Centrum Fiddle Tunes Program 2013 by Port Townsend Leader

Summer Season

Fort Worden State Park • Port Townsend, WA

CENTRUM presents

Voice Works June 27 - 29

Festival of American

Fiddle Tunes July 4 - 6

Public readings from the Port Townsend

W RITERS ’

c ONFERENCE July 7 - 20

Dawn Beaton, fiddler

Complimentary Program Guide

coming soon

Welcome At Centrum, creativity and learning are one. From exploring the roots of American blues or jazz, to the traditions of American fiddle music or our internationally acclaimed writers’ workshops-for forty years Centrum’s summer festivals have transformed the majestic, inspiring setting of Fort Worden State Park into a unique arts destination, the envy of regions many times our size.

JAZZ PORT TOWNSEND July 25-27

August 2-3

What’s Your Wish?

Generously sponsored by

We gratefully present our programs in partnership with the Washington State Arts Commission, the Washington State Parks Commission and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. We thank you and the many donors and generous sponsors who support Centrum and its distinctive role in our community. Get closer to the arts this summer, and thank you for your continued support of Centrum! Sincerely yours,

Port Ludlow 74 Breaker Lane Port Ludlow, WA 98365 360-437-7863

CONCERTS FOR KIDS Adults $5/kids free Tickets available at the door • Friday, June 28, 11 am Featuring Kristin Andreassen • Friday, August 2, 11 am Featuring Lightnin’ Wells and Jay Summerour

Centrum thanks the Congdon-Hanson family for their support of Centrum’s youth programs

FREE FRIDAYS AT THE FORT Please join us for this lunch-time concert series all summer long! These free performances take place from noon to 1 pm on the lawn of the Nora Porter Commons at Fort Worden State Park. Bring a blanket, or chairs, and a lunch! June 28: Voice Works Showcase July 5: Marley’s Ghost July 12: Simon Lynge July 19: Fiddle Tunes with Josie Sokoloff-Toney

Robert A. Birman Executive Director

July 26 Jazz Workshop Participant Big Band August 2: Acoustic blues with George Rezendes, Dave Meis, and Jon Parry

Sponsored by

CENTRUM

Generously Sponsored by Smiling Dog Foundation

On behalf of the entire Centrum community of artists, I invite you to join us to discover a full array of mainstage performances, nightclub events, vibrant readings, lectures, dances, and more in honor of Centrum’s 40th anniversary in 2013. We are again privileged to share our venues with some of the leading standard-bearers in the arts. Centrum’s artistic directors, including John Clayton (Jazz), Erin Belieu (Writing), Daryl Davis (Blues), Suzy Thompson (Fiddle Tunes), and Lucinda Carver (Chamber Music) are vital to our mission. Our Directors curate workshops and residencies that allow hundreds of aspiring amateur and pre-professional artists from throughout North America to live, work and play with world-class teachers and faculty members each summer at Fort Worden, transforming lives and developing the talents of tomorrow.

PORT TOWNSEND ACOUSTIC BLUES FESTIVAL

800.746.1982 www.centrum.org

Port Hadlock 69 Oak Bay Road Port Hadlock, WA 98339 360-344-3424

East Sims 2313 East Sims Way Port Townsend, WA 98368 360-385-0123

*New loan requests only. Single family owner-occupied homes only. 80% loan to value; subject to current appraisal from a Kitsap Bank approved appraiser. 5 year balloon with loan payment amortization not to exceed 20 years. Must have auto charge to Kitsap Bank deposit account. Other limitations may apply. Limited time only. **On all loans over $50,000.

ORDER TICKETS FOR THE 2013 SUMMER SEASON AT CENTRUM

On the web at www.centrum.org By phone at 800.746.1982 In-person at Centrum at 223 Battery Way, Port Townsend. Monday-Friday, noon to 4 pm except performance days. Tickets are also available at the box office at McCurdy Pavilion beginning one hour prior to show time. Children under 18 are admitted free with advance reservation. Programs and artists subject to change.

CENTRUM WORKSHOPS: Registration is open for weeklong Centrum workshops. For more information, or to register for a workshop, please call 360.385.3102, x114 or visit www.centrum.org.

VISITOR SERVICE The Port Townsend Visitor Information Center, located at the Park and Ride lot (440 12th St., Port Townsend, WA,) can help you with directions, accommodations, and other important information. Please also visit the Port Townsend tourism website at www.enjoypt.com or call 888.ENJOYPT (888.365.6975.)

VENUE INFORMATION Centrum’s mainstage performances take place at McCurdy Pavilion, a 1,200-seat World-War-I-era dirigible hangar that has been renovated into a concert hall-the only one of its kind in the world. More intimate performances and readings take place at the 280-seat Joseph F. Wheeler Theater. In addition, jazz and blues club performances take place in the world-class restaurants and clubs of downtown Port Townsend. Experience Centrum and its world-renowned artists this summer! Discover more at www.centrum.org

Centrum staff and volunteers will provide free event parking passes for ticket holders one hour before Free Fridays and Fort concerts. These passes are only valid within designated event parking areas. 2 The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • 2 0 1 3 C E N T R U M S U M M E R S E A S O N

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

At-A-Glance Centrum Summer Season Complete concert details online at www.centrum.org

VOICE WORKS June 27 Women’s Singer/ Songwriter Showcase Wheeler Theater 7:30 pm; $15 June 28 Honky Tonk Dance USO Building 7:30 pm; $10 (tickets available at the door) June 29 Roots and Branches of American Singing McCurdy Pavilion 7:30 pm; $20

FESTIVAL OF AMERICAN FIDDLE TUNES

Package prices: $52/62 July 4 Fiddlin’ on the Fourth: Afternoon Show McCurdy Pavilion 1:30 pm; $20/25 Fiddlin’ on the Fourth: Evening Show McCurdy Pavilion 7:30 pm; $20/25 July 5 Cajun and Creole Dance Littlefield Green 7 pm; $15 July 6 Fiddle Finale McCurdy Pavilion 1:30 pm; $20/25

