Art Beat: Music to unite, Dr. Seuss on stage, Valentine-themed art

February is here with celebrations of love, the Lunar New Year and apparently, the Super Bowl! It’s a reminder to splurge a little, make some noise and dance our way into the feeling of celebration. 

Art provides countless ways to celebrate life, each other and ourselves. We show up through community, creativity and expression – maybe it’s through dancing, writing, attending a show with loved ones or making a chocolate cake to share. 

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Spotlight: Ballyhoo Theatre and Edmonds College present ‘Seussical TYA’

Feb. 20 through March 8, 2026


Black Box Theatre, Edmonds College, 20310 68th Ave. W., Lynnwood

Free admission. Get tickets online

Ballyhoo Theatre Mainstage and Edmonds College brings Dr. Seuss to life in Seussical TYA (Theatre for Youth Audiences). Tony winners Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty introduce favorite Seuss characters, including Horton the Elephant, the Cat in the Hat, Gertrude McFuzz, Lazy Mayzie and Jojo, a little boy with a big imagination.

The story follows Horton, who discovers a speck of dust containing Whos, including Jojo, who has too many “thinks.” Horton faces a double challenge: Protecting the Whos from naysayers and guarding an abandoned egg left in his care by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird. Gertrude McFuzz never loses faith in Horton, and themes of friendship, loyalty, chosen family and community emerge triumphant.

Ballyhoo Theatre aims to make live theatre accessible to families who might not otherwise attend. In partnership with Edmonds College, this marks the company’s second free children’s show for the community. Last year, more than 1,700 children and their families attended the multi-award nominated A Year with Frog and Toad.

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Spotlight: 4EachOther releases “Park Bench Blues,” a call to unity

Crazy Good Records announces the release of “Park Bench Blues,” a new single from Pacific Northwest folk-blues band 4EachOther.

Written by Leroy Henry, Andrew DeNance and Russ Johnson, the original song was recorded at Studio Edmonds and performed with bandmates Lisa Lusk, Nelson Daggett and Andrew Lee Mason. The track is available on all major streaming platforms and may be downloaded or purchased at Crazy Good Records.

“Park Bench Blues” was written against the backdrop of an increasingly divided national conversation, blending acoustic soul, blues and folk-rock elements to deliver a timely message ahead of the midterm election season. Lyrics such as “Gotta hear from the left / And hear from the right / It’s the reds against the blues / We just gotta turn down that news” speak to fatigue with the constant churn of headlines and political tension.

At the heart of the track is 4EachOther’s mission: The belief that people from different backgrounds and viewpoints can still find common ground. The refrain “Gotta pull together / Got to galvanize / Need to be for each other / Need to harmonize” echoes the band’s name and underscores its emphasis on connection over division.

“Park Bench Blues” invites listeners to step away from the noise and rediscover shared humanity before succumbing to what the band calls the “park bench blues.”

The single follows the group’s previous release, “The Ballad of No-Repeat Miro,” a tribute to Seattle open-mic musician who died last year and whose influence continues to ripple through the regional arts community.

4EachOther will support the release with upcoming live performances throughout the Puget Sound region.

Upcoming art events

‘The Sacred in Motion’ a choreographic and photographic collaboration

Exhibition: Jan. through March 2026

Center Gallery, Frances Anderson Center, 700 Main St., Edmonds

Gallery hours: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Free admission

The Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation presents The Sacred in Motion, an interdisciplinary exhibition bringing together choreographer Alberto Gaspar, photographer Kimberly Person and the professional dancers of Olympic Ballet Theatre. 

The show features photographic selections from three of Gaspar’s original works created for Olympic Ballet Theatre: Capriccio del Cuore, 1 in 10², 685,000 and Transfigurations. Person’s photographs capture the performances beyond the stage, preserving fleeting moments that often go unseen, such as a breath held between transitions, the vulnerability of a fall and the tension and release that animate the dancers’ bodies.

Gaspar, a Mexico City-born choreographer with more than two decades of international dance experience, is known for emotionally driven contemporary works marked by architectural precision. His long-standing collaboration with Olympic Ballet Theatre reflects a shared commitment to community-based artistry and a spiritual inquiry expressed through movement.

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Samantha Yun Wall: ‘What We Leave Behind’

On View: Feb. 5 through Oct. 4 2026 

Seattle Art Museum, Third Floor Galleries, 1300 1st Ave.

SAM Talk: Thursday, Feb. 5, 6:30-7 p.m.

