hope
We are tangled
We are music
And still
We are woven


EVENT PERFORMERS

Amy Martin
Amy Martin was born in Iowa and lives in Missoula, Montana. She has been making her living as a musician since 2000. In that time, she has released five albums and started her own independent label, Raven’s Wing Records. She was named Missoula’s Peacemaker of the Year for 2004, and has raised $10,000 for women-run health and education projects in Afghanistan through the sales of her third album, This Fall.

Miss Oh La La
Miss Oo La La (Catlin Nell Hill)learned her trade on the streets of New York.  The partner of the late Professor Bendeasy, she has been a professional street performer since the age of 20, twisting balloons in places such as San Fransisco, Paris, and Montreal.  Having grown up in Montana, she returned in 1999 to live in Missoula.  Like many Missoulians, Catlin wears several hats, working also as a biologist, a musician, and at Bernice's Bakery.  Recently she has joined the delightful "Tommy and the Tomatoes", who offer up a rich collection of cajun, blues, and klezmer.  Available for hire as a performing artist and fiddle player, Catlin can be contacted at (406) 542-1612 or catlinhill@lycos.com.

Headwaters Dancers
Headwaters Dance Co. was founded in 2004 by Artistic Director Amy Ragsdale.  It is Montana's only professional, modern dance, touring company.  As a repertory company it presents works by choreographers from all over the country.  Headwaters performs in Missoula and tours the region, presenting evening concerts and offering community residency activities. The company grows out of Mo-Trans Dance Co., which Ms. Ragsdale co-founded in 1993.  Mo-Trans has closed its doors as a professional touring company and Headwaters is taking its place as a company independent of the university. This evening Headwaters will be presenting a solo titled, "I Have A Past," choreographed by Nicole Bradley Browning and performed by Anya Cloud.

Yvette Ortega
Yvette Ortega is a scientist with the Rocky Mountain Research Station, but
despite this, has retained some of her family-given zaniest.  Tonight she
will perform a monologue written by her sister Roxana, inspired by her
Peruvian mother, 8 aunts, and 32 cousins.

Marco Littig
As a former member of the local band Cash for Junkers, Marco is a practiced performer and excellent blues musician. He currently lives in Missoula and is the co-owner of Bernice’s Bakery with his wife Christine.

Danielle Lattuga
Danielle Lattuga received her Master’s in Environmental Writing in December of 2003.  Since then, she has continued to perform in the Missoula Juggling Society by splitting her time between writing, serving a lot of local and organic food, and hanging out with a pack of unemployed herding dogs.  Danielle’s writing focuses on telling uplifting, personal stories with a broader environmental and social lens.  Her latest publication surfaced on New West and revealed some of the secrets of the Blackfoot Challenge.  Tonight, she would like to read her tribute to WVE. 

Maria McGrady and Matt Hisel
This duo has been playing music together for almost a year, just for fun, but this is only their second performance. In a former life Matt wrote music and lyrics for all kinds of singers and theatrics in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Maria is a highly versatile singer--she's known around town as a soul singer with Sweet Low Down, yet she will be auditioning for the Metropolitan Opera later this month.

Tarn Ream
Unity Dance and Drum is a nonprofit organization founded to promote education, performance, and workshops in West African music and dance for the people of Missoula and surrounding communities.  [This can be cut if not enough room:  African dance and drum in a community setting are rarely separated—they are interdependent.  Together, they create a complete expression.  It is also very social by nature, involving people of all ages, conditions, and ethnicities.]  The Unity Dance and Drum performance group consists of available, committed musicians and dancers from Missoula.  This group performs high-energy West African music and dance, and our current project incorporates traditional proverbs into the presentation. The Unity group works collectively to choreograph the program, incorporating the athletic dances, bright costumes, masks, and musical arrangements that use a variety of drums and other instruments, including mbira, bells, shakers, and voice.  This ensemble is dedica
ted to having fun and we encourage the audience to join us.


EVENT SPONSORS

Directors $500 

KD  Dickinson, Portico Real Estate


Missoula Independent


A Squared Catering

Writers $250     

Tom and Sue Roy

Lewis and Clark Trail Adventures



Rattlesnake Creek Vineyard


Missoula Children’s Theatre


Blossom’s Bed and Breakfast

Cast $100   
 
Computer ER


Home Resource


Carol Rutgers

Jeannette Whitney Williams

Patricia Forsberg

Le Petite Outre

inkworks design, Inc.

Crew $50    
  
The Good Food Store


Julie Muiderman

Elise Miller

Starshine

Hunterbay Coffee Roasters

Big Sky Brewing

Meadowsweet Herbs

Scotty’s Table

Audience (less than) $49

Jean Helps

Phoebe Hunter

Jennifer Swearingen

The Bridge

Lifeline Produce

All of the food, beer, wine, soda and coffee were provided by local purveyors from Missoula and the Bitteroot counties.

Big Sky Brewing
Clark Fork Organics
Homemakers Orchard
Hunter Bay Coffee Roasters
Kettle House Brewery
Lifeline Farms
Lifeline Produce
Le Petite Outre
Rattlesnake Creek Vineyard


EVENT VOLUNTEERS

Thank you to the following volunteers:

Howard Williams
Megan Phillips
Rachel Winick
Lisa Van den Elzen
Jamie Silberger
Sandy Leotti
Bree Morrison
Casey Teske
Carrie Simpson
Beau McBride