JAZZ PORT TOWNSEND THE PORT TOWNSEND Package prices: $39-$135 ACOUSTIC BLUES FESTIVAL July 25 Jazz in the Clubs Port Townsend clubs 8 pm; $25 July 26 Evening Concert McCurdy Pavilion 7:30 pm; $20/29/42 Jazz in the Clubs Port Townsend clubs 10 pm; $25 July 27 Afternoon Concert McCurdy Pavilion 1:30 pm; $25/32/49 Evening Concert McCurdy Pavilion 7:30 pm; $20/29/42 Jazz in the Clubs Port Townsend clubs 10 pm; $25

Package prices: $53/60/72 August 2 Blues in the Clubs Port Townsend clubs 8 pm; $25 August 3 Acoustic Blues Showcase McCurdy Pavilion 1:30 pm; $20/30/40 Blues in the Clubs Port Townsend clubs 8 pm; $25

fort worden state park

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

2013 CENTRUM SUMMER SEASON

• The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader 3

Voice Works

June 27-29

FACULTY BIOS CENTRUM

800.746.1982 www.centrum.org

Thursday, July 27 Women’s Singer/Songwriter Showcase Wheeler Theater 7:30 pm; $15 Pharis Romero Yvette Landry Kristin Andreassen Suzy Thompson Nancy Thorwardson ...and more!

Friday, June 28 Concerts for Kids Fort Worden Chapel 11 am to noon; $5 for adults/kids free Kristin Andreassen

Free Fridays at the Fort Nora Porter Commons Noon to 1 pm; free Voice Works Showcase

Honky Tonk Dance and Polka Dot Contest USO Building 7:30 pm; $10 Voice Works Faculty All-Star Band featuring Linda Lay (Please note: tickets only available at the door)

Saturday, June 29 Roots & Branches of American Singing, from the Secular to the Sacred McCurdy Pavilion 7:30 pm; $20 Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms Laurel Bliss Yvette Landry Riley Baugus John Lilly Jason and Pharis Romero Meredith Axelrod The Birmingham Sunlights ...and more!

Voice Works is generously sponsored by

The Birmingham Sunlights are joyous keepers of a deep American tradition, the art of unaccompanied four-part gospel harmony singing. This tradition has a brilliant heritage in their home, Jefferson County, Alabama. This five-man, four-part group was formed in 1978 by Music Director James Alex Taylor and his brothers Steve and Barry. Jefferson County is the heartland of African-American a cappella gospel quartet singing, and home to one of the richest regional traditions in America. Local quartet activity began in the period immediately following World War I, and had its incubation in the steel mills, mines, and related industries that provided jobs for a large percentage of the area’s black residents. By 1930, Jefferson County was known as one of the nation’s great centers of gospel quartet singing. With deep respect for their musical heritage, the Sunlights sought out and received priceless musical instruction from older local quartet masters, repositories of decades of accumulated wisdom in vocal arrangement, quartet technique, and traditional repertoire. With great pleasure we welcome Caleb Klauder back to Voice Works this year. With a touring schedule that would leave lesser people sapped and wasted, Caleb only seems to gain momentum, artistic depth and humor from the road. Caleb makes his mark on the scene with a notable perspective on country music in the new century, melding Nashville-quality songwriting with a love for early country, bluegrass and old-time music. He possesses an authentic, warm and happily ragged vocal style, and is a dynamite mandolin player. Singer and guitarist Reeb Willms was raised on her family’s Douglas County wheat farm on the high and dry plains of central Washington. Her parents still inhabit the farm that has been in the family for four generations. Reeb grew up hearing old country music played and sung by her father and uncles, The Willms Brothers, and is still influenced by

4 The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • 2 0 1 3 C E N T R U M S U M M E R S E A S O N

them today. The brothers sing and pick regularly at family gatherings. At age twenty she started playing the guitar and quickly realized her love for music by learning to play and sing in traditional old time & country styles. Linda Lay began singing in church and on stage when she was six years old. She’s from Bristol, Virginia, a city at the center of one of the nation’s richest sources of traditional musicians. She grew up in a family string band, often hearing local tradition-keeper Ralph Stanley and echoes of the greatest of the family bands, the Carter Family. One of her favorite people was Jeanette Carter - Linda grew up singing for Jeanette, who operated the Carter Family Fold, a music hall just west of Bristol. Linda currently lends her powerful voice incredibly timed bass playing to the popular quartet Springfield Exit. David Lay grew up in the coalfields of Virginia. Singing in church was learned as he learned to walk, and he developed a keen ear for the traditional music of the region. A graduate of the University of Tennessee (Agriculture), he once operated a large Tennessee dairy. But like many other American farmers, David has had to supplement his current vegetable farming with other work. Linda and David Lay have performed at the Library of Congress, several National Folk Festivals, the Masters of the Steel String Guitar tour, the Birchmere, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Opryland Hotel, and many other prestigious venues and stages. Yvette Landry comes from a long and venerable line of musicians. Her grandfather, Lucien Landry of the Bill Landry Orchestra and The Louisiana Six, was among one of most important working musicians from the 1930s into the 1950s. Her grandmother, Viola Hebert Landry of New Iberia, was a musician as well, playing with her brothers Wilton, Noah, Cap and the rest of the Hebert clan in The Louisiana Six. A seasoned musician, vocalist and a classically trained pianist, Yvette has toured with bands throughout the United States and Europe. Deemed the “Queen of Cajun Bass,” she can often be seen keeping the rhythm section in line.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

June 27-29 Pharis Romero is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, teacher, and a respected figure in North American acoustic music circles. With Jason Romero, she has performed and instructed at many of the major North American festivals and venues, including Wintergrass, the Winnipeg and Calgary Folk Festivals, and the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes. A native of Horsefly, deep in the Cariboo interior of British Columbia, Pharis developed her style through both classical training and older tradition-bearers. Writing songs about hard living, love and loss, her music has been played around the world. Pharis began performing at an early age with her family band, The Patenaude Family. She and Jason’s triumphant first album, A Passing Glimpse, won the Americana Album of the Year at the 2012 Independent Music Awards, and was included on many Best of 2011 lists. Bellingham, Washington vocalist and dobro player Laurel Bliss was exposed early in her life to the Carter Family, Doc Watson, the Louvin Brothers, and Jimmy Martin. That exposure has inspired a lifelong dedication to unearthing and learning vocal chestnuts. Laurel has a composed, straightforward, yet tender approach to singing, which suggests an earlier era. Laurel played dobro and sang in Southfork in the 1980’s, and has performed for many years in a duo with Cliff Perry. Her heartfelt vocals have made her a stand-out in acoustic and bluegrass music.

