Artists seek inspiration on King County’s trails
September 28, 2010
Paul Rucker performs an outdoor concert at Rattlesnake Lake, the southernmost point of the Snoqualmie Valley trail. By Heather Dwyer
As Seattle artists Stokely Towles, Susan Robb and Paul Rucker learned this summer, beauty and uniqueness can be found right in one’s very own backyard.
Since April, the three local, interdisciplinary artists have been exploring the King County trail system as inspiration for their art. Along the way, they have been learning and creating a series of artworks on the trails.
Each of them first responded to an invitation put out last December by 4Culture. The invitation called for artists who were interested in working with the parks department in creating work on the regional trail system.
“Our mission was to explore the King County trail system,” Towles said. “Each of us has different ways of doing that.”
Towles explored the system by interviewing people and using their unique reasons and stories as his inspiration.
“People have all kinds of different reasons,” he said. “One man was bipolar and his mind was always on fire. Even just walking a few hundred yards helped to calm his mind.”
Catch ‘Roman Holiday’ for free at the depot
September 11, 2010
NEW — 2 p.m. Sept. 11, 2010
The popular film series at the Issaquah Train Depot returns Saturday night.
Films @ the Train Depot! — sponsored by the city Arts Commission and the King County cultural agency, 4Culture — plans a free screening of “Roman Holiday” at 7 p.m. at the historic depot, 50 Rainier Blvd. N.
“Roman Holiday” features Audrey Hepburn as a princess in Rome and Gregory Peck as a tabloid journalist.
Since the program launched last October, Films @ the Train Depot! has featured series of train-themed films, films set in Washington and noir classics.
Artist installs crochet exhibit in trees near Pickering Barn
August 20, 2010
NEW — 8 a.m. Aug. 20, 2010
Look up, into the tree branches, along Issaquah Creek near Pickering Barn. Yarn crocheted into intricate patterns stretches from trunk to trunk — a visual representation of the nearby creek.
Seattle fiber artist Mandy Greer started to install the piece — called “Mater Matrix Mother and Medium,” or “MMMM” — earlier this week. The recycled fabric and yarn stretches for 300 feet.
The city Arts Commission and the King County cultural affairs agency, 4Culture, cosponsored the installation. The work remains on display through late September.
City’s history comes out on DVD
August 3, 2010
Issaquah's Oral History Video Project
Six decades ago, Issaquah was a completely different city.
With fewer than 1,000 residents, zero traffic lights and acres of empty fields, the Issaquah of 1950 would be unrecognizable to those who know it today as the booming, fast-growing city of 27,000 people.
To tell its story beginning with the early pioneers of the 1920s, the Issaquah History Museums have partnered with the Issaquah Cable Station 21/61 to create the Issaquah Oral History Video Project.
The project includes 17 video shorts and 25 in-depth interviews with early, influential members of the community.
“It’s a really easy way to introduce history to people,” Issaquah History Museums Director Erica Maniez said. “History can be dry and unappetizing, but the videos are a way for people to tell the stories of their own lives. It’s a lot more personal and interesting.” Read more
Community performances of Shakespeare return
July 20, 2010
The cast of Seattle Shakespeare Company's ‘Othello’ performs during the summer's first ‘Shakespeare on the Green’ presentation in Issaquah. By Amy Dukes
The famous Shakespeare play “Much Ado About Nothing” won’t put a dent in pocketbooks July 29, when Issaquah’s Arts Commission and 4Culture will co-sponsor the play for the final show of this year’s “Shakespeare on the Green.”
This year is the second annual Shakespeare on the Green event according to Amy Dukes, arts coordinator for the Arts Commission. Issaquah hosted the event several years ago before Wooden O and Seattle Shakespeare merged; the program restarted last year.
The Arts Commission supports the event because it provides, “free high quality performing arts to the community in a relaxed accessible environment,” Dukes said. Read more
Shakespeare heads outside in Issaquah on Thursday
July 7, 2010
NEW — 10 a.m. July 7, 2010
Tragedy comes to the Issaquah Community Center lawn Thursday evening — a Shakespeare tragedy, that is.
