Endings, winnings and change can have great results if this week’s roster of Edmonds’ performance and gallery events are any indication.
The Phoenix Theatre has ended its over-the-top successful run of “Betsy’s New Car,” which exhibited just how much “chops” the starring diva, Christine Mosere, brought from New York to the Northwest.
The Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation is changing out its gallery displays to include the children’s poster award winners; plus Cascadia Art Museum (CAM) — showcase of Northwest art history — is offering free admission to see its resident exhibit “Pioneers and Prophets. It’s a good opportunity for those who wish to visit CAM as it readies for a mid-month unveiling of its next showing.
My Edmonds News takes pleasure in headlining this week’s column with a photo of the winners of this year’s “The Best Book I Ever Read” contest sponsored by the City of Edmonds in consort with the Edmonds Arts Commission.
So whether you’re looking for kids’ stuff, sophisticated piano bar stuff or anything in between, you’ve come to the right place — Artfully Edmonds — to see what venues are ending their shows and what is coming up on the horizon.
Bookmark us; you’ll want to come back to see what’s happening throughout the week!
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Cascadia Art Museum (CAM)
190 Sunset Ave.
Cascadia Art Museum is the first museum dedicated to Northwest art from the late 19th century through the 1960s (as defined by the waters that flow from the Cascade Mountains to the Pacific Ocean).
CAM, which opened in September 2015, features six galleries, a multi-purpose education room, gift shop and event space. The 11,000-square-foot museum is part of the adaptive re-use of one of Edmonds’ most iconic, Mid-Century Modern buildings.
Isn’t it about time you and your family took in this marvelous facility?
Free!
The public is being offered free admission to the “Pioneers and Prophets” collection through May 12 as the upcoming exhibitions are being installed.
The new exhibitions include “Northwest Photography at Mid-Century: Forgotten Pacific Northwest artists and photographers” and “Against the Moon: The Art of John Matsudaira”.
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Laugh-a-Second Boisterous Fun ends May 8.
Driftwood Players performing at
Wade James Theatre
950 Main St.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – by Finn, Sheinkin & Feldman
From the Playbill: A riotous ride complete with audience participation, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is delightful den of musical comedic genius. An eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home life, the tweens spell their way through a series of [potentially made-up] words hoping to never hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life-unaffirming “ding” of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter; one speller wins!
At least the losers get a juice box.
Driftwood tickets are available at their online box office.
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Coming Soon to the
The Phoenix Theatre
Dixie Swim Club
By Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten
Directed by Simone Barron
Show runs June 3-26
Synopsis: Five Southern women, whose friendships began on their college swim team, set aside a weekend every August to meet at the same summer cottage to recharge their relationship.
It’s “Hilarious,” The Phoenix Theatre box office tells us. But then from a theatre whose motto is “Comedy without all the drama,” that’s precisely what we’re looking for.
“Dixie Swim Club” is brought to the stage by the same playwrights who gave us past hits including “Dashing Through the Snow” and “Hallelujah Girls.”
Please note this play is written for adults but is family friendly.
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Friday, May 6 ~ 1-8 p.m. and
Saturday, May 7 ~ 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Sculptors Workshop ~ Semi-Annual Pottery Sale:
Frances Anderson Center
Rm. 210, 700 Dayton Ave.
Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation (EAFF) invites the community to attend this weekend’s Sculptors Workshop for their semi-annual Pottery Sale. The Sculptors Workshop activities this month will also include an exhibit and meet-the-artists reception on Thursday, May 19.
“Below the Surface” – Sculptors Workshop Exhibit
Artwork will be on exhibit at the Main Street entrance of the Frances Anderson Center from Monday, May 2nd through Tuesday, June 7 in both the EAFF Gallery and the EAC Display Case. Exhibit hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Artists from the pottery area are Jan Berry, Faye Gallagher, Tia La Montagne, Mike O’Day, Marty Pace, Julie Perrine, Chris Scamehorn, Kristi Silver, Terry Sonmore, Mary Ann Tokars-King and Barbara Wyatt.
Artists from the sculpture area are Jim Burns, Doreen Dobszinsky, Denise Heekin, Susan Hopkins, Mary Ann Laue, Anne Klein, Nicky Oberholtzer, Sara Perkins, Anne Pfeil, Janet Still, Jim Stromme, Masako Thrower, Robert Victor, Leon White and Christine Woerfel.
EAFF spokesperson Darlene McLellan notes, “Edmonds provides a perfect environment for an appreciation of all that lies below the surface of the water around us. See numerous interpretations from members of Sculptors Workshop as they explore the mystery and beauty of the ocean and the creatures that inhabit it. The Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation and the Edmonds Arts Commission are pleased to feature this showcase of work by the potters and sculptors of the resident Sculptors Workshop.
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Saturday, May 7
11 a.m.
Mud Bay Jugglers at
Edmonds Center for the Arts
This startlingly inventive troupe juggles genres as easily as objects, weaving theatre, dance, physical comedy and juggling into a creative and infectious entertainment experience. Based in Olympia, the Mud Bay Jugglers work their choreographic and juggling magic to lively music for a mesmerizing performance.