voice works

Kristin Andreassen is an award-winning songwriter and composer of music for both children and adults. She’s toured three continents as a member of the celebrated old time string band Uncle Earl, the “folk noir” trio Sometymes Why, and as a clogger and educator with the Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble. Kristin’s debut solo album Kiss Me Hello features the single “Crayola Doesn’t Make a Color for Your Eyes,” which won the John Lennon Song Contest Grand Prize for Children’s music, has been used in weddings, choir recitals, marching band performances, and topped the charts on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Kids’ Place Live. Suzy Thompson is a powerful blues singer who is unique in her ability to fiddle and vocalize at the same time. She discovered the music of Bessie Smith, Sippie Wallace, Memphis Minnie, Victoria Spivey, and other classic blues moaners in the winter of 1975, when a friend of a friend of a friend stored his LP collection in her room. She began learning and performing some of this early blues material, accompanying herself on the guitar. Currently, Suzy records and performs in a duet with her longtime musical partner, renowned flat picker Eric Thompson, with the Aux Cajunals and with the Thompson String Ticklers. Suzy, who serves as the Artistic Director of The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, will lead one blues singing session each day.

John Lilly is a multi-talented acoustic music performer from Charleston, West Virginia, specializing in Americana, country roots, and traditional folk music. He writes new songs that sound as old as the hills, and performs older songs like they were made yesterday. According to one reviewer, “If Hank Williams had a sunny disposition, he’d be John Lilly.” John was born in Illinois in 1954 and has traveled and performed widely, including three tours of Scotland and visits to 48 states. A former member of the Green Grass Cloggers dance team, John spent years playing traditional string band music with groups including Ralph Blizard and the New Southern Ramblers. Meredith Axlerod is a singer of early jazz and pre1930s American pop music. Her playing explodes with energy and vintage rhythms. She has performed with Dan Hicks, Maria Muldaur, Robert Crumb, the Cheap Suit Serenaders, and Craig Ventresco, and at venues around the United States and internationally, including The Great American Music Hall, the Freight and Salvage, and Jazz at Pearl’s, the San Francisco Festival of the Mandolins, as well as at the West Coast Ragtime Festival and the Blind Boone Ragtime and Early Jazz Festival.

p sho cal lo

824 Washington, Port Townsend • 360.385.5225 alchemybistroandwinebar.com

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

2013 CENTRUM SUMMER SEASON

l a c lo s shop • The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader 5

Festival of American

fiddle tunes

July 4-6

Suzy Thompson, Artistic Director

FACULTY BIOS * OLD TIME * CENTRUM

800.746.1982 www.centrum.org

Thursday, July 4 Fiddlin’ on the Fourth Afternoon Show

McCurdy Pavilion 1:30 pm; $20/25 Joseph Decosimo - Tennessee Curly Miller and Carole Anne Rose - Arkansas Brian Marshall - Texas-Polish intermission Riley Baugus - North Carolina Dawn Beaton and Barbara Magone - Cape Breton

Lynn “Chirps” Smith has played fiddle & mandolin for more than thirty years with a specialty in Midwestern dance tunes. He has played mandolin with the Indian Creek Delta Boys (with fiddler Garry Harrison), The Polecats (with fiddler Mark Gunther), and fiddle & mandolin with The Volo Bogtrotters. Currently he plays with the Little Egypt Pepsteppers and VigorTones, as well as his latest group, the New Bad Habits. Smith has taught at workshops around the country including the August Heritage Workshop (Elkins, WV), the University of Wisconsin String-Along Weekend, the Montana Fiddle Camp, Blue Ridge Old-Time Week (Mars Hill, NC), and the Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp.

Fiddlin’ on the Fourth Evening Show

McCurdy Pavilion 7:30 pm; $20/25 Yvon Mimeault and Guy Bouchard - Quebec Rich Hartness - North Carolina Suzy Thompson - Blues and Rags intermission Chirps Smith - Midwestern Cookie Segelstein and Joshua Horowitz - Klezmer

Friday, July 5 Free Fridays at the Fort Nora Porter Commons Noon to 1 pm; free Marley’s Ghost

Cajun and Creole Dance

Littlefield Green 7 pm; $15 Edward Pouliard, Cedric Watson, Desiree Champagne, Joel Savoy, Jesse Lege, and friends

Saturday, July 6 Fiddle Finale

McCurdy Pavilion 1:30 pm; $20/25 Don and Cindy Roy - Maine Dan Gellert - Old-time Joseba Tapia, Arkaitz Miner and Leturia - Basque intermission Jos Jilguerillos del Huerto - Mexico Vivian and Phil Williams - Old-time Bobby Taylor and Kim Johnson-Old-time Fiddle Tunes ticket packages are also available. Visit www.centrum.org or call 800.746.1982 for more info.

Bobby Taylor is a fourth generation West Virginia fiddler who has been playing since the age of 13. He learned from legendary fiddlers Clark Kessinger and Mike Humphreys. Taylor first received statewide recognition when he was named the 1977 West Virginia State Fiddle Champion at the West Virginia Forest Festival at Elkins. In 2003 he received the Footbridge Award, presented by FOOTMAD (Friends of Old-Time Music and Dance) for his contributions to old-time music. Bobby has been the coordinator of West Virginia’s Vandalia Gathering contests at the State Capitol in Charleston since 1979, and has coordinated the Appalachian String Band Music Festival contest since 1990. Taylor has taught fiddle at the Augusta Heritage Center and Allegheny Echoes.

