Artfully Edmonds: Making the holidays merry — even magical!

Exciting news from Edmonds Center for the Arts! The Peking Acrobats arrive Edmonds on Wednesday, January 25 for a one-night performance.
Exciting news from Edmonds Center for the Arts! The Peking Acrobats arrive Edmonds on Wednesday, January 25 for a one-night performance. ECA tickets are available at this link.

 

When most of us think of the holiday season, we conjure up descriptors like magical, merriment and memories. When we next add a dazzling setting by Puget Sound, we imagine Edmonds, where the arts and events community has set performances to encourage boisterous laughter, unparalleled joy and a celebration of community.

This week’s showcase of holiday events include merriment on each of our performance stages with The Phoenix Theatre performing Christmas Spirit, and at the James Wade Theatre (home of The Driftwood Players ) we have Mr. Scrooge; plus there’s Fa La – Ha Ha! a comedy spoof by Seattle Radio Theatre to look forward to.

Add the magical component of Olympic Ballet Theatre’s The Nutcracker, plus the memories brought forward from the musical scores of Cascade Symphony Orchestra and Sno-King Community Chorale and we have a full – and festive – set of possibilities from which to celebrate the season.

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tiki-trivia-social-media

Thursday, Dec. 8
6 p.m.

Free! Family fun!

Tiki Trivia

A Very Taki Tiki Bar and Grill
518 Main St.

My Edmonds News. . . and Friends are joining together to celebrate all that makes Edmonds. . . Edmonds! in a trivia tournament designed to showcase this city’s history – from the scandalous and startling, to the talented and triumphant.

Inauguration of Tiki Trivia in downtown Edmonds represents a partnership between My Edmonds News, the Cascadia Art Museum and the Edmonds Museum.

Bone up on local events, history, arts and culture of Edmonds – be a general knowledge smartie – and you and your team of family and friends will do just fine.

A new tradition is launched!

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'The Christmas Spirit,' a must-see at the Phoenix Theatre.
‘The Christmas Spirit,’ a must-see at the Phoenix Theatre.

Thursday, Dec. 8
8 p.m.

Christmas Spirit
The Phoenix Theatre

Upper level of the Firdale Shopping Plaza
9673 Firdale Ave.

Reviewed by My Edmonds News on opening night, fans of great fun are encouraged to cheer on “Beth,” the daughter of our main character “Julia,” who successfully negotiates with “Death” to forestall. . . the inevitable.

Up against Phoenix veteran Melanie Calderwood (Julia), our new-to-the-Phoenix-stage Phillip Keiman, as “Death,” doesn’t stand a chance!

Debra Rich Gettleman plays Beth – as the enabling daughter who tries to understand the absurdities of her mother’s demands as the latter tries to keep her impending demise under wraps.

This comical production highlights the camaraderie of The Phoenix troupe as Melanie, Debra and Phillip are joined on stage by Susan Connors, Eric Bischoff, Nick Horiatis, Shannon Bengston, George Bukota and Carlos Martinez.

Teens!

Teen and/or family date night? Get a block of tickets for your family, or a pair of tickets for date night right here at The Phoenix online ticket outlet, or call 206-533-2000 and leave your ticket order at the sound of the beep.

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Family Fun!
Friday, Dec. 9
4 p.m.

Elf, The Movie

Edmonds Theatre

415 Main St.

The generous people at Edmonds Theatre are offering free family-oriented flicks in partnership with downtown Edmonds merchants this season.

The city’s Visit Edmonds! website has thumbnail information on what’s happening in Edmonds; but for behind the scenes “liner notes”, interviews, and updates we invite you to bookmark My Edmonds News to your smart device and stay up-to-date on family-friendly-fun ideas.

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Mr. Scrooge

Friday, Dec. 9
8 p.m. 

Sell Out Alert!

Mr. Scrooge

Driftwood Players
Wade James Theatre
950 Main St.

Mr. Scrooge, favorably reviewed Nov. 26, has been a crowd-pleaser since opening night. Readers, this is a top-drawer, professional caliber production from sets, to lighting, with fabulous costumes and masterful acting.

An established holiday tradition among Edmonds-area families, it’s not unusual for the holiday production staged by The Players to sell out its weekend performances early.

Artfully Edmonds promises, you really do want to see this production, with music direction by veteran Mark Press and directed by the very talented up-and-coming Kylie McKenzie Soder.  

