Unique fundraiser planned for Scotland trip

 

For the second time in three years, the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School Theater Group has been given an invitation to perform at the Edinburgh, Scotland Fringe Festival, billed as the largest and most famous performing arts festival in the world.

The invitation, issued by the American High School Theatre Festival, allows more than 20,000 performing artists and groups to converge on Edinburgh, turning it into the Mecca of performing arts.

The group’s last trip to the Fringe included their award-winning production of “The Circuit.”

Next summer the group will be performing Arthur Kopit’s Vietnam-era play “Indians,” which the local public will be able to see when they present it in the high school’s Little Theatre in March.

 

The group has been hard at work fundraising for the event since July.  Preparations are now under way for its “Sedgwick to Scotland,” a 10-mile walk held at the beautiful Sedgwick Reserve in the foothills of Figueroa Mountain on Saturday Mar. 1, 2008.  The Reserve hosted two major fundraisers in 2005 for the troupe, popular events the group hopes to repeat.

“They are home-grown events,” says Theatre Group director and teacher Jeff McKinnon.  “Sedgwick is a magical place, all the more stunning because it’s local, and the Sedgwick staff is great.”

The group’s first Sedgwick event, “Women’s Walk” in 2005 helped raise funds for the trip. At that time, 50 hearty walkers were treated to docent-led hikes showing the beauty the Reserve offers in late winter. 

 

This year’s hikes consist of two loops: a 10-mile hike for the hearty walker and a five-mile loop for the casual walker.  Participants will register, and then bring in a minimum amount of pledges the day of the hike.  They will be given with a bag lunch provided by Taco Roco, a commemorative Theatre Group hat, and a guided walk through the local pristine wilderness.

The Reserve is named after sculptor, novelist and rancher Francis “Duke” Sedgwick, father of Edie Sedgwick, who wanted to preserve this “large area of pristine beauty,” to create “a conjunction of learning and land.”

Now owned by UCSB, the Reserve director Kate McCurdy emphasizes the University’s willingness to use the site for educational outreach purposes, regular guided public hikes and public events such as the “Sedgwick to Scotland” event.

 

Perched on the flanks of Figueroa Mountain, Sedgwick Reserve sweeps down from an elevation of 2,300 feet to 800 feet and contains whole creeks from beginning to end.

Tens of thousands of oak trees grow in dense woodlands rarely found on public land. There are also savanna and grasslands, coastal sage scrub, streamside eco-systems and unique bird corridors and wildlife, including recent sightings of brown bear, mountain lions and deer.

The two hikes will provide an opportunity to see and hike through this pristine property. Depending on the season and winter rains, hikers can see the Little Pine Fault, and view wildflowers, including the Yerba Mansa, Jewel Flower, Wild Onion, Bush Lupine, and California Poppies. The Santa Barbara County Oaks – Valley Oak, Blue Oak and Coast Live Oak also grow in the site. The region has a rich Native American heritage, and at least one Middle Chumash village, estimated to be between 1,500 to 2,000 years old, rests on the site.

 

To register and participate in the “Sedgwick to Scotland” walk, or for general information, call 688-6487 x2361.