hy has Fiddle Tunes works hop endured? their families Why do folk , and essentia s return year lly raise thei generation th after year, an r kids at Fidd at‛s grown up d bring le Tunes? Now at the gather , there‛s an en ing. I think it‛s pa tire ssion and com munity. It‛s an bigger than yo opportunity to urself, to be authentically in community for the rest participate in with bearers of your life. something way of tradition, and to revel in that comm When Joe W unity heeler and Be rtram Levy go its kind, alth t it going back ough now “mus in 1977, it m ic camps” are organically gr ight have be almost a nati ew out of th en the first onal industry e workshop w of literally, and . T he public perf ee k. Participants they‛re in th ormances and faculty pl eir finest fo you‛ll see on rm by the tim ay music all da July 4th, 5th, e the perfor y and all nigh and 6th are happens duri mances roll ar t, an attempt to ng the Fiddle ound. The sh share with yo Tunes festiv ow s u ju al. st a little bit The shows ar of what e also a very rare opportun Basque music it y to hear vern ? Polish fidd acular music ling from Tex You can hear from around as? World cl them all at Fi the world. ass Klezmer? ddle Tunes th happen in ou A trio from is year. It‛s r little town, Michoacán, M sometimes ha a place that‛s exico? rd to imagine not on the w that this coul What‛s the di ay to anywhe d fference betw re. een these kind the same mel s of music? W ody from Que hat makes a bec? Discern ornamentation Cajun tune di ing the differ , the bowing fferent that ence betwee patterns, Iris to do when yo n styles - whe h triplets, or u hear differ ther it‛s the bluesy slides ent kinds of -is really fun, fiddling back and much easi The week be -to-back. fore all of th er at fiddling, ou grounds duri tstanding sing ng the Voice er s Works works of many styl this year it‛d es fill the Fo hop. If there be the Birmin rt Worden was one grou gham Sunlight four-part a ca p that I wou s, closing the pella gospel m ldn‛t want to M cC us ur miss ic has earned dy Pavilion sh here in 2007 ow on June 29 them a Natio . nal Heritage . Their Award since Finally, on be their last visi half of the Ce t ntrum commun EdLittlefield ity, I would lik for his unfath e extend prof omable suppor imagine what ound gratitud t of Centrum we‛d look like e to th rough the de w it ho can hear him ut hi m . cades. I find Ed ‛s more than play with Mar it difficult to a philanthrop ley‛s Ghost at Commons. ist, he‛s a mus the Free Frid ician, and you ay‛s Concert on July 5, at noon behind the

Fiddle Tunes is generously sponsored by

6 The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • 2 0 1 3 C E N T R U M S U M M E R S E A S O N

– Peter McCra cken, Voice W orks and Fiddle Tunes Program Man ager

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

From Clendenin in Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kim Johnson was exposed to banjo music at the West Virginia Folk Festival held in Glenville, WV, where she also attended college. She bought her first banjo in the early 1970s and initially struggled until she met West Virginia fiddler Wilson Douglas, whose father and grandmother had both been fine banjoists. Johnson’s determination and persistence eventually paid off and she learned to play in a sparse style suitable for string band accompaniment. Kim’s song list includes many old-time fiddle tunes common in Clay County, WV, such as “Liza Jane,” “Pretty Little Cat,” and “Elzic’s Farewell.” When she’s not performing, Johnson can be found teaching at camps such as the Augusta Heritage Center, and performing at festivals all over West Virginia and beyond. Vivian and Phil Williams have been documenting and performing Northwest folk music since their teens in the 1950’s. Vivian is one of the leading old time and bluegrass fiddlers on the West Coast. She is an award-winning fiddler, with accolades including a three-time Washington State fiddle champion, four-time winner of the West Coast International in Canada, and winner of the Smithsonian Fiddle Contest in Washington, D.C. Vivian plays primarily in the old time fiddle styles found among fiddlers in the Pacific Northwest, with an influence of older era bluegrass. She is known as one of the major historians of the pioneer dance music of the Far West. Phil Williams has developed a reputation as an outstanding backup player of fiddle tunes on the mandolin. He has published a collection of fiddle tunes for the mandolin under the title “The Mandolin Player’s Pastime.” His extensive recording work documenting fiddling in the Pacific Northwest has contributed to his title as a consultant to the Smithsonian on traditional music in the region. Multi-instrumentalists in the Old Time style, Curley Miller and Carole Anne Rose, have been featured performers at major festivals across the country including Wheatland, Merelfest, Winfield, and The Old Time Banjo Festival. Harking from the Ozark Mountains of Northwest Arkansas, the duo have been selected three times for a Folk Alliance Showcase and were featured in Cathy Fink’s Banjo Festival in Washington, DC with music notables including Mike Seeger and Bruce Molsky. Their collaborative discography includes Camp Meeting, I Love That Girl, Horse Shoe Bend, The Old 78s, with Clark Buehling, and their latest release, The Women Wear No Clothes at All. South Carolina native Rich Hartness is a seasoned fiddler in the Old Time style. He learned from old master players including Wilson Douglas, Melvin Wine, and the Hammons Family. Having played with musicians Tommy Jarrell and Dix Freeman, Hartness is a regular finalist at the Appalachian String Band Festival. His fiddling style is unique and represents a synthesis of many different influences; he is sometimes characterized as an “up bow” fiddler as he gains power and emphasis by “pushing” the bow up on the down beat. Hartness has appeared on recordings of Palmer and Greg Loux, Gail Gillespie, Molly Tenenbaum, and Mark Simos and is also featured on North Carolina Heritage Award winner Marvin Gaster ‘s CD, Uncle Henry’s Favorites.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Riley Baugus has carved his own path in music, building in-demand instruments and performing at festivals all over the world. His teaching credits include The Augusta Heritage Festival and Augusta Old Time Week, Mars Hill College’s Blue Ridge Old Time Music Week, and Sore Fingers Week in the UK. Baugus was featured on the score for the Academy Award-winning film, Cold Mountain, and has appeared on the Grammy award-winning Album Of The Year, Raising Sand by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. In 2010 his banjo playing was featured on Willie Nelson’s Grammy-nominated recording Country Music. Dan Gellert is a legend in the field of old time American music. As a result of the folk music revival of the 1960s and records he heard growing up in New Jersey, he began to master the banjo, guitar, and fiddle, and sing. At an early age he discovered the importance of taking the time to understand the music in a complete and detailed way, as if it were a language. Dan has given a lot of thought to what it takes to make the music sound and feel like the field recordings and old 78 rpm records he has listened to. While Dan is playing, one gets the sense he has entered another world which combines all his influences, yet it is his playfulness and improvisational sensibilities which make his style powerful and instantly recognizable.

