APRIL 2023 ARTBEAT

ARTBEAT

FIRST FRIDAYS ARTS WALK MAP INCLUDED

FRESH IDEAS FOR WENATCHEE FIRST FRIDAYS

artists and musicians to know how to successfully partner up and light up the town! (The website isn’t quite ready yet, but it will be soon.)

AND A HAPPY 40th TO YOU, COLUMBIA CHORALE!

BY MEG KAPPLER

Spring has officially sprung, and with it come abundant opportunities for experiencing and celebrating our amazing local arts scene and businesses. The NCW Arts Alliance, Wenatchee Downtown Association and the Wenatchee Chamber of Commerce’s Visit Wenatchee campaign have been cooking up some fresh ideas for revitalizing the Wenatchee First Fridays experience.

First and foremost, we want it to be easy to get involved and participate. To that end, we’re working on launching a dedicated website — wenatcheefirstfridays.com — where you can find all the information you need, including a comprehensive, interactive map and a toolkit for businesses, visual and performing

SEEKING...

Make a connection with Upper Valley Connection and help provide arts opportunities for special needs people in the Leavenworth area. Artists are paid a stipend to organize a one time monthly activity with a small group, ages 15-45. Executive Director Maren Cagle said, “We’ve always had visual art, but we’d

Secondly, our priority as we envision a bigger, brighter, more inclusive future for First Fridays, is (as always) to get your input. We are working to schedule a community meet-up and forum this month where all local business owners and interested community members are invited to attend. Please check our website and social media for the date, time and location. We want to share our thoughts, and we definitely want to hear yours. What works, what doesn’t, what do we want to build together? Let’s talk!

Lastly, but certainly not least, we want to honor our roots as we look to the future. The First Fridays Arts Walk specifically would not exist without the selfless dedication of some awesome people (Kasey Koski and karen dawn dean, I’m looking at you). It’s an honor for NCW Arts to be able to build on the foresight and vision of those who laid such a fabulous foundation.

You can expect the Wenatchee Columbia Chorale, 60 voices strong, to make an especially joyful noise at their Happy Birthday Concert this month. In addition, director Mike Hibbert said, chorale alumni will join members on stage to sing “America the Beautiful” at the end of the evening. The program will include the best of the best from four decades of classical compositions, African American spirituals, Broadway show tunes and more.

Saturday, April 15, 7 p.m. at the Saddlerock Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Purchase tickets through the PAC or at the door ($25/$10)

CHECK OUT THE FULL CALENDAR OF EVENTS AT NCWARTS.ORG

FEATURED OPPORTUNITY

TOTAL IMMERSION IN ALL THINGS THEATRICAL

love to try something new, too.” This June there’s a theater camp, but how about Dance? Photography? Poetry? Music? Give it a try.

Email uppervalleyconnection@gmail.com or call Maren at (509) 888-4181.

FEATURED EVENT ON THE COVER

“Blue Butterfly,” acrylic painting, 18x24 inches, by Martha Flores.

Martha Flores — artist, educator, retired therapist, frequent dancer and bringer of smiles —has lived in the Wenatchee Valley for almost 20 years. Her vivid and expressive paintings have become part of our arts landscape. Born in Guatemala and raised in El Salvador, she often channels her reactions to events there, as well

as today’s current world situation, into her artwork. “Doing my own art is my therapy,” she said. “It helps me a great deal to deal with the many things that are going on in the world.”

You can see her art and meet the artist at Pybus Public Market’s Art Alley on First Friday, April 7, from 5 to 7 pm. Her show runs through April.

Music Theatre of Wenatchee is offering a rigorous 6-week introductory acting/directing workshop at the Riverside Playhouse. Available slots are filling, but organizer Cynthia Brown encourages registration for any aspiring adult who feels they’re ready to take to the stage. The multi-faceted course is taught by seasoned local theater artists, and classes will cul-

minate in three student-directed and produced public performances of “Almost, Maine.”

FREE From May 23 through July 2 (with flexible scheduling).

Contact Cynthia Brown at (509) 670-8233 for details.

GIVE A LITTLE, GET A LOT: ARTS DAYS WITH UPPER VALLEY CONNECTION

TOP PICKS OF STUDENT ART WILL MOVE ON TO OLYMPIA

By susan lagsdin

This year’s 44th Annual Regional High School Art Show, hosted by the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center, yielded a total of 208 separate art pieces from North Central Washington students. Of those, four local judges chose just 15 to send on to Olympia for another statewide round of competition.

