360 December 25, 2014

STILL PLENTY OF WAYS TO CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS IN THE AREA Page 3 Skagit Valley Herald Thursday December 25, 2014

ON STAGE

TUNING UP Mark DuFresne Blues Band part of the New Year Gala lineup at Conway Muse PAGE 9

The Swingnuts play in Anacortes on Dec. 31 PAGE 8

NEW YEAR’S EVE EVENTS Here’s where to ring in the New Year locally PAGE 11

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

E2 - Thursday, December 25, 2014

NEW ON DVD THIS WEEK Other Really Big Companies that release DVDs must Problems”: Peg and Upcoming be anticipating little Cat help pirates fairly movie releases money left after all share tropical fruit.

Following is a partial the holiday shopping “The Trip to Italy”: schedule of coming movies because there’s an Followup to the 2010 on DVD. Release dates are abbreviated list of release, “The Trip.” subject to change: new DVDs hitting “1,000 Times stores next week.

Good Night”: HusDEC. 30 The Equalizer Here are some lastband and wife clash Tusk minute shopping ideas over her dangerous Last Weekend from the small group job. Juliette Binoche Kelly & Cal of new releases: stars.

App “The Intruders”: “Pride”: A LonThe eight-part susdon-based group of JAN. 6 pense series comes No Good Deed gay and lesbian activGet on Up from writer and ists come together to Boyhood executive producer help families affected Left Behind Glen Morgan, one by the UK miners’ Atlas Shrugged, Part 3: of the major forces strike in 1984.

Who Is John Galt? behind “The X-Files.”

The Guest “Traffickers”: That background Smuggler goes on JAN. 13 is obvious in this a search for his old A Walk Among creepy BBC America partners to do one the Tombstones TV series based on last job.

The Identical Michael Marshall “Dominion: Season Men, Women & Children Smith’s novel of the The Two Faces of January 1”: Series that looks same name.

Middle of Nowhere at the world following Wetlands Set against the dark the war between an Honeymoon and dreary backdrop army of lower angels of the Pacific Northand mankind.

JAN. 20 west, the series looks “Wings: Sky Force Lucy at a secret society Annabelle Heroes”: Hilary Duff with one ambition The Boxtrolls and Rob Schneider The Drop — immortality. They provide voices in this The Green Prince accomplish this by animated tale of highThe Zero Theorem taking over the bodies flying firefighters.

White Bird in a Blizzard of the living.

“WWE: SurviBy the Gun The series features Rudderless vor Series 2014”: several plot lines, The Internet’s Own Boy Includes some of the Wolves including a child on top body-slamming the run and a missing moments of the past n Tribune News Service wife. The vanished year. spouse story draws “Mazinger Z TV in a former LAPD Series: Part 2”: Team police officer whose life is sent into sets out to Japan in this animated chaos when his wife disappears. series.

The blend of murder mystery with “Frontline: The Rise of the Isis”: the supernatural makes this a weird Martin Smith looks at how the Islamic and wild tale.

State of Iraq and Syria grew in power The Blu-ray and DVD versions so fast. include a behind-the-scenes look at “7 Assassins”: Group of elite the series and features interviews with guards must recover the kingdom’s series stars John Simm and Mira Sormissing gold. vino, plus Morgan.

“Sanatorium”: Ghost hunters visit “The Good Lie”: Reese Witherthe location of a killing rampage. Kate spoon stars in this story of three “Lost Wood Riley stars.

Boys” who move to America.

“Continuum: Season 3”: Cable “Enter the Dragon: Special Ediseries about a time traveling cop living tion”: A two-DVD set featuring the in the complicated world that’s not her martial arts film starring the legend, own.

Bruce Lee. n Rick Bentley, The Fresno Bee “Peg + Cat: Pirates Ahoy! And

YOUR ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION GUIDE TO WHAT’S GOING ON IN SKAGIT COUNTY AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS

Tuning Up Page 8

Ben and Mia Starner play the Rockfish Grill in Anacortes on Friday night

Inside

SUBMISSIONS Email features@skagitpublishing.com, vrichardson@skagitpublishing. com (recreation items) Deadline: 5 p.m. Friday for the following Thursday edition Phone 360-416-2135 Hand-deliver 1215 Anderson Road Mount Vernon, WA 98274 Mailing address P.O. Box 578 Mount Vernon, WA 98273

Christmas Events................................ 3 Out & About.....................................5-6 On Stage, Tuning Up........................8-9 Get Involved...................................... 10 At the Lincoln, New Year’s Events.... 11 Hot Tickets........................................ 12 Movies............................................... 14 Travel................................................. 15

Online events calendar To list your event on our website, visit goskagit.com and look for the Events Calendar on the home page HAVE A STORY IDEA? w For arts and entertainment, contact Features Editor Craig Parrish at 360-416-2135 or features@skagitpublishing.com w For recreation, contact staff writer Vince Richardson at 360-416-2181 or vrichardson@ skagitpublishing.com TO ADVERTISE 360-424-3251

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

Thursday, December 25, 2014 - E3

COMMUNITY THE LIGHTS OF CHRISTMAS: More than a million Christmas lights will be displayed at the annual Lights of Christmas, from 5 to 10 p.m. daily, Dec. 26-30, at Warm Beach Camp, 20800 Marine Drive, Stanwood. The largest holiday light display in the Northwest covers 15 acres and features family-oriented entertainment, live music, theater, crafts, food, pony rides, a petting farm, Polar Express Train rides and overnight getaway options. Meet Santa Claus or talk with “Bruce the Spruce” Christmas tree. General admission: $10-$15.

Pay-what-you-can nights: Dec. 29 and 30. Theater events are extra.

800-228-6724 or warmbeachlights. com.

Christmas dinners n The annual Community Christmas Dinner will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. today at the Anacortes Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall, 2100 O Ave., Anacortes.

Free. n Friendship House Café, 108 Snoqualmie St., Mount Vernon, will host brunch, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., and dinner, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., today. All welcome. Donations appreciated.

360-336-2135. n The Mount Vernon Moose Lodge will host the 41st annual Vic Cain/Donna Moore Memorial Christmas Dinner from noon to 3 p.m. today at the Vasa Lodge, 1805 Cleveland St., Mount Vernon.

Free (donations welcome).

360-336-3662 or lodge1640@ mooseunits.org.

YULETIDE CONCERT: “Jazzin’ with the Classics for Christmas”: with Linda Tsatsanis, soprano; Jeffrey Cohan, flute; Nate Omdal, bass; and Martin Lund, piano, clarinet and flute: 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 28, Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center, 27130 102nd Ave. NW, Stanwood. $15 suggested donation, free for ages 18 and younger.

360-629-6110 or candlelightseattle. org.

Christmas tree pick-up service

“A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL”: Through Dec. 31, 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave., Seattle. Based on the major motion picture, “A Christmas Story, The Musical” follows a bespectacled boy named Ralphie and his one wish for Christmas – a Red Ryder BB Gun. Tickets, information: 206-625-1900 or 5thave nue.org.

“SKAGIT CHRISTMAS: Over The River … to Grandmother’s House!”: Check out special exhibits showing how early Skagitonians celebrated the Yuletide season through Dec. 31 at the Skagit County Historical Museum, 501 S. Fourth St., La Conner. Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. $5, $4 seniors and ages 6 to 12, $10 families, free for members and ages 5 and younger.

360-466-3365 or skagitcounty.net/ museum.

“AN IMPROVISED CHRISTMAS CAROL”: 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 26-27, Unexpected

Productions’ Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle. “An Improvised Christmas Carol” brings Charles Dickens’ Christmas classic to the stage with a twist. The audience gives suggestions up front, and Unexpected Productions’ improvisers use the suggestions to tell a new tale of how Christmas can (or can’t) change Ebenezer Scrooge’s life. $15 (student/senior/military discount available). 206-587-2414 or unexpectedproductions.org.

“A CHRISTMAS CAROL”: Seattle’s ACT Theatre presents Dickens’ classic holiday tale through Dec. 28 at The Allen Theatre, 700

VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS: Union St., Seattle. Showtimes vary.

Check out the historic 1891 Tickets start at $27 children, $32 adults. 206-292-7676 or acttheatre. Gaches Mansion decorated for the holidays from 11 a.m. to 5 org. p.m. Friday through Sunday, Dec. 26-28, at the La Conner Quilt & WINTERFEST: Enjoy free and affordable activities and entertain- Textile Museum, 703 S. Second St., La Conner. The main rooms ment through Dec. 31 at Seattle on the first floor highlight difCenter, 305 Harrison St., Seattle.

Visit Center House for free perfor- ferent decades during the reign mances of music and comedy, jazz of Queen Victoria (1837-1901), with a tree for each decade along and dance, cultural celebrations, with quilts and textiles popular ice sculpting, student showcases at the time. $7 admission, $5 stuand more. The Winterfest Ice dents and military with ID, free Rink will be open through Jan. 4.

Admission/skate rental fee applies. for members and children ages 206-684-7200 or seattlecenter.com/ 11 and younger. 360-466-4288 or laconnerquilts.com. winterfest.

n Anacortes High School Key Club, in cooperation with the City Parks Department, Kiwanis Sunrisers and Kiwanis Noon Club, will pick up and recycle Christmas trees from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 10, for a suggested cash and food donation placed with the tree. n Troop 4100 members, Boy Scouts of America, will offer Christmas tree pick up and disposal services to Mount Vernon residents on Sunday, Dec. 28, and Saturday, Jan. 3.

Specific information will delivered to homes on their route.

Donations are appreciated and may be placed with the tree or mailed to BSA Troop 4100, 2529 N. LaVenture Road, Mount Vernon, WA 98273. To inquire, call 206-743-6014 after Christmas. n The city of Sedro-Woolley will offer seasonal disposal of natural trees and wreaths for the first three weeks of January from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays at 315 Sterling St., Sedro-Woolley. Decorations must be removed.

