A Month of Free Folk & Ethnic Performances in Your Washington State Parks
Beginning August 4, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission presents a series of programs of folk and ethnic music, dance, and storytelling at state park sites around the state. All the events, except those August 11 and 18 at the Silver Lake Mt. St. Helens Visitor Center and the August 18 Flute Quest, are free, but all parked vehicles in the parks must display the annual Discover Pass ( www.discoverpass.wa.gov ), purchase a $10 Day Use Pass upon entering the park, or display a valid camping pass.
Saturday, August 4, ShellFest 2012 , at Potlatch State Park , on Hood Canal and US Highway 101, between Hoodsport and Shelton, presents a day of beach walks, touch tanks, children’s activities, Native American cultural presentations, and live music. Taylor Shellfish Farms will provide a seafood lunch with donations going to the Washington State Parks Foundation. The program begins at 9:30 AM and lasts until 3 PM. Potlatch State Park’s location address is 21020 US Highway 101 N, Shelton, WA.
Delbert smutcoom Miller , the Skokomish Tribe’s Cultural Resource Specialist, will give a presentation about the tribe’s relationship with Hood Canal’s seafood resources and share traditional legends of the Twana (ancestral Skokomish) people. Delbert is one of the Spiritual Fathers of the house of slannay longhouse, having been initiated into Seowin nearly thirty years ago. Since the age of five, his elders have told him stories, his father having followed an old custom of bringing him to elders to “talk to my sons.” Miller has led healing ceremonies using cultural teachings at a nationally accredited in-patient addictions treatment center.
Folksinger Hank Cramer is known for his booming bass voice, smooth picking on a vintage flat-top guitar, and a wry sense of humor. His repertoire is a mix of original, traditional, and contemporary folk songs. They tell the stories of cowboys, sailors, soldiers, miners, adventurers, and just plain drifters. That fits with Hank’s life story: he has been an underground miner, a professional soldier, shanty-man on a square-rigged sailing ship, and wrangler for a high-country outfitter. Those experiences make Hank’s music ring with a special authenticity. At ShellFest he will be emphasizing his maritime repertoire. www.hankcramer.com Singer and songwriter Mary Garvey grew up in an oyster-growing family on the Long Beach Peninsula and presently works for Washington State University’s Long Beach Research and Extension Unit. She is one of the Northwest's most acclaimed and prolific songwriters. Many of Mary's songs are about the people and places in her southwest corner of Washington, people who fished and trapped and cut down the tall trees and worked in the paper mills, and about maritime culture of the lower Columbia River, Willapa Bay, and the nearby Pacific Coast. Mary has a beautiful soprano voice and usually sings a cappella.
ShellFest 2012 is a project of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, together with Taylor Shellfish Farms, and a consortium of agencies and organizations, including the Department of Ecology, the Department of Health, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sea Grant Washington, the Washington Beach Program, the Puget Sound Shellfish Growers Association, Northwest Heritage Resources, and the Skokomish Tribe.
Saturday evening, August 4 , is the last of the five concerts in the American Roots Music Series at Deception Pass State Park . Hank Nelson and Bob and Mike Antone will perform music, stories, and poems from Northwest timber communities. The concert starts at 7 PM at the West Beach Amphitheater in the southern (Whidbey Island) portion of the park. In case of rain it will be at the East Cranberry Lake Picnic Shelter, also on the Whidbey Island side. The park is located on State Route 20 between Oak Harbor and Anacortes. Deception Pass State Park’s location address is 41020 State Route 20, Oak Harbor, WA.
Hank Nelson , who calls himself "one of the last of the old-time tramp loggers," grew up in a logging camp near Coos Bay, Oregon, and worked as a timber faller for more than 30 years in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon. Hank is a singer, songwriter, storyteller, and poet. From youth he remembers the "camp bards" who entertained their buddies in the bunkhouse. Hank has performed at the National Cowboy Poetry 2
Gathering in Elko, Nevada, and has recited on the same stage in New York City, where Abraham Lincoln made his 1860 Cooper Union Speech. In 2005, as part of the centennial celebrations of the U.S. Forest Service, Hank performed at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. www.folklife.si.edu/resources/Education/forestry/0902.html
Brothers Bob and Mike Antone , are from an old German-Russian settler family in Washington’s Snoqualmie Valley. As children they listened to stories, legends, jokes, and tall tales from their grandparents and other elders who lived and worked in the timber communities of North Bend and Snoqualmie. Logging, railroading, Native American legends, stories from the woods, and train hopping during the Great Depression were common themes as the Antone Brothers were growing up. Bob Antone writes and performs original songs about traditional life in the area and performs the songs, stories, and poems he has learned growing up. He is a multi-instrumentalist: guitar, fiddle, musical saw, and hand-drum; and also a woodcarver, painter, and drum-maker. Younger brother guitarist Mike Antone has written and produced numerous songs and albums. A few of his compositions were chosen by Neil Young and became popular on the site "Living With War Today." www.talenthouse.com/mikeantone
August 5 – September 2: Peace Arch International Concert Series Returns to Peace Arch State Park For Its Sixth Season.
