SEQUIM — Contra dancing will be celebrated Friday as one of several special events during Sequim’s First Friday Art Walk.
The Upper Room Hall, at 138 W. Washington St., will host an evening of contra dancing open to all ages with a beginner’s class at 7 p.m. and dancing beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Caller Susan Michaels has been calling squares, contras and family dances for more than 30 years, “building community, facilitating joy, and just plain having fun,” organizers said.
Internationally acclaimed Scottish fiddler and violinist Brandon Vance will provide the music.
Vance has performed and taught internationally. He is the recipient of Scotland’s 2017 Royal National Mòd “Sutherland Cup” in Scottish Fiddle, as well as being the youngest to win the U.S. National Open Scottish Fiddling Championship in both 1999 and 2001.
The dance is among arts and musical activities on tap for the September First Friday Art Walk, a free, self-guided tour of local art venues in Sequim from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. the first Friday of every month.
Each month of the art walk, which has been sponsored and produced by Renne Emiko Brock since 2006, has a color theme.
This Friday’s theme is blue, which is “inspiring and imaginative like a night sky full of shooting stars or a cloudless day full of possibilities while also being reliable, sound and willful,” said Brock, who encourages Art Walk participants to dress in shades of blue or representations of lofty and loyal aspirations.
Other special events are:
• Sequim Civic Center, 152 W. Cedar St. — The Sequim Arts Advisory Commission will host the First Friday Open Music Jam from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Guests are invited to bring an acoustic instrument or come to sing at an informal gathering of people who like to make music.
In the Karen Kuznek-Reese Gallery Inside the Civic Center from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., visitors can view the juried exhibition “Pacific Northwest Wonder.”
• Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County’s Sequim Habitat Boutique Store, 213 E. Washington St. — Live music will be performed from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Pacific Mist — Books, Cards & Gifts, 121 W. Washington St. — Author David Young, a 92-year-old Sequim resident and retired university history professor, will detail his book “Looking Through History’s Window, Illustrations for Teachers of the Bible and History Buffs.”
Sue Young will showcase her note cards and book journals made of vintage fabric and original drawings.
• Sequim Spice and Tea, 139 W. Washington St. — The shop carries art including glass, pottery, illustration and photography of local artists along with tea blends, teapots and cups and culinary gifts.
• Forage Gifts & Northwest Treasures, 121 W. Washington St. — The shop features work by local artists and gifts.
• Wind Rose Cellars, 143 W. Washington St. — The Lost Trio will play blues, some rock and some country at 6 p.m., as the store offers wine and tidbits.
• Soup in the Alley, 138 W. Washington St. — The establishment offers a rotation of local artists, live music and treats.
• Rainshadow Café, 157 W. Cedar St., — Live music by Dawn & Steve from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Blue Whole Gallery, 129 W. Washington St. — The “Time of harvest and Owls Book” exhibit features gourd artist Debbie Cain and painter Jeannine Chappell with her newly released book “Owls: The Paintings of Jeannine Chappell.”
She created these paintings over an eight-year period while living in the San Francisco Bay Area, and her models for the paintings were primarily owls living in wildlife rescue centers that are not able to survive in the wild.
Cain depicts the season of harvest in the Sequim area from a symbolic elk to a lamp with a touch of autumn.
To participate as a venue or artist on the Official First Friday Art Walk Sequim map, listing and website, contact Brock at 360-460-3023 or renne@uniqueasyou.com.
For more information, see SequimArtWalk.com or the Art Walk Facebook page.
