Artfully Edmonds: Take 6 for the holidays and more festive events


It really is the most wonderful time of the year—and the busiest! Hordes of holiday shoppers seem to be flocking to downtown Edmonds this year, finally persuaded by the facts and figures that show how shopping locally benefits the community. Signs up all over town promoting “Small Business Saturday” last week claim that 60 cents to every dollar spent in Edmonds’s small businesses stays in Edmonds—as far as I can tell, having been brought up in one, that figure is true, and on more than one day of the year, too! For every bookstore customer that unfavorably compares indie prices to Amazon’s, I speak with at least three who are proud to spend those few extra bucks to support their local bookstore, and their town. So, thank you, thank you, thank you to all those who consider the true value of their dollar while picking out the perfect designer sweater , kitschy kitchen tool , original art card , hand-selected bottle of wine, or steampunk-inspired, handcrafted leather flask case. Keep doing what you’re doing, and we’ll be here to serve you again next year.

All right, that’s enough about commercial Christmas—there’s a lot more to giving than buying, and tons to do when you need a break from playing elf.

Take 6, the Grammy award winning a capella group, is serenading Edmonds with Christmas classics as well as original tunes at Edmonds Center for the Arts on the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 11th at 7:30. Take 6 is celebrating their 25th anniversary this year.

Take 6 is made up of members Claude McKnight, Mark Kibble, Joel Kibble, Dave Thomas, Alvin Chea and Khristian Dentley. Follow the link for a sampling of their Christmas tunes.

Visit ECA’s temporary box office at 508 Main St. (next to Starbucks) for Take 6 tickets! ECA will be operating out of the temporarily empty storefront until Dec. 23 with the idea of “making it easier for shoppers to include ECA in their holiday gift-giving,” according to Patron Services Manager Jim Kristian. Stop in to check out ECA’s schedule for 2014, find out what’s coming up in the Educational Outreach series, and purchase gift certificates or show tickets to delight loved ones this year. The temporary Box Office will be open on weekends: Thursdays and Fridays from 3-7 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., and Sunday noon – 4 p.m.. The regular box office located inside of Edmonds Center for the Arts will keep its normal hours: M-F, noon – 5:30 p.m., and during performances.

Northwest Chorale, directed by Lynn Hall, will present Handel’s Messiah at Edmonds United Methodist Church (828 Caspers St., Edmonds) on the evening of Saturday, Dec. 7 at 6:30. Admission is complimentary, but consider making a donation of food or dollars to benefit Northwest Harvest and the families they serve. Features soloists include soprano Kathy Barlow, alto Nerys Jones, tenor Paul Karaitis, and bass Michael Drumheller.

Feminenza is holding an arts and crafts fair to support the Seattle chapter of the international organization which works to equalize the genders. From 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8, find handmade gifts for the women in your lives at 209 4th Ave. S.

An Art Auction to support the building of the Edmonds 9/11 Memorial, including a beam from the fallen tower, will be held Friday night, Dec. 6 at 6:00 in the Edmonds Conference Center (201 4th Ave. N.). Donated pieces from local artists will be auctioned off over dinner and drinks. Your ticket price of $35 gets you dinner, one drink token, and a bid number, and goes toward the construction of the memorial outside Edmonds Fire Station 17. Tickets can be purchased at the fire station, or at the door of the event. Visit www.Edmonds911Memorial.org for more information.

lackfishThe Orca Network presents a free screening of “Blackfish,” shortlisted for the Oscars “Best Documentary” category. The documentary uses the issue of Orca whales in captivity, and especially the story of Tilikum, the performing killer whale that killed several humans, to illustrate our audacity in penning up these highly intelligent creatures—a symptom of how little compassion we have for our fellow mammals. Following the screening, Howard Garrett of the Orca Network will answer audience questions. The special screening at the Edmonds Theater is free to the public, thanks to the sponsorship of Dawn and Keely Clark, and starts at 7:00 Sunday, December 8th. View a trailer for the movie on the Blackfish movie website, linked above.

WombEscape13Womb Escape! The slightly off-puttingly-named improv comedy tournament returns for its seventh year to the Edmonds Community College Black Box Theater. The name comes from the symbolic birthing of the 16 competing teams from the comfortable “womb” of Unexpected Productions theater and improv school. For three weekends, UP veterans will compete against one another for a chance at the coveted Womb Escape Trophy. Each round of the tournament costs $10 to attend. On the first two weekends—the 6th & 7th and 13th & 14th at 8:00—four teams will compete each night, with the winner determined by audience approval decibel. Each of the winning teams will move on to the championship round, to be held December 21st at 8:00. On the evening of December 20th, the Semi-Finals Wild Card Race will determine which of the 2nd-place teams will be allowed a chance at redemption in the following night’s championship competition!

– By Juliet Brewster

Juliet Brewster
Juliet Brewster

Artfully Edmonds columnist Juliet Brewster, an Edmonds native and Edmonds-Woodway High School graduate, has a degree in literature from Bennington College. To have your arts happening listed, email her at brewster.juliet@gmail.com.

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