Hanford Insider

Hanford Insider: Beyond the Surface: Exploring Hanford's Creative Pulse

• Rob Bentley • Season 3 • Episode 8

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Step into the unexpected cultural richness of Hanford with our exploration of the community's vibrant arts scene. While Kings County might not immediately come to mind as an arts destination, this episode reveals the surprising breadth of creative opportunities awaiting residents of all ages and interests.

From the Kings Art Center's exhibits and classes to the multiple dance studios, theater companies, and museums scattered throughout the county, we uncover the wealth of visual and performing arts resources right in our backyard. Music lovers will discover venues like the Fox Theater and Hop Forged Brewing that regularly feature talented local musicians, while aspiring performers can find their creative home with organizations like the Kings Players or the Hanford Multicultural Theater Company.

The heart of our episode features an insightful conversation with Joseph Rocha, founder of Eager Music Studio, which recently opened its doors in Hanford. Rocha shares his personal journey from seven-year-old saxophonist in a Portuguese community band to music educator and entrepreneur. His story exemplifies how early arts exposure can transform into lifelong passion and purpose. The studio offers lessons in piano, guitar, voice, drums and various band instruments, with a unique approach that includes free meet-and-greet sessions for prospective students to explore the space and meet instructors before committing.

Whether you're a parent seeking creative outlets for your children, an adult looking to rediscover an artistic passion, or simply a community member interested in supporting local culture, this episode provides a comprehensive guide to Hanford's artistic landscape. We've compiled all resources mentioned into a special guide available to our subscribers – your roadmap to exploring the creative side of Kings County. Ready to tap into your artistic potential? The opportunities are more plentiful than you might have imagined.

You can find the Hanford Insider at www.hanfordinsider.com and on social media at @hanfordinsider
Thank you for supporting the show!

Speaker 1:

On this episode of the Hanford Insider. We take a look at the many visual and performing arts opportunities in Hanford, including an interview with Joseph Rocha of the new music school in Hanford Eager Music Studio. We'll have a review of the upcoming calendar of events. Then I'll be back with your sports report. This is the Hanford Insider for Monday, september 15th.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Hanford Insider Podcast, where we bring you closer to the heart of our community. I'm your host, rob Bentley. Each episode, we highlight the stories, events and people that make Hanford such a unique place to call home, from local history and culture to what's happening around town today. We're here to keep you connected and in the know. Well, the good news is that, after months of hearing complaints about the railroad crossings on 11th Avenue and next to the Amtrak station on 7th Street, bnsf is going to finally make the needed repairs. The bad news is that, in order to make those repairs go faster, they're going to completely close both crossings this Monday and Tuesday, so if you regularly drive in that area, you're going to want to avoid it until repairs have been completed. This likely means that rail traffic through town will also be slower, so everybody needs to plan ahead for potential delays. It was great to see so many smiling faces at the Child's Shopping Spree at the Hanford Mall on Saturday. Many thanks to JC Penney, the Knights of Columbus, the Soroptimus Club and especially all of the financial sponsors, community partners and chaperones for their invaluable contributions. It takes a village to put on this annual event for children in need. The Hanford Christmas Parade Committee is proud to announce that Tyree Reed, also known as the Bless you man, has been selected as the Grand Marshal of this year's parade, which will be held on Friday, november 28th, the day after Thanksgiving. I'm partnering with the committee this year and we have some exciting news about this year's annual event that will be announced very soon.

Speaker 2:

The Hanford City Council will meet on Tuesday At the afternoon study session. They'll get an update on the plunge repairs and a plan to hardscape the grass area in the middle of the Civic Auditorium Park. During the general meeting there will be four public hearings from Community Development and Utilities and Engineering In general business. There will be some finance resolutions as well as requested approval to replace 12 aging drinking fountains in our local parks. The final item is a discussion from the Hanford Fire Department regarding the it's Not Worth it campaign to reduce the amount of illegal fireworks used in the city. Remember, if you can't make it to the meeting in person, it's also live streamed on the city website at hanfordcity. Be sure to check back with the Hanford Insider for Mayor Travis Payton's Wednesday Wrap-Up, where he gives us a short recap of everything that happened at the meeting. This is a reminder that both the Hanford Branch and the Lemoore Branch of the Kings County Library are closed for remodeling for about a year. The Lemoore Branch will be served by the Kimball Mobile Library and the Hanford Branch will have a temporary location open on October 7th near the Costless at 11th and 198th. For more information about these locations and the remodeling plans, visit kingscountylibraryorg.