To purchase tickets: www.edmondsdriftwoodplayers.org or 425-774-9600, option 1.

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driftwood

Wednesday, Dec. 28
8 p.m.

After you’ve unwrapped your gifts and straightened the house, head on over to the Wade James Theatre for Holiday Extravaganza featuring current and former Teen Troupe students.

This special evening is produced by Lauren Ruhl with music direction by Mark Press.

Tickets are just $10 each and all ticket sales will support the education programs at Edmonds Driftwood Players.

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mountlake-terrace-high
Santa will be making an appearance at “Breakfast in Santa’s Workshop” on Saturday, December 10 from 8 a.m. to noon.

Saturday, Dec. 10
8 a.m. – noon

Family Fun!
Breakfast in Santa’s Workshop 

Mountlake Terrace High School
Music Boosters
21801 44th Ave. W.

Join in! It’s going to be loads of fun as a dozen local school choirs, bands and orchestras—including Mountlake Terrace High’s — perform throughout the morning at this holiday event benefiting the Mountlake Terrace High School music program.

Shop for gifts, crafts and goodies at the holiday gift shop; let your littlest kids get their faces painted; and visit Santa Claus. He’ll be there!

Proceeds from this community frolic will support the work of the MTHS Music Boosters, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Visit the Breakfast in Santa’s Workshop website for more information.

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The Sno-King Community Chorale has something very ingenious planned for their ECA holiday show
The Sno-King Community Chorale has something very ingenious planned for their ECA holiday show

Event Reminder!

Saturday, Dec. 10
7:30 p.m.

Holiday Magic
Sno-King Community Chorale

The Sno-King Community Chorale has established itself as one of the finest chorales in Snohomish County. Innovative and inclusive in its approach to music and interpretation, this year the chorale brings us Holiday Magic – in the age of technology.

“Unique” is an understatement in describing this year’s program by the chorale.

The audience will actually be encouraged to turn on – and leave on – their texting capabilities as music director Frank DeMiero conducts what promises to be a hilariously great segment of smart phone use that adds to the Sno-King Community Chorale’s traditional offerings.

Tickets for this lighthearted evening are available at this link.

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The Chorale’s Note of Distinction

Carnegie Hall Performance

Sunday, Jan. 15

The Sno-King Community Chorale  has been invited to sing at Carnegie Hall during the North American premiere of Sir Karl Jenkins’ Cantata Memoria — written to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan, South Wales mining disaster of 1966 in which 28 adults, along with 116 children attending Pantglas Junior School (caught in a resultant landslide) perished.

The concert is being presented by Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY).

Please support, through your donations and patronage, this pride of Snohomish County chorales!

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8 Nutcracker jPeg Courtesy OBT

The Nutcracker
Olympic Ballet Theatre performing at
Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA).
410 4th Ave. N.

Friday-Sunday
Dec. 16-18

Little ladies and gentlemen will be gathering at Edmonds Center for the Arts soon for the well-told story that brings a little girl’s dreams into reality; sugar plum fairies to life and promises that wishes can come true.

Seeing The Nutcracker performed on the ECA stage is a wonderful, coming-of-age experience to treat your children – and grandchildren – to.

The littlest audience members

On Thursday, Dec. 15, at noon, an abridged matinee performance recommended for the younger set will be staged at the ECA. Parents and grandparents are encouraged to call 425-774-7570 for tickets to the abridged matinees.

All full-performance tickets can be purchased online through this link.

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CSO Cascade Symphony

Sunday/Monday
Dec. 11/12
7:30 p.m.

Holiday Pops!
Cascade Symphony Orchestra (CSO)

Edmonds Center for the Arts
410 4th Ave. N.

My Edmonds News is reminded of this year’s two performances of the CSO Holiday Pops Concert.

Both concerts will take place at 7:30 p.m. and will be preceded at 6:30 by a lecture by KING-FM’s Dave Beck.

Maestro Michael Miropolsky will perform as both director and violinist during these concerts.

The concert will include the Overture to Die Fledermaus as well as other works by Strauss.  Also on the program will be Sleigh Ride and Chicken Reel by Leroy Anderson, selections from The Nutcracker, and a holiday sing-along.

After a short intermission the orchestra will continue with a performance of the Seletsky/Marcus Channuka Medley with its memorable clarinet solo, and will conclude with the Auditorium Festival March by Victor Herbert.

If you wish additional information, call 425-776-4938 or visit the CSO website.  To purchase tickets, call the ECA box office at 425.275.9595 or order your tickets online at https://www.ec4arts.org.