* BASQUE * In the late ‘70s, Joseba Tapia gained local fame as a young trikitixa (The Basque word refers not only to the diatonic accordion, but to a particular type of folk dance) player whose fingers flew over the keys with blistering speed and accuracy. He teamed up with virtuosic pandeiro (tambourine) player Javier Leturia in 1984, and together they drove dancers into Dionysian frenzies while somehow avoiding excommunication. The pair didn’t limit themselves to traditional folk. Their 1995 self-titled disc draws on reggae, rap, punk, and the radical rock scene in their homeland. Tapia has launched a solo career that includes performing modern Québécois songs translated into Basque, and an album that features Basque songs, many of them unpublished, from the Spanish Civil War era. Tapia is also bringing his favorite fiddler, Arkaitz Miner.

CENTRUM

* DOWN EAST * Franco-American ace fiddler Don Roy, has been called the dean of Franco-American fiddling in Maine. Roy has been playing since age 6. His uncle Norman Mathieu taught him how to play guitar, and he then accompanied another uncle, Lucien Mathieu, who taught him how to play fiddle at 15. In keeping with Acadian tradition, Roy has been passing along his fiddling heritage to a few private students, as well as a larger workshop at the Center for Cultural Exchange, in Portland, Maine. After many years performing with the Maine French Fiddlers, Roy now leads the Don Roy Trio. Nationally recognized for his skill, Roy has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall and Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion.” He has twice been awarded the Maine Fellowship for Excellence in Traditional Music. Recently, Roy has been pursuing an interest in making stringed instruments, working under master craftsman Jon Cooper. Cindy Roy, also a member of the former Maine French Fiddlers, is well known for her step dancing piano accompaniment which is among the best in New England. Augmented by her rhythmic feet, she adds life and enthusiasm to the music. Some of Don and Cindy’s families were getting for house parties long before Don and Cindy met on a blind date to play music in 1980. The heritage continues and Cindy and Don will entertain you with a blend of fiddle and piano styles that are common to traditional

musicians of Maine.

* KLEZMER * A specialist in klezmer fiddling, Cookie Segelstein received her Masters degree in Viola from The Yale School of Music in 1984. She is the founder and director of the klezmer band Veretski Pass, and has performed with Kapelye, The Klezmatics, Frank London, Klezmer Fats and Swing with Pete Sokolow, and The Klezmer Conservatory Band. Segelstein has presented lectures and workshops on klezmer fiddling all over the world , including Yale University, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, the University of Oregon, and Klezmerwochen in Weimar, Germany. She was featured on the ABC documentary, “A Sacred Noise,” heard on HBO’s “Sex and the City.” Cookie will be joined at Fiddle Tunes by fellow Veretski Pass member, Joshua Horowitz (chromatic button accordion, cimbalom, and piano). Horowitz received his Masters degree in Composition and Music Theory from the Academy of Music in Graz, Austria, where he served as Research fellow and Director of the Klezmer Music Research Project for eight years. Mark Rubin grew up with a love of music due to his two musician parents and the help of a rebuilt Wurlitzer 78 rpm Juke box installed the family living room. Some of his happiest childhood memories are of sitting on the floor soaking up every nuance of the jukebox sound. When Rubin was six years old his parents signed him up for the first ever Suzuki Method course in Oklahoma so that he could begin training as a violinist. Quickly thereafter he realized his passion lay instead with the trombone, tuba and bass.

800.746.1982 www.centrum.org

2013 CENTRUM SUMMER SEASON

• The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader 7

Festival of American

fiddle tunes

* TEXAS POLISH * Texas-Polish dance band fiddler Brian Marshall is a native of Houston with Bremond roots. A fourth generation musician of Polish ancestry, he started playing music at the age of 7 and he likely learned his first Polish tune at 8. By his late 20s Marshall realized that an entire generation of Texas Polish musicians were disappearing and their repertoires with them. In response, he started recording himself and many of the older players to ensure that the music was not lost.

* QUEBECOIS * Former member of the iconic Quebecois band, La Bottine Souriante, Guy Bouchard is a master of Quebecois fiddling. In addition to his extensive recordings with La Bottine, Bouchard doubles as an archivist and historian of traditional Quebecois music through his organization, Trente Sous Zero (translating to Thirty Below).

* MICHOACÁN * Martin Dagio Almónte, and Alaín and Huber Figueroa Ziranda-members of Los Jilguerillos del Huerto - were born into a musical family in the village of Cieneguillas del Huerto, Turicato, Michoacán, México. All three began playing various stringed instruments when they were young children, learning from their father and uncle, campesinos dedicated to farming who also played traditional music of the region. A partial list of their performance venues includes Museo del Estado (Michoacán State Museum), Museo de Arte Colonial, Teatro Ocampo, Teatro José María Morelos, Casa y Palacio de Gobierno, all in Morelia; the Colegio de Michoacán in Zamora; the National University’s center in Jiquilpan, Michoacán; the National School of Folkloric Dance and Radio Educación in Mexico City; and the Regional Museum in Chilpancingo, Guerrero. They have also performed abroad in Valparaíso and Viña del Mar, Chile-and soon, Port Townsend, Washington!

Yvon Mimeault is one of the great fiddlers from Québec. At age 85, this left-handed fiddler, originally from the Gaspesie, is known for his energetic style and original repertoire. Mimeault learned from his family and his nearly 50 years playing in dance halls. He is often accompanied by various musician friends including Éric Favreau (fiddle), André Marchand (guitar), Guy Bouchard (guitar and fiddle), Kevin Carr (fiddle and uillean pipes), Daniel Roy (wooden flageolet), Laurie Rivin (fiddle), Paul Marchand (guitar) and Barbara Mendelsohn (piano). Recorded in Joliette in March 1998, his album, Y’etait Temps!, is already among the greatest Québec fiddle records.

* CAPE BRETON * Dawn Beaton hails from Mabou, Cape Breton and has been playing fiddle and step dancing for over 25 years. Dawn has taught both fiddle and dance for the last 15 years including Ceolas in South Uist, Scotland, at the Goderich Celtic Festival in Ontario, Canada, and all over Cape Breton. Besides being a musician, she is the Artistic Director for Celtic Colours International Festival in Cape Breton that takes place every October on all corners of the island.

July 4-6

Barbara Magone was born and brought up in Detroit, Michigan in a community of transplanted Cape Bretoners. Her father was her first teacher, teaching her by ear by slowly playing the tunes on the piano. Her musical abilities were encouraged by the Cape Bretoners who came to her home for frequent music sessions. Childhood summers spent in Cape Breton also gave her a firm footing in that traditional music. She played for dances, concerts, weddings accompanying such notable Island fiddlers as Buddy MacMaster, Carl MacKenzie, Cameron Chisholm, Theresa MacLellan and John Campbell.

