Day Ten.

Eureka, CA to Redding, CA
Today was such a fun day! Once we got to the city where were to perform we were able to go swimming in the pools of some very gracious people in the community. Thank you so much for allowing us to swim in your pools!

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Stories and Experiences:

Jamie Myers:

We stayed with a lovely couple here in Redding named Mike and Lisa Olsen. After some small talk over a bowl of fruit following the show, Lisa informed us that the proceeds were going towards Northern Valley Catholic Social Services and more specifically towards buying school backpacks for some children in the local area. Apparently every year a select number of children receive a shopping spree at Kohls and backpacks filled with school supplies (“Kohls for Kids” may have been the name of this endeavor, but don’t quote me). Anyway, this year Northern Valley Catholic Social Services teamed up with other churches, including the LDS Church, and Lisa was in charge of rounding up a portion of donations for this program. Everything was in place for the children except about 100 backpacks. When she heard that BYU-Idaho’s Dance Alliance was coming to perform, she knew EXACTLY where she could round up the extra funds!!! So hooray! We got to help out people in need by simply doing what we love! It’s funny how we can unexpectedly bless the lives of others in merely sharing our talents. Always share your talents…you never know whose lives you’ll touch.

Kassandra Struk:

Tonight was a very special night for me. I am originally from San Jose and my parents drove up 5 hours to see the show. It was the first time they had ever seen me dance! To top it off they brought me a surprise…and I still cant believe they were able to keep this a secret. They brought up with them Kerianna Butler one of the truest friends I have ever had, she had just gotten off her mission one week earlier and it was the first time ive seen her in a year and a half. So that’s the good news, the bad news is I was extremely distracted! Haha I can laugh about it now but it was not a good thing at the time. The venue that we were performing in that night was a little hard to maneuver because there were no wings. Our entire shows success depends on our entrances and exits using the wings of the stage so it was especially important that we were on top of our game …and not distracted. Needless to say it wasn’t the smoothest show for me. Oh well, the show must go on.

Day Nine.

Cresent City, CA to Eureka, CA

Today was such a blast! We were able to get up early in the morning and head to Eureka, CA. Once there we saw the venue and to surprise, our name was on the marquee. We all felt famous. Once there we were able to split up into groups and explore the city for a good couple of hours. I know all the dancers had so much fun exploring the historic and downtown Eureka. The architecture and history of the town were fascinating.
After exploring Eureka we were fed a wonderful dinner at the stake center. Thank you to all those who prepared it! It was a wonderful meal.
Shortly following dinner we performed our show at the beautiful venue and then departed to our hone-stays for the night.

Stories and Experiences:

Kamrie McCandless:
Eureka!!! We got to go be normal and walk around freely! OH it was so splendid to have a bit of a break from the cramped bus and go stretch our legs by splitting up and going touring wherever we wanted to. Weather in Eureka is pretty moderate you don’t see the sun shine a lot. It wasn’t cold and it wasn’t hot which was so nice. My group consisted of Elsha, Jude, Rachel, Megan, myself, and our protector and priesthood holder Daniel . He kept us safe from all harm. We had a blast walking around taking pictures with huge cool murals exploring a cool little bagel and antique shop. The venue we preformed in was incredible!!! A lot of us felt like we were in Phantom of the Opera. We felt fancy because they had tv’s in the dressing rooms so we could watch the show while we were down there. The show went really well! After it was over this lady came with her arms wide open and just gave me this huge hug and said, “You’re my favorite!” Ha ha ha!! I gave her a hug and said she was my favorite we then just went on for a few minutes like we were just old friends. I had never met her before! It was so much fun!

Elsha Guthrie:
Eureeeeka, California….except California isn’t supposed to be cold right?? I guess I was misled. We walked along the pier and we came upon this cute little shop that had salt water taffy and sweaters (to shield us from the cold mind you) and our front there was one of those creepy fortune teller machines with the weird man in a turban who rubs his hand over the crystal ball. So having plenty of time to waste we all start taking pictures with the Fortune Telling Man. This lasted for about 10 or 15 minutes until it was finally my turn for the picture. I pretended to be kissing him through the glass and as while I was posing this intense and thickly accented voice starts yelling, “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!” I was so scared that I just stood there with my lips all puckered up while the man in the glass encouraged my to get my fortune told…which I did. See if I ever lean in for a kiss again on this trip!

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