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ENLARGE
Young adults, ages 18 to 29, such as the ones in these two photos, are representing Up with People in the Winston area this week. The group is doing community service during the week before putting on a singing and dancing show at Riverbend Park at 8 p.m. Saturday.
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ENLARGE
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Seventy young adults with the independent nonprofit educational organization Up with People are in Winston this week in conjunction with the melon festival.
The area used to be known for its melons, says Mia Hansen, who grew up in Winston and is now working as a coordinator with Up with People and the Melon Festival.
Her goal is to help revive the festival that started her on her career of producing and directing festivals and special events, from her home now in Tucson, Ariz.
“I can remember riding downtown (as a child)... the barbecue chicken smell would permeate the whole town,” Hansen says.
Up with People is an organization that takes young adults on the road and around the world for six weeks. The group stays in each community they visit for about a week.
Its focus is community service and outreach in the areas they visit. The week culminates in a show they put on for the community, which is an integration of what they’ve done. The show involves dancing and singing and many forms of media.
The students mission is to “spark people’s actions into meeting the needs of the community,” according to Christine Holmes, who is helping coordinate the group.
The area used to be known for its melons, says Mia Hansen, who grew up in Winston and is now working as a coordinator with Up with People and the Melon Festival.
Her goal is to help revive the festival that started her on her career of producing and directing festivals and special events, from her home now in Tucson, Ariz.
“I can remember riding downtown (as a child)... the barbecue chicken smell would permeate the whole town,” Hansen says.
Up with People is an organization that takes young adults on the road and around the world for six weeks. The group stays in each community they visit for about a week.
Its focus is community service and outreach in the areas they visit. The week culminates in a show they put on for the community, which is an integration of what they’ve done. The show involves dancing and singing and many forms of media.
The students mission is to “spark people’s actions into meeting the needs of the community,” according to Christine Holmes, who is helping coordinate the group.
The young adults will spend time with Lookingglass Elementary students. Their message is diversity and culture and they will give educational presentations and play games to enhance children’s knowledge of countries, cultures and people from around the world. The school outreach program has a strong emphasis on diversity and conflict resolution.
Up with People students range in age from 18 to 29. They stay in homes during their community visits.
“Up with People exists today to spark people to action in meeting the needs of their communities, countries and the world while building bridges of understanding as a foundation for world peace,” according to their brochure, and is their mission, says Hansen.
They try to accomplish this through their home stays, community service, outreach school programs and their performances, says Hansen.
The group started the semester with an orientation in Tucson in July, and are now on an eight-week tour of festivals. They are coming from Corcoran, south of Fresno, Calif., and after Winston they head to Eureka, Calif., and then back up to Coos Bay.
After their West Coast tour they head to Europe for six to seven weeks and then finish their six-month program with a month-long stay in the Philippines.
Up with People started in 1965. It is currently being revived toward what it once was, says Hansen.
Steve Richardson, 40, from Roseburg was a student and an Up with People member in 1986. He says the show has changed a lot over the years but the experience is similar.
He remembers arriving in Germany, being placed with a family that spoke no English, and having to learn the “international language.”
“Being immersed in other people’s cultures and families while you’re on the road, you can learn more than you could possibly learn from being in a school,” he says. “The learning is so much stronger because you have to adapt and be flexible.”
He says the groups have a chance to make an impact because of the amount of time they spend in each community and their immersion into it.
They are always looking for students, and anyone between the ages of 18 to 29 can apply. After Saturday’s performance, there will be someone from admissions interviewing potential students and taking applications.
• You can reach reporting intern John Givot at 957-4208 or by e-mail at jgivot@newsreview.info.
Up with People students range in age from 18 to 29. They stay in homes during their community visits.
“Up with People exists today to spark people to action in meeting the needs of their communities, countries and the world while building bridges of understanding as a foundation for world peace,” according to their brochure, and is their mission, says Hansen.
They try to accomplish this through their home stays, community service, outreach school programs and their performances, says Hansen.