Speaker 2:

Finally, we have an update to two of our most recent episodes. On the July 27th episode of the podcast, denisha Park shared with us about the efforts to memorialize canine officer Crash with a bench. She let everyone know this weekend that the bench has been purchased and is now on display at the Police Activities League building at 11th and Florinda. This is a fitting location as this is where the K-9 officers actually train. And on the August 24th episode, we heard from Christy Camara about her efforts to get Weiland's law passed and to Governor Newsom's desk for signature. Her lawyer, Joseph Alito Jr, announced that on Friday the bill passed the legislature and is now awaiting signature. This is awesome news. If you're a new listener and haven't learned about these issues, I encourage you to go back and listen to these episodes. In fact, over 100 past episodes are all available for download at wwwhanfordinsidercom. Thanks for your support.

Speaker 2:

Now let's take a look at this week's community calendar Coming up. On Thursday, september 18th, the Hanford Council Corner will be held at Fire Station no 3 at 1070 South 12th Avenue. This will be with Mark Kyrus and Chris Tavares from 7 am to 8 am will be with Mark Kyrus and Chris Tavares from 7 am to 8 am At the Thursday Night Marketplace. This week it's Board Appreciation Night with the classic All-Stars Band. The Carnegie Museum of Kings County's History of Agriculture in Kings County, part 2, is open Fridays, saturdays and Sundays from 1 pm to 5 pm through December 14th. They'll be holding their third annual gala fundraiser on October 25th. Saturdays and Sundays from 1 pm to 5 pm through December 14th. They'll be holding their third annual gala fundraiser on October 25th at the Hanford Civic Auditorium and you can get your tickets at the museum during regular hours or online at carnegiemuseumofkingscountyorg.

Speaker 2:

This Saturday night, september 20th, is the annual Blues Festival in the Civic Park. Admission is free. Come on down and enjoy some great music, drinks and food vendors. The lineup includes Mark Hummel with Anson Funderburg, mike Hammer and the Nails and the John Clifton Blues Band. This 24th annual festival is one of the only free festivals in the entire country. Thanks to Main Street Hanford for sponsoring this event. On September 24th, king's Community Action will be hosting an Environmental Justice Community Workshop from 6 pm to 8 pm at their offices located at 1130 North 11th Avenue. The King's County Resource Fair is on Thursday, september 25th, in the Hanford Civic Auditorium from 5 pm to 7 pm. There will be lots of resources about vocational training, mental health and behavioral supports, special education, county services and community programs. If you have an event coming up and you'd like some help getting the word out, let's work together. Send your information to hanfordinsider at gmailcom. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a complete calendar of events. It's the most comprehensive community calendar available.

Speaker 2:

You know Kings County isn't necessarily considered a hotspot for the visual and performing arts, but in this episode I'm going to share with you just some of the many opportunities for adults and children to explore their creative side through art, music, dance, theater and poetry, and maybe a few more things that you may not have known about. Those of you who know me know that I've been involved with music pretty much my entire life. I'm a product of the local school system and I've been a music educator for the last 36 years. The arts have brought so much joy into my life and I absolutely love it when I see people discover their creative side through the arts. Over the last several weeks, I've been putting together a resource guide for my listeners that includes opportunities for participation or just enjoyment. All of these things I'm going to mention are included in this guide, which I'm going to send to my subscribers. It includes website links to each organization and if you're not a subscriber, send me a guide request email to hanfordinsider at gmailcom and I'll be sure to send one your way. So let's get started In the area of art.

Speaker 2:

You know the Kings Art Center has been the mainstay of for years, offering not only fantastic exhibits but lots of classes. Board and Brush in downtown Hanford offers a make it take it for home decor. The Kings County Art League has a different artist exhibition each month at the Cornerstone Cafe in the Fast Plaza. This month's featured artist is Diana Leone. There are lots of creators that don't have a fancy storefront or a website, but you can find them on social media such as Tipsy Canvas and a new one called Create and Connect 559 on Instagram. Kings County has a few museums as well. In Avenal there's the Historical Society Museum. There's a museum at Burris Park. Of course Lamar has the Ceremony Museum. Hanford has the Children's Storybook Garden Museum as well as the Carnegie Museum of Kings County.

Speaker 2:

Dance instruction can be found in Hanford from Dancer's Edge, the Patty Studio, king's Dance Center. Lamar has the Movement Factory, and the King's Cultural Center in Armona offers a variety of classes in folklorical dancing. The Woodstackers Dance Club frequently offers square dancing at the Square Eights Hall on Fargo Avenue. In the area of drama the King's players hold productions and classes at the Temple Theater. The Hanford Multicultural Theater Company holds classes and live events at the Little Brick Theater in downtown Hanford. Sierra Pacific, hanford, west Hanford High School and Lamore High School all present a musical each spring. The Hanford High District Performing Arts also puts on a summer production with school children.

