PISTOL RIVER – Sally Barris and Don Henry will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 11, during a Pistol River Concert Association concert at the Pistol River Friendship Hall.

Barris, a Minnesota native, is a Nashville songwriter with a soprano voice whose music is a cross between Celtic and folk. She performs with fiddlers Stuart Duncan and Andrea Zonn; Jon Randall, who plays guitar and adds harmonies; and Byron House on bass.

The free outdoor concert season in Azalea Park opens Sunday, June 12, with a performance by the Del Norte High School Stage Band and Steel Drum Band.

Like all the summer concerts, the performance starts at 1 p.m.

It’s the first performance of seven planned through the summer, with a variety ranging from country and Celtic to brass and bayou.

The concerts are free of charge. The costs are underwritten by sponsor donations, in-kind services and donations collected from the audience.

The concert by the Del Norte High School groups is possible this summer because the first concert date falls before the end of the DNHS school year. The groups are directed by Dan Sedgwick.

The concert will be in two parts – with the 20-member stage band performing first, and the 16-member steel drum ensemble closing the concert.

Jay Mosby, Buzz Stewart and Claudia Mach paint free portraits during art gala. The Pilot/Bill Schlichting

The interactive evening of art included opportunities to make a project, have a portrait sketched by an artist, meet the artists, buy art and win door prizes. Those attending also received ballots to vote for the People’s Choice awards. One award was given to adults, and another to student artists. Ribbons were also posted for judged winners.

The gala, which included refreshments, was in addition to the Azalea Festival art show that takes place  at the same venue. The event was created because, in previous years, people were not able to attend during the daytime hours, said Cilde Grover, art show chair.

Equestrians sponsored by Town and Country Animal Clinic take part in parade. The Pilot/Jef Hatch

Thousands of spectators lined the streets to cheer their favorite floats, which included parade dignitaries:  Pioneer Citizens Keith and Elaine Smith; Grand Marshal Elmo Williams; Junior Grand Marshals the Brookings-Harbor High Scbool Varsity Cheerleading Team, OSAA 4A state champions; and the Azalea Festival court with Queen Liz Lindley and princesses Brianne Dodgen, Ashley Juarez, Emilee Bottoms and Meredith Horel.

Members of Soroptimists International of Brookings stood on the sidewalk along Chetco Avenue to judge the parade entries. The winners were announced later in the day during the Azalea Park Program.

World War II veterans Stephen Graves, Fran Thurman and Don Smith tell their stories. The Pilot/Arwyn Rice

In the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the fall of Europe to Nazi Germany, millions of Americans volunteered to serve.

Three Curry County veterans of that war traveled to Washington D.C as part of the Honor Flight program and shared their stories with the Curry Coastal Pilot last week.