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Free! Afternoon Fun!
Tuesday, Dec. 13
3 p.m.

Senior Swingers Orchestra
Edmonds Senior Center
220 Railroad Ave.

Everyone is invited to the swing band performance lined up for mid-December at Edmonds Senior Center.

Yes, it’s going to be both festive and fun with a guarantee of seeing your neighbors and friends at this venue with its gorgeous waterfront vistas.

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An colorful array of upscale gifts are available at the Cascadia Art Museum gift shop.
An colorful array of upscale gifts are available at the Cascadia Art Museum gift shop, 190 Sunset Ave.

Cascadia Art Museum (CAM) continues its exhibition of vintage holiday cards.

Recognized as a showcase for Northwest art, CAM simply must be added to the guests-are-in-town itinerary of every Edmonds-area household.

Come see the exciting developments taking place west of downtown!

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2016-falala-email-promo-image

Tuesday, Dec. 20
7:30 p.m.

Fa-La-La-HA-HA!

Seattle Radio Theatre

Experience “It Happened On Fifth Avenue” like you’ve never imagined!

Returning to ECA for a third year, Seattle Radio Theatre brings its funny-bone blend of popular Northwest media in a show that includes Pat Cashman, Tracey Conway and Jim Dever. All three are bent on sharing laughter, music and a family-friendly nostalgic tale of a charming hobo showing a wealthy family the true riches of the season.

Based on the 1947 film, “It Happened on Fifth Avenue” 
is a twist on The Prince and the Pauper. A thoughtful homeless fellow moves into an elegant mansion while the owner’s family winters in warm southern climes. When the family returns home, everything is both topsy-turvy and right-side up!

Local talents include Steve Wilson, Lisa Foster, Chris Topping, Rob Jones and Curtis Takahashi, along with Dolores Rogers (who voices a crying baby and a barking dog), plus special appearances by Ciscoe Morris and Tomo Nakayama.

All tickets are $12 (a holiday gift in itself!) and can be obtained via this click! click!

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“Edmonds-Kind-of” Night Spots

There are scores of fine restaurants in Edmonds where one can celebrate the season, make a marriage proposal or dine of delicious fare. But overlay these possibilities with venues that also offer the back drop of live music and you come up with this list of showy spaces:

A Very Taki Tiki Bar & Grill

Regular emcee “Manny” keeps things in order here – well – more or less! A Very Taki Tiki Bar & Grill is the select location for Tiki Trivia Just plain get-down fun!

Owner Bryan Benn is a great supporter for community-based fundraisers, plus A Very Taki Tiki is a entertaining stop-off location for events like last week’s Ugly Christmas Sweater Pub Crawl.

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Scott’s Bar and Grill

Open Christmas Day! From the Carol Rowe Memorial Food Bank to the EdCC College Foundation Fun Run, this is one more great Edmonds restaurant that offers music, with an emcee that keeps it all together and makes Edmonds proud with their many contributions to the community.

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The Loft

Intimate setting in the heart of downtown Edmonds. Where Joe Carolus and also The Rumba Kings play regularly.

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Engel’s Pub

Friday, Dec. 9       ~ The Dogtones
Saturday, Dec. 10 ~ Scratch Daddy

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Café Louvre

An Artfully Edmonds pick for best “dessert date” spot for young adults, plus the meeting place for the loyal following of owner of Edmonds Tunes, emcee Bob Z.

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Community Arts Notices

 

2 Driftwood jPeg

Auditions!

Holiday Sing-A-Long
Driftwood Players

Audition appointments are now available online for Sunday, Dec. 11 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Annex, 200 Dayton St., Edmonds for Driftwood’s Dec. 20 show, “Holiday Sing-A-Long!”

Want to be a part of the oldest stage troupe in Edmonds? Sign up at this website for your audition.

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the-peking-acrobats

 

Sell Out Alert!

The Peking Acrobats

Wednesday, Jan. 25
Edmonds Center for the Arts
410 4th Ave. N.

The Peking Acrobats, veterans at performing daring maneuvers atop precarious pagodas of chairs; and experts at trick-cycling, precision tumbling, somersaulting and gymnastics, are on their way to Edmonds.

See this flamboyant ensemble defy gravity with amazing displays of contortion, flexibility and control. Masters of agility and grace, they push the envelope of human possibility.

