visual arts

You heard it

here first ...

Eight years ago, in a cover story for this humble journal, we enthusiastically introduced an up-and-coming artist with "a vocabulary all her own."

Since then, Sonya Kelliher-Combs has gone from new kid on the block to a major player in the Alaska and even national art worlds, winner of a prestigious Eideljorg Fellowship, The Anchorage Mayor's Arts Award, a member of the Alaska Native Arts Foundation Board, the Alaska State Council on the Arts Visual Arts Advisory panel and the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Arts based in Santa Fe, N.M.

And she's still creating unique works of painting and sculpture -- or some combination of the two -- that are included in major exhibitions both in and out of state.

Her recent work is on display at the Alaska Native Arts Foundation Gallery (500 W. Sixth Ave.). Take a look now through May 6 and see for yourself why the local fine-arts crowd was so excited in 2000.

-- Mike Dunham

theater

Dog show has tails wagging

"A romping good comedy now running at Cyrano's" is how the Daily News' critic described the first Anchorage production of "Sylvia" in 1997. The Broadway hit about a stray mutt and its all-too-human roommates had viewers "howling with laughter through the opening performance."

The most adorable pup in modern theater is back in a new production, again at Cyrano's Off Center Playhouse (413 D St.), running 7 p.m. Thursday to Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through March 30. Tickets are $17.50 at centertix.net or call 263-2787.

-- Mike Dunham

film

From crunchy to gritty at Lunafest

The Lunafest Film Festival of short movies for and about women includes everything from the touchy-feely and poignant to the nitty-gritty, edgy and bold. This year's lineup includes an animated film about a young girl struggling with adolescent rebellion and the reality of family ties, a comic drama about a woman who buys a box of happiness at a discount store and has to figure out what to do with it, and a mysterious coming-home story about a New Yorker who visits her native Iceland, where family secrets await.

The film festival has toured the country for years, generating more than $250,000 for women's organizations, including the Breast Cancer Fund, every year.

See the latest batch at 7 p.m. today and Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday at Out North (3800 DeBarr Road, 279-8099). Tickets are $8 online (www.outnorth.org) and $9 at the door. Get more Lunafest information at www.lunafest.org.

-- Dawnell Smith

culture

Beat it to Native Heritage Center's percussion party

Steven Alvarez knows how to throw a party. Every year he organizes the Multicultural Drumming and Dance Celebration at the Alaska Native Heritage Center, and every year the crowds stay glued to the beat of drum ensembles, percussion solos and powwow interludes.

"This has always been one of our most popular events because it provides a glimpse of diversity in Anchorage," said Alvarez, director of cultural education and strategic initiatives for the heritage center. "It focuses a lot on how cultures are connected through the drum and dancing."

This year, Valerie Naranjo returns to the drum festival. The percussionist for NBC's "Saturday Night Live" band sings, composes and performs West African keyboard percussion music. Other scheduled performers include Crow Creek Pipes & Drums, the Karilagan Folkloric Dancers, Colony Calypso and the UAA Percussion Ensemble.

Join the scene from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the heritage center (8800 Heritage Center Drive, 330-8000, www. alaskanative.net). Admission is $9.95 for adults, $6.95 for children and free for members.

-- Dawnell Smith

benefit

Empty Bowl keeps growing in popularity

Potters from the Anchorage Clay Arts Guild made 500 bowls the first year they held the Empty Bowl luncheon for Bean's Cafe. Fourteen years later, local clay artists produce more than 2,000 bowls for the event, which raises about $40,000 through ticket sales and a silent auction. And that doesn't even count corporate sponsorships.

Bean's has since made the Empty Bowl Project its main fundraiser. Despite keeping ticket prices low, the soup and cornbread feast has generated $548,000 since its inception.

Fans of the event line up hours early to get the best choice of bowls.

"You get the whole spectrum of collectors," said Paul Laverty, the coordinator of the event for the Clay Arts Guild. "From the people who want the date on each bowl for every year they go to those who want bowls made from the same artist every year and others who just want a different-looking bowl each time."

Soup ladles fly from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Egan Center (555 W. Fifth Ave.). You can get tickets at the door and ahead of time at Borders Books & Music (1100 E. Dimond Blvd.), Cabin Fever (650 W. Fourth Ave.), Great Harvest Bread Co. (570 E. Benson Blvd.), Picture This Art Gallery (11401 Old Glenn Highway) and Tastee Freez (3901 Raspberry Road).