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

E4 - Thursday, December 25, 2014

MOVIES

2014’s finest films wield unique power broke from the Marvel Universe template to become one of the biggest, and The two most daring and funnest, moneymakers of innovative films of 2014 2014. Similarly, the inter— “Birdman” and “Boylocking inventiveness of hood” — couldn’t be more “The LEGO Movie” caught different. Alejandro G. Inar- audiences, and the industry, ritu’s wild, woolly backstage by happy surprise. (Yes, a drama, with Michael Keaton sequel is in the works.) in his tighty-whities worryBiography and history ing about his career and his were big this year. Four of soul, is a nonstop whirl of the five Golden Globes crackling dialogue, crackbest-actor (in a drama) erjack performances and nominees brought real-life careening camerawork. This figures to the screen: Steve story of an actor trying to Carell’s John du Pont in shake off his winged super- “Foxcatcher”; Benedict hero persona from decades Cumberbatch’s Alan Turpast literally flies. ing, the World War II EngRichard Linklater’s “Boy- lish codebreaker, for “The hood,” on the other hand, is Imitation Game”; David a movie about steady pasOyelowo as Martin Luther sage, the incremental steps King in “Selma”; and Eddie in a journey from grade Redmayne as Stephen school to college dorm.

Hawking in “The Theory of Over the course of a dozen Everything.” Golden Globes years (“12 Years a Naif?”), actress nominees Amy the director reassembled Adams, Felicity Jones and his group annually — the Reese Witherspoon likewise boy-turning-teen Ellar Col- portrayed flesh-and-blood trane, Patricia Arquette (as characters in “Big Eyes,” his mother), Ethan Hawke “The Theory of Everything,” (as Dad), and a clutch of and “Wild,” respectively. other actors — for a couple While the longtime comof weeks of new shoots. panions played by Alfred The results, low-key, lopMolina and John Lithgow ing, verite, have cumulative in “Love Is Strange” were power. Nothing flashy about fictional, this very New York “Boyhood,” even as time story about family, friends, flashes by. and a relationship put to the Theater owners worry test felt utterly real. that their business is going Scarlett Johansson played elsewhere (domestic box the opposite of real — a office numbers are down spooky alien seductress in over last year) as studios human form in the strange keep cranking out focusand disturbing “Under the grouped formula fare with Skin” — and then a chemiinterchangeable scenarios cally enhanced superwarrior and visual effects. in Luc Besson’s “Lucy,” one Yet adventurous, ambiof the summer’s biggest tious, surprising films hits. New York indie auteur are still out there to see.

Jim Jarmusch dipped into “Guardians of the Galaxy” genre fare — vampires — to

By STEVEN REA The Philadelphia Inquirer

emerge with the sanguine, sublime “Only Lovers Left Alive.” Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston played a couple for the ages, in a film as much about the sustaining power of music as it was about blood.

The psychic shocks of combat reverberated in two strong films about balancing work and family, war and peace (and the quest for personal peace). In the criminally under-screened “Fort” Bliss, Michelle Monaghan is an Army medic in Afghanistan, with a young son back in Texas. In “American Sniper,” Bradley Cooper is a Navy SEAL marksman, a veteran of repeat tours in Iraq, with a wife and child back home (also Texas).

Their struggles are palpable, profound.

Another big trend this year was the postapocalyptic dystopian YA fantasy: Shailene Woodley in “Divergent,” Brenton Thwaites and Odeya Rush in “The Giver,” those trapped kids in “The Maze Runner,” Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Game: Mockingjay — Part 1,” Woody Allen in “Magic in the Moonlight.” No, strike that last one — as best I can recall, it had something to do with debunking Emma Stone in Roaring Twenties France. Not one of the Woodman’s best.

Speaking of best, in addition to “Birdman” and “Boyhood,” my list of the 10 top films of 2014 goes like this: “Calvary”: Brendan Gleeson is heartbreaking as an Irish priest told that he has a week to live — by a murderous anonymous parishioner.

A West Country western,

Paramount Pictures via AP

David Oyelowo (center) plays Martin Luther King, Jr. and Carmen Ejogo plays Coretta Scott King in the “Selma.” gorgeous, funny, and inspiring, with a killer script and direction from John Michael McDonagh.

“Foxcatcher”: Carell, certain to be on the Oscar shortlist for his eerie portrayal of the tragic Newtown Square multimillionaire du Pont, likens director Bennett Miller’s approach to that of someone speaking in a low whisper. You have to lean in to hear — and see — what is being said, and the results jolt you all the harder for their quietude.

“The Grand Budapest Hotel”: Wes Anderson’s biggest picture to date, set in a richly imagined betweenthe-wars hostelry tucked in the European Alps, boasts an all-star cast (who knew Ralph Fiennes could do comedy?!) and an underlying melancholy that belies the movie’s screwball charm.

“Ida”: London-based Pawel Pawlikowski returns to his homeland for this breathtaking 1960s-set portrait of a Polish novice nun (Agata Trzebuchowska) who, before she takes her vows, goes to meet an aunt she never knew. The woman, a judge who worked in the old Stalinist regime, is a hard-bitten stranger. The women’s journey is one of

haunting revelation.

“Locke”: A tour de force performance from Tom Hardy as a construction engineer whose whole life crumbles around him as he drives the British motorways, fielding phone calls (hands-free) in his car. Writer/director Steven Knight brings together the intimacy of theater and the energy of cinema, brilliantly.

“The Lunchbox”: The year’s best rom-com comes from India, by way of the dabbawalas who deliver thousands of homecooked lunches to office workers in Mumbai. One of those lunches goes astray, and the lonely widower accountant (Irrfan Khan) who gets it by mistake begins a relationship — by handwritten notes — with the housewife who prepared the meal. More food, and missives, ensue.

“Mr. Turner”: The sunset years of British painter J.M.W. Turner, and the sunsets and seascapes he painted, are brought to light by director Mike Leigh. Leigh’s stock player, Timothy Spall, gets the role of his career as this mumbling, prolific, complex man. And if you love Turner’s work, you’ll love the way Leigh and cinematographer Dick Pope have

brought his artistic vision to the screen.

“Nightcrawler”: Jake Gyllenhaal lost poundage and gained acting cred in Dan Gilroy’s super-dark, witty commentary on chasing the American Dream — and chasing ambulances and cops around L.A., capturing the carnage on a videocam.

In the documentary field, Laura Poitras’ inside view of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, “Citizenfour,” has its contextual and narrative flaws, but it is of such historical significance that it would be hard, and foolish, to ignore. “Code Black” takes you inside a giant, gigantically underfunded big-city hospital emergency room. “Finding Vivian Maier,” about the posthumously discovered photographer, is indeed like finding a gem. “Life Itself,” about film critic Roger Ebert and his struggles with cancer, is inspirational in so many ways. And “Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon,” made by Mike Myers, pays homage to, well, a supermensch — a champion of musicians, movie stars, and celebrity chefs whose path has crossed, and crisscrossed, those of luminaries from every quarter.

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

Thursday, December 25, 2014 - E5

OUT & ABOUT ART

Painted in an impressionistic style using oils and oil “A FESTIVE COLLECbars, Demetre’s paintings TION”: A collection of new often feature women in paintings by Anne Martin solitary situations, Edward McCool, McCool Gallery Hopper style, or couples artists and guests continues interacting. 360-336-8955 or through December at 711 lincolntheatre.org.

Commercial Ave., Anacortes. Participating artists JENNIFER BOWMAN: include Peter Belknap ACRYLICS: The show and Cathy Schoenberg, continues through Jan. 27 paintings; Tracy Powell, at Scott Milo Gallery, 420 sculptures; Stephen Roxborough and Bryce Mann, Commercial Ave., Anaphotography; Patsy Cham- cortes. The exhibition feaberlain, Cathy Schoenberg, tures Bowman’s brilliantly colored floral, landscape Marguerite Goff and Barbara Hathaway, ceram- and nautical paintings. Also showing are acrylics by ics; George Way and Art Cynthia Richardson, oils Learmonth, wood; Carole and pastels by Amanda Cunningham and Debbie Houston, photo encaustics Aldrich, jewelry; Martha

by Kathy Hastings, and Tottenham, hand-woven scarves; Jane Hyde, baskets; photography by Lewis Jones, Dick Garvey and Vicki Hampel, gourd art; Randy Dana. The gallery and other artists. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Monday through SaturSaturday or by appointday and noon to 4 p.m. ment. 360-293-6938 or Sunday. 360-293-3577 or scottmilo.com. annemartinmccool.com.

ART EXHIBITION: “Kinda Vital/Slightly Precise” continues through Dec. 28 at Anchor Art Space, 216 Commercial Ave., Anacortes. Working across processes, Jean Behnke brings together materials and objects to form a work with methods of drawing, assemblage and installation. Also on display is a selection of new work

by Russell Prather, Margaret Davidson and Sandra Westford, as well as Julia Oldham’s recent video work “Star Noise” and two earlier works. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m.

Friday through Sunday or by appointment. 360-7553140 or anchorartspace.org.

NEW PAINTINGS: New works by local artist Sharon Eckhardt are on display through December at the Rexville Grocery, 19271 Best Road, Mount Vernon. Included are original Christmas-themed paintings, landscapes and still-lifes, as well as Christmas cards. 360-466-5522 or rexvillegrocery.com.

7” continues through Dec. 28 at Smith & Vallee Gallery, 5742 Gilkey Ave., Edison. Featuring more than 20 local and regional artists, the annual show focuses on functional and three-dimensional artwork — ceramics, textiles, haberdashery, housewares UPSTAIRS ART: Check and furniture, as well as art out a selection of artwork objects and sculptures. Purfrom 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. week- chased items can be taken days, through Dec. 31, at the home immediately. Regular Upstairs Art Studios and gallery hours are 11 a.m. to Gallery, 1010 Fifth St., Ana- 5 p.m. Wednesday through cortes. Artists include Paula Sunday. The gallery is Anderson, Jo Anderson, closed today and open Cathy Schoenberg, John from noon to 5 p.m. Friday, DeLourme, Sylvia Griffen, Dec. 26. 360-766-6230 or Thaddeus Hink, Elizabeth smithandvallee.com.

Ockwell and guest artFIGURATIVE PAINTINGS: Original artwork by ists Caroline Garland and BRIGHT SHINY OBJECTS: Camano Island artist Linda Lance Ekhart. paulaander- “The Treasures of Winter” sonart@gmail.com.

Demetre is on display continues through Dec. 31 through Dec. 31 in the Linat Raven Rocks Gallery, INVITATIONAL ART coln Theatre Art Bar, 712 765 Wonn Road, Langley.

S. First St., Mount Vernon. SHOW: “Objectification: Check out a wide range of

EAGLE WATCHING

The Skagit River Bald Eagle Interpretive Center hosts guided walks at 11 a.m.