Sunday afternoons, August 5, 12, 19, 26, and September 2 , the stage at Peace Arch State Park , an international park on the US-Canada Border, will once again be presenting a series of concerts of music and dance from some of the many ethnic traditions found in Washington. The concerts begin at 2 PM and last about an hour. The park is at the north end of I-5 in Blaine, Washington, and it and Peace Arch Provincial Park share a common ground accessible from either side without border formalities. (See www.peacearchpark.org .) From the American side the park is accessible from Exit 276, Blaine, the last exit before Canada Customs. From the Canadian side, park in Peace Arch Provincial Park’s parking lot at the Beach Road exit of BC Route 99 (behind the Canadian duty-free shop), walk through the Canadian park, past the Peace Arch and across the traffic lanes, and then up the hill on the American side. It is advisable to carry i.d. and you must return to the side from which you came or you will have to clear Customs and Immigration. Peace Arch State Parks’ location address is 100 A St, Blaine, WA.
August 5: Sayaw . Dance and musical traditions of the Filipino American Student Association of the University of Washington. The diverse regions, cultures, and languages of the Philippines are presented by this student ensemble made up of students from the Filipino American community and students at the university who are from the Philippines. Colorful costumes, lively dancing, and some interpretive background to explain what you see and hear. http://students.washington.edu/fasa/sayaw-dance-troupe/about-sayaw/mission- history/
August 12: Kalevaria Samoan United Methodist Church of Tacoma Youth Group . Returning to the series by popular demand, this troupe of over forty adults, teens, and children in traditional Samoan regalia dance, sing, and drum in the elaborate traditional choral styles of Polynesia. The harmonies and rhythms contrast as do the steps and gestures of the young men and women performing warrior, welcoming, and feasting dances and songs.
August 19: Daneshvar Ensemble . This family musical ensemble, now based in L.A. and Seattle, was founded in 2002 in Zanjan, Iran, by two sisters, Parvaneh and Parisa, and two brothers, Babak and Behnam Daneshvar, and soon began performing traditional and classical Persian music in Teheran and other cities throughout Iran. In 2004, the family established the Daneshvar Music Institute in Zanjan, teaching music to children and giving lessons in traditional Persian instruments. Since 2011 they have lived, performed, and taught in the United States. The Daneshvar Music Institute is now based in Southern California where it teaches Persian traditional and classical music and instruments to adults and children. www.daneshvarmusic.com
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August 26: Los Flacos , established in Seattle in 2002, performs a blend of the spiciest traditional sounds of Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean. Using a variety of instruments, some indigenous to the Americas and others of European and African origin, this quartet create their own renditions of the songs of Latin America. The group consists of violinist Tim Wetmiller, who has studied the Tierra Caliente music of Juan Reynoso; Venezuelan harpist Fucho Aparicio; Mexican-born vocalist Abel Rocha on cuatro, quinta huapanguera, and guitar; and Diego Coy, a native of Colombia who plays quena, quenacho, and zampoña in addition to other Andean woodwinds and percussion instruments. www.flacosmusic.com
September 2: Bollywood Seattle Performers is a select group trained in traditional and highly energetic and expressive Bollywood style of dance associated with the Mumbai (formerly Bombay) popular film industry, known collectively as “Bollywood.” Mollie Singh, the choreographer, imparts to each performer an authentic Bollywood flair including semi-classical and Indian folk influences. Each Bollywood Seattle performer brings an authentic Bollywood dance experience to the stage. A performer will act out the words of the song and engage his and/or her audience with the story being told. Mollie has over 30 years of professional Indian dance experience and has the training and the certifications to teach the authentic Indian classical and Bollywood dance. The performance will include professional dancers Corinne, Kara, Savannah, and Xena, and Dance With Mollie student dancers Jennifer, Jessica, Rhiannon, and Chi. Student dancer Chi will also accompany some of the dances on the dhol , a traditional Indian drum. http://bollywoodseattle.com/ http://dancewithmollie.com/
Saturday evening, August 11 , State Parks’ Silver Lake Mount Saint Helens Visitor Center will present a Northwest Cultural Heritage Evening with Native American storyteller and cultural presenter Curtis Du Puis , who is of Chehalis and Cowlitz Tribal ancestry and is a member of the Chehalis Confederated Tribes. Curtis is an oral historian and storyteller of the Hazel Pete family (she was his mother) – a traditional family renowned in Washington history for making baskets. As a storyteller, Curtis talks about family history, travels and location, cultural crafts, and stories from the family tradition. As a lifetime resident of the Chehalis Reservation near Oakville, WA, he participates in numerous Native American cultural activities, but he is most well known in the local area as a traditional Native gardener. The Silver Lake Mount Saint Helens Visitor Center (www.parks.wa.gov/stewardship/mountsthelens/ ) is part of Seaquest State Park. It is located on the Spirit Lake Highway (State Route 504) about 3½ miles west of I-5’s Exit 49, Castle Rock. Its location address is 3029 Spirit Lake Highway, Castle Rock, WA.
