From a 5-year-old vegan and a tattooed patriot to a little mermaid and big name artists, 2016 was a year of serious fun for the folks in Herald Features.
Arts reporter Gale Fiege shared the local connections behind acclaimed artist Chuck Close and “Spotlight” co-producer Blye Pagon Faust, a Monroe native.
“What’s Up with That?” columnist Andrea Brown investigated what was behind the row of wringer washers in the window of a Broadway appliance store and met real men getting beauty makeovers at a Bothell salon for dudes.
Here are some of our memorable people, places and things.
***
”Bothell salon for men features beer on tap and much more”
The sign in front of this Bothell salon has a dude with pink foam curlers in his hair.
What’s up with that? It’s not what you think. Inside you won’t find a bunch of “Curler Joes” like the guy on the sign.
The foam is in the beer, not the curlers. “We’re a male-centric salon,” said Ron Barbera, owner of 18/8 Fine Men’s Salon at the Village at Beardslee Crossing.
Guys can get a brewski and the beauty works from scalp to toenails.
“Monroe native a co-producer of Oscar-winning ‘Spotlight’”
Blye Pagon Faust, a 1993 graduate of Monroe High School, was a producer on this year’s Oscar-winning film “Spotlight,” the story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese.
In addition to best picture, “Spotlight” took home the Oscar for best original screenplay.
“I had a great idyllic childhood in Snohomish County. My parents still live there on Lord Hill. They are amazing,” she told The Herald.
“My mom has seen ‘Spotlight’ like eight times.”
“Everett man patriotic, and not afraid to show it”
Samiu Bloomfield lost his house to the bank. He lost his wife to illness. But he didn’t lose his patriotism to a country that isn’t even his homeland. If anything, it soared.
He became a one-man parade on a street corner.
His face is tattooed with stars and stripes. His body is like a graffiti-covered wall, tagged from top to bottom. An Uncle Sam hat juts from his head. One hand boisterously waves an American flag and the other flashes a peace sign as he prances the sidewalk in downtown Everett.
“They like me. I love it,” said Bloomfield, 66. “Homeless people come up to me and say, ‘You do a good job.’ When I take my shirt off, everybody is looking. Man, people are just screaming and they throw me a kiss. I say, ‘Honey, I love you.’ I’m a crazy man.”
“For star composer, a short trek to performance in Seattle”
Hey, all you Trekkers, go boldly to the Paramount Theatre Friday night to see the “Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage” symphonic and video spectacle.
Longtime Los Angeles composer Ron Jones, who now lives near Stanwood, will conduct a portion of the concert, basically a repeat of his work for the international tour’s debut in November with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall.
The Ultimate Voyage played in 100 cities around the globe and brought five decades of Star Trek to concert halls “for the first time in this galaxy or any other.”
“I scored many episodes of ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation,’ and am fairly numb to all of this, but the power of this sensory performance is really a fantastic thing to experience,” Jones said.
“It’s a strenuous show for the orchestra. They practically collapse when it’s over. It’s like an Olympic event.”
“Tiny busker from Camano Island promotes animal welfare, veganism”
She’s a pint-sized violinist busker. She plays her violin on sidewalks around the area, collecting money for animal causes.
Jovee Holmes made a name for herself in other circles as well. She’s a celebrity 5-year-old vegan. She gained national exposure as one of the top four girl finalists in PETA’s “Cutest Vegan Kids of 2016” contest.
She was super-cute when she visited the Herald newsroom and put on a mini-concert for us.
“Hollywood comes to the ‘Rescue,’ renames Everett sports bar”
Hollywood action struck Hewitt Avenue — again.
This time, camera crews set up shop at Ynot Sports Bar & Grub across from Xfinity Arena. It was a flashback a la Gordon Ramsay 2012, when the “Kitchen Nightmares” celebrity chef came to save the Prohibition Grille-turned-Gastropub about six blocks away.
This time it was tell-it-like-it-is tavern makeover man Jon Taffer to the “Bar Rescue.” The Ynot, a bar with a mess of problems and goldfish racing, got a makeover and a new name, The Forbidden Pub.
The Ynot later took its old name back, but goldfish racing got the boot for good. Well, why not?
