Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
We saw Bruce Coughlan, above, twice at the Juan de Fuca Festival. First he played and sang as the duo of Whiskey Minstrels, then with Tiller’s Folly. Coughlan is a longtime songwriter and musician from Canada.
Nolan Murray performed twice with Coughlan. An award winning fiddler, he easily moved from fiddle to mandolin to mandocaster. I love mandolin and Murray was effortlessly brilliant.
Canadian Laurence Knight joined Coughlan and Murray as bassist and vocalist of Tiller’s Folly.
I have an enormous playlist on my iPod, packed with music I love. But even my most-played, favorite song is no match for live music. Room-filling, soul-stirring, dynamic. Rosie & the Riveters at the Juan de Fuca Festival is an example.
Rosie & the Riveters ended a ten week tour at the Juan de Fuca Festival at the top of their game. They performed their own songs, described as “playfully defiant,” and “confident talk-back harmonies” with titles like “Ms. Behave,” “Gotta Get Paid,” and “I Wanna Be King.”
Though their set was light and upbeat, a new song “I Believe You,” was filled with such raw honesty to bring me to tears. It caught a very current moment. You can hear it at their website.
The group is from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. From left to right they’re Farideh Olsen, Alexis Normand, and Allyson Reigh. They’re great performers and we’re already looking forward to their return for a solo concert next March.
When I said yesterday that the Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts draws performers from far and wide I wasn’t exaggerating. One of the groups we saw perform twice on Saturday, All Our Exes Live in Texas, hails from Australia.
The singer-songwriter group has won the ARIA, Australia’s Grammy, for best roots/blues album of the year. They came to the festival in Port Angeles as part of a world tour.
Halie Loren, above, is based in Oregon and has also toured internationally. Her rich, bluesy voice was perfect for her set which included an unexpected version of the 1967 hit, “Ode to Billie Joe,” best I’ve ever heard. And she set a fresh new standard with many of her other songs. Top notch.
Today is Memorial Day in the U.S. It’s a time to remember and appreciate our veterans who gave their all. These service men and women have always made America great.
We’re spending the weekend immersed in live music and performance at the Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts in Port Angeles. It’s a four day lineup of talent from near and far, and an opportunity to be saturated with awesomeness.
Chris Swenson was a highlight of our first day. He calls his work “human jazz,” a description that barely scratches the surface of voice/song, movement/dance, and performance that defies easy characterization. Check out his website to get a better idea and see him in action.
The program reads, in part, “His work is unique in its cross-cultural synthesis of theater, dance and music and its willingness to unbridle the imagination.”
The festival is a family event with a street fair and free outside entertainment. As the day progressed, kids joined the fun and danced joyfully around the periphery of the main stage.
Today is the official grand opening of our new local Michaels store. But the doors were thrown open for a “soft” opening starting last Thursday night.
What’s appealing about a bigger store like this is a broad array of the many things a crafter might use. From minding ones Ps and Qs to yarn and art supplies there’s lots to choose from, a bigger selection than we’re used to locally.
And there’s a lot of stuff for home decor.
Michaels has a lot of everything and the employees seem like genuinely nice people. But I do hope that locals will remember to also support our own locally owned businesses like Doodlebugs, Karen’s Quilts, A Dropped Stitch, Local Yarn Shop, and Over the Fence. They are vital to the health of our community.
Ulta opened in Sequim last week.
It’s a venue for all things girlie: makeup of every color and type, perfume, you name it. It’s a happy development for anyone who wants more choices than offered at our drug stores or Walmart. I cruised the aisles and saw more stuff than I’ve been offered in a long time.
There’s sunscreen. Lots of sunscreen. And every kind of shampoo and hair product imaginable.
Michael’s, next door to Ulta, is scheduled to open later this week. Though I was able to get out of Ulta without opening my wallet, I’m not sure I’ll have the same restraint at Michael’s. Craft supplies call to me.
You can get ice cream in Sequim, sort of. But there wasn’t a dedicated venue, at least not one I’d ever found. Until Sweet Spot opened last week, though it isn’t ice cream. It’s frozen yogurt. Even better. More calcium. Less butter fat. Or so I’m told.
Enter this colorful space. Take a cup. Choose your yogurt and fill the cup. Add toppings. Weigh and pay. In the middle of the afternoon yesterday there were about a dozen of us there. I guess the word’s out.
There’s a place like this in Silverdale, an hour away, so I though I was safe from temptation. This one is in the Sequim J.C. Penney shopping center. Sunny Farms Supplements on one side, Strong Points Fitness on the other. No doubt about it. I’m doomed.