Saturdays and Sundays at Howard Miller Steelhead Park, 52809 Rockport Park Road, Rockport. The center will feature speakers at 1 p.m. Saturdays. During January, the center will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

360-853-7626 or skagiteagle.org.

handmade creations including Bob Higbee’s handturned wooden vases, Roger White’s driftwood feathers, Lynne Adam’s kicky jewelry, Mary Jo’s treasure bowls and hand knit hats, Windwalker’s “Ravens in Love” prints and cards, stained glass mosaics by Sandy and Carl Bryant, Tim Potter’s “Escher-esque” pen and ink creations, couture clothing

by Teri Jo Summer, Rich Alexander’s hand-thrown pottery, and kiln formed glass bowls, platters and more by Dale Reiger. For information, including gallery hours and directions: 360-222-0102 or ravenrocks gallery.com.

STANWOOD POTTERY SHOW: The 14th annual Mark Eikeland Pottery Show is open by appointment through December,

across from 10024 270th St. NW, Stanwood. Choose from a wide range of functional and decorative handcrafted ceramics. 360708-3209.

NEW PAINTINGS: Paintings by Bellingham artist Kathryn Hackney are on display at The Shop, 18623 Main St., Conway. Also on display are a variety of works by other gallery artists. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. 360-3912691 or theshopconway. com.

objects and then connects the viewer to both. Panzieri is a Los Angeles-based photographer with 50 years’ experience in freelance, fashion, street, news and police photography.

Free admission. 360-3363882 or ululate.org.

SMALL ARTWORKS: The 24th annual “Honey, I Shrunk The Art” small works show continues through Jan. 18 at Matzke Fine Art Gallery & Sculpture Park, 2345 Blanche Way, Camano Island. The show features creations by some 40 artists working in glass, ceramics, sculptures and paintings. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturdays and Sundays, weekdays by appointment.

360-387-2759 or matzke fineart.com.

ISLAND ART SHOW: “Fine Art in the Season of Light” continues through Jan. 1 at Rob Schouten Gallery, 765 Wonn Road, Greenbank. Choose from a wide range of artworks by Whidbey Island and Northwest artists, including glass, jewelry, paintings, sculptures, encaustics, ceramics, fiber arts, woodwork, handmade prints and books, cards and more. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends. 360-222-3070 or robschoutengallery.com.

OUTDOOR SCULPTURE EXHIBIT: The La Conner Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit is on display through March 1 at public locations around La Conner. The annual juried exhibition features work by some PHOTO EXHIBIT: “SKY,” of the Northwest’s most accomplished artists. For featuring 18 color photoinformation, including a graphs by Aldo Panzieri, map of the sculptures and continues through April works available for sale: 25 at Ululate Gallery, 924 South 11th St., Mount Ver- 360-466-3125 or townof non. Each image on display laconner.org.

Continued on Page 6 connects the sky to earth

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

E6 - Thursday, December 25, 2014

OUT & ABOUT ANACORTES IN THE GREAT DEPRESSION: “All in the Same Boat: Anacortes in the Great Depression” is on display in the Anacortes Museum’s Carnegie Gallery, 1305 Eighth St., Anacortes.

The exhibit depicts life in Anacortes after the 1929 stock market crash and the ensuing Great Depression, which dragged on for 12 years. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Free admission. 360-293-1915 or museum.cityofanacortes.org.

AT MoNA: Two exhibits continue through Jan. 4 at the Museum of Northwest Art, 121 S. First St., La Conner: “Accreted Terrane”: Featuring work by 42 artists with ties to the Northwest, the exhibit explores processes of accumulation and erosion, dispersal and gath-

The McIntyre Hall Box Office will be closed December 25 through January 1.

Tickets are available online 24/7 Enjoy the Holiday Season!

360.416.7727 mcintyrehall.org

ering. The passage of time is marked in a variety of ways, from layer upon layer of paint, to the archaeological exposure of 20th century artifacts, to the capture of hot-sculpted glass in the moment, to the interplay of light and shadow unfolding in a video loop. Guest curator David Francis suggests that the cumulative effect “evokes a world from which human beings are notably absent or indirectly present, perhaps even estranged.”

“To Be Alone Together”: The exhibition pairs 11 contemporary Northwest artists with 11 works chosen from MoNA’s permanent collection on the basis of three ideas: light, solitude and community, which the curators find to be prevailing themes in the philosophy and process of Northwest artists. The contemporary artists were asked to respond to a piece in the collection and to create new work based on that response. The exhibition looks closely at the ways in which both the ephemeral and the tangible experiences of living in a particular place influence communities of artists. “To Be Alone Together” is co-curated by artist Emma Jane Levitt and curator Shelly Leavens, through the Dana and Toni Ann Rust Curatorial Fellowship at the Museum of Northwest Art. Three new exhibits will open Saturday, Jan. 10, and continue through March 11.

An opening reception will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10: “Still Life from the Permanent Collection”: Exhibitions Director Lisa Young examines interiors through the historically rich tradition of the still life. Recent acquisitions are featured, along with works by Mark Tobey, Walter Isaacs, Maxine Martell, Spencer Moseley and contemporary artists

drawn from the museum’s permanent collection.

“A Tree is a Kind of Big Flower: Flora C. Mace and Joey Kirkpatrick”: Mace and Kirkpatrick present botanical sculptures and sensitive casein paintings that pay homage to their deep reverence for the outside world. By capturing the essence of a flower or a tree stump, the artists invite the viewer to witness the elegance of a tiger lily or the husky texture of mosscovered bark.

“Adrianne Smits: Immersion Redux: Buiten (Outside)”: Smits’ painting style invokes similarities to artists of the “Mystic painters” movement in the Northwest, such as Mark Tobey, Morris Graves and Guy Anderson.

Smits says, “In larger compositions I interpret and emphasize visual details from my encounters with nature in order to communicate the complexity of natural systems beyond their cursory picturesque value.”

Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday and Monday.

Free admission. 360-4664446 or monamuseum.org.

AT THE QUILT MUSEUM: Two special exhibits are on display through Dec. 28 at the La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum, 703 S. Second St., La Conner: “Vox Stellarum”: Textile artist Elin Noble has transformed the third-floor galleries into an installation using itajime-dyed silk organza. Her black and white silk panels, featuring irregular horizontal and vertical geometrical shapes, are hung in sets, allowing a play of overlapping shapes and moiré patterns. Also on view are pod-like threedimensional poetic forms.

“Hawaiian Quilting: Traditions Continue”: Grace Hawley first took up

Hawaiian quilting in 1985, while living in Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. Hawaiian quilts traditionally feature hand applique work with designs from nature, and the quilting lines often echo the applique design, both on and outside of the applique work.

Two new shows will open with a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, and continue through March 29: “Night Thoughts with Larkin Van Horn”: A couple years ago, Van Horn started keeping a notebook near her bed to jot down stray ideas in the night. Sometimes she’d wake up to find unintelligible scribblings that made no sense, and some ideas were just plain weird. But what did emerge were some recurring themes that turned into the short series presented in this exhibit: Shattered Circles, Labyrinths and Celtic Spirals, Gaia/Goddess Figures and Trees, as well as a collection of nonseries works on a variety of themes. Van Horn sometimes dyes or paints her own fabrics, but also uses commercial batiks.

Placing design elements on top of the backgrounds — whole cloth or fused collage — she adds stitching and embellishments, often incorporating fibers or beadwork in the finished piece.

“Freddy Moran’s Collage”: Artist and author Frederica (“Freddy”) Duffy Moran is known for her unbridled use of bold color and original designs.

She considers red to be a neutral. Moran’s love for quiltmaking began later in life, at age 60, after she had excelled at other art forms.

Her quilts have appeared in national and international publications, including magazines, art books, calendars, textbooks and quilt books.

She is the author of “Freddy’s House: Brilliant Color in Quilts” and co-author of

“Collaborative Quilting” with Gwen Marston.

Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. $7, $5 students and military with ID, free for members and ages 11 and younger. 360-4664288 or laconnerquilts.org.

ecosystem be restored?

Could it help us fight climate change? Bunn has spent more than a decade researching the rapid changes in the Arctic and the complex relationship between climate and vegetation. Free. skagitbeaches.org.

TEMPORARY MUSEUM CLOSURE: The Skagit County Historical Museum will be closed Jan. 1-16 for facility maintenance. The museum, located at 501 S. Fourth St., La Conner, will reopen for the 16th annual “Gathering of Native Artists” from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 17, followed at 5:30 p.m. by a celebration of the reprinting of the museum’s publication “Indians of Skagit County.”

“Gathering” admission: $5, $4 seniors and children ages 6 to 12, $10 families, free for members and ages 5 and younger. Admission to the publication celebration is free. 360-466-3365 or skagit county.net/museum.

ARTIST TALK: A Conversation with Adrianne Smits and Bryan Ohno: 1 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 10, Museum of Northwest Art, 121 S. First St., La Conner. Painter/ biologist Adrianne Smits is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Washington.

Discover how Smits balances her studies in the field, and learn about her process for recapturing memory with neighbor and gallery representative Bryan Ohno of Bryan Ohno Gallery in Seattle. Free. 360-466-4446 or monamuseum.org.

ANACORTES HOUSE HISTORY: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13, Anacortes Museum, 1305 Eighth St., Anacortes. Learn about the Anacortes House History and Plaque ProLECTURES gram and how to research the history of your home AND TALKS in a presentation by the NATURE PHOTOGRAAnacortes Historic PresPHER: The Skagit River ervation Board. Find out if Bald Eagle Interpretive your home is eligible for the Center will host nature phoAnacortes Historic Register, tographer and author Kevin and how you might qualify Ebi at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. for tax breaks for your 27, at the Howard Miller renovation project. Free.

Steelhead Park clubhouse, 360-293-1915 or museum.

52809 Rockport Park Road, cityofanacortes.org.

Rockport. Donations appreciated. 360-853-7626 or MORE FUN skagiteagle.org.

SKAGIT EAGLE FESTI“REWILDING THE ARCVAL: The event will take TIC”: with Dr. Andy Bunn, place every full weekend Ph.D, Dept. of Environduring January, in and mental Sciences, Western around Concrete, RockWashington University: 7 port and Marblemount. to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, Enjoy indoor and outdoor Northwest Educational Ser- activities including eagle vice District Building, 1601 watching, free tours, walks R Ave., Anacortes. Twenty and educational programs, thousand years ago mamarts and crafts, wine tasting, moths roamed a tundra eco- river rafting, music, dance system that stretched from and more. 360-853-8784 or France to China. Could that skagiteaglefestival.com.