* CAJUN * Edward Poullard was born in Eunice, LA and raised in Southeast Texas. By the time he was in grade school, he was playing in his father’s band at house parties and parish dances. He started out on drums and guitar, then moved on to accordion and fiddle, studying the latter with the late, legendary Canray Fontenot, with whom he performed nationwide until Fontenot’s death in 1995. Poullard often performed with his late brother Danny on accordion, showcasing older tunes learned from their father. He has performed and recorded with Lawrence Ardoin’s Tradition Creole Band, Jesse Lege, and most recently, his group, Les Amis Creoles. Originally from San Felipe, TX (population 868), Cedric Watson made his first appearance at the age of 19 at the Zydeco Jam at The Big Easy in Houston, TX. Just two years later, he moved to south Louisiana, quickly immersing himself in French music and language. Over the next several years, Cedric performed French music in 17 countries and on 7 full-length albums with various groups, including the Pine Leaf Boys, Corey Ledet, Les Amis Creole with Ed Poullard and J.B. Adams, and with his own group, Bijou Creole. Watson is a four-time Grammy-nominated fiddler, singer, accordionist & songwriter.

Grilled buffet dinner featuring special local meats Food carts - Free ice cream cones - Toe tappin’ entertainment by the “Crow Quill Night Owls” Talent show featuring local acts of bravery and variety, sign up in store and show your stuff!

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8 The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • 2 0 1 3 C E N T R U M S U M M E R S E A S O N

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

port townsend writers’ conference

July 7-20

Erin Belieu, Artistic Director

WRITERS’ BIOS CENTRUM

800.746.1982 www.centrum.org

In 2013, the Port Townsend Writers’ Conference celebrates its 40th-year anniversary with a full two weeks of public readings. Readings take place at the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater, and, thanks to generous grants from Goddard College and Humanities Washington, are presented free of charge. The readings showcase Conference faculty members. Enjoy contemporary literary writing by some of the finest writers in the country.

Readings Schedule Sunday, July 7, 2013 7:30 pm - Dan Chaon

Monday, July 8, 2013

7:30 pm - Janée Baugher, Bill Ransom

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

7:30 pm - Patricia Henley, Erin Belieu

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

7 pm-Participant reading at the Northwind Arts Center

Kim Addonizio has been called “one of our nation’s most provocative and edgy poets.” Her latest books are “Lucifer at the Starlite,” a finalist for the Poets Prize and the Northern CA Book Award; and “Ordinary Genius: A Guide for the Poet Within.” Her novel-inverse, “Jimmy & Rita,” was recently reissued by Stephen F. Austin State University Press. Addonizio’s many honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, two NEA Fellowships, and Pushcart Prizes for both poetry and the essay. Her collection “Tell Me” was a National Book Award Finalist. Janée J. Baugher is author of two collections of poetry, “The Body’s Physics” and “Coördinates of Yes.” As an essayist, Baugher was awarded a 2012 fellowship at the Island Institute of Sitka, and in 2011 she presented her work at the Library of Congress. She teaches literature at University of Phoenix in Seattle. She has also taught at the University of Washington - Experimental College, Highline Community College, Eastern State Hospital, Interlochen College of Creative Arts, and elsewhere. Baugher especially enjoys collaborating with visual and performing artists. Recently, she’s had her poetry adapted for the stage and set to music at the University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

7:30 pm - Sam Ligon, Joe Millar

Friday, July 12, 2013

7:30 pm - Ann Hood, Dorianne Laux

Saturday, July 13, 2013

7:30 pm - Cate Marvin, Jennine Capó Crucet

Sunday, July 14, 2013 7:30 pm - Terrence Hayes

Monday, July 15, 2013

7:30 pm - Cate Marvin, Sayantani Dasgupta

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

7:30 pm - Joy Passanante, Midge Raymond

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

7 pm-Participant reading at the Northwind Arts Center

Thursday, July 18, 2013

7:30 pm - Sam Ligon, Kim Addonizio, Gary Copeland Lilley

Friday, July 19, 2013

7:30 pm - Skip Horack, Maya Zeller

Saturday, July 20, 2013

7:30 pm - Ann Hood, Arthur Sze

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Dan Chaon wrote the national bestseller “Await Your Reply,” which was named one of the ten best books of the 2009. He is also the author of the short story collections “Fitting Ends” and “Among the Missing,” which was a finalist for the 2001 National Book Award, and the novel “You Remind Me of Me.” Dan’s fiction has appeared in Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize Anthologies, and The O. Henry Prize Stories. He has been a finalist for the National Magazine Award in Fiction, and he was the recipient of an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Born in Calcutta and raised in New Delhi, Sayantani Dasgupta’s writing has appeared in several American and Indian journals such as Gulf Stream, Crab Creek Review and Sugar Mule. In her writing, Sayantani likes to explore the intersection of personal story juxtaposed with political turmoil, popular culture, and religious fundamentalism, especially in the context of South Asia, along with answering the question as to what constitutes an Indian identity in an increasingly global world. She is currently at work on a memoir of her family’s story partitioned across three countries-Bangladesh, India, and the United States. Terrance Hayes is the author of “Wind in a Box,” (Penguin 2006), “Hip Logic,” (Penguin 2002) and “Muscular Music,” (Tia Chucha Press, 1999). His book “Lighthead,” (2010) won the National Book Award in 2010. Other honors include a Whiting Writers Award, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, a National Poetry Series award, a Pushcart Prize, two Best American Poetry selections, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. He is a Professor of Creative Writing at Carnegie Mellon University and lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with his family.

