Friday, Oct. 18 at the Edmonds Yacht Club, immerse yourself in the fabulous food and fashion of Edmonds at An Edmonds Kind of Soiree—a fundraiser for the Downtown Edmonds Merchants’ Association. In your chic-est cocktail attire, enjoy a champagne toast, heavy appetizers catered by local restaurants, and a fashion show put together by our esteemed clothing retailers. The fun starts at 6 p.m. and is scheduled to last ‘til 9. Tickets cost $65 and will directly benefit DEMA.

Also Friday—tutu making at Revelations Yogurt! Local author Paddy Eger is promoting her hot-off-the-press young adult novel, “84 Ribbons,” Friday and Saturday afternoon with the help of Revelations and the Edmonds Bookshop. Proceeds from the event, as well as the contents of the tip jar, will be donated to the Edmonds School District Libraries. Tutu-making is only on Friday, sadly, and begins at 2 p.m. Saturday’s event, at 3 p.m., will feature a book discussion and a drawing for special gifts from the author. The mini book tour is held in conjunction with Teen Read Week.

The annual Friends of the Edmonds Library Book Sale will be held next Saturday, Oct. 26 in the Frances Anderson Center. Find good reads at unbeatable prices while supporting your local library. The Friends of the Edmonds Library are a group of over 180 citizens dedicated to the mission of supporting and enhancing the library’s outstanding community programs, as well as the appearance and functionality of the physical space. The Edmonds Library holds weekly story times for infants and toddlers — some even with dogs, an after-hours teen night, and ESL tutoring programs among countless other community services. While the Friends do organize the ongoing book sale in the library lobby, this annual sale is their biggest fundraising boost each year. To donate to the sale, drop your unwanted books, CD’s, DVD’s, and VHS tapes in the donation barrel in the entrance to the Library—or if you’ve got a whole shelf to clear, call Darla Lane at 425-697-3844 to arrange a pick-up.

The Friends are also hosting an open house celebration this coming Sunday, Oct. 20, starting at 2 p.m. at the Library. The get together will feature live harp music by Harper Tasche, with light refreshments for all. You can get more information on joining the Friends of the Edmonds Library here or pick up a membership brochure in the Library.

Visit ArtWorks through the end of this month for an explosion of color. Paintings by Adam Capek and Susan Ruth celebrate color in abstract forms. Capek calls his work “Surreal Abstraction”. The graphic explosions of color and character seem to sing, crack jokes, or whisper a secret into the viewer’s ear, despite the fact that the paintings are not our friends, but color and line on a canvas. Ruth, who is often visited by apparitions while making paintings, sees her even more abstract paintings as, in fact, Realist—because she is representing something that she has actually seen. Both of these artists have a real relationship with color, and it would be a good lesson to us all to go down to ArtWorks and become better acquainted with some of our favorite hues. ArtWorks is located on the corner of 2nd & Dayton. The gallery is open 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays.

If Saturday night’s “Poe Unexpected” doesn’t scare the pants off you, you’ll laugh them off! The improv comedy based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe is at the Edmonds Community College Black Box Theater the next two Saturdays, Oct. 19 and 26. Tickets cost $10 online or at the door. Show starts at 8:05, get there early to guarantee yourself a seat.

Get your costume ready for Halloween night in Edmonds! A costume contest with prizes for kids, adults, and pets kicks off our Halloween celebration at 5 p.m. followed by trick-or-treating the downtown businesses. Mom and I will be outside the bookshop, with Smarties for all!

Plus, a SUPER SECRET VIDEO for those wishing to appease the restless ghost of MJ can be found on the Chamber of Commerce website.

And don’t forget to vote for your favorite scarecrows before Halloween! Pictures and back stories for each scarecrow can be found on the Edmonds Museum website. There are separate categories for businesses in the Bowl, businesses outside the Bowl, and Residential. FYI…”Book Crow” is fourth from the bottom of the “In the Bowl” category…

Speaking of spooky…it’s not even Halloween and already Edmonds arts groups are gearing up for holiday sales! Mark your calendars for Nov. 16, when the Puget Sound Artists’ Gift Show runs all day at ArtWorks.

And up in Everett, Village Theatre prepares for its family holiday production of “The Elves and the Shoemaker,” opening Dec. 7 in the Everett Performing Arts Center. In news more relevant to the current calendar page…“XANADU” opens Oct. 25. For those of you who missed Olivia Newton John at the height of her acting career (and the bounciness of her hair!)—”XANADU” is the creation myth of roller disco, based on the book by Douglas Carter Beane. When a Greek muse from down under (Clio, incarnated as the mysteriously Australian Kira) talks failing comic artist Sonny out of suicide, his response is to open a roller disco! You’ll be rolling with laughter yourself as this absurd musical comedy spins, kicks, twirls, and does that pointy-finger thing straight into your heart.

— By 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.