Tickets are available now at the ECA online ticket booth.

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Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, an organization comprised of educators and mentors, will participate in this weekend's "Jazz Connection".
Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, an organization comprised of educators and mentors, will begin its 3rd season in Edmonds in January. Tickets are on sale now!

 

Coming back soon! Mark your calendars!
Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra

SRJO’s presentation of Basie Bash: New York, 1937 takes place Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. at Edmonds Center for the Arts.

The Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra (SRJO) returns to Edmonds Center for the Arts this January with a concert featuring the early music of Count Basie.

This musical tribute, Basie Bash: New York, 1937 was first presented by SRJO last October in Seattle and Kirkland, with great acclaim from audience members at both concert halls.

The concert showcases Count Basie’s early work from New York in the heyday of swing dancing, with numerous hits from the Basie band’s first years in the national spotlight (1937-1939) that were famously recorded for the Decca label. Titles include Oh Lady Be Good, Jumpin’ at the WoodsideOne O’clock Jump, Shorty George, Doggin’ Around, Jive at Five and Roseland Shuffle.

In addition, the concert features more a recently composed masterpieces, recorded by the great Miles Davis on his 1957 album, Miles Ahead and performed by the SRJO in its sold out November concerts, Miles Ahead: Miles Davis and Gil Evans. The Miles Davis pieces were created in collaboration with the celebrated composer/arranger Gil Evans, and are considered among the finest work produced by either musician.

SRJO Co-Artistic Directors Michael Brockman and Clarence Acox have much to say about the show. “This concert contains some of the most compelling and highly entertaining jazz music ever written,” said Brockman. “The pairing of Basie’s earliest works along side the more modern pieces from Miles Ahead is an astounding reminder that the art of jazz is evolving and thriving right before our eyes.”

The concert provides special challenges to the musicians of the SRJO, who must shift gears repeatedly during the show between the early jazz styles of the 1930s, and the modern styles required for the technically advanced and harmonically sophisticated arrangements of Gil Evans.

Acox shared, “The Basie library has long been a major part of our repertoire, and some of SRJO’s very first concerts were built around the sound of Basie. Everyone in the band loves Basie’s swinging sound, and the Miles Ahead album has long been an inspiration for jazz musicians around the globe.”

SRJO’s presentation of Basie Bash: New York, 1937 takes place Saturday, January 28, 2017, at 7:30 PM at Edmonds Center for the Arts.

Tickets

Tickets are available through SRJO online at srjo.org or by calling 206-523-6159, and also through Edmonds Center for the Arts at www.edmondscenterforthearts.org or 425-275-9595.

Single tickets are general admission, and are $35 for concerts at Edmonds Center for the Arts.

Discounts are available on single-ticket sales to seniors, students and groups. Most SRJO concerts sell out, so advance purchase is highly recommended. In a special effort to encourage attendance by young people at SRJO subscription series concerts, the SRJO offers tickets for all jazz fans ages 25 and under at $10.

About the SRJO:

Now celebrating its 22nd concert season, the 17-piece SRJO is co-directed by saxophonist and arranger Michael Brockman, long-time faculty member of the UW School of Music and an authority on the music of Duke Ellington, and drummer Clarence Acox, award-winning conductor of the Garfield High School bands. SRJO includes many of the region’s best-loved jazz soloists and band leaders: trumpeters Jay Thomas and Thomas Marriott; bassist Phil Sparks; saxophonists Mark Taylor, Bill Ramsay, Travis Ranney, and Alex Dugdale; trombonists Dan Marcus, Scott Brown, and Bill Anthony, guitarist Milo Petersen and pianist Randy Halberstadt.

The ensemble is the recipient of numerous awards, including Golden Ear awards from Earshot Jazz for “Best Acoustic Jazz Group” and twice for “Concert of the Year,” and two “Starlight Awards” from the Kirkland Performance Center. Several members of the all-star group have been named to the Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame, with bassist Phil Sparks most recently inducted at the 2009 Golden Ear Awards. SRJO’s newest compact disc, “Kansas City Suite,” released in 2014 has met with both popular and critical acclaim, and will go into its second pressing during the coming months. For more information about the SRJO, visit srjo.org.

-– By Emily Hill

Emily 2017

 Emily Hill is the author of two novels and a short story collection. Emily is retired from a career in public information and news media relations. If you would like your event listed, or featured, in Artfully Edmonds, Emily invites you to contact her at myedmondsnews@gmail.com.

 

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