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Monday, May 9
7:30 p.m.
(Pre-concert lecture for ticket-holders at 6:30 p.m.)
Cascade Symphony Orchestra
Edmonds Center for the Arts
410 4th Ave. N.
Cascade Symphony will close its 54th season on Monday, May 9 with “Organ Symphony.“ The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. at Edmonds Center for the Arts (410 4th Ave. N.), and will be preceded by a pre-concert lecture by KING-FM’s Dave Beck at 6:30.
The program will open with the energetic Fête Polonaise by Emmanuel Chabrier, followed by Vocalise by Rachmaninoff. The first half of the concert will conclude with a performance of Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs by featured soloist, soprano Kimberly Giordano. The concert will conclude with the Symphony No. 3 by Camille Saint-Saens – often known as the “Organ Symphony.”
Soprano Kimberly Giordano has appeared with a wide range of companies, including Seattle Opera, Aspen Opera Theater Center, Tacoma Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Puget Sound Concert Opera, Bellevue Opera and NOISE. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem with the New England Symphonic Ensemble, and has performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Whatcom Symphony and Orchestra Seattle/Seattle Chamber Singers. Also a lover of art song, she recently performed song recitals in Seattle and New York.
Ticket prices for this concert are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, $15 for students with ID, and $10 for youth 12 & under.
Early bird season tickets for Cascade Symphony’s 2016-2017 season will be available.
Due to the demand for tickets, Cascade Symphony urges patrons to return any tickets they will not use to the ECA box office. Even though a concert is “sold out,” returned tickets do become available – even at the door. Please call the ECA at 425-275-9595, or come early (beginning at 6:15) on concert night and sign the wait list at the CSO table in the lobby.
For additional information, please visit cascadesymphony.org or call 425-776-4938.
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Pancho Sanchez
Edmonds Center for the Arts
410 4th Ave. N.
Friday, May 13
7:30 p.m.
Sell Out Alert!
Single seating on the main floor and balcony seating only is available at press time for this concert. Do not delay in grabbing tickets to see Pancho Sanchez and his ensemble.
As fans know, Sanchez — a Latin jazz band leader, salsa singer and conga player — won a Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2000 along with his ensemble for their release, “Concord Picante album Latin Soul”.
See you there!
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Saturday, May 21
9 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
The Daybreakers Rotary Club of Edmonds presents its 16th annual Edmonds Jazz Connection, a community jazz festival featuring the best student jazz musicians from around the Northwest.
The jazz festival will be staged at two performance stages at Edmonds Center for the Arts and Holy Rosary Church, plus there will be a special performance from renowned Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra. Exceptional talent – on the way up!
Event spokesperson Karen Shiveley would like to remind readers that this year Edmonds Center for the Arts will be included among the Jazz Connection venues.
SRJO
The Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra — up and coming on the Edmonds’ jazz scene — is also making an appearance to celebrate the festival’s 16th year!
Go to https://jazzconnectionorg for all event showtimes, locations and schedules.
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Tuesday, May 24
7:30 p.m.
Sold Out!
Buddy Guy
We are told by Edmonds Center for the Arts that, “At age 79, Buddy Guy is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, a major influence on rock titans like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, a pioneer of Chicago’s fabled West Sidesound, and a living link to the city’s halcyon days of electric blues. Buddy Guy has received 6 GRAMMY Awards, a 2015 Lifetime Achievement GRAMMY Award, 34 Blues Music Awards (the most any artist has received), the Billboard Magazine Century Award for distinguished artistic achievement, a Kennedy Center honor, and the Presidential National Medal of Arts. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #23 in its “100 National Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”
Don’t let a Sold Out Alert spoil your fun – pick out an alternative ECA show and buy your tickets today!
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Wednesday, May 25
7:30 p.m.
Linda Ronstadt Tribute by the
Tribute Time Machine
Here’s your early warning for what will be a great show! Artfully Edmonds just hates those, “I told you so’s.” By press time two weeks from now this Tribute will be sold out, just like all the rest of the ECA program selections.
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Authors and Poets Podium
The Widow Lessons: One Woman’s Journey Through Complicated Grief
By Bridget Clawson
Local author Bridget Clawson became a widow in 2009. She writes about her experiences in the newly released title, “The Widow Lessons”.
Of her experiences she says, “You built your life around someone you love, and then he dies . . . now your life as you knew it is gone forever. What happens then?”
“The Widow Lessons” addresses those realities and more in a way that only someone who has been through it, and is still going through it, can do.
“Other widows have told me that reading about my experiences and coping methods after losing my life partner was the first time they felt understood.”
Bridget now enjoys the companionship of her two dogs, Oliver and Miss Kitty, and blogs at https://www.thewidowlessons.blogspot.com. She spends time in her garden, writing, and with family – including six grandchildren who live nearby. “I discover a new life hack for widows on a daily basis,” Ms. Clawson says. “That’s why I blog and that’s why I write about life as a widow.”
“The Widow Lessons” can be ordered through Edmonds Bookshop (105 5th Ave. S.)