Speaker 2:

There are lots of opportunities for live music performances as well. School groups usually present two to three concerts a year. Adults who enjoy a night out might consider the Fox Theater, lush Fine Wine and Beer Hop, forge Brewing or Plan B Tap House. They all regularly feature local and touring groups. Some of our best local musicians, such as Travis Brooks and Tim Mattis, are regulars at these night spots. The Bobby Seals Whiskey River Band presents a dance at the Fraternal Hall in Hanford just about every Monday night.

Speaker 2:

The local school music programs offer a variety of ensembles for children to perform in during the school day. But what about students who attend charter schools or adults who may want to pick up a new instrument? Well, you're in luck there too. The King's Cultural Center offers music lessons as part of their mariachi program. There are several music teachers in our area who offer lessons on piano, voice, string and wind instruments. Shirley Lay, a Hanford High School alum and a fantastic flute player, has opened up the Music School of Hanford offering lessons and recitals on many instruments. And one of the new opportunities that we have here in Kings County is the Eager Music Studio in Hanford that just opened up in August, and I'm here with Joseph Rocha, the owner of Eager Music Studios. How are you doing, joseph?

Speaker 3:

I'm doing very well. Thanks for having me on.

Speaker 2:

So, Joseph, you're a local actually, You've got family here, I know. Originally you opened up your first studio in Tulare, but tell us a little bit about your music background and why you decided to open up a music studio so my beginning in music started back when I was seven years old.

Speaker 3:

I was really interested in music due to the local Portuguese community band in Tulare, filarmonica Portuguesa de Tulare. My neighbors played in that band and my parents are Portuguese and Portuguese would go to the Portuguese functions and I remember vividly a time where we went and saw them play and I told my dad I was like I want to, that's something that I want to do. So they had a school program like a feeder program through that organization. My dad put me in and he asked me he's like what instrument do you want to play? And I was like I don't know. And he goes you know what? You should play sax. So he bought me a sax and off I went. So that's what kicked it all off.

Speaker 3:

And by the time I was nine years old I was marching with the adult band the big band probably one of the youngest guys there and it was a great opportunity because I didn't have music in my elementary school growing up, so that was my outlet. From there my brother joined as well through that kid's program and he played the trumpet. So I would fiddle around on his trumpet at home and picked up a brass instrument and started learning that way. My dad wanted me to play accordion, so in sixth grade I was doing accordion as well, and then acoustic guitar for some other Portuguese things. And by the time I was in eighth grade I was pretty fluent on a couple of different instruments and definitely was super excited to join the high school marching band. And that's when things really kind of like a light switch went off in my head was my sophomore year of high school. I took a music elements class because I didn't want to take I forgot what class it was, like PE or something like that. I was like I don't want to do this, of course, yeah, uh. So I was like I didn't want to, I don't want to do PE, and music just seemed interesting. And I really really looked up to my band. Director is Mario Capote I'm still there, I believe.

Speaker 3:

And um, no-transcript education. I taught in a classroom for a couple years about four years at my old elementary school, tipton Elementary, decided that classroom teaching wasn't for me. I taught at a couple private studios in and around Visalia and then noticed that, you know, tulare has a big market opportunity and no outlet for students to learn how to do music outside of just their school band programs. It wasn't an opportunity that I had growing up and I thought, well, why not me, I can give it a shot. And we opened Eager Studios in April of 2018. That's great. Well, I've heard great things about the studio in Tulare, but you saw an opportunity in Visalia as well.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I believe White's Music also did some lessons and a lot of private outfits were doing lessons from home or traveling, so the market from a business perspective seemed a little cluttered, even though there was a lot of. You know, population wise is a lot bigger. But I just felt like Tulare was really underserved. So when I was working at one of the Visalia studios, a lot of my personal students were coming in from Tulare and I'm talking North Visalia and we had students coming from all the way to Tulare, all the way north.

Speaker 3:

It's easily a 20, 25, maybe a 30-minute drive for them both ways, and I just thought why do they have to go so far to get a quality music lesson or music education so far to get a quality music lesson or music education, or just interested in exploring what the music world has to offer? Why can't they do that from the benefit of their own town and that was really my driving force there. But early on I had a very specific vision on what a music studio should be and I structured our studio to kind of exemplify my philosophies regarding that which I feel like we're very, very lacking in other um, how do I put this in other established studios? It's kind of hard to say without going into more detail about it. So I wanted to create something that had that, my philosophy in mind and that vision and what I thought was best for students coming into the music world for the first time or as wanting to improve on their instrument.

