Art blooms alongside all those tulips
Published 7:52 pm Thursday, March 26, 2009
Art abounds just like the flowers during the 26th annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.
From La Conner, to Mount Vernon to Conway, art is everywhere. See the tulip festival Web site at www.tulipfestival.org for a complete list of events. Here are some that you shouldn’t miss:
Art in a Pickle Barn. Ironically, this year’s Art in a Pickle Barn is actually at Cascade Mall, 201 Cascade Mall Drive, Burlington. The move to the mall gives this art show more room to spread out. The show kicks off with a free reception from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight. Meet the artists and enjoy complimentary refreshments. The show is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through April 26.
In its 20th year, Art in a Pickle Barn boasts more than 40 Northwest artists presenting works in fine arts, prints and photography with artists demonstrating their craft at midday daily. There’s a children’s play area nearby.
The Art League North Art Bash Grand Opening will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Tulip Valley Orchard &Vineyard, 16163 Highway 536, Mount Vernon. The show features high school artists and members, and offers music, demonstrations and samples of wine and cider.
The Anacortes Quilt Walk is a festival of fabric as Commercial Avenue, the main drag of Anacortes, is lined with quilts starting Wednesday. Follow the “Tulip” signs along Commercial to view hundreds of colorful quilts and wearable art garments. Maps are available at participating merchants. Store hours vary.
The La Conner Sculpture Tour. Area artists bring their work to the streets of this small coastal cove starting Thursday. Maps available at La Conner Chamber of Commerce and participating merchants.
Conway Muse Old Auction Barn. Stop in at the barn, 18444 Main St., in the vintage town of Conway at 7 p.m. April 3 for the opening art show gala where an eclectic display makes a home at this historic site.
Poster boy: This year’s poster artist Andy Sewell painted the festival’s iconic image: a boy sniffing flowers standing next to an old pickup truck surrounded by a sea of tulips.
Sewell will sign posters, which go for $25, from 3 to 5 p.m. April 18 at RoozenGaarde farm, 15867 Beaver Marsh Road, Mount Vernon.
Check out his Web site, www.finewatercolors.com.
Also, every day from April 3 and through 26, visitors can stop at the historic 1888 schoolhouse on the grounds of Christianson’s Nursery, 15806 Best Road, Mount Vernon, where 20 members of the Stanwood-Camano Arts Guild will make their creative bounty of arts and crafts available.
Offerings include watercolor florals by Karan Bush, acrylic animal and train portraits by Rocky Barrick, and blown glass by Mark Ellinger, along with photographs by Kent Baker and oil landscapes by Norman Kearsley.
Reporter Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424, goffredo@heraldnet.com
