Artfully Edmonds: Everything you need to know about the Edmonds Arts Festival

Edmonds Art Fest jPEG2014 Edmonds Arts Festival
Friday and Saturday, June 13/14 ~ 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Sunday, June 15 ~ 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

Frances Anderson Cultural Center
700 Main St.
A literal extravaganza of art, music, food, and fun is about to begin. So art enthusiasts, festival-goers, and music lovers – take note!
Free Admission!
(Service dogs only in accordance with Edmonds Municipal Code.)

Artists Booths: More than 200 artist-exhibitors offer their work in jewelry, painting, photography, ceramics, glassblowing, and more.

Juried gallery
Juried gallery

Juried Gallery: Over 200 artists have been selected to display their art in different categories including paintings, drawings, prints, photography, minatures, and 3-D art.

The participants in the Juried Gallery include the artists listed at this website.

Student Art: The Edmonds Arts Festival is one of the pioneers in displaying the work of student artists. Don’t miss the exhibit of more than 1,000 pieces of art from K-12 students residing within the boundaries of the Edmonds School District. The Student Art Exhibit is located on the lower level of the Frances Anderson Center.

Kids Create: This year the “Kid’s Create” corner will feature ArtWise NW partners Dori Glass and Isolde Beebe. Look for this charming the-arts-for-children corner on the Art Plaza.

Totem Art of Dori and Isolde
Totem Art of Dori and Isolde

Exclusive “Artfully Edmonds” interview:

In spite of the festival’s hurry, flurry schedule “Artfully Edmonds” was able to catch up with Dori and Isolde, for an exclusive interview. You’re invited to sit in:

AE: How did the two of you meet?
Dori: We met at the birthday party of a mutual friend. It was in instant connection. We had so much it common, but also such different backgrounds and life experiences.

We connected on so many levels as women, moms, and artists. We had so much to talk about right from the start and so much to learn from each other because our strengths and weaknesses were so opposite.

Isolde speaks: Dori came into our friendship with a huge heart and a spontaneous spirit that make people just want to be near her. She also had many other gifts in communication, graphics, business marketing, and event planning.

Dori speaks: Isolde came into the relationship with a passion to share the arts with everyone, as well as an incredible knack for organization, curriculum development, and over 15 years experience teaching art in both pubic and private schools.

AE: What is your respective art-style background?
Isolde: My style is a blend of whimsical, traditional, and modern. Some of my favorite artists are Van Gogh, Monet, Marc Chagall, Faith Ringold and Paul Klee. I have always appreciated folk art from around the world and started collecting it in college. This is what inspired one of our first camps that Dori and I did together. My work is often created with the idea of what would get people excited about art and art history. I usually create a series for each project to get the kids something to be inspired by and I often my own children or close friends try an idea out before doing it in a camp or workshop.

Dori: My style can best be described as bold and expressive. A lot of my art pays homage to my graphic art and environmental design background. When making art I am most influenced by my fascination with folk art from around the world, and retro-design.

AE: Why orient your art toward kids? What is it about working with children that fascinates you the most?
Dori: Actually, we love working with all ages, even adults. However, working with young children K-8 is especially fulfilling because no one has set limitations on them as artists. We want to re-establish art as a foundation for growing an intelligent, well-rounded, and capable population. Our goal is to help expand individual creativity and foster future artists.

At ArtWise NW we believe it is key to reach kids with the arts around 5 or 6 because as they get older (around 12 or 13) it is that much harder to reach them because of their schoolwork, and other obligations. It is also really fun to work with younger kids because that’s where our own children are right now.

We are planning to grow our curriculum, along with our growing families, as we learn from our own kids.

Isolde has three kids: one almost 10, one 7, and one 5.

Dori has an 8-year-old and 6-1/2-year-old.

AE: Does ArtWise NW have a ‘brick and mortar’ studio?
Isolde: No, we do not have a building and we work out of our kitchens most of the time. We trade out meeting at each other’s homes. It helps us to stay connected to each other’s family and what other crazy things are going on.

For example, Dori’s family is doing some major remodeling and that is big impact on one’s family and home-based business.

AE: Are you participants in “the local Edmonds artist scene” i.e. where would our readers have seen your art displayed in the Edmonds area? What upcoming art showings do each of you have — separate from your ArtWise NW contributions to Edmonds, and Edmonds art-inspired children?

Dori: We are very excited to be a part of the Edmonds Arts Festival this year. We developed the hands-on art curriculum for the Kids Create Corner this summer. The projects follow a Pacific Northwest beach theme with several Washington coastal and Native American inspired art projects.

Neither of us is currently displaying any art locally, as we have our hands full creating our new business. We hope to keep building our curriculum and someday publish an art book.

AE: Readers, don’t Dori and Isolde sound wonderful? Inspirational?
Guide your Little One’s over to the “Kid’s Create” Corner and let them connect with the wisdom and enthusiasm of these two art partners.