Samantha Yun Wall’s new paintings feature overlapping silhouettes of female figures that function as portals to unknown spaces and shifting temporal realms.

The work is inspired by a Korean folk tale in which the Pasque flower symbolizes a grandmother who died without the loving care of her grandchildren. Marked by melancholy, loss and remembrance, the story informs a body of work that is both intimate and haunting. Yun Wall emphasizes the flower’s delicate, hairlike stem, and in several paintings introduces a surreal element by replacing the flower’s center with a watchful eye.

Yun Wall has long explored the personal narratives of people born to Asian women and U.S. service members during periods of military occupation in Asia. By examining cultural taboos that enforce secrecy and silence, she renders her figures alternately invisible and hypervisible, often in stark black-and-white compositions.

Yun Wall is the recipient of the 2024 Betty Bowen Award. The annual award recognizes a Northwest artist for original, exceptional and compelling work.

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Eclectic Valentine’s Banner


Saturday, Feb. 7, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Cascadia Art Museum, 90 Sunset Ave., Ste. E, Edmonds

Register

Celebrate Valentine’s Day at Cascadia Art Museum by designing a one-of-a-kind, heart-shaped banner using found materials, paper and more.

Mary Peterson, a mixed-media artist and instructor in the Edmonds School District, will be teaching the class. She is passionate about empowering people with disabilities and co-founded Art for All, an organization that supports artists with disabilities in creating and exhibiting their work. She is a recipient of the Everett Cultural Arts Commission Mayor’s Art Award for Arts Changing Lives.

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Scott Hamilton on ‘The Rise and Fall of Boeing: and the Way Back’

Saturday, Feb. 7, 3-4 p.m.


Mukilteo Library, 4675 Harbour Pointe Blvd.

Free

Join aviation analyst Scott Hamilton as he discusses his new book, The Rise and Fall of Boeing: and the Way Back. Drawing on more than four decades in aerospace, Hamilton traces Boeing’s rise to dominance, its cultural and strategic missteps that led to crisis, and its efforts to recover and rebuild.

The talk offers rare insight into leadership, innovation and corporate accountability, with lessons for both business and policy. A Q&A and book signing will follow.

Hamilton is founder of Leeham Company LLC and author of Air Wars: The Global Combat Between Airbus and Boeing.

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Paint & Sip: Valentine Portraits with Misa Steinmetz 

ARTspot, 408 Main St., Edmonds

Sunday, Feb. 8, 4:30-7:30 p.m.


Cost: $125 (all supplies included)

Register

Learn the basics of portrait painting as you capture your partner or friend on canvas with step-by-step guidance and a glass of wine in hand. You’ll leave with a finished artwork and a fun memory to share.

Flying solo? Bring a photo reference and explore portraiture in water-soluble oils. You can give your finished piece as a gift or keep it for yourself.

Misa Steinmetz is a visual development artist at Sony Pictures Animation with experience working in games, film and animation, and she has a background in fine art. She studied at the Georgetown Atelier at Gage Academy of Art and enjoys plein air painting and sketching in her free time. 

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BIG Words: Bold Typographic Paintings with Mary Olsen

Wednesdays, Feb. 18 and 25, 6-8 p.m. (two sessions)


Graphite Arts Center, 202 Main St., Edmonds


Cost: $130 (all supplies, including 24” x 24” canvas)

Levels: All levels
and ages 18 and older

Pre-registration required

Taught by Mary Olsen, this large-format painting class invites students to explore the power of words, letters and numbers through typographic art inspired by Robert Indiana, Jasper Johns, Mel Bochner and Keith Haring. Using strong geometric shapes, vibrant colors and monumental letters, participants design and paint their own artwork that combines visual design with personal meaning.

The class includes a focused dive into color theory, exploring how hue, contrast and saturation affect your work. Students will work on a 24” x 24” canvas, learning to choose a color palette and balance colors for maximum visual impact. Fonts, typefaces and language as visual expressions also will be discussed. Participants can work with a single letter or word, a short phrase, a symbol – or a combination of all three.

All supplies are included, but students may bring their own materials to experiment with. Consider in advance which letters, words or phrases you want to incorporate into your artwork.

*If you would like your event included in future Art Beat listings, email Nahline Gouin at nahline.gouin@gmail.com.

Based in Edmonds, Nahline is a freelance writer, ceramicist and arts advocate with experience in art museums and performing arts centers. She continues to create with clay, homeschool her son and write as a creative practice.