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

Thursday, December 25, 2014 - E7

E8 Thursday, December 25, 2014

Thursday, December 25, 2014 E9

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

ON STAGE in the Skagit Valley and surrounding area December 28-January 11

TUNING UP Playing at area venues December 26-31 FRIDAY.26

WEDNESDAY.31

Jimmy Wright: 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., Big Lake Bar & Grill, 18247 Highway 9, Mount Vernon.

360-422-6411.

NEW YEAR GALA Mark DuFresne Blues Band (pictured), Prozac Mountain Boys: 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/ Main, Conway. $25.

Chris Stewart: 7 to 9 p.m., Anelia’s Kitchen & Stage, 513 S. First St., La Conner. 360399-1805.

Ben and Mia Starner: 8 p.m., Rockfish Grill, 320 Commercial Ave., Anacortes. 360-5881720.

Lloyd Hooper and the Cascade Ramblers (classic country dance): 7:30 to 11:30 p.m., Sedro-Woolley American Legion Hall, 701 Murdock St., Sedro-Woolley. 360855-5111.

BEN AND MIA STARNER

FRIDAY.26

SUNDAY.28

8 p.m., Rockfish Grill, 320 Commercial Ave., Anacortes.

6 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $7.

SATURDAY.27

WEDNESDAY.31 SWINGNUTS JAZZ 7 to 9:30 p.m., Chandler’s Square, 3000 O Ave., Anacortes. Free.

RSVP: Leah Yanega, 360-293-1300, ext. 107.

Holiday Jam: Wayne Hayton, 6:30 p.m., Conway Muse, Bard Room, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $5 and suggested food donation to benefit Neighbors in Need Food Bank.

360-445-3000.

David Guilbault (Americana): 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/ Main, Conway.

360-445-3000.

Jimmy Wright: 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., Big Lake Bar & Grill, 18247 Highway 9, Mount Vernon.

360-422-6411.

Mike Monticello: 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., Anelia’s Kitchen & Stage, 513 S. First St., La Conner.

360-399-1805.

Polly O’Keary: 7:30 p.m., H2O, 314 Commercial Ave., Anacortes.

360-755-3956.

Sly Mr. Y (classic rock): 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Skagit Valley Casino Resort, Winners Lounge, 5984 N. Darrk Lane, Bow. No cover.

877-275-2448.

Lloyd Hooper and the Cascade Ramblers (classic country dance): 7:30 to 11:30 p.m., Sedro-Woolley American Legion Hall, 701 Murdock St., Sedro-Woolley.

360-855-5111.

Wild Rabbit: 9 p.m., Longhorn Saloon & Grill, 5754 Cains Court, Edison.

360-766-6330.

Daddy Treetop & The Howlin’ Tomcats: 8:30 p.m., Edison Inn, 5829 Cains Court, Edison.

No cover.

360-766-6266.

The Trees (Rush tribute): 10 p.m., The Shakedown, 1212 N. State St., Bellingham. $5.

360-778-1067.

SUNDAY.28

Sunday.28

Saturday.3

Saturday.10

MUSIC

MUSIC

DANCE

“Jazzin’ with the Classics for Christmas”: soprano Linda Tsatsanis, jazz flutist, pianist and clarinetist Martin Lund, classical flutist Jeffrey Cohan and jazz bassist Nate Omdal; 2 p.m., Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center, 27130 102nd Ave. NW, Stanwood. $15 suggested donation, free for ages 18 and younger. 360-629-6110 or candlelightseattle.org.

Wednesday.31 MUSIC

“Winter Wonderland Gala”: Swingnuts Jazz, 7 to 9:30 p.m., Chandler’s Square, 3000 O Ave., Anacortes. Free.

RSVP: Leah Yanega, 360-293-1300, ext. 107.

“Great Salish Sea Concert”: Dana Lyons, 7 p.m., San Juan Island Library, 1010 Guard St., Friday Harbor.

Free. 360-378-2798 or sjlib.org.

Wednesday.7 MUSIC

“Guitar Masters”: Steve Davison, Peter Janson and Larry Pattis (Celtic, blues, Americana, roots); 6:30 p.m., Guemes Island Community Center, Guemes Island. $15. stevedavison.com.

“Winter Celebration: A Contemporary Dance Concert”: Fidalgo Danceworks, 3 p.m., Brodniak Hall, Anacortes High School, 1600 20th St., Anacortes. $10.

360-299-8447 or fidalgodanceworks.org.

Sunday.11 MUSIC/DANCE

Tangoheart (Argentinian tango): 7 p.m., Camano Center, 606 Arrowhead Road, Camano Island. $20, includes complimentary chocolate buffet. Free for students with ID. 360-387-0222.

John Meier: Noon to 2 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. 360-445-3000.

“Crazy Like a Fox”: Ben and Mia Starner, 6 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $7. 360-4453000.

MONDAY.29 Victims of Kool: 8:30 p.m., Castle Tavern, 708 Metcalf St., Sedro-Woolley. 360-8552263.

Sly Mr. Y (classic rock): 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Skagit Valley Casino Resort, Winners Lounge, 5984 N. Darrk Lane, Bow. No cover. 877-275-2448.

Gary B’s Church of Blues: Jam Night, 6 to 10 p.m., Conway Pub & Eatery, 18611 Main St., Conway. 360-445-4733.

Sunday Brunch Jazz: John Savage and Duane Melcher (’40s & ’50s American jazz): 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., North Cove Coffee, 1130 S. Burlington Blvd., Burlington. 360-707-2683.

Desperate Measures (classic rock): 6 to 10 p.m., Castle Tavern, 708 Metcalf St., SedroWoolley. No cover.

360-855-2263.

Bow Diddlers: 5:30 p.m., Edison Inn, 5829 Cains Court, Edison. No cover.

360-766-6266.

WEDNESDAY.31 New Year Gala: Mark Hamilton Cox: 6 p.m., DuFresne Blues Band, Rockfish Grill, 320 Prozac Mountain Boys; Commercial Ave., 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, Anacortes. 360-588-1720.

18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $25. 360-445-3000.

4More: 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Skagit Valley Casino Resort, Winners Lounge, 5984 N. Darrk Lane, Bow. No cover.

877-275-2448.

Lloyd Hooper and the Cascade Ramblers (classic country dance): 7:30 to 11:30 p.m., Sedro-Woolley American Legion Hall, 701 Murdock St., Sedro-Woolley. 360-855-5111.

New Year’s Eve Party: Flannel (90s tribute): 10 p.m., The Shakedown, 1212 N. State St., Bellingham. $10$12. 360-778-1067.

E8 Thursday, December 25, 2014

Thursday, December 25, 2014 E9

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

ON STAGE in the Skagit Valley and surrounding area December 28-January 11

TUNING UP Playing at area venues December 26-31 FRIDAY.26

WEDNESDAY.31

Jimmy Wright: 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., Big Lake Bar & Grill, 18247 Highway 9, Mount Vernon.

360-422-6411.

NEW YEAR GALA Mark DuFresne Blues Band (pictured), Prozac Mountain Boys: 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/ Main, Conway. $25.

Chris Stewart: 7 to 9 p.m., Anelia’s Kitchen & Stage, 513 S. First St., La Conner. 360399-1805.

Ben and Mia Starner: 8 p.m., Rockfish Grill, 320 Commercial Ave., Anacortes. 360-5881720.

Lloyd Hooper and the Cascade Ramblers (classic country dance): 7:30 to 11:30 p.m., Sedro-Woolley American Legion Hall, 701 Murdock St., Sedro-Woolley. 360855-5111.

BEN AND MIA STARNER

FRIDAY.26

SUNDAY.28

8 p.m., Rockfish Grill, 320 Commercial Ave., Anacortes.

6 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $7.

SATURDAY.27

WEDNESDAY.31 SWINGNUTS JAZZ 7 to 9:30 p.m., Chandler’s Square, 3000 O Ave., Anacortes. Free.

RSVP: Leah Yanega, 360-293-1300, ext. 107.

Holiday Jam: Wayne Hayton, 6:30 p.m., Conway Muse, Bard Room, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $5 and suggested food donation to benefit Neighbors in Need Food Bank.

360-445-3000.

David Guilbault (Americana): 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/ Main, Conway.

360-445-3000.

Jimmy Wright: 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., Big Lake Bar & Grill, 18247 Highway 9, Mount Vernon.

360-422-6411.

Mike Monticello: 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., Anelia’s Kitchen & Stage, 513 S. First St., La Conner.

360-399-1805.

Polly O’Keary: 7:30 p.m., H2O, 314 Commercial Ave., Anacortes.

360-755-3956.

Sly Mr. Y (classic rock): 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Skagit Valley Casino Resort, Winners Lounge, 5984 N. Darrk Lane, Bow. No cover.

877-275-2448.

Lloyd Hooper and the Cascade Ramblers (classic country dance): 7:30 to 11:30 p.m., Sedro-Woolley American Legion Hall, 701 Murdock St., Sedro-Woolley.

360-855-5111.

Wild Rabbit: 9 p.m., Longhorn Saloon & Grill, 5754 Cains Court, Edison.

360-766-6330.

Daddy Treetop & The Howlin’ Tomcats: 8:30 p.m., Edison Inn, 5829 Cains Court, Edison.

No cover.

360-766-6266.

The Trees (Rush tribute): 10 p.m., The Shakedown, 1212 N. State St., Bellingham. $5.

360-778-1067.

SUNDAY.28

Sunday.28

Saturday.3

Saturday.10

MUSIC

MUSIC

DANCE

“Jazzin’ with the Classics for Christmas”: soprano Linda Tsatsanis, jazz flutist, pianist and clarinetist Martin Lund, classical flutist Jeffrey Cohan and jazz bassist Nate Omdal; 2 p.m., Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center, 27130 102nd Ave. NW, Stanwood. $15 suggested donation, free for ages 18 and younger. 360-629-6110 or candlelightseattle.org.

Wednesday.31 MUSIC

“Winter Wonderland Gala”: Swingnuts Jazz, 7 to 9:30 p.m., Chandler’s Square, 3000 O Ave., Anacortes. Free.

RSVP: Leah Yanega, 360-293-1300, ext. 107.

“Great Salish Sea Concert”: Dana Lyons, 7 p.m., San Juan Island Library, 1010 Guard St., Friday Harbor.

Free. 360-378-2798 or sjlib.org.

Wednesday.7 MUSIC

“Guitar Masters”: Steve Davison, Peter Janson and Larry Pattis (Celtic, blues, Americana, roots); 6:30 p.m., Guemes Island Community Center, Guemes Island. $15. stevedavison.com.

