Each October, the Davis Cemetery District & Arboretum holds a marvelous Dia de los Muertos celebration. Can you think of a more fitting setting for our local adaptation of this beautiful celebration of life and death that originated in Mexico, and today is celebrated all over Central America and here in the U.S.? Despite COVID, the celebration is on, and we'll hear from Executive Director Jessica Smithers how it's been adapted for this year. We'll also learn about some of the other unique features of this suprising local resource.

Greg Tressel is this week's guest. 

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Greg was exposed to wide range of musical styles, from psychedelic rock and blues, to the Bakersfield country sounds of central California. Starting bands as a teenager, and as a young man moving to Nashville with a songwriting -publishing contract with the Paramount Music Group, he continued to write and play his music.

Through the years, Greg moved into the management and promotion part of the music business, working with such artists as John Hiatt, Joe Bonamassa, and B.B. King. He now lives in southern Oregon.

Songwriting has always been his first love, and in the past few years Greg has released three diverse original albums of new music: “The Hard Way,”  “Ankle Deep in Love,” and his current “Half Way There,” which features the single and video  “Keep Facing the Sunshine.” It's a very upbeat song for our times.

Today we  hear about local support available to families who may have reached a tough place, or who are in true crisis - we hear about the many ways Yolo Crisis Nursery steps up to help. We also hear from Evie Wright, president of Soroptimist International of Davis, which works to empower women and girls through education, training, and financial support as stepping stones to economic empowerment.