Erin Belieu, Centrum’s Artistic Director for the Port Townsend Writers’ Conference, is the author of three collections of poetry. Her first book, “Infanta,” was a winner of the National Poetry Series, selected by Hayden Carruth. “Infanta” was also chosen as a best book of the year by The Washington Post and Library Journal. Her second collection, “One Above & One Below,” was the winner of the Midland Authors Prize in poetry and the Ohioana prize, and her most recent collection, “Black Box,” was a finalist in 2007 for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. In addition to her writing, editing, and teacher, Erin Belieu is the co-founder and co-director of VIDA, a literary organization that seeks to explore critical and cultural perceptions xperience the Port T of writing by women. ownsend W at a deepe riters‛ Con r level, as ference a writing pa a focus on rticipant. co m m un With it to y an cr af d ri t, Jennine Capó gorous atte the Confe rence offe ntion afternoon rs morning Crucet is the workshops, workshops, residencies a vibrant author of , guided fr readings an eewrites, d lectures two books, contempora and series pres ry w riters. Th en ted by vita most recently e Confere 1974 at th l, nce has bee e very hea the story rt of the n since literary sc th ri vi en ng e. Pacific Nor collection thwest “How to Whether yo u‛ re ne w to writi Leave environmen ng, and se t to create eking an in Hialeah,” which won the Iowa Short Fiction new work; spirationa post-MFA l looking fo revision w Award, the John Gardner Book Prize, the r advanced or ks hops; or si an d re ch arge yourse Devil’s Kitchen Award for Prose, and was mply desir e to renew lf in a wri the Port T ting retrea named a Best Book of the Year by The ownsend W t, for fort riters‛ Con with the cr y years Miami Herald, the New Times, and the ference h aft and co as provided nnections Latinidad List. She is the fiction editor your workyou to make b and in your reakthroug for the most recent edition of PEN life. Learn h s in more at w Center USA’s Handbook for Writers, a ww.centrum .org. comprehensive writing manual used in high schools nationally as part of PEN’s Writers in the Schools programs as well as in their Los Angeles-based Emerging Writers program.

2013 CENTRUM SUMMER SEASON

• The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader 9

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Patricia Henley is the author of two chapbooks of poetry, three short story collections, two novels, a stage play, and numerous essays. Her first book of stories, “Friday Night at Silver Star”, was the winner of the Montana First Book Award. Her first novel, “Hummingbird House”, was a finalist for the National Book Award. She has taught for 24 years in the MFA Program at Purdue University. Ann Hood began writing her first novel Somewhere Off The Coast Of Maine in 1983 while working as a flight attendant-and while attending graduate school-writing whenever she could during train rides to JFK airport or in the galleys of the airplane while passengers slept. Hood is the best-selling author of ten novels, most recently “The Obituary Writer,” in which she explores the theme of grief and “the remedies that can ease, if never entirely banish” it, and in which she explores gender roles and complications of romantic love. Her previous novel, The Knitting Circle, also explored the theme of grief. Skip Horack is a former Jones Lecturer at Stanford, where he was also a Wallace Stegner Fellow. His short story collection “The Southern Cross” was published by Mariner Books/ Houghton Mifflin-Harcourt in August 2009. His novel “The Eden Hunter was” published by Counterpoint in August 2010 and was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice. His work has also appeared in Oxford American, the Southeast Review, the Southern Review, Epoch, Narrative Magazine, and elsewhere. A native of Louisiana, he is currently an assistant professor of creative writing at Auburn University. A new book, “The Other Joseph,” will come out in 2014. Dorianne Laux is the author of several collections of poetry, including “Awake,” “What We Carry,” a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award; Smoke (2000); Facts about the Moon (2005), chosen by the poet Ai as winner of the Oregon Book Award and also a finalist for the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize; and The Book of Men (2011). She has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, and has been a Pushcart Prize winner. Laux has taught creative writing at the University of Oregon, Pacific University, and North Carolina State University; she has also led summer workshops at Esalen in Big Sur. Sam Ligon is the author of the short-story collection “Drift and Swerve” and the novel “Safe in Heaven Dead.” His stories have appeared in such journals as Alaska Quarterly Review, StoryQuarterly, and New England Review. He teaches at Eastern Washington University’s Inland Northwest Center for Writers, and is the editor of Willow Springs.

Gary Copeland Lilley is a North Carolina native and earned his MFA from the Warren Wilson College Program for Writers. His publications include four books of poetry, of which the most recent is Alpha Zulu from Ausable/Copper Canyon Press. He has taught poetry and creative writing in the scholar program of Young Chicago Authors, the Great Smokies Writing Program at the University of North Carolina-Asheville, and at Warren Wilson College. He has been a poet-in-residence at The Poetry Center of Chicago, and a visiting writerlecturer at Colby College and at the Institute of American Indian Art. Raised in Washington, DC, Cate Marvin uses her work to explore what it means to be an “American poet,” often citing Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson as major influences. Marvin is interested in how American identity collides with the English language, focusing heavily on language play and on the intersection of identity, language, and the natural landscape. Marvin’s poetry collections include “World’s Tallest Disaster,” which won the Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry, and “Fragment of the Head of a Queen.” Marvin co-edited, with Michael Dumanis, the anthology Legitimate Dangers: American Poets of the New Century. Poet Joseph Millar is the author of several poetry collections, including “Blue Rust” (2011), “Fortune” (2007), and “Overtime” (2001), which was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. He has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Montalvo Arts Center, and Oregon Literary Arts. His poetry has been featured on Garrison Keillor’s National Public Radio program The Writer’s Almanac and won a Pushcart Prize. Millar, who has taught at Pacific University, the University of Oregon, and Oregon State University, lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.Poet Joseph Millar grew up in western Pennsylvania and was educated at Penn State and the Johns Hopkins University, where he earned an MA in poetry writing. He worked as a commercial fisherman and telephone repairman for more than 20 years, and his accessible narrative poems, influenced by the work of poets Philip Levine and James Wright, often take working life as a means of engaging themes of class, family, and romantic love. In a 2009 interview for Pirene’s Fountain with Charles Morrison, Millar stated, “We must have the ambition for our poems that they reach toward the sublime, that they speak from our own true selves and are grounded in the experience of our daily lives, including our dreams and hopes.” Joy Passanante is the Associate Director of Creative Writing at the University of Idaho and has published work in various literary journals including The Georgia Review, The Gettysburg Review, and Shenandoah. She teaches undergraduates as well as graduate students in three genres. Both her collection of stories, The Art of Absence, and her novel, “My Mother’s Lovers,” were finalists for several national awards. She has also published a fine-press book of poems, “Sinning in Italy.”