Washington’s top high school artists have in the past been recognized by the State Office of Public Instruction at the old Capitol building. But this summer, those 15 statewide winners will, for the

first time, be honored at a celebratory public event at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall.

These NCW high school students are the ones whose works, called “Best of Show,” will compete with students statewide. From Bridgeport: Freddy Parbol. From Cascade: Isabel Bentsen and Lauren Haiduc. From Cashmere: Mykla Smith, Aztlan Oropeza-Garcia, Jayden Anderson, Leandro LopezRosario, and Stevie Garrison. From Okanogan: Lilianna Tixta. From Oroville: Anthony Herrick. From Wenatchee: Jesus Gonzalez Gutierrez, Anna Hirsch, and Wyatt Lester. From Tonasket: Maria Timm and Noemie Guillou.

But those aren’t the only student exhibitors to win praise. Judges also awarded Honorable Mention to several others, and the show’s curator Kasey Koski carefully tallies the People’s Choice ballots, the votes of viewers who walk through the Museum’s extensive exhibit. Additionally, judge Gregg Schlanger of Central Washington University’s art department gave tuition waivers to eight promising artists.

Every fall, students in high school art departments throughout Washington submit pieces for judging within their separate Educational Services Districts. “For 2023 we decided to judge them the way other districts do and just go for

excellence – with no separate awards for medium or genre,” said Koski. “The overall criteria were creativity, technical skill and composition.”

“Fourteen of our regional high schools participated, and we were happy to have the numbers at pre-pandemic levels again,” Koski said. She hopes that next year even more art teachers throughout the ESD will encourage students to show their work.

You can see the last day of the Regional High School Show at the WVMCC on the First Fridays Arts Walk, April 7admission is free.

“Tiger” by Anthony Herrick Best of Show winner

“Decomposition” by Maite Madsen Honorable Mention

“Underwater” by Lauren Haiduc Best of Show winner

SCAN FOR DIGITAL INTERACTIVE FIRST

FRIDAYS MAP!

FIRST FRIDAYS AFTER HOURS MEETS BOOMBOX HEAD!

Every First Friday the NCW Arts Alliance picks a new local spot for a public gathering to round out the evening. This month we’re headed to The Taproom by Hellbent Brewing at Pybus Public Market. What’s even more exciting is that it just so happens to coincide with the release of Hellbent’s latest beer, Boombox Head IPA. That name was inspired by and features the art of our very own master of maniacal, mid-century robotics, East Wenatchee-based painter/designer/ mixed media sculptor/writer/podcaster/musician/publisher (and a few more things that just can’t be listed here) — Ron Evans.

We invite all of you to top off your First Friday with us anytime from 6 p.m. to closing, Friday, April 7, at The Taproom in Pybus Market.

FIRST FRIDAYS ARTS MAP

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April is National Card and Letter Writing Month! Visitors can celebrate at the store by writing a letter or card. All supplies are provided for writing, including postage. 4-7 pm.

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1. MAC Gallery

Tihanyi: To Go Gentle,” mixed media installation by artist and ceramist Timea Tihanyi, 5-7 pm.

2. Lemolo Café & Deli Sue Erick, paintings, open till 6 pm.

3. Two Rivers Art Gallery

Sense of Place,” a collaboration of artists Jennifer Evenhus, Sheri Trepina and Sasha Syssoeva, music and local wines, 5-8 pm.

4. Tumbleweed

Designs jewelry and art prints, 4-7 pm.

5. Ye Olde Bookshoppe

Indigenous-owned Mystic North Jewelry, Pacific Northwest themes, 4-6 pm.

6. Inner Grove Tea Company

Jubilee Bobbie Art by Micaiah. Open until 6:30 pm.

7. Pickle Papers

8. Wenatchee Valley Museum

day for 44th Annual Regional High School Art Show, and Beauty of Bronze, free admission from 4-8 pm.

9. Pybus Art Alley

Flores paintings, plus beverages and bites, 5-7 pm. Live music by Dos Dudes on the main concourse stage, 6-8 pm.

Online map courtesy of the Wenatchee Downtown Association wendowntown.org