Friday–Sunday, August 17-19, the Washington Flute Circle and Flute Quest presents the Flute Quest Native Flute Festival at Saltwater State Park in Des Moines. It will include performers Rona Yellow Robe, Tim Blueflint, Peter Ali, Gene Tagaban, Swil Kanim, Jeremy Baer, Chenoah Lee, Foster Kalama, and the Sacred Winds Flute Players in a three-day celebration of Native American flute traditions. Programs are from 9 AM to 5 PM daily. The event includes workshops, teaching, craft and food vendors, and an open mic. For more information, see www.flutequest.com and click Flute Quest . This is a ticketed event. To purchase tickets, click Buy Tickets Here on the Web page. On Saturday, August 18, as part of Flute Quest, there will also be ShellFest 2012 activities, including beach walks, touch tanks, children’s activities, and Native American cultural presentations by Nancy Shippentower Puyallup Tribe. Taylor Shellfish Farms will provide a seafood lunch with donations going to the Washington State Parks Foundation. The ShellFest program begins at 9:30 AM and lasts until 3 PM. Saltwater State Park’s location address is 25205 8th Pl S, Des Moines, WA.
Saturday evening, August 18 , State Parks’ Silver Lake Mount Saint Helens Visitor Center will present a Northwest Cultural Heritage Evening concert of songs, music, stories, and poems from the timber communities of the Northwest. The performers will be retired logger and singer, songwriter, storyteller, and poet Hank Nelson ; and Snoqualmie Valley singer, songwriter, and storyteller, Bob Antone . Bob’s son Parker Antone will perform with his dad on guitar and drum. The program begins at 7 PM. (For more information on Hank and Bob, please see above, August 4, at Deception Pass State Park’s American Roots Music Series.) The Visitor Center and the volcano Mount Saint Helens are located on the traditional lands of the Cowlitz people. (Please see above, August 11, for the center’s location and for admission information.) 4
Saturday, August 25, the Cambodian Cultural Celebration returns to Washington State Parks for the fifth time, this time to Saltwater State Park , in Des Moines. (Please see August 17-19, Flute Quest, above, for location information.) The festival is from 11 AM to 4 PM and features Cambodian food, crafts, and music and dance performance by groups from the Puget Sound Cambodian American community. The program opens with a percussion-instrument-led march, called a Chai Yam , by the men of the Wat Prachum Raingsey Buddhist Association of Yelm. Dancers include Cambodian Classical and Folk Dance of Tacoma, the dancers of the Cambodian Heritage Society of Seattle and the Olympia Kampuchean Association, who use stylized movements and gestures to tell a story much like a mime. Also performing are the traditional Cambodian musical ensemble Samleng Tro Khmer of Tacoma, female traditional vocalist Ean Som, contemporary band Watanakpreap Dontrey, and a Southeast Asian martial arts demonstration by students of South Sound Martial Arts. Co-sponsors include Cambodian Classical and Folk Dance Northwest and Angkor Gourmet. The festival also offers hands-on Cambodian crafts instruction for kids, face painting, a look into the history of Cambodia and artifact and costume viewings. Vendor booths feature Cambodian arts and crafts. See amazing dancers and musicians in elaborate traditional costumes and headdresses and listen to the haunting vocals and instrumentals of this ancient culture. For a brief description of Cambodian dance, see www.cambodiancommunityday.org/index.php/provinces/north-west-region/pursat/78-ccd- information/slideshow/71-classical-folklore-dances . Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, August 28 and 29, Pearrygin Lake State Park , near Winthrop, in the Methow Valley, will host a two-evening series of concerts titled Celebrating Cultures . The evening events begin at 5:30 PM and last until about 9 PM. The concerts happen in the East Campground Area of the park, about five miles northeast of Winthrop and the park’s location address is 561 Bear Creek Rd., Winthrop, WA. The evening of August 28 begins with La Famille Léger , who play the Acadien and Quebecois dance music of French Canada, music handed down through generations in the New World, music of back porches and kitchen parties. Patriarch Louis Léger leads the band on the one-row melodeon (a type of button accordion), son Devon plays fiddle, Devon's mom Barbara plays guitar and his wife, Dejah is on piano and guitar. Dejah and Louis also sing many of the old traditional French Canadian songs, and Dejah performs, demonstrates, and teaches French Canadian step-dancing. This proudly "old school" family band will have your own family dancing and joining in on the fun. www.lafamilleleger.com/ .