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The King’s Beloved
By Lila Rhodes
Lifelong writer and historical researcher Lila Rhodes of Lynnwood has followed the life of Lord Anthony Woodville through the Wars of the Roses and now writes “The King’s Beloved” based on her travels to England and many years of reseach.
Just released “The King’s Beloved” is the 6th episode in her series.
In speaking with My Edmonds News about her historical series, Rhodes says, “Actually it is more of a mystery than a romance because my fictional hero, Albin, spends nearly half the book figuring out who he saw with King Edward. When Lord Scales asks if he should prepare for war, Albin says, “Prepare for—magnificence.”
It was 22 years ago this week that I left Spokane to come and live in the Edmonds/Lynnwood area.”
Rhodes tells of growing up in Coeur d’Alene, which she describes as, “a wonderful place to grow up. I lived in cycling distance of the public beach and half a block from a good coasting hill.”
When asked about her family the prolific author responds, “My mother, Wacele Rhodes, was a born teacher and amateur medievalist. She wrote a medieval fiction—for her own enjoyment. She read to me from medieval novels written for children and also samples from Sir Walter Scott. She and I would draw floor plans for castles and also designed coats of arms.”
Her credentials include membership in the Northwest Writers,’ Pen Women, The Richard III Society, and a small writers’ work group.
She goes on by explaining, “I taught grade school and, a degree later, the deaf-blind. For my “Albin and the Jouster” series I have kept the language simple, to be used by English language learners and the YA set.
Each episode of Rhodes’ olde English adventures are about 150 pages. She explains, “The books are good for people who enjoy historical fiction but can no longer follow a 400-page novel.”
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Love those kids!
A reception for the “Best Book I Ever Read” poster contest winners for 3rd graders was held on Thursday, April 21 in the Edmonds Plaza Room, hosted by the City of Edmonds Arts Commission. (See photo at top of this column.)
This year’s featured speaker was children’s book author Trudy Trueit.
The “Best Book I Ever Read” Poster Contest is an annual event that gives Edmonds third grade students the opportunity to make posters featuring a favorite book. The contest is a program of the Edmonds Arts Commission, designed to celebrate both literary and visual arts.
The program is jointly sponsored by the Edmonds Arts Commission and the Friends of the Edmonds Library in cooperation with the Edmonds School District Library Media Specialists.
The Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation-featured student posters from years past are currently being shown in the Edmonds Arts Commission Student Display Case at Frances Anderson Center.
Andrew Morrison
Included in the work of past poster winners is artist Andrew Morrison who notes receipt of his scholarship from EAF Foundation in his bio.
Of the prolific artist’s nod to his hometown accomplishment, McLellan says, “it brings a smile. We’re very proud of Andrew’s accomplishments — he has grown in his art and his commitment to his heritage.”
Andrew’s poster is the center one in the display case and it was selected when he was attending Mountlake Terrace High School in 1996, at age 14.
This year’s Outstanding Award Winners are Yousif Alsaadi, Chase Lake Elementary; Edgar Andrade Oduber, Chase Lake Elementary; Kendall Asay, Sherwood Elementary; Annslea Bixler, Seaview Elementary; Gabriela Brinschwitz, Chase Lake Elementary; Riley Chan, Holy Rosary School; Keira Cordel, Seaview Elementary; Maddy Cruz, Sherwood Elementary; Eli Delfel, Chase Lake Elementary; Lucy Finnell, Seaview Elementary; Marin Haider, Holy Rosary School; Hans Hoerschelmann, Holy Rosary School;Kimmy Jeronimo, Chase Lake Elementary;Aidan Langford, Westgate Elementary; Jazmin Marquez Criollo, Chase Lake Elementary; Joel Ovena, Westgate Elementary; Marina Rockom, Chase Lake Elementary; Sam Schimpf, Holy Rosary School; Eva Trudeau, Westgate Elementary; Mikaela Uskoski, Sherwood Elementary
Honorable Mention Award Winners are Adrianna Alvarez, Holy Rosary School; Daira Alvarez, Westgate Elementary; Samantha Araiza, Chase Lake Elementary; Makenna Cook, Seaview Elementary; Dylan Crane, Chase Lake Elementary; Amelia Crawford, Holy Rosary School; Sara Dethlefs, Holy Rosary School; Roxana Gabu, Chase Lake Elementary; Ana Hamilton, Westgate Elementary;Elias Hawke, Sherwood Elementary; Diyar Jamal, Chase Lake Elementary; Lily Kantner-Blakeslee, Seaview Elementary; Ariana Meyer, Sherwood Elementary; Emelia Meyers, Sherwood Elementary; Juliette Mischel, Holy Rosary School; Madelyn Mulvihill, Seaview Elementary; Austin Pedersen, Seaview Elementary; Lyla Smith, Chase Lake Elementary; Danielle Tupper, Westgate Elementary; Sophia Woeck, Sherwood Elementary
The winning posters are on display through May 19 in the Frances Anderson Center Main Floor lobby.
— Emily Hill
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 arts@myedmondsnews.com.
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