Look for the St. Patrick’s Day iconic image in this week’s column to locate the luckiest places to be for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

What better lead-in for an arts and events news column, the week of St. Patrick’s Day, than news that Cole Gallery is holding an event to celebrate the holiday.

Saturday, March 15 ~ noon-4 p.m.

Cole Gallery

107 5th Ave. S., Edmonds

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with “Ireland by the Sea” by Austin Dwyer

The gallery will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a reception for Ireland-born artist, Austin Dwyer, whose collection features “the charming landscapes and harbors of Dublin and beyond,” we are told by Denise Cole, gallery owner.

Come in to the gallery for Irish shortbread, libations, and a chat with Mr. Dwyer whose samples of art can be found online here.

Cole Gallery says: “Internationally acclaimed marine artist and author, Austin Dwyer brings a collection of paintings inspired by his hometown, Dublin, Ireland. From the quiet countryside to rustic seaports, Austin captures the allure of Ireland with painterly sensitivity in the color, light and mood of these charming pieces.

“Now a resident of Mukilteo, Washington, Austin is a fixture in the gallery scene in Mystic Seaport, Maine where his exquisite historical marine paintings are sold internationally.

“We look forward to adding Austin to the line-up of Cole Gallery artists.”

Austin’s novel, “The Ring of the Piper’s Tune” a work of historical fiction, will be available for sale at Edmonds Bookshop, located next door to Cole Gallery.

Artfully Edmonds is pleased to note that Ms. Cole has an unveiling of her own this week! A newly designed website ~ so there will be lots to celebrate when you stop by the gallery on Saturday!
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Monday, Mar 17 ~ 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Rory’s of Edmonds Bar & Grill

105 Main Street, Edmonds

St. Patrick’s Day Pipers! Come join the fun and enjoy the food as Pipers perform outside on the deck at Rory’s Bar and Grill. Raise a glass to the serpents of the Green Isle and St. Patrick as you nibble on slow-cooked, mouth watering corned beef sandwiches and down a Guinness!
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Large Stage Events This Week:

Monday, March 17 ~ 7:30 p.m.

Cascade Symphony Presents Beethoven’s Fourth

410 4th Ave. N., Edmonds

Attendees of Cascade Symphony’s Monday night performance will be treated to the infrequently performed Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony.

Audiences delight in conductor Michael Miropolsky’s banter about each piece of music the orchestra performs, and I’m confident the Monday night performance will be no exception. But a few ‘liner notes’ before Monday: Ludwig Beethoven composed his fourth symphony over the period of one month in 1806 while also working on his Fourth Piano Concerto and revisions to his opera Leonore, which was ultimately renamed Fidelio.

The symphony was dedicated to a cousin of Prince Lichnowsky of the Imperial Austrian court who Beethoven had met at Lichnowsky’s summer palace. The prince was a patron of both Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The Fourth Symphony premiered in 1807 at the private residence of Prince Franz Joseph Von Lobowitz.

Leonard Bernstein described the opening movement of the symphony as a “mysterious introduction, which hovers around minor modes, tip-toeing its tenuous weight through ambiguous unrelated keys [with reluctance] to settle down into its final B-flat major.”

The featured soloist for the concert is Demarre McGill, principal flute of the Seattle Symphony, performing the Flute Concerto in D Major by Carl Reinecke. McGill serves as principal flute of both the Seattle and Dallas Symphonies, and has also held that position in the San Diego Symphony and other orchestras around the country.

McGill has performed as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony, among others. He is an active chamber musician and has participated in numerous chamber music festivals.

Aram Khachaturian’s Masquerade Suite and Polonaise by Russian composer, Anatoly Liadov, round out the program.

Dave Beck, popular radio host on KING-FM, will host the 6:30 p.m. pre-concert lecture.

Although the concert is currently sold out, those wishing to attend this performance are encouraged to call the Edmonds Center for the Arts box office at 425.275.9595 on the day of the concert to see if any tickets have been returned. Ticket information is also available at www.ec4arts.org and through the ECA Box Office located at 410 Fourth Avenue North. For event details, theater location and more information, visit www.ec4arts.org.
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Thursday, Friday, Saturday ~ March 13-15 at 8 p.m.

Sunday, March 16 ~ 2 p.m.

Greater Tuna

Wade James Theatre

950 Main Street, Edmonds

A TIPs Production by The Driftwood Players

Written by Jaston Williams, Ed Howard, and Joe Sears “Greater Tuna” is an irreverent look at small town morals and mores. The Texas small town-themed production debuted in Austin in 1981 and the following year premiered off-Broadway. “Greater Tuna” became a four-part series with the addition of productions “Greater Tuna: Funeral for the Judge”,  “A Tuna Christmas” and “Red, White and Tuna”.

Two local actors, Kevin Boze and Terrence Boyd, will manage the portrayal of a myriad of unusual and entertaining residents of Greater Tuna, the third smallest town in Texas. Maybe you’ve visited towns like Greater Tuna, where the Lion’s Club is too liberal, and the library bans such risqué works as Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”.