Speaker 2:

They remember Fife and Drum and the old King's Mall moving over to 11th and Grangeville. You had Simonton's, you had Bob's Music and then White's Music and then they moved over by the plunge. But when White's Music closed we lost a huge resource for not only instruments and service instrument service but music lessons and service instrument service but music lessons. And I can't tell you the number of times that I've had people call me looking for a piano teacher or a voice teacher, and it's great to have you in town. You've been open here in August and, ironically, right across the street from where the music stores were in the Safe Mart Center area. So welcome to Hanford and let's hear about this studio and how it's been growing.

Speaker 3:

So I started the studio in April of 2018, and I started very, very humble, very humble beginnings through the Portuguese band room. They allowed me to kind of start a little private lessons thing on my own there. But quickly throughout that year, starting April, by September I had established about 30 to 40 students on various instruments and at that point I decided to find a commercial location. So this is a funny story. I love telling this story to, like employees or students, anyone who wants to know the history of the studio. So we get our own little 900 square foot studio on Tulare Avenue and we opened up the last week of August, getting everything set up and we run one full month of lessons and it was a last Saturday of September. I get a phone call saying hey, are you the owner of the building? Are you renting this building? I was like yeah, it's like well, this is the fire department, there's a fire next door and you got to come and evacuate all your stuff oh no yeah, it was quite the shock.

Speaker 3:

I was taking a nap and got that call. So I go down there, lug all my instruments and stuff out and talk to the landlord and he's like, well, it might be a couple months before we get back on. So I go back to the band room Porchy's band and they allow me to stay there for a little bit longer, and I keep checking with the landlord and what turned out to be three months turned into six months, turned into the summer, next summer, and now we're're looking you know, october of 2019, and I'm still working out of the. The band room facility is now, with a studio size of about 60 years, closing on, closing it on 70, and I said I can't wait any longer.

Speaker 3:

Found a spot in downtown tulare the week of thanksgiving break, moved in, opened up in december and that's when I made that pivot from solo teacher to music school. So from there we hired our first instructor, who's still with us today. His name is Ryan Avila. He's my lead instructor over in Tulare. He's a fantastic guy and I kind of started pulling a little bit back from the day-to-day to work on the business and to bring my vision and philosophy into reality, and we quickly grew through 2020, even despite the COVID pandemic. We were able to make a pivot to online almost instantaneously and we were really the only thing that was available for students and as soon as we could get the students back into the door, we did that, opened up new programs like our Glee Club and our rock band programs and really established a strong footing in Tulare with some amazing students and recitals and community events and performances.

Speaker 3:

And in 2022, coinciding with the birth of my first daughter, who thought that was a good idea to go and acquire a business we went into Visalia taking over Visalia Music School. The owner wanted to retire and we bought out their business and that's when I removed myself from all the day-to-day operations to really make sure that everything's a well-oiled machine and that the experience you're getting at one studio is reflected at all the other studios as well. So that went really really well and my wife is from Hanford and ever since we made that move, her family was just hey, when are you going to come to Hanford? When are you coming to Hanford? So ever since about 2022, 2023, hanford's been on my radar. I want to share this with as many communities as possible and timing was right and again coinciding with the birth of my second daughter. A couple of months later, I found an awesome location and couldn't pass up the opportunity, decided to pull the trigger on it and I'm super excited to be here to be able to serve Hanford and the Hanford community.

Speaker 2:

So let's talk about this location it is at 11, the Grangeville, but it's actually tucked a little bit behind Taco Bell and tell us about your facility, your practice rooms I got a little tour ahead of time ahead of the interview but tell us about, kind of, the schedules that you have and especially the classes that you offer, the instruction that you offer and especially the classes that you offer, the instruction that you offer.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so our classroom, or our studio location is a very modest three classroom studio with a welcoming lobby area, a little break room in the back which we're sitting in now in a bathroom. We have three classrooms. Two of them are completely outfitted for piano, guitar, voice drums and any sort of I always call them band instruments, so your woodwinds, your brass, or orchestral instruments like violin or viola. I think at the moment we teach everything except for those orchestral instruments, but we're planning and hopefully going to find some of those specialized teachers to be able to offer those instruments here as well and also bring some of our group programs here, like our Glee Club, which is our group voice classes, our junior rock bands and our advanced rock band classes as well, and hopefully in the near future be able to offer recitals and performances around the community, just like we do in Tulare, and performances around the community, just like we do in Tulare and Visalia.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's fantastic and I know that people have been anxious for your opening. And how can they find out more about the Eager Music Studios? I know you have a social media presence and a website. Can you give us a plug on those?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, give us a plug on those, yeah.