“Winter Celebration: A Contemporary Dance Concert”: Fidalgo Danceworks, 3 p.m., Brodniak Hall, Anacortes High School, 1600 20th St., Anacortes. $10.

360-299-8447 or fidalgodanceworks.org.

Sunday.11 MUSIC/DANCE

Tangoheart (Argentinian tango): 7 p.m., Camano Center, 606 Arrowhead Road, Camano Island. $20, includes complimentary chocolate buffet. Free for students with ID. 360-387-0222.

John Meier: Noon to 2 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. 360-445-3000.

“Crazy Like a Fox”: Ben and Mia Starner, 6 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $7. 360-4453000.

MONDAY.29 Victims of Kool: 8:30 p.m., Castle Tavern, 708 Metcalf St., Sedro-Woolley. 360-8552263.

Sly Mr. Y (classic rock): 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Skagit Valley Casino Resort, Winners Lounge, 5984 N. Darrk Lane, Bow. No cover. 877-275-2448.

Gary B’s Church of Blues: Jam Night, 6 to 10 p.m., Conway Pub & Eatery, 18611 Main St., Conway. 360-445-4733.

Sunday Brunch Jazz: John Savage and Duane Melcher (’40s & ’50s American jazz): 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., North Cove Coffee, 1130 S. Burlington Blvd., Burlington. 360-707-2683.

Desperate Measures (classic rock): 6 to 10 p.m., Castle Tavern, 708 Metcalf St., SedroWoolley. No cover.

360-855-2263.

Bow Diddlers: 5:30 p.m., Edison Inn, 5829 Cains Court, Edison. No cover.

360-766-6266.

WEDNESDAY.31 New Year Gala: Mark Hamilton Cox: 6 p.m., DuFresne Blues Band, Rockfish Grill, 320 Prozac Mountain Boys; Commercial Ave., 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, Anacortes. 360-588-1720.

18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $25. 360-445-3000.

4More: 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Skagit Valley Casino Resort, Winners Lounge, 5984 N. Darrk Lane, Bow. No cover.

877-275-2448.

Lloyd Hooper and the Cascade Ramblers (classic country dance): 7:30 to 11:30 p.m., Sedro-Woolley American Legion Hall, 701 Murdock St., Sedro-Woolley. 360-855-5111.

New Year’s Eve Party: Flannel (90s tribute): 10 p.m., The Shakedown, 1212 N. State St., Bellingham. $10$12. 360-778-1067.

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

E10 - Thursday, December 25, 2014

GET INVOLVED ART

Award, which is open to Washington high school seniors graduating in 2015.

One student will receive the $2,000 scholarship grant, which will be used to further the applicant’s study in the photographic arts. For information or an application, contact Anita Weston at 425-776-4426 or visit ppw.org.

Learn to folkdance to a variety of international music. Instruction begins at 7 p.m. followed by review and request dances until 9:30. The first session is free, $3 thereafter. No partners needed. For information, contact Gary or Ginny at 360-766-6866.

W. Division St., Mount Vernon. Shake off the energy of the week through drumming, songs, chants. Freewill donation. heatmiser@ inbox.com.

Discovery Center for crafts activities. Discover Pass SEEKING PLAYHOUSE required.

MEMORIES: Whidbey n Marblemount Fish Playhouse needs your Hatchery, 8319 Fish Hatchmemories as it creates a ery Road, Marblemount.

50-year Commemorative Tour the fish hatchery with Calendar. Officials are SHELTER BAY CHORUS: Skagit Fisheries Enhancelooking for photos, articles, Practices are held from 2:45 ment Group volunteers posters and programs from to 4:45 p.m. every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. past shows and historical at the Shelter Bay ClubSaturdays and Sundays, events. They’d also like house in La Conner. New THURSDAY DANCE: through Feb. 1. Learn to include your testimomembers welcome. No Dance to The Skippers about the salmon life cycle, nials, such as “How the need to be a Shelter Bay from 1 to 3:30 p.m. ThursCALL FOR INSTRUChatchery operations, habitat event made you feel?” or resident. 360-466-3805. days at Hillcrest Lodge, TORS: Burlington Parks needs of salmon and other “How did the Whidbey 1717 S. 13th St., Mount and Recreation is looking local wildlife, including bald Playhouse influence your LOVE TO SING? Join the eagles. Self-guided tours Vernon. For information, for qualified instructors sense of community and women of Harmony North- are available from 8 a.m. to contact Gisela at 360-424to expand its enrichment teamwork?” or “How has west Chorus from 6:30 to 9 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Free.

5696. classes for youth and adults. the Whidbey Playhouse p.m. every Monday at the To download an instrucimpacted your life?”

Mount Vernon Senior CenBEGINNER SQUARE tor’s packet, visit burlingWWU YOUTH PROSubmit memorabilia and ter, 1401 Cleveland Ave. DANCE LESSONS: 7 p.m. tonwa.gov and click on GRAMS: Western Washtestimonials by Dec. 31 to Seeking women who like to ington University Youth Tuesdays, beginning Jan. the “Instructors Needed” Whidbey Playhouse, 730 sing a cappella music. All tab. 360-755-9649 or recre- 6, at the Mount Vernon Programs will offer five SE Midway Blvd., Oak skill levels welcome.

Senior Center, 1401 ation@burlingtonwa.gov.

Early Release Enrichment Harbor; or email to office@ Cleveland St. Couples sessions exploring topics whidbeyplayhouse.com.

ANACORTES OPEN MIC: from magic to cartooning CALL TO COLLECTORS: and singles welcome. First 360-679-2237.

9:30 p.m. Thursdays, Brown beginning Jan. 15 on Westtwo weeks are free, then Anacortes Museum, 1305 Lantern Ale House, 412 $4 per lesson. Sponsored Eighth St., Anacortes, ern’s Bellingham campus.

CALL FOR ANACORTES Commercial Ave., Anaby the Mt. Baker Singles invites local collectors to Sessions for students in ARTISTS: The Anacortes cortes. 360-293-2544. and Skagit Squares. 360participate in its “Anagrades K-5 are scheduled Arts Commission seeks 424-4608, 360-424-9675 or cortes Presents” program from 1:45 to 5 p.m. Thurssubmissions from AnaOPEN MIC: Jam Night, rosie@valleyint.com. by putting their treasures days, Jan. 15 and 29, Feb. cortes artists for a new 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Thurs- 12 and 26, and March 12. on display. Exhibits usually ongoing art exhibition at days, Conway Pub & EatCLOG DANCING FOR run about three months.

Registration: $20 per sesthe Anacortes City Hall. ery, 18611 Main St., ConBEGINNERS: Free lesson 360-293-1915. sion, $60 for all five. For Two-dimensional work will way. 360-445-4733. from 10 to 11 a.m., folinformation or to register: be displayed in the main lowed by regular clog danc360-650-3308, youth@wwu. hallway and the council AUDITIONS ing from 11 a.m. to noon RECREATION edu or wwu.edu/youth. chambers, rotating twice “I HATE HAMLET”: Thursdays, Mount Vernon GUIDED INTERPRETIVE a year. The first themed Auditions will be held at Senior Center, 1401 CleveFRIENDS OF THE FORWALKS: exhibit, “Anacortes Inside 2:30 p.m. Saturday and 6:30 land St., Mount Vernon.

EST HIKES: Join the n Skagit River Bald Out,” will be installed in p.m. Sunday, Jan. 10-11, at No fee, no partner needed.

Eagle Interpretive Center, Friends of the Forest for January and appear for the Whidbey Playhouse, First three lessons are free. scenic hikes in the forest Howard Miller Steelhead approximately six months. 730 SE Midway Blvd., Oak Wear comfortable shoes. lands around Anacortes.

Park, 52809 Rockport Park Artists residing in the Harbor. Parts are available For information, call Rosie Dress for the weather and Road, Rockport.

Join the 98221 ZIP code may subfor three women and three at 360-424-4608. wear sturdy shoes. Free.

Forest Service and trained mit up to three images for men. Actors should read For information, call 360naturalists for a guided consideration by Dec. 31. the play in advance and be MUSIC 293-3725 or visit friendsof eagle ecology walk near For information, including ready to read sides from TIME FOR FIDDLERS: the Skagit River at 11 a.m. theacfl.org. complete submission guide- the script, which is availNext up: The Washington Old Time Saturdays and Sundays, lines, contact Mary Snyder able at the playhouse for Double Watershed Tour: Fiddlers play acoustic oldthrough Jan. 31.

The center at Anacortes Parks and review. The comedy will Adults, 10 a.m. to noon time music at 6:30 p.m. also offers guest speakers Recreation, 360-293-1918; run April 3-19. 360-679Friday, Jan. 9. Meet at the each weekend. Free. or Rita James, james123@ 2237 or whidbeyplayhouse. the second and fourth wavecable.com.

Fridays of each month at n Rockport State Park, end of 32nd Street off of com.

D Avenue, Anacortes, for the Mount Vernon Senior 51095 Highway 20, Rocka gentle 1.5-mile route PHOTOGRAPHY SCHOLCenter, 1401 Cleveland. St. port. Join trained naturalDANCE through varied forest and ARSHIP: The ProfesFree; donations accepted. ists for a guided hike to wetland habitats.

FOLK DANCING: Skagit- 360-630-9494. sional Photographers of learn about old growth Heart Lake: Adults, 10 Anacortes Folkdancers Washington is accepting forests, eagle habitat and meet at 7 p.m. most Tuesapplications through Feb. SECOND FRIDAY DRUM more from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. a.m. to noon Friday, Feb. 13. Meet at the Heart Lake days at Bayview Civic Hall, CIRCLE: 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Fridays through Sundays, 14 for its 2015 Student Photographer of the Year 12615 C St., Bay View.

Jan. 9, Unity Church, 704 through Feb. 15. Visit the parking lot.

Pine Ridge Loop: Adults, 10 a.m. to noon Friday, March 13. Meet at the base of Mount Erie on Ray Auld Drive, Anacortes.

THEATER FREE ADULT ACTING CLASSES: Anacortes Community Theatre offers free acting classes for adults from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. the third Saturday each month at 918 M Ave., Anacortes.

Hosted by Nello Bottari, classes include theme monologues, scripted scenes, improv games and more, with a different topic each month. Each class is independent, so you don’t have to commit to every session. 360-840-0089 or acttheatre.com.

WORKSHOPS PROFESSIONAL EDITING COURSES: Western Washington University’s Extended Education program will offer two professional editing courses this winter on its Bellingham campus.