“Artist Chuck Close returns to old friends and a show at The Schack”
Chuck Close, wearing a colorful print suit, blue suede shoes and his trademark round-rim glasses, gazed out of the vehicle that brought him to an invitation-only opening reception at the Schack Art Center in May. The internationally renowned artist is best known for his massive-scale photo-realist portraits painted on grids.
The “Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration” touring exhibition was on display until September at the Schack in Close’s home town of Everett.
A lot of his old friends came for the opening and many of his fans came from near and far to see the remarkable show.
“Everett budget appliance shop awash in wringers and comedy”
The brigade of wringer washers stand watch in the window of Budget Appliance Service on Broadway near 19th Street.
“They look like they run, but they’re a dead wringer,” jokes worker Dale Frisk.
He’s like a stand-up comedian, but instead of tables he’s surrounded by a showroom of used appliances. He hands out sticks of gum as a “free appetizer.”
“The Strotzes are getting ready for classic rock StrutzFest”
Debbie and Toby Strotz of Arlington are organizers of the StrutzFest classic rock music festival in July at the Darrington Music Park.
Toby is the drummer in his longtime band Strutz (yes, the names are pronounced similarly).
What is the focus of StrutzFest?
“Fellowship, definitely,” Toby said. “It’s a way to get a bunch of musicians together, sort of like a family reunion of bands. We all support each other. And then you add in a bunch of people who love classic rock, camping and having a good time, it’s a win-win. And to top it off, we donate to charities that are dear to us.”
“Mustard-flavored love on aisle 38 in Costco”
Many couples slip into something sexy on their anniversary. David and Susan Barrow paraded around the Costco stores as Mr. and Mrs. Mustard in bright yellow costumes garnished by stuffed hot dogs.
They met in the mustard aisle at Costco on a blind date in 2014. They got married six months later.
Ah, love. Mushy, mustardy love.
“Kamiak grad stars in 5th Avenue’s ‘Little Mermaid’”
Diana Huey, a 2004 Kamiak High School graduate, stars as the main character Ariel in “The Little Mermaid” at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle.
Huey, 30, has a long list of credits with regional theater companies. Her senior year at Kamiak she was nominated for best actress by the 5th Avenue’s high school awards program for her portrayal of Eponine in Kamiak’s production of “Les Miserables.”
“In my junior year, I switched out of biology because I got into the the jazz choir, which is more of a senior class,” she said. “So to be in jazz choir for two years, I ended up taking biology when I was a senior. People thought I had flunked and was retaking it. For me, it was like how much of the arts can I get into my education?”
“Edmonds museum showcases artist whose life was cut short”
Artist Peggy Strong was not quite 21, charming and beautiful, when she was paralyzed in a car accident.
The tragic story is made more sad perhaps by the fact that this strong-willed, hard-working and talented woman only lived to age 44.
Cascadia Art Museum curator David Martin made sure that Strong was remembered in a comprehensive exhibition that runs through Jan. 8 at the Edmonds museum.
“Everett couple keeps Seattle Great Wheel spinning”
They are the spokes of the Seattle Great Wheel.
She runs the crowds and he runs the show. His LED displays of thousands of lights can be seen for miles and get millions of views online.
“I never knew I’d grow up to have a 175-foot Lite Brite that the whole downtown Seattle gets to see,” said Gerry Hall, general manager of the Ferris wheel that towers 200 feet above Elliott Bay. His wife, Andria Smith, is the ticketing manager.
“Earl Ingebright takes stock at age 99 and still works on his tree farm”
Earl Ingebright is 99 and a working man.
In 1958, the Seattle native and his wife, Laurine, bought an old homestead between Granite Falls and Arlington below Deer Mountain as a getaway for the couple and their three children.
Ingebright, a former U.S. Postal Service inspector, retired in 1975 and turned the homestead into the Valhalla Tree Farm, which he lovingly calls his rain forest. He was named Washington’s tree farmer of the year in 2010.
These days, Ingebright lives in a retirement home in Granite Falls, but he gets a ride to the tree farm each day. There, he does farm chores, pays bills, tends to his dahlias and listens to NPR.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
Gallery