Scene one opens as the actors, portraying radio personalities Thurston Wheelis and Arles Struvie, chatter to their listeners from the microphones of Radio OKKK about the daily goings-on in Greater Tuna. Madcap humor is the mainstay of “Greater Tuna” made famous with such lines as the quip from the town’s high school football coach explaining why his football team lost 48-0: “We lost mainly because we couldn’t score.”

From the playbill: Driftwood Players Director Paul Fleming will have you gasping for breath during this rapid-fire comedy of quick-change artistry and gut-busting bravado.”

Tickets are $14.00 at www.driftwoodplayers.com or call 425-774-9600.
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Saturday, March 15 ~ 7:30 p.m.

Forbidden Broadway

Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA)

410 4th Ave. N., Edmonds

This infamous musical roast of Broadway productions – updated and re-written – is on its way to Edmonds after re-opening at New York’s Davenport Theatre this past month!

From the playbill: “Audiences can expect to be regaled in a fresh view of the highs and lows of recent seasons including Porgy and Bess, Anything Goes, Follies, Spiderman, Book of Mormon, Once, and Death of a Salesman, and features outrageous costumes, hilarious rewrites of the songs you know, and dead-on impressions by a stellar cast!”

“Forbidden Broadway” is created and written by Gerard Alessandrini, who is known for works that include “Forbidden Broadway: Rude Awakening” and “Forbidden Broadway Goes to Rehab”. Alessandrini co-directs this season’s production alongside Phillip George. David Caldwell serves as musical director, with Mark T. Simpson as lighting designer.

According to TheatreMania.com, “Over the course of its three-decade history, Forbidden Broadway has been the recipient of a special Tony Award, as well as Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Lucille Lortel, Obie Awards . . . and a Drama Desk nomination for Best Musical Revue.”

Want a peek at what’s in store for the audience of the Saturday, March 15 performance? You can see it here.

Tickets are priced at $27/$32/$37 and are available by calling the ECA Box Office at 425-275-9595, online by clicking here or in person at the ECA Box Office located at 410 Fourth Avenue North. www.ec4arts.org
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Showing through Thursday, March 20 ~ 5-8 p.m.

Gallery North

401 Main Street, Edmonds

Gallery North continues its show, “Annual Minuature & Small Painting Show”. For information regarding presenting artists visit the gallery website at www.gallery-north.com
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Coming Soon and
Close to Home

Thursday, March 20 ~ 7:30 p.m.

Kurt Elling ~ Jazz Vocalist

Edmonds Center for the Arts

From the playbill: “Kurt Elling’s rich baritone spans four octaves and features astonishing technical mastery in jazz. You will enjoy an evening of original songs and modern Standards, as Elling displays his skills in improvisation, scat, spoken word, and poetry.

The Washington Post declared, “With his soaring vocal flights, his edgy lyrics and sense of being on a musical mission, Kurt Elling has come to embody the creative spirit in jazz.”

More information about Elling is available on his website.

Tickets for the performance are priced at $32/$37/$42 and are available by calling the ECA Box Office at 425-275-9595, online by clicking here or in person at the ECA Box Office located at 410 Fourth Avenue North. www.ec4arts.org
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Saturday, March 22 ~ 3:30 & 7:30 p.m.

Sno-King Community Chorale

Northshore Performing Arts Center

18125 92nd NE ~ Bothell

Under the direction of Frank DeMiero, the Sno-King Community Chorale will inspire the community with selections from the St. Cecilia Mass, arranged by Charles Gounod.

From the playbill: Charles Gounod’s St. Cecilia Mass (also known as Messe Sollennelle) stands out by virtue of lustrous tone colors with harp and winds – reminiscent of many places of grand opera.

The program will also include an arrangement of Gloria (Vivaldi, Poulenc, Handel) by Maestro DeMiero.

Soloists for the evening are Matthew Richardson, and Melanie and Thomas Hingson, who also perform with the Seattle and Tacoma operas.

The chorale will be joined by the Cascade Youth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jon Marsh. The orchestra’s performance will be reminiscent of their recent concert at Benaroya Hall.

General admission tickets are $20; seniors and student discount is available for $17, children 12 and under are invited to attend for $5. For tickets call (425) 530-8133 or go online to Brown Paper Tickets.
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Standards We Look Forward To

Brand new to the Artfully Edmonds line-up of Standards are:

Red Twig Bakery Cafe

117 5th Ave. S. Edmonds

Open Mic at the Red Twig!

Thursdays ~ 5 p.m.

Enjoy the café’s delectable treats, and take in the art gallery selections and join the audience as talent steps up to the microphone every Thursday evening.
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Churchkey Pub

109 4th Ave. N., Edmonds

“Trivia Tuesdays” begin at 7 p.m.

The Darts Tournament is held every Monday ~ 7 p.m. sharp!

Sharp Wit ~ Sharp Darts!

Raucus fun, lively crowd, and a few rounds of darts!! . . .
Plus . . . Guiness! Plus . . . Trivia!

Add to your St. Patrick’s Day crawl a venue where Guinness is served daily, events are hosted by such notables as the “Geeks Who Drink” and where dart tournaments are a regular mainstay!

— 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