Following the Légers are Mariachi Estrella de México , of the Wenatchee area. Led by violinist Osbaldo Chávez, Estrella is Washington’s leading professional mariachi band. They are made up of alumni of Wenatchee High School’s famous Mariachi Huenachi ensemble who have continued to play this exciting music and develop greater professional skills and a wider repertoire. Fiddles, brass, guitars, the iconic guitarrón, and heart-rending vocals take you south of the border. Musicians include violinists Osbaldo Chávez, Gaby Chávez, María Chávez, and Adriana Chávez, trumpeter Matteo Cortez, Daniel Gutiérrez on guitarrón, Ramón García on vihuela, and guitarists Ignacio Chávez and Jorge Sánchez. www.myspace.com/mariachiestrellademexico .
Closing the evening is the Seattle world music band, Luc and the Lovingtons , led by the Methow Valley’s own Luc Reynaud on acoustic guitar and vocals, and featuring renowned Chilean hip hop artist Felipe Cañete on vocals and percussion, Jake Shaw on Rhodes keyboard, Loren Bowley on drums, and Soleil Kelley on electric guitar. Touring extensively, the band has a wide fan base, especially in California, and plays a socially conscious mix of original songs, calling themselves “a World-Soul-Hip-Pop band who live to play and pass on the message that Love is the greatest Power of all.” Luc’s “The Freedom Song” was recently covered by Jason Mraz. http://lucandthelovingtons.com/
The evening of August 29 opens with Phil and Vivian Williams of Seattle playing old-time string-band music of the Northwest and the Oregon Trail. Phil and Vivian have been documenting and performing Northwest folk music since their teens in the 1950's, having learned the pioneer dances as kids. As they discovered the Northwest manifestations of music that came to the region from all over the world with the pioneers, along with the Northwest's unique style of old time fiddling, they expanded their concert repertoire and began 5
recording regional artists on their Voyager Recordings label. Vivian is one of the leading old-time and bluegrass fiddlers on the West Coast. In recent years Phil and Vivian have been researching and playing the music that accompanied the settlers on the Oregon Trail. Over the decades, multi-instrumentalist Phil has played in numerous bluegrass and old-time bands in the Seattle area. www.voyagerrecords.com/pvwebbro.htm
Next program consists of the amazing Beijing rod puppets of Portland’s Dragon Art Studio . The only professional Chinese puppet theater in the North America, it is operated by Zhengli Xu, his wife Yuqin Wang, and their daughter Brenda Xu. Ms. Wang and Mr. Xu were trained as puppeteers in the Beijing Opera and worked in China’s National Puppet Theater, coming to the U.S. in 1996 to perform at the Atlanta Olympics. They blend puppetry and music with elegance, humor and special effects to create a beautiful and amusing theatrical event. Chinese rod puppetry, seldom seen here in America, is an ancient art form revered throughout China. The show will delight and enthrall children and adults alike, while giving a special insight into Chinese folklore and culture. In 2004, Ms. Wang and Mr. Xu were honored by the National Endowment for the Arts, which presented them with the National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor our nation gives to folk and traditional artists. www.dragonartstudio.com
The Latin American acoustic music ensemble Los Flacos will close the evening. (For information on Los Flacos, please see above, August 26, of the Peace Arch International Concert Series.) Guitarist and harpist Juan Serbulo, a native of Oaxaca, Mexico, will replace Fucho Aparicio at this venue. There will be refreshments available for purchase both evenings.
These events are part of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission’s Folk and Traditional Arts in the Parks Program, which is a partnership program of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, the Washington State Arts Commission, and Northwest Heritage Resources. All events in this program series are supported by funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Washington State Arts Commission, and the Washington State Parks Foundation (a private nonprofit organization) and they use no State Parks funds. For a schedule of Folk and Traditional Arts in the Parks Program events, see www.parks.wa.gov/events . Examples of performance by most of the above artists can also be found on YouTube.
All the above events are accessible to persons with disabilities. If special accommodations are required in order to attend the event, please call (360) 902-8526 or the Washington Telecommunications Relay Service (800) 833-6388. Requests must be made in advance.
In 2011 the State Legislature, in response to the state government’s budget crisis, withdrew most General Fund support for Washington’s state parks and mandated that they become self-supporting through the sale of Discover and Day Use Passes for day use vehicle parking.
Stay connected to your state parks by following Washington State Parks at www.facebook.com/WashingtonStateParks , www.twitter.com/WaStatePks_NEWS and www.youtube.com/WashingtonStateParks .