The city Arts Commission and 4Culture — the King County cultural agency — have sponsored a pair of free “Shakespeare on the Green” performances at the community center, 301 Rainier Blvd. S. Learn more about the summer program here.
“Othello” opens the series opens at 7 p.m. Thursday. The tragedy chronicles the fallout after the title character, a general, bypasses the scheming Iago for a promotion.
“Much Ado About Nothing” plays July 29. The comedy tells the tale of the courtship between bickering Beatrice and Benedick.
Catch free film noir at the depot
June 8, 2010
The film noir series at the Issaquah Depot concludes June 12.
“Murder My Sweet” plays at 7 p.m. The film captures the style and wit of the novel “Farewell, My Lovely” by Raymond Chandler. Catch the free film at the historic train depot, 50 Rainier Blvd. N.
The city Arts Commission and 4Culture — King County’s cultural services agency — will screen the flick as part of the Films @ the Train Depot! program.
Films @ the Train Depot! launched last October with a lineup comprised of films set in the Evergreen State. The winter series included train-centric movies. The film noir series started in April.
Opportunities
April 6, 2010
- Good Samaritan Episcopal Church is conducting a second call of auditions for male and adolescent parts for its May 22-24 production of “The Sound of Music.” Auditions are from 1-5 p.m. April 10. Call Dorothy Harwood at 246-2850.
- 4Culture offers King County arts organizations the opportunity to apply for funds to purchase or upgrade equipment. Application deadline is April 21. Guidelines and applications, including information about eligibility and review criteria, are available here.
- The Sammamish Symphony Orchestra has openings in all string sections, and is seeking violinists. Other volunteer opportunities with the symphony include board membership, marketing, assisting with concerts, monitoring doors and taking tickets. Rehearsals are from 7:15-9:45 p.m. Thursdays at Eastlake High School, 400 228th Ave. N.E., Sammamish. Call 206-517-7777 or go here.
- The Issaquah Singers, which has been entertaining audiences on the Eastside for 33 years with four-part harmony, is seeking new members. Rehearsals are from 7-9 p.m. Thursdays. No auditions are necessary. Learn more here.
Bogey, Bacall star in free film noir series
April 6, 2010
A free film series relaunches at the Issaquah Train Depot soon.
The series returns April 10. A double feature — the 2006 documentary “Film Noir, Bringing Darkness into Light” and “Double Indemnity” — leads the “Film Noir: Good Guys, Bad Girls” series. “Double Indemnity” stars Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck in a definitive film noir from 1944.
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall team in the 1948 classic “Key Largo” — the selection for May 8. “Murder My Sweet” concludes the spring series June 12. The film captures the style and wit of the novel “Farewell, My Lovely,” by Raymond Chandler.
The films start at 7 p.m. at the historic Issaquah Train Depot, 50 Rainier Blvd. N.
The city Arts Commission and 4Culture — King County’s cultural services agency — will screen the flicks as part of the Films @ the Train Depot! program.
Films @ the Train Depot! launched in October with a lineup of films set in the Evergreen State. The winter series included train-centric movies.
History of Issaquah-Fall City Road documented, now online
March 23, 2010
After more than a year of on-the-road and in-the-archives research, the King County Road Services Division has compiled the history of Issaquah-Fall City Road. Find the information on a Web site packed with maps, photos, facts, and a mile-by-mile guide to the corridor.
The effort marks the completion of the county Historic and Scenic Corridors Project.
“County roads have always been important links to regional and community history, and this project resulted in a wealth of material that helps explain not only our transportation history, but also our human history here in King County,” county Road Services Division Linda Dougherty said in a news release.
The road division partnered with the county cultural services agency, 4Culture, and the King County Historic Preservation Program.
The grant-funded project documented the stories of more than 100 years of transportation development in the region and identified the most significant historic transportation corridors left in unincorporated King County. The county included nine corridors in the study. Read more
