PORT HADLOCK — Walk down to the sea on a Tuesday afternoon, and you may hear piping.
The sound of a ukulele, drum and fiddle are here, too, beside a shop where you can buy a Celtic harp or book a parasailing trip.
This is Lobo’s Trading Post, 64 N. Water St., a store full of musical instruments, jewelry and melodies, all made by the Lobo del Mar family.
The clan is made up of four generations of musicians, dancers and world travelers: Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces who have voyaged from Port Townsend to Mexico to the Big Island of Hawaii.
Their first live-aboard boat was the Sea Wolf, or “Lobo del Mar” in Spanish.
Now the Lobo del Mar music and dance ensemble is giving concerts across the North Olympic Peninsula, its latest being last weekend at the Jefferson County Fair.
Nearly three years ago, the family moved to Port Hadlock, where they found “this great piece of property here,” said Rachael Panzer, who does the choreography and the booking for the Lobo del Mar music and dance show.
Learning about the world’s musical traditions “is what we do,” Panzer said.
“It’s part of our family culture,” and it ranges from Celtic fiddling and piping to flamenco and Tahitian dancing.
Panzer herself learned bellydancing from her mother, B.B. Thanem, and grandmother Carrol Buntin. Now she teaches several styles of dance to the youngsters in the Lobo del Mar troupe.
Since arrival here, the ensemble has grown busier, performing regularly at venues across Clallam and Jefferson counties. A July 1 concert on Port Angeles’ City Pier drew an unprecedented crowd of nearly 1,000 people.
Bookings, Panzer estimated, “have probably quadrupled this year.”
The band plays regularly at Port Townsend Brewing, 330 10th St. They’re taking the stage there today from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
And an especially big show is coming up at Quilcene’s Linger Longer Outdoor Theater on Sept. 5.
The stage at 151 E. Columbia St. is bigger than their usual venues, so Panzer hopes to draw an especially healthy crowd for the Labor Day weekend event.
Panzer’s grandparents, Rupert and Carrol Buntin, had 11 children. Those kids’ offspring plus spouses — such as Panzer’s husband, Eric — form Lobo del Mar.
Like the rest of his family, Eric has a day job: He’s an emergency room physician at Jefferson Healthcare in addition to running sound at Lob del Mar’s concerts.
If there’s a theme flowing through their music and dance, it’s water, especially the salty kind.
The South Pacific islands can be seen in their hula and Tahitian steps. Scotland and Ireland come through in the bagpipes, fiddle and step dancing. The Mediterranean Sea informs the bellydance and flamenco.
Panzer teaches choreography to Lobo del Mar’s 15 dancers, who share the show with 11 musicians.
Their ages go from 5 to 60-something, and on any given Tuesday, a subset of the musicians are found practicing on the Lobo’s Trading Post patio.
Panzer’s uncle Brady Buntin, a multi-instrumentalist, is the man behind the harps, bowed psalteries, dulcimers and lyres inside the trading post.
He’s combined his love of music and carpentry to build them, said Panzer.
The tiny shop contains instruments from all corners of the Earth, from a Chinese fiddle to a Finnish kantele.
The Lobo del Mar family are experts at mixing music and other occupations.
They are divers and providers of vessel-assist services across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, as well as artists and writers.
Panzer’s mother sells her photography at the trading post, while her grandmother’s memoir, The Family That Went Down to the Sea, can also be found there.
“She loves writing about our crazy life,” Panzer said.
Whether traveling, playing music or running a business, “it’s a group effort,” she added.
Panzer, who has two sons age 3 and 5, is not performing these days. She’s on maternity leave.
Despite what she’s just learned — she and Eric are expecting twins in December or January — Panzer is calm and cool.
“I have a big family and a lot of help,” she said.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
