Category: Downtown Sequim

Sand sculpture resurrection

Last summer I posted a version of this sand sculpture here. The sculpture, entitled “Violet Picking Lavender,” was a volunteer effort by Kali Bradford who spent over 200 hours on the work to celebrate Sequim’s annual Lavender Faire and Festival. I posted a photo of the work on July 7th. A week later vandals destroyed the top of the castle and smashed “Violet’s” head off.

Bradford returned to work on the sculpture last month, adding the lion to protect Violet. And she rebuilt Violet’s head.

I don’t think this dragon was part of the earlier sculpture when I saw it; it’s not in any of the photos I took.

Although there is rain erosion, you can see some of the human-caused damage in this shot. To call it senseless is an understatement.

Bradford admitted she didn’t have the heart to rebuild the sculpture after the vandalism but said in the newspaper last Friday getting back to the sculpture was a way for her to heal from the vandalism. “That’s the great thing about sand: I can always rebuilt it.”

Sequim Senior Center

The Sequim Senior Center is a buzz of activity. I found my way there a month or two ago when I had call to meet with a volunteer to untangle some healthcare insurance mysteries. While there I explored a little and discovered that in addition to exercise classes, art and games such as bridge, bingo, and pinochle they also offer tours. The Center offers daylong bus tours to scenic areas like Snoqualmie Falls, to sporting events, and even some of the larger shopping centers around Puget Sound.

A local benefactor has generously donated money and property to build a new senior center, first to purchase and initial 4.5 acres of land. Then he donated a coin collection and more recently gifted to the Center a mobile home community that he owned. Income from R. Leo Shipley’s donated business will benefit the Senior Center’s capital campaign.

The Farmer’s Market

Summer months bring out the Sequim Farmer’s Market, an event held on Saturday’s downtown.

I was truly spoiled by farmer’s markets in California. Bigger metropolitan areas create a worthwhile demand for producers to truck their goods to these markets and California’s long growing season favors production. It’s not so bountiful and diverse in Sequim’s little corner of the world. Our local organic producer, Nash Huber, is the market’s “anchor” producer. There doesn’t seem to be too much other fresh produce at the market. Which isn’t to say it’s not available around here. It simply doesn’t make it to the Farmer’s Market.

I’ve read that the market is working to broaden their offerings and I know it’s not an easy proposition for a producer to spend a day sitting as a vendor at the market. In the meantime, there are plenty of tempting crafts and goodies to keep people coming back.

A new castle in town

It started out as 12 yards of glacier sand trucked in from Silverdale on June 7th, poured into an empty lot next to Adagio Bean and Leaf Coffeehouse. This is what it looked like as of July 4th, after about 100 person hours of work. The artist is Kali Bradford of Sequim, who has been constructing it in anticipation of the Lavender Faire and Festival. As you can see, it’s quite detailed.

Bradford has sculpted in sand competitions around the world and intends to finish on July 17th, by which time another estimated 100 person hours will have gone into in the work. To prevent erosion, the piece is sprayed with nine parts of water to one part of white glue. Though one would think rain would melt it, water runs through, packing more tightly the flat surfaces of the sand granules. Bradford suggests that the piece could last until the weather freezes.

The Bombardiers strike again

The local Fiber Arts Bombardiers have done again what they do best: yarn bombs on the streets of Sequim. In an attack of whimsy and patriotism, the group, described as a “loose-knit cell of knitters” staged a red, white, and blue guerrilla craft attack on West Cedar Street near the Sequim City Hall.

One member of the Bombardiers said, “Our goal is to inflict as much laughter, joy and good chuckles into town as we can.” Works for me.

I’ll be posting pictures of another yarn bombing, spied recently in Oregon, next week.