Editing Visual Components: The nine-week course will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, beginning Jan. 8. Participants will learn how to implement visual design in their work, including the incorporation of photographs, illustrations, infographics and typography.

Grammar for Editors: The nine-week course will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 13. Participants will receive an intensive review of the most common grammatical errors found in writing, while learning how to correct the work of authors and other writers.

Enrollment is open to faculty, staff, students and community members. 360650-3308, extendeded@ wwu.edu or wwu.edu/ forwriters.

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

Thursday, December 25, 2014 - E11

New Year’s events in the area The Beatniks will play the New Year’s Eve Gala at the Skagit Valley Casino Resort.

EXPLORE it all AT SWINOMISH CASINO & LODGE

SPEND NEW YEARS EVE WITH US!

WINTER WONDERLAND GALA: Swingnuts Jazz will perform from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Chandler’s Square, 3000 O Ave., Anacortes. Swingnuts will welcome in the new year with jazz gems from yesteryear, including danceable high-spirited swing, upbeat Brazilian and freewheelin’ jazz. Free. RSVP: Leah Yanega at 360-293-1300, ext. 107.

Center’s annual New Year’s Eve Black and White Ball will begin at 8 p.m. at 606 Arrowhead Road, Camano Island.

Camano Junction will play big band music to dance to or just enjoy. $25, includes snacks, champagne toast and more. Beverages, including beer and wine, available for purchase. 360-3870222 or camanocenter.org.

NEW YEAR’S EVE GALA: Featuring the Beatniks, 8 p.m., Skagit Valley Casino Resort, Pacific Showroom, 5984 N. Darrk Lane, Bow. $90, includes buffet dinner, live music and dancing, DJ Mike Yeoman, keepsake gift, party favors, nohost bar and a countdown to midnight.

877-275-2448 or theskagit.com.

NEW YEAR’S CELEBRATION: “A Manhattan New Year’s Eve Celebration” will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Jansen Art Center, 321 Front St., Lynden.

Enjoy hors d’oeuvres, live music, dinner and entertainment followed by live streaming of the Times Square Ball Drop, champagne, dessert and celebration. $80. Limited seating. 360-354-3600 or jansenartcenter.org.

NEW YEAR’S EVE: The Camano

AT THE LINCOLN THEATRE 712 S. First St., Mount Vernon 360-336-8955 n www.lincolntheatre.org

a life-changing journey of self-discovery.

‘Tracks’ Along the way, she meets National Geo7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Dec. 26-27 graphic photographer Rick Smolan, who 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 28 begins to photograph her voyage.

7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 29 Rated PG-13. $10 general; $9 seniors, “Tracks” tells the true story of Robyn students and active military; $8 members; Davidson, a young woman who leaves her $7 children 12 and under. Bargain matinee life in the city to make a solo trek through prices (all shows before 6 p.m.): $8 generalmost 2,000 miles of sprawling Australian al, $6 members, $5 children 12 and under. desert. Accompanied by only her dog and Sunday bargain prices: $8 general; $6 four unpredictable camels, she sets off on members; $5 for children 12 and under.

december 31

Ring in 2015 with us! Drawings all day from 10am-1am

Win your share of $15,000!

NEW YEARS EVE BINGO

december 31 $15,000

SWINOMISH PRESENTS

december 24 - 25

Last chance to pick a gift & win up to $3,000!

6pm, 8pm, 10pm & midnight

IN GIVEAWAYS! Cosmic Bingo starts at 10:45pm *closed for matinee session EXPLORE our Rewards!

SwinomishCasinoandLodge.com *Management reserves all rights

1.888.288.8883

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

E12 - Thursday, December 25, 2014

HOT TICKETS THE ROOTS: Dec. 28-29, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

IN THIS MOMENT: Dec. 30, Moore Theatre, Seattle. 877-7844849 or livenation.com.

REIGNWOLF: Dec. 31, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

COMMON KINGS: Dec. 31, Showbox SoDo, Seattle. 800-7453000 or showboxonline.com.

BUILT TO SPILL: Jan. 2-3, 2015, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-7453000 or showboxonline.com.

MARK HUMMEL’S BLUES HARMONICA BLOWOUT: Jan. 8-11, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206441-9729 or jazzalley.com.

BIG HEAD TODD AND THE MONSTERS: Jan. 15, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

CHRIS HARDWICK: Jan. 16, The Neptune Theatre, Seattle.

800-745-3000 or livenation.com.

STEEL PANTHER: Jan. 17, Showbox SoDo, Seattle. 800-7453000 or showboxonline.com.

E-40: Jan. 18, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or show boxonline.com.

RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles: Jan. 20, Mt. Baker Theatre, Bellingham. 360-734-6080 or mount bakertheatre.com.

TRIBAL SEEDS: Jan. 22, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

TOWER OF POWER: Jan. 22-25, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206441-9729 or jazzalley.com.

WALE: Jan. 23, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or show boxonline.com.

PIERCE THE VEIL, SLEEPING WITH SIRENS: Jan. 28, Showbox SoDo, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE: with Matt Costa: Jan. 30, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

“ROMEO & JULIET, THE MUSICAL”: Jan. 30-Feb. 15, Lincoln Theatre, Mount Vernon. 360-3368955 or lincolntheatre.org.

BILL FRISELL: Jan. 31, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

KIP MOORE: Jan. 31, Showbox SoDo, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

LOGIC: Feb. 5, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or show boxonline.com.

“RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S CAROUSEL”: Feb. 5-March 1, 2015, The 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave., Seattle. 888-5844849 or 5thavenue.org.

GALACTIC: Feb. 27, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

MARTIN TAYLOR INTERNATIONAL GUITAR Jan. 6-7, Jan. 8-11, NIGHT: Feb. 28, Lincoln Theatre, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Mount Vernon. 360-336-8955 or Seattle. 206-441-9729 lincolntheatre.org. or jazzalley.com.

JOSHUA RADIN: March 1, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

CARIBOU: March 4, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO: March 5, 2015, Mount Baker Theatre, Bellingham. 360-7346080 or mountbakertheatre.com.

KELLER WILLIAMS, THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS: March 6, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-7453000 or showboxonline.com.

IN FLAMES, ALL THAT REMAINS: Showbox Sodo, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showbox online.com “JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL & LIVING IN PARIS”: March 7-May 17, 2015, The 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave., Seattle.

888-584-4849 or 5thavenue.org.

2:54: March 8, Barboza, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or livenation. com.

COAL CHAMBER: March 11, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-7453000 or showboxonline.com.

DANA FUCHS: March 17-18, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206441-9729 or jazzalley.com.

THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM: March 20, The Showbox, Seattle. 800745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

ECHOSMITH: March 21, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

SHPONGLE: March 22, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

WAYNE KRANTZ: March 24-25, DR. DOG: Feb. 10, The ShowShowbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206box, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or or showboxonline.com.

441-9729 or jazzalley.com. showboxonline.com.

IRATION: Feb. 20, Showbox DATSIK: March 27, Showbox RU PAUL’S DRAG RACE: Feb. SoDo, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or SoDo, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or 11, Showbox SoDo, Seattle. 800- showboxonline.com. showboxonline.com.

745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

BORGORE: Feb. 21, Showbox BURTON CUMMINGS BAND: BILLY IDOL: Feb. 13, Paramount SoDo, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or March 27-28, Skagit Valley Casino Theatre, Seattle. 877-784-4849 or showboxonline.com.

Resort, Bow. 877-275-2448 or livenation.com.

3 REDNECK TENORS: “From theskagit.com.

MIRANDA LAMBERT: Feb. 13, Rags to Rednecks”: Feb. 21, Mt. MAROON 5: March 28, Tacoma Tacoma Dome. 800-745-3000 or Baker Theatre, Bellingham. 360livenation.com.

734-6080 or mountbakertheatre. Dome, Tacoma. 800-745-3000 or livenation.com.

AUGUST BURNS RED: Feb. 16, com.

DAN + SHAY: March 28, The The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745LOTUS: Feb. 22, The Showbox, Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 3000 or showboxonline.com.

Seattle. 800-745-3000 or show or showboxonline.com.

MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK: boxonline.com.

THE DECIBEL TOUR: March 31, Feb. 17, The Showbox, Seattle.

ANDY GRAMMER, ALEX & The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745800-745-3000 or showboxonline. SIERRA: Feb. 24, The Showbox, 3000 or showboxonline.com. com.

Seattle. 800-745-3000 or show DARK STAR ORCHESTRA: April NETTWORK: Feb. 19-22, Dimitri- boxonline.com. ou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206-441BO BURNHAM: Feb. 25, Moore 1, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-7459729 or jazzalley.com.

Theatre, Seattle. 877-784-4849 or 3000 or showboxonline.com.

COLD WAR KIDS: Feb. 20, The livenation.com.

BLUES HALL OF FAME TOUR:

with Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton and John Hammond: April 4, Mount Baker Theatre, Bellingham. 360-734-6080 or mount bakertheatre.com.

STROMAE: April 6, Showbox SoDo, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

THE SING OFF LIVE: April 6, Moore Theatre, Seattle. 877-7844849 or livenation.com.

GEORGE EZRA: April 6, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

ARIANA GRANDE: April 14, KeyArena, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or livenation.com.

BLUE OCTOBER: April 17, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

KALIN AND MYLES: April 18, Showbox SoDo, Seattle. 800-7453000 or showboxonline.com.

KAISER CHIEFS: April 22, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

VOLBEAT: with Anthrax and Crobot: April 29, WAMU Theater, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or ticket master.com.

“SOMETHING ROTTEN”: April 29-May 24, The 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave., Seattle.

888-584-4849 or 5thavenue.org.

SLEATER-KINNEY: May 7-9, The Showbox, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or showboxonline.com.

NEIL DIAMOND: May 10, KeyArena, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or livenation.com.

SASQUATCH! MUSIC FESTIVAL: May 22-25, Gorge Amphitheatre, George. sasquatchfestival.com.

BARRY MANILOW: May 27, KeyArena, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or livenation.com.

BETTE MIDLER: June 1, KeyArena, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or Livenation.com.

NICKELBACK: June 20, Gorge Amphitheatre, George. 800-7453000 or livenation.com.

“GREASE”: July 9-Aug. 2, The 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave., Seattle. 888-584-4849 or 5thavenue.org.

JOHN MELLENCAMP: July 19, Benaroya Hall, Seattle. john mellencamp.com.

