EDMONDS – Ann McDonald was a young mother looking for a way to meet people in her community when she first volunteered to help stage the Edmonds Arts Festival, now in its 50th year.
By the mid-1960s, McDonald had taken on leadership roles in the festival, and in June 1968 she appeared in a full-page spread on the cover of the Woman’s Way section of the Everett Herald.
As managing director that year, McDonald and her co-directors Kay Henkel and Peggy Harris were eager to promote the festival.
They posed for the photo holding artwork while standing on the rocky barrier of the Edmonds marina.
Dressed in white boots and a miniskirt, her hair in a bouffant, McDonald was a stylish representative for the festival, which by then had turned from a sleepy little annual art show into a regional tourist-attracting event.
Today, at 73, McDonald continues to volunteer for the arts festival, and on Sunday she’ll be at her usual spot greeting visitors and handing out programs at the main door to the juried art show at Frances Anderson Center, home of the festival for the last 27 years.
Still stylish, Anderson remains a passionate advocate for the festival as a forum for artists, as a community celebration and a way to promote Edmonds.
“It’s very important for artists to have a nice place to show their work,” she said. “Absolutely. That’s right.”
Michele Unger, co-director of volunteers for this year’s festival, praised McDonald for her hard work.
“She’s been a huge asset and a marvelous role model. She’s always happy and giving, and she’s exactly the reason why I wanted to get involved with the festival,” Unger said.
McDonald, now a grandmother of nine, works full time as a receptionist at an assisted living center where she’s been employed for more than 30 years.
But while she was raising her four children, McDonald was a tireless volunteer.
She worked with the PTA and the booster club at Woodway High School. She also was instrumental in establishing a competitive swimming program in the Edmonds School District.
And McDonald was devoted to the arts festival.
“It’s all grass-roots work,” she said. “It’s what you do if you want something.”
A Seattle native, McDonald and her family moved to the Edmonds neighborhood of Sherwood Village in 1959. Soon after settling in, she got involved in helping with the festival, then only a few years old.
“It was a great way to meet nice people,” she said. “I don’t remember what I did on that first committee. I did just about anything I was asked, including going on TV to talk about the festival. I didn’t have any experience, just energy and enthusiasm.”
It took a lot of energy to raise funds and produce the big event, she said. McDonald stayed busy from the first organizational meeting in the fall to the cleanup after the June festival.
“We worked hard. Oh, that was a lot of hard work. Absolutely,” she said.
In order to help the festival grow, volunteers wanted to stage the festival at the Edmonds civic center, now the public safety building. And in order to make that happen McDonald felt she had to have the mayor, the fire chief and the police chief over to her house for dinner.
“They liked the meal,” she said, “and I was able to assure them that the center would be all right after the festival.”
McDonald also was instrumental in establishing a photography division in the festival’s juried art show.
“I’m not an artist. I can’t do anything; that’s not what I do well. But I do know that the artists and photographers were very appreciative, and we were, too.”
Just as she did in the Everett Herald article in 1968, McDonald modestly passes on credit to others for the success of the festival.
“I wish all the people who are gone now could see that the festival has become what they dreamed of,” she said. “You wonder if what you do will make any difference, but it really did. Despite all the busy years, I have no regrets; I only wish I could have done more.”
“It’s been part of my entire adult life and I will keep volunteering as long as I can,” she said. “Absolutely right. That’s for sure.”
Reporter Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427 or gfiege@heraldnet.com.
Kevin Nortz / The Herald
Ann McDonald of Edmonds has been volunteering as a greeter for the Edmonds Art Festival for most of it 50 years in existence.
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