You’re missin’ out on an important part of Humboldt if you’ve never laid on a Southern Humboldt hillside on a warm August night and watched a silvery meteor shower with your friends. You’re missin’ out on an important part of Humboldt if you’ve never let a delectable thin sliver of Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese melt in your mouth. You’re missin’ out on an important part of Humboldt if you’ve never walked on a dewy spring  morning among the birds at the Humboldt Wildlife Refuge. Or, if you’ve never bit into a crunchy slice of Brio Bread slathered with butter. Or, if you’ve never stood on the Plaza on Saturday night and listened to the distant ache of a bagpipe. Or, if you’ve never walked the long Main Street of Ferndale at Christmas gazing at the garlands and glitter. And, you’re missin’ out on an important part of Humboldt if you’ve never crunched into a Waltana Apple fresh from a fruit stand in Pepperwood.

There are some things so quintessentially Humboldt that you’re missing out if you haven’t experienced them. Last night, I found a Experience that is quintessentially Humboldt. And unfortunately, you only have three more glorious nights to experience it. This one is ephemeral.

Last night I went to the Del Arte play in Blue Lake and from the moment our family spread out a picnic in the sunshine till we stood hollering and applauding in the dark, we were immersed an experience created by people who know and love and are frustrated by our peculiar plant and the culture that surrounds it. Even the drinks sold there have a distinctly Marijuana coloring.

But it is the music written by local songwriters that brings you to laughter and (okay, I admit it) to tears. Mary Jane the Muscical takes you from marijuana’s innocent beginnings in the late Sixties here to the high industrial levels it has reached now. The music and energy has the audience dancing in their seats and hollering in pure joy. This play was sponsored by the Humboldt Grower’s Association but the pitfalls of pot are discussed as well as its pleasures.  One song that brought tears to more than one audience members eyes was the lament of the mother, Mary Jane, for her son who has been swept up in the greed of growing.  And another heavy metal piece raged about the industrialization of pot.  But the song that brought down the house was “Why is Whiskey Legal and Pot is Not?”

Whether you love what marijuana has done to/for Humboldt or hate it, this is an experience you don’t want to miss.  Take your favorite people down this last weekend and laugh/cry and enjoy one more reason to love this amazing place we live in.

[And, to the folk at Del Arte, I say —there are cult films and even cult plays.  This play is a keeper.  It should come back periodically and be marketed not only to us that love Humboldt but to the tourists who want to.   I LOVED this play and so did my very diverse family!]

My family enjoying a pre-play picnic at the theater.

8 Shows only!

JUNE 23 - JULY 3

Thursday - Sunday in DAI’s Rooney Amphitheatre

ADVANCED TICKETS

$15 ADULT / $12 STUDENT or SENIOR / $10 CHILDREN UNDER 12

AT THE DOOR

$18 ADULT / $15 STUDENT or SENIOR / $10 CHILDREN UNDER 12

ALL CREDIT CARD PURCHASES WILL BE CHARGED A

$2 PROCESSING FEE PER ORDER

CALL 707-668-5663 Box Office: ext. 5