5 SECONDS OF SUMMER: July 24, KeyArena, Seattle. 800-7453000 or livenation.com.

IDINA MENZEL: Aug. 5, Paramount Theatre, Seattle. 877-7844849 or livenation.com.

FOO FIGHTERS: Sept. 12, Gorge Amphitheatre, George. 800745-3000 or livenation.com.

THE WHO: with Joan Jett and The Blackhearts: Sept. 27, 2015, KeyArena, Seattle. thewho.com.

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

Thursday, December 25, 2014 - E13

Year’s top song is Beyonce, Sia’s ‘Pretty Hurts’ NEW YORK — Need a new playlist? Check out the Associated Press’ top songs of 2014 list. Heard them before? Then play them again.

1. “Pretty Hurts,” Beyonce: Contemporary music’s top singer and songwriter — Beyonce and Sia — join forces to create a song that is heavy, deeply felt, emotional — but most important, beautiful. “Pretty Hurts,” with its winning accompanying music video, tackles the insecurities anyone and everyone feels, and Beyonce’s rising vocals bring Sia’s words to life, including lyrics like “it’s the soul that needs surgery.” I could cry.

2. “Chandelier,” Sia: Being selfish is a good thing: Sia, who has written for Rihanna, Katy Perry and others, decided to keep “Chandelier” for herself, and thankfully so.

The upbeat party anthem can get anyone in the right mood.

3. “I’m Not the Only One,” Sam Smith: Yes, Sam Smith stole your heart with “Stay With Me,” but “I’m Not the Only One” proves he will be around for a long time. His honest delivery, lyrically and vocally, makes him so irresistible it makes you wonder who was so foolish to have broken his heart.

4. “All About That Bass,” Meghan Trainor: The year’s most viral and colorful song still sounds good months after its release. “All About That Bass” is addictive and empowering, and it showcases bright newcomer Meghan Trainor, who we think won’t fall into the trap of one-hit wonder status.

5. “Bailando,” Enrique Iglesias featuring Sean

Paul, Gente de Zona and Descemer Bueno: It doesn’t matter if it’s the Spanish or English version, Enrique Iglesias’ “Bailando” is the track with the year’s most swag. I wanna be contigo, and live contigo, and dance contigo!

6. “Don’t Tell ‘Em,” Jeremih featuring YG: The other song of the year full of swagger is Jeremih’s “Don’t Tell Em,” thanks to DJ Mustard’s grungy but digestible production. Call him producer of the year: He also helmed Tinashe’s “2 On,” Big Sean’s “I Don’t” and Fergie’s “L.A. Love (La La),” among other favorites.

7. “Take Me to Church,” Hozier: Hozier’s humane and emotional lyrics, matched with his commanding voice, make for a bluesy, soulful, indie rock treasure with “Take Me to Church,” likely to win the Grammy Award for song of the year.

8. “Day Drinking,” Little Big Town: “Why don’t we do a little day drinking?”

Little Big Town asks — rather sings — on their latest hit. And why not?

It would feel even better doing so while listening to this summer anthem, highlighted by the foursome’s awesome harmonies and that guitar solo.

9. “Turn Down for What,” DJ Snake and Lil Jon: Do I really need to explain why this is so good?

10. “Blank Space,” Taylor Swift: Kudos to Tay Tay for writing a song about the media’s portrayal of her love life — or the multitude of them. It’s creative, smart, funny and cool.

Honorable mention: “Cool Kids,” Echosmith; “Rather Be,” Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne; “i,” Kendrick Lamar; “Boom Clap,” Charli XCX; “Waves,” Mr. Probz.

DINING GUIDE Holiday greetings from Anelia’s Kitchen & Stage!

NEW YEARS EVE PARTY Reservations Required Only minutes from Mount Vernon!

BURGER/FRIES $5.99 11:30-4PM MON-FRI

Join us for New Year’s Eve dinner

FRIDAY SPECIALS SATURDAY PRIME RIB

Four courses with wine and cocktail pairings • 50 per person Reservations available 5:30-7:30 Music on stage at 6:00 pm by Crazy Like a Fox (Ben & Mia Starner) $

THURS NIGHTS: PRAWNS Reservations Required Fri 12/26 & Sat 12/27 Jimmy Wright is BACK!

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Music, info, & events: 513 S 1st Street, La Conner 360.399.1805 Call today or check at aneliaskitchenandstage.com

614 S. First, La Conner

Early Dinners 4 Courses $20

Every Day 3-6pm Reservations: 466-4014

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13 TIME WINNER BEST OF ANACORTES Holiday greetings from Anelia’s Kitchen & Stage!

FRI. DEC. 26 8PM BEN & MIA STARNER

Four courses with wine and cocktail pairings • $50 per person

ROCKFISH GRILL Local Food, Local Beer, Made Here

Music on stage at 6:00 pm by Crazy Like a Fox

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Join us for New Year’s Eve dinner

Reservations available 5:30-7:30 (Ben & Mia Starner)

7”

320 Commercial Ave 360.588.1720

Music, info, & events: Call today or check at

aneliaskitchenandstage.com 513 S 1st Street, La Conner 360.399.1805

Follow the Fish

1/2”

3/4”

1”

1 1/4”

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

E14 - Thursday, December 25, 2014

MOVIES MINI-REVIEWS Compiled from news services.

Ratings are one to four stars.

“Big Eyes” — As he did with “Ed Wood,” director Tim Burton takes a kitschy slice of 20th-century pop culture -- the woman who painted children with huge eyes and the husband who took credit for them -- and turns it into a special film. This is the kind of movie that has you smiling nearly all the way throughout at the sheer inspired madness of it all.

Biography, PG-13, 105 minutes. HHH1⁄2 “Big Hero 6” — Disney’s animated story about a teenager befriending a healthcare robot is a big, gorgeous adventure with wonderful voice performances, some dark undertones that give the story more depth, an uplifting message and more than a few laugh-out-loud moments. Animation action comedy, PG, 108 minutes.

HHH1⁄2 “Exodus: Gods and Kings” — Director Ridley Scott’s borderline-lunatic, bold, gargantuan and visually stunning epic is in some ways more reminiscent of his “Gladiator” than “The Ten Commandments.” Playing an intense, sword-wielding, tormented, visionary Moses, Christian Bale humanizes one of the most iconic figures of all time. Action adventure, PG-13, 142 minutes. HHHH “Foxcatcher” — Disturbing and memorable, “Foxcatcher” is based on a bizarre true story, and even if you know exactly what happens, when it does happen, it’s shocking. Steve Carell nails the role of a rich eccentric, with Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo revelatory as the wrestlers he mentors.

Sports drama, R, 134 minutes. HHH1⁄2 “Interstellar” — What a beautiful and epic film is “Interstellar,” filled with great performances, tingling our senses with masterful special effects, daring to be openly sentimental, asking gigantic questions about the meaning of life and leaving us drained and grateful for the experience. Adventure/ mystery/sci-fi, PG-13, 169 minutes. HHHH

AT AREA THEATERS ANACORTES CINEMAS Dec. 26-Jan. 1 Unbroken (PG-13): 12:45, 3:45, 6:45, 9:45 Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (PG): 1:00, 3:20, 6:25, 8:45 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (PG-13): 12:30, 3:30, 6:35, 9:30 360-293-6620 CASCADE MALL THEATRES Burlington For listings: 888-AMC-4FUN (888-2624386).

BLUE FOX DRIVE-IN Oak Harbor 360-675-5667 CONCRETE THEATRE Dec. 25-28 The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies (PG-13): Thursday: 4 p.m.; Friday: 7:30 p.m.; Saturday: 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

(3D); Sunday: 4 and 7:30 p.m.

360-941-0403

OAK HARBOR CINEMAS Dec. 26-Jan. 1 Annie (PG): Friday: 12:55, 3:25, 6:25, 8:55; Saturday-Sunday: 9:55, 12:55, 3:25, 6:25, 8:55; Monday-Thursday: 12:55, 3:25, 6:25, 8:55 Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (PG): Friday: 12:45, 3:15, 6:45, 8:45; Saturday-Sunday: 9:45, 12:45, 3:15, 6:45, 8:45; Monday-Thursday: 12:45, 3:15, 6:45, 8:45 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (PG-13): Friday: 12:35, 3:35, 6:35, 9:35; Saturday-Sunday: 9:35, 12:35, 3:35, 6:35, 9:35; Monday-Thursday: 12:35, 3:35, 6:35, 9:35 360-279-2226 STANWOOD CINEMAS Dec. 26-Jan. 1 Unbroken (PG-13): 12:30, 3:20, 6:50, 9:40 Annie (PG): 12:50, 3:20, 6:20, 8:50 Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (PG): 1:00, 3:10, 6:40, 8:55 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (PG-13): 12:40, 3:35, 6:30, 9:25 Wild (R): 1:10, 3:35, 7:00, 9:30 360-629-0514

just when we’re growing fidgety, we get another rousing musical number or another dark plot twist, and we’re back in business. Musical fantasy, PG, 124 minutes.

HHH “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb” — Sitting through the thoroughly tiresome final chapter in this trilogy, I wondered: Did anybody involved in the making Paramount Pictures via AP of this movie actually believe it was a quality effort? Ben Mark Wahlberg stars in Stiller, Robin Williams and “The Gambler.”

Owen Wilson are among the terrific actors sinking in the cinematic quicksand.

“Nightcrawler” — As Comedy adventure, PG, 97 a freelance vulture who minutes. H1⁄2 records video of crime and “The Gambler” — This crash scenes for TV news, Jake Gyllenhaal plays one of remake gives the James Caan self-destructive gamthe most disturbing movie bler role to Mark Wahlberg, characters of the year. But as a narcissistic brat, and the film veers from dark satire to tense crime thriller not the complex kind. Supporting characters played by before the tires come off John Goodman, Brie Larson near the end, leaving the and others are more interentire vehicle just short of worth recommending. Crime esting. Drama1 thriller, R, 101 minutes. HH ⁄2 thriller, R, 117 minutes.

“The Hunger Games: MockHH1⁄2 ingjay -- Part 1” — The latest “Into the Woods” — Adapted from the sensation- Katniss Everdeen adventure al musical by Stephen Sond- is a rousing yet often bleak and downbeat film that focusheim and James Lapine, Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt es a lot more on tragedies and setbacks than applausehead an A-list cast. “Into generating heroics. Ultimately the Woods” rumbles on for it serves as a solid if unspectoo long and has some dry patches here and there, but tacular first lap around the

track of a two-lap race. Fantasy adventure, PG-13, 123 minutes. HHH “The Theory of Everything” — Playing the young Stephen Hawking from reckless Cambridge student to brilliant physicist, Eddie Redmayne undergoes a remarkable transformation.