For more information about the “Kid’s Create” corner at the festival, click! click! on over to https://www.edmondsartsfestival.com/kids-create/

Festival performers
Festival performers

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Performing Arts at the Festival: Want to take a break from art-gazing a maybe stomp your feet, clap your hands, or enjoy a quiet moment listening to the likes of Nick Drummond & Friends (Friday at 3PM) seen here in this YouTube video.

The 2014 performance line-up is spectacular – listed here on the Edmonds Art Festival performing arts page.

Food Courts: Festival organizers have thought of everything, including art in every style, media, and format; music and song; and plenty for the kids to see – but what festival would be complete without food and beverages?

The food booths have been placed at five locations throughout the festival: on the field, in the grotto at the plaza, in the food terrace, and on the north ramp, and at the food court. We are told that four out of the 22 vendors are actually Edmonds’ restaurant businesses, including Walnut Café, specializing in baked goods and coffee; Here and There, serving delicious tacos; sliders and salmon Caesar salads from Scott’s Bar and Grill, and downtown Edmonds’ favorite Epulo will be serving wine, beer and snacks in the Grotto on the Plaza level.

Free parking and shuttle rides to the Festival are available from the Port of Edmonds, Brackett’s Landing ferry dock, Old Woodway High School. More information regarding parking, with maps of the shuttle-stop locations are at website.

Full details of the weekend festival are covered at the festival’s website.
For specific questions, call 425-745-1079.
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On Stage – at the Theatres!

ImageProxy.mvcDriftwood Players at the Wade James Theatre
950 Main St.
Sin, Sex, and the C.I.A.
By Michael Parker & Susan Parker

Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays @ 8 p.m.
Sundays @ 2 p.m.
Plays through June 29

You’ve seen the posters plastered all over town – now it’s time to slip into the darkened Wade James Theatre for “Sin, Sex, and the C.I.A.”

From the Playbill: An inept CIA agent and an Under Secretary of State are sent to a safe house in the mountains of Virginia to begin negotiations to place the Chagos Islands under U.S. protection.

Unfortunately, no one knows who the Islands’ representative really is! Hilarious misunderstandings, missed cues and unwanted romantic attentions make the delicate situation even worse.
Laugh until you cry!

Get your tickets for “Sin, Sex, and the C.I.A.” by going to website.

Melanie as Kimberly
Melanie Calderwood as Kimberly Akimbo.

Phoenix Theatre
Firdale Village
9673 Firdale Ave.
Kimberly Akimbo, by playwright David Lindsay-Abaire

Friday/Saturdays at 8 pm
Sunday matinee at 2 pm

Burst of laughter interspersed with moments of heartbreak as Kimberly Akimbo struggles through life as the girl who grows older than her parents.

Kimberly copes with her “teenage” years while contending with a hypochondriac pregnant mother, a rarely sober father, a scam-artist aunt, her own mortality and most terrifying of all, the possibility of first love.

That’s a LOT to ask of any teenager, but veteran stage-star Melanie Calderwood is up to the challenge!
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Purple ECA
Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA)
410 4th Ave. N.
REMINDER: Season Tickets

New-Subscriber Full Season Subscription Reservations are now being taken for the upcoming 2014-2015 season of exciting ECA events.

Attention grabbing headliners includes more than twenty-five exciting, memorable, stand-up-and-cheer performances by such greats as the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band ((Nov. 6); “A Charlie Brown Christmas” with David Benoit (Dec. 1); Jesse Cook, guitarist (Feb. 6); and One Night of Queen (Apr. 9) ~ And a four-program Family Series for $32 that includes, among others: “Hobey Ford’s Migration” performed by internationally known puppeteer Hobey Ford;

The “Kamikaze Fireflies” a troupe of fire-eating contortionists.
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Ballet Recitals
Barclay Shelton Summer Revu 2014
Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA)
400 4th Ave.

Friday, June 20 ~ 7 p.m.

Barclay Shelton Summer Revue 2014 – Barclay Shelton Dance Centre presents the 2014 Summer Revue. There is a 12 ticket maximum per family for the first two weeks of ticket sales.
Tickets are now available at the ECA Box Office. 
The ECA Box Office phone is 425.275.9595.
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4-year old Lilah Pickett (daughter of Nicole and Jacob Pickett) practices her ballet positions in preparation for Sunday’s “Art in Motion” dance recital.
4-year old Lilah Pickett (daughter of Nicole and Jacob Pickett) practices her ballet positions in preparation for Sunday’s “Art in Motion” dance recital.

Ballet Academy of Performing Arts
Edmonds
Performance at Shoreline Center Theatre
Sunday, June 22 ~ 4 p.m.

The Edmonds Ballet Academy of Performing Arts is presenting “Art in Motion” on Sunday as its end of season recital.

Tickets for “Art in Motion” are available at the academy, located at 22811 100th Ave. W., Edmonds. Call 425-771-4525 for performance information.

Emily ~ Square jPeg— By Emily Hill

Emily Hill is an author and long-time resident of Edmonds. She is retired from a career in public information and news media relations. If you would like your event listed, or venue featured, in Artfully Edmonds, Emily invites you to contact her at arts@myedmondsnews.com.

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