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10 The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • 2 0 1 3 C E N T R U M S U M M E R S E A S O N

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

port townsend writers’ conference Bill Ransom was a firefighter, firefighting basic training instructor, and CPR instructor for six years; and an Advanced Life Support Emergency Medical Technician for ten years in Jefferson County, Washington. He volunteers with humanitarian groups in Central America. Ransom has published six novels, six poetry collections, numerous short stories and articles. “Learning the Ropes” (Utah State University Press), a collection of poetry, short fiction and essays, was billed as “a creative autobiography.” Three of his short stories from this collection have been selections of the PEN/NEA Syndicated Fiction Project, often called “The Pulitzer Prize of the Short Story”: “Uncle Hungry,”“What Elena Said” and “Learning the Ropes.”

Arthur Sze’s many honors include a Lannan Literary Ward, an American Book Award, the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Writer’s Award, and a Western States Book Award for Translation. He has received grants and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Witter Bynner Foundation. In 1984 Sze began teaching at the Institute of American Indian Arts, where he is Professor Emeritus. He has also been the Visiting Hurst Professor at Washington University, the Doenges Visiting Artist at Mary Baldwin College, and spent residencies at universities such as Brown, Bard College, and the Naropa Institute.

Midge Raymond’s short-story collection, “Forgetting English,” received the Spokane Prize for Short Fiction. Her stories have appeared in TriQuarterly, American Literary Review, Indiana Review, North American Review, Bellevue Literary Review, the Los Angeles Times magazine, and many other publications. Her work has received several Pushcart Prize nominations and received an Artist Trust/Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship. Midge taught communication writing at Boston University for six years, and she has taught creative writing at Boston’s Grub Street Writers and Seattle’s Richard Hugo House.

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0Maya Jewell Zeller grew up in the Northwest, mostly living in coastal towns of Oregon and Washington. Her poetry has won awards from Sycamore Review, New South, New Ohio Review, Dogwood, Florida Review and Crab Orchard Review, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her collection of poetry “Rust Fish” was released in April 2011 from Lost Horse Press; subsequent manuscripts have been finalists with the National Poetry Series, University of Wisconsin, and elsewhere, and individual poems appear in journals such as Bellingham Review, West Branch, Cincinnati Review, and Rattle.

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2013 CENTRUM SUMMER SEASON

• The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader 11

See you at Fiddle Tunes

centrum’s 40th AnniversAry

GAlA and Auction

sAturdAy, october 12, 2013, 5:30 Pm the commons, Fort Worden state Park, Presented by Kitsap bank

We are all here because we are not all there.

From a Local . . .

And now that you, too, are here for a getaway – business or pleasure – please consider my Five Best Pieces of Advice.

Navigation & Cell Getting here is easy, over hill, dale, ferry and floating bridge. Best Piece of Advice No. 1 (two parts): Do not trust Google Maps for absolute directions in our rural county. We have South Discovery and Discovery Road and Old Discovery Road, and each stops and restarts. Fair warning. Likewise, terrain makes cell phone signals (depending on provider) sketchy in certain parts of Port Townsend (such as Fort Worden State Park) or the rural county. And, when crossing between Canada and the United States, check your cell phone and data rate or pay the international rate consequences. Your cell coverage near Cape Flattery could go Canadian so watch your bill for roaming charges.

Most Asked Here is Best Piece of Advice No. 2 to answer the two mostasked visitor questions: Where is a good place to eat? Where is a good place to stay? In terms of your appetite, our Best Foods article on page 10 is a good place to start. We are so fortunate to have a wide variety of eateries. For what it is worth, this month I have patronized Ajax Café in Lower Hadlock, Lanza’s in Uptown Port Townsend, Silverwater Café, Lehani’s and the Courtyard Cafe downtown, the Blue Moose for breakfast and Sea J’s for its fish and chips and sassy service.

When it comes to your pillow, select from hotels, motels, boutique hotels, bed and breakfasts, romantic getaways and beach cabins. Call the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce Visitor Information Center (360-385-2722) near the Port Townsend Safeway store. VIC volunteers track hotel/ motel vacancies. Hint: Reserve rooms in advance for key summer weekends, especially Centrum’s big jazz and blues festivals. Travel websites such as TripAdvisor or Yelp offer another insight on accommodations and eateries.

On The Water You do not become the wooden boat capital of the West Coast by sitting on your … hands. This is a working waterfront, with boatyards and a shipyard to handle all types of vessel construction. Port Townsend’s haulout and moorage facilities have been improved (take a walk around the port and see for yourself). There are also sailing and rowing clubs and programs, and kayak rentals, so you, too, can get on the water. Best Piece of Advice No. 3: Never judge people here by the faded color of their Carhartts. This same sentiment applies to judging anyone by age, size, hairstyle, tattoos, type of car, etc.

Community Health Speaking of cars, Port Townsend has the highest per-capita ratio of Toyota Prius cars in Washington state. We are a state leader in on-grid solar power. Bicycles for many are a way of life (so are Harleys and hot rods, but that is another story). Organic food is almost a religion. Our farmers market was voted best in the state. Health conscious would be an understatement around here, and we have the naturopaths to prove it – along with a public hospital and associated physicians. The county also has a high percentage of people who choose alternative medicine.

Business Health Repeat visitors will notice that many of our shops and storefront businesses have changed. (Yes, the Green Eyeshade is not the same Green Eyeshade). Wall Street’s shame has trickled to Main Street (actually, Port Townsend has no street by that name, but you know what I am talking about and so do the MoveOn and Occupy folks who have rallied outside financial institutions here in PT). Four years of city construction projects (roundabouts, rain gardens and this year, underground sidewalk tunnels) have tested everyone’s patience. The economy is improving, and housing sales are up although prices are down (like most everywhere else in the U.S.). Best Piece of Advice No. 4: No matter where you visit (from Quilcene to Kalaloch, Port Ludlow to Port Townsend), support the local businesses that contribute year-round to these places you appreciate.

Be Prepared Port Townsend is unique, in terms of architecture, natural beauty, a high volume of caring, giving people, and the vortex of energy some would say spurs creativity yet feeds negativity. Be prepared to meet a parade or festival (we love our costumes), to smell the Port Townsend Paper Corp. mill (papering the world since 1928), and to encounter city deer that love gardens and don’t mind traffic. Best Piece of Advice No. 5: Everyone is a tourist when out of their own backyards, so treat those you encounter while on your getaway as you would want to be treated. Article previously appeared in the 2012 Leader’s Getaway.