But it’s a memorable performance in a rather ordinary love story about his romance with future wife, Jane (Felicity Jones). Biography, PG-13, 123 minutes. HH1⁄2 “Top Five” — Chris Rock writes, directs and stars in a seriously funny, semi-autobiographical film that might be the most accomplished work he’s ever done for the big screen. Even when the dialogue and the visual humor are hardcore vulgar, even when his character hits rock bottom, there’s a real sense of joy about this film. Com- 1 edy, R, 101 minutes. HHH ⁄2 “Wild” — The more time we spend with former heroin addict Cheryl Strayed, the more we feel the change in this young woman’s heart and spirit as she hikes 1,100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail by herself. It’s a raw, beautiful performance

by Reese Witherspoon, and Laura Dern is warm and wonderful as her mother. Drama, R, 115 minutes. HHH1⁄2

NEW THIS WEEK In 1943, Louis Zamperini, an athlete turned B-24 bombardier for the U.S. Army Air Force, crashed in the South Universal Pictures via AP Pacific and drifted 47 Jack O’Connell portrays days in a deflating raft Louis “Louie” Zamperini with two other crewmen. in “Unbroken.”

The hellish limbo amid ocean swells, blazing sun and circling sharks did not end with a rescue, but a capture.

The Japanese navy shipped them to prisoner of war camps, where they were treated with inhuman brutality.

“UNBROKEN” is touching and important work. Angelina Jolie has directed and produced it masterfully, creating a film both heartbreaking and inspiring, huge and subtle in every frame, every scene, every interaction.

It captures World War II’s Pacific theater, neglected by filmmakers, in remarkable spectacle. The film is a breathtaking exploration of wartime human nature, from animalistic savagery to inspiring heroism. Above all, it’s a great portrait of the singular Zamperini, the kind of man who struggles to stand straight however life beats him down.

Even when the risks are extraordinary.

Played by C.J. Valleroy as a youngster, he’s introduced as a regular churchgoer with his family, but not a particularly good kid. He’s a bullied child, a trivial thief and serial runaway whose brother Pete (Alex Russell) teaches him a better use for his speed.

“A moment of pain is worth a lifetime of glory,” Pete declares at the track. Life will test that prediction.

Zamperini trains hard, becoming a superb distance runner who excels at Hitler’s 1936 Berlin Olympics. Jack O’Connell gives a nuanced performance as the older Zamperini, who enters adulthood with kindness and optimism.

When he and his fellow airmen are trapped at sea, he offers stories of the feasts his mother will cook them when they arrive home, and helps them sleep with a gentle hug, each punishing day.

Striking physical transformations show the effects of the ocean odyssey on the crewmen. There’s no wasted dialogue. O’Connell’s eyes reveal his awareness of danger and hunger for escape.

Nor does Jolie waste time with needless explanations of Zamperini’s confinement. The cruel guard whom prisoners call the Bird (Japanese musician Miyavi) recognizes Zamperini as an Olympic standout and abuses him with savage violence out of personal spite. When he’s bored with torturing Zamperini with a bamboo stick, he orders every prisoner to punch him as hard as possible in the face.

The film’s emotional center is a scene of punishment that Jolie visualizes with rich Biblical significance. The Bird, who has pushed Zamperini nearly to death with exhaustion, orders him to raise a heavy timber plank over his head and keep it in the air or be shot. O’Connell’s stance and powerful expression resemble something from a crucifixion painting.

The life-force of the human spirit is repeatedly touched

by Alexandre Desplat’s stunning score, but it’s Jolie’s stellar technique that gives “Unbroken” its remarkable power.

2:17. Rating: PG-13 for war violence, intense brutality and brief language. HHH1⁄2 n Colin Covert, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

Thursday, December 25, 2014 - E15

TRAVEL

Five free things in Vancouver, B.C., from parks to Gastown

By JEREMY HAINSWORTH Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Vancouver is consistently ranked as one of the world’s most livable cities. The city offers diverse ethnic neighborhoods, old and new, and lots of options for shopping and dining. But many of the west coast Canadian port city’s most beautiful attractions are free. Public art dots the urban landscape and there are miles of beaches and forested walks readily accessible by transit bus or train.

GRANVILLE ISLAND

Local travel CRUISE SEMINAR:

Enjoy a free presentation from Holland America Line at 6 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 21, at AAA Travel and Cruise, 1600 E. College Way, Suite A, Mount Vernon.

RSVP: 360-848-2090.

Web buzz Name:www.RVshare. com What it does: Lets you kick the tires on a motor home or travel trailer before you buy or rent an RV for a road trip. If you own an RV, you can make some extra cash by listing (free) and renting your motor home.

What’s hot: Your money goes a long way.

Sure, you might spend $300 and up a night (there are plenty of options that are less expensive), but when you’re paying that kind of money, you can get a pretty big rig. Don’t miss the “Travel Ideas” section under the “Explore” tab. You’ll find travel tips if you’re interested in renting an RV. What’s not: It lacks the resources for RV rookies that could help them decide among the different kinds of RVs. Would a rookie know the difference between a Class B and a Class A vehicle? Or which kind of motor home or trailer is best for a weekend or a two-week summer road trip? If you scroll down the home page you can see samples of the different kinds, but I wanted more content, such as profiles of different kinds of RVers.

Bustling Granville Island rests on the south shore of False Creek with views of downtown, English Bay and 2010 Winter Olympics venues.

Its center is the Granville Island Public Market, several buildings of hawkers, artists and a tantalizing selection of food from meat and vegetables, to chocolate and bagels bound to stop any dieter in their tracks. A vast outdoor deck looks onto False Creek where visitors feed seagulls and enjoy performance artists.

The island’s Rail spur n By Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Alley is home to a wide array of artisans, glassblowers and craft shops. It’s here is a sport. also just a good place to sit back and watch the world DR. SUN YAT-SEN PARK pass by over coffee — and Visitors can relax in a remember, drinking coffee pagoda at the edge of a lily

Tourism Vancouver via AP

A street scene from Gastown, a neighborhood in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Gastown is the heart of old Vancouver with tree-lined, cobbled sidewalks and historic buildings. It’s named after “Gassy” Jack Deighton, a steamboat captain who arrived in the late 1860s. pad-filled pond, where a turtle might poke its head above the water as giant carp swim idly by in the dark green waters. Filled with stonework and bamboo-lined trails, the garden rests behind moss-covered, tile-topped Chinese walls amid the bustle of downtown Vancouver. Yet it remains an oasis of peace in the eye of the urban storm.

Across the street is the Rennie Gallery at Win Sang boasting a collection of contemporary art. Tours are free by appointment.

Parts of the collection are regularly on loan to New York’s Guggenheim and Metropolitan museums, the Pompidou in Paris, Smithsonian in Washington and Tate in London. Nearby is Vancouver’s Chinatown, small compared to others but an interesting melange of sights, smells and sounds.

STANLEY PARK

One of the world’s largest urban parks, Stanley Park is named for the Brit-

ish lord for who gave his name the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup. Stroll along the English Bay sea wall from the trendy West End neighborhood, under the Lions Gate suspension bridge, and watch freighters and cruise ships passing beneath with mountains as a backdrop.

Or cut through the park’s forested center and meander along fern-lined paths as old-growth rain forest cedars tower above, cutting past Beaver Lake as herons fly overhead. At Brockton Point, majestic west coast aboriginal totem poles rise among the trees. Not far away is a children’s water park at harbor’s edge. The park, Vancouver’s gem, also boasts rose and rhododendron gardens with some 8,000 plants.

Deighton, a colorful rogue credited with being one of Vancouver’s pioneers.

Stroll down the treelined, cobbled sidewalks of Water Street from Waterfront Station and enjoy buskers, pop into a west coast aboriginal art gallery.

But take care if you wander two blocks south to the heart of Vancouver’s skid row at Main and Hastings.

There’s an ornate library endowed by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie as well as an open street drug market.

MACMILLAN SPACE CENTRE

Explore the mysteries of the night sky at Vancouver’s H.R. MacMillan Space Centre on Vanier Point in the Kitsilano neighborhood. The facility’s Gordon Southam Observatory features a 1.6GASTOWN foot Cassegrain telescope.

Gastown is the heart of old Vancouver. With evoca- The observatory dome, 33 tive street names like Gaol- feet in diameter, was built er’s Mews and Blood Alley, in 1979 and is open to the public 8 p.m. to midnight Gastown revolves around the statue of “Gassy” Jack Saturdays.

PRESENTATIONS: Anacortes Public Library, 1220 10th St., Anacortes, will offer the following presentations: More Lesser-Known Parks: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 28. Explorer Roxanne Parish features more of the relatively unknown National Park treasures in the U.S. “Wild Encounters: The Sacred & Profane”: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4. Author, photographer and naturalist Christina Nealson shares tales and images of wildlife she encountered during a 10-year RV odyssey.

“Researching a Backcountry Book”: 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 11.

Fishing author John E. Moore presents a slideshow of Washington, Idaho and Montana backcountry he visited while doing research for his fishing and hiking books.

Free. 360-293-1910, ext. 21, or library.cityofanacortes.org.

STATE VISITOR CALL CENTER: The Washington Tourism Alliance’s ExperienceWA Call Center is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. 1-800-5441800 or tourisminfo@ watourismalliance.com.

Staff members assist travelers who have questions, refer them to specific destination marketing organizations and other travel resources across the state for more detailed information, and take orders for the Washington State Visitors Guide.

Tuesday, Dec. 30 Drawings Every Hour, 2 – 6 pm

Wednesday, Dec. 31

C asino -W ide C elebration !

Drawings Every Half-Hour, Noon – 6 pm

*

Grand Prize Drawing Thursday, January 1 at 1 am

SKAGIT VALLEY CASINO W inners LO U N G E

New Year’s e ve

With: 4More Wednesday, December 31 9 pm – 1 am No cover charge!

Plus Countdown to Midnight!

SVH-AE

On I-5 at Exit 236 • theskagit.com • 877-275-2448

New Year's Eve MIDNIGHT BUFFET

Midnight – 1:30 am, January 1

7

$ 95

Tax and gratuity not included.

Casino opens at 9 am daily. Must be 21 or older with valid ID. *Must be a Rewards Club Member. Visit Rewards Club Center for details. Management reserves all rights.

BHTF