Speaker 3:

So our website is wwweagerstudioscom and you can find us on social media on Facebook, instagram, youtube at Eager Studios, and you can give us a call 559-315-2263.

Speaker 3:

And from there you'll find the call menu for one of our three studios.

Speaker 3:

But the best way that I say to any inquiring families or students is inquiring families or students, I should say is if you go on our website, right on the homepage, you can book a free meet and greet with us which allows you to come on in, check out the space, meet with our staff and teachers and we'll sit down with you and go over all of our class options, all of the benefits to the different options, our pricing, our class structures, the way the lessons work and operate, our curriculum. We literally sit down with you and give you all the information up front before you pay a dime, because we want to make sure that what we're offering is a good fit for you and your families. So what better way to do that than to have you come on in beforehand and uh and, and get to meet everyone and see the space? Uh, so you can do that on our website. You can pick, select the button that has your preferred location, or you can do so by calling in and we can schedule that for you.

Speaker 2:

That's fantastic to be able to kind of test the waters, as it were, before you go into your first lesson. That's quite an opportunity. Once again, it's Joseph Rocha from the Eager Music Studio in Hanford, and Joseph, I can't wait to see your first recital.

Speaker 3:

Thank you very much. It was a pleasure to be on. Thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 2:

And so there you have it. That's a great list of opportunities to explore your creative side. If you're offering a class or a service and it's not on the list, let me know and I'll be sure to add it to the resource guide. Now here's Eric with your Hanford Insider Sports Report.

Speaker 3:

And now it's time for Hanford Insider Sports with Eric Bentley.

Speaker 1:

And now it's time for Hanford Insider Sports with Eric Bentley. We'll start with football, where Hanford High bounced back from the defeat to St Joseph's in a big way. While Tavion Patterson, braylon, thomas Ryan Smith and Rajon Newton all had multi-touchdown games for the Bullpups, hanford High goes on the road for the first time this week as the 2-2 Bullpups travel to Visalia to take on Redwood Friday at 7.30. It was a tough one for Sierra Pacific football last week, falling to Kalinga 66-22. Quarterback Dawson Berna supplied all of the Golden Bears' offense in the loss, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another. This week the 2-2 Golden Bears will get a much-needed break as they'll be on by and Hanford West football fell to Kerman at home last week but for the first time in over a calendar year the Huskies put points on the scoreboard. A nice kick return at the end of the third quarter, set up an eight-yard rushing touchdown early in the fourth. Then the Huskies punched one in a little later from a yard out. A small bright spot in the 49-14 loss as Hanford West will gear up for this week's Friday night home game with Menace.

Speaker 1:

Over to girls volleyball now, where Hanford West went 1-1 on the week, taking down Tulare Western before seeing their seven-game win streak come to an end at the hands of El Diamante. The Huskies sit at 7-2 overall, with a few matches left before league play starts. Hanford High girls volleyball had a busy week, taking down Sanger West in straight sets before playing six tournament games over the weekend. The Bullpups went three and three in those games, taking down Independence, exeter and Mission Oak and now find themselves at nine and nine overall. And Sierra Pacific girls volleyball picked up only one win in their four games last week, beating Liberty in tournament action.

Speaker 1:

Out to the pool now, where, of all the Hanford teams, both boys and girls, sierra Pacific Girls, water Polo were the only victors last week, picking up a 16-6 win over Lemoore on Tuesday before taking down Golden West 10-3 on Thursday to improve to 6-2 overall on the year. Mia De La Torre continues to pace the Golden Bears offense, scoring 10 of the 26 Sierra Pacific goals in their last two games. The action intensifies this week as the Golden Bears take on Tulare Union Tuesday before hosting the Golden Bear Invitational Tournament this weekend. As always, we like to cover as many sports as we can, but we can only do so much without you. Any sport, any team, any level. If you have a score report, a story idea or a team update, please let us know. At hanfordinsider at gmailcom, I'm Eric Bentley and this has been your Hanford Insider Sports Report.

Speaker 2:

Well, that's all the time we have for this week's show. If you enjoyed this podcast and you'd like to show your support, you can go to buymeacoffeecom slash hanfordinsider to make a donation. If you'd like to join the Hanford Insider email list, stop by my website at hanfordinsidercom to sign up for updates. You'll also get an exclusive copy of my newsletter in your inbox each week. I also need your help getting the word out about the show by liking and sharing on social media or just telling a friend. For more information about the show. You can find this podcast on Facebook, instagram threads X and YouTube at Hanford insider. If you have a show idea, be sure to email me at Hanford insider at gmailcom and I'll look into it. Thanks for listening. Have a great week.

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