The group started the semester with an orientation in Tucson in July, and are now on an eight-week tour of festivals. They are coming from Corcoran, south of Fresno, Calif., and after Winston they head to Eureka, Calif., and then back up to Coos Bay.
After their West Coast tour they head to Europe for six to seven weeks and then finish their six-month program with a month-long stay in the Philippines.
Up with People started in 1965. It is currently being revived toward what it once was, says Hansen.
Steve Richardson, 40, from Roseburg was a student and an Up with People member in 1986. He says the show has changed a lot over the years but the experience is similar.
He remembers arriving in Germany, being placed with a family that spoke no English, and having to learn the “international language.”
“Being immersed in other people’s cultures and families while you’re on the road, you can learn more than you could possibly learn from being in a school,” he says. “The learning is so much stronger because you have to adapt and be flexible.”
He says the groups have a chance to make an impact because of the amount of time they spend in each community and their immersion into it.
They are always looking for students, and anyone between the ages of 18 to 29 can apply. After Saturday’s performance, there will be someone from admissions interviewing potential students and taking applications.
• You can reach reporting intern John Givot at 957-4208 or by e-mail at jgivot@newsreview.info.
<center>At Riverbend Park, Winston</center>
Information: 679-8281<h2>Friday</h2>
Noon — Gates, concessions, carnival open
3 p.m. — Jerry Schubert at the story telling small stage
4 to 6 p.m — Kids games in World of Games area; Coloring contest entries accepted
4:30 to 5:30 — Joe Ross on small stage
5 to 9 p.m. — Bingo in the Pavilion
6 p.m. — Marge Locks and Judy Kennedy on the small stage
7:30 p.m. to closing — Northstar on small stage
<h2>Saturday</h2>
7 a.m. - Breakfast by Job's Daughters and Veterans of Foreign Wars on festival grounds
8 a.m. — Grand Parade registration and staging at Grandway Shopping Center
9 a.m. — Grow Your Own & Produce Decorating entries accepted in pavilion
10 a.m. — Gates, concessions, carnival open
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Helicopter rides throughout the day
10 a.m. — Grow Your Own & Produce Decorating judging in pavilion
11 a.m. — 39th Annual Grand Parade on Main Street ending at Riverbend Park
11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. — Corvette Show & Shine at Winston Realty, 70 S.E. Main Street
Noon — Festival kitchen opens, beef barbecue dinners served in pavilion
Noon to 9 p.m. — Bingo in pavilion
Noon — Jerry Schubert story telling on small stage
1 p.m. — Grand Parade awards on stage
1 to 5 p.m. — Kids games in World of Games area, coloring contest entries accepted
1 p.m. — Little Miss Jobie on small stage
1:30 p.m. — Sixth Annual Diaper Derby in vendor area
2 p.m. — Umpqua Timberbells and Men's Quartet on small stage
3 p.m. — Men's Knees Contest on small stage
3:30 p.m. — "Ugly Dog Contest" on small stage
4 p.m. — Chili Cookoff registration at pavilion
4 p.m. — Jodee Marie on small stage
6:30 p.m. — North Star on main stage
8 to 9:30 p.m. — "Up With People" on main stage
<h2>Sunday</h2>
7 a.m. — Breakfast by Job's Daughters and VFW on grounds
10 a.m. — Gates, concessions, carnival open
All day — Volkswagen Show & Shine at lower park area
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. — Dixonville Chicks
Noon — Festival kitchen opens, beef barbecue dinners served in pavilion
Noon to 4 p.m. — Bingo in the pavilion
2 to 4 p.m. — Kids games in World of Games area, coloring contest entries accepted until 4 p.m.
2 p.m. — Talent show on small stage
3 p.m. — Wildlife Safari’s cheetah program
4 p.m. — Kids bicycles giveaway
“Up with People” arrived Tuesday night and will be staying through Monday; the group will be building international floats for the Melon Festival with an open invitation to the public from 5:30 to 7 p.m. today; the group will be at Lookingglass Elementary School working with children from 2 to 3:15 p.m. Friday; “Up With People” will perform on the main stage at Riverbend Park from 8 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday.
Information: (515) 865-3788
