Craft Lot Preliminary report on programming:

The Crafts Lot is giving us a chance to stretch out and move! Literally and figuratively.

We are aiming to fill the space with motion, music and art. Here’s of preview of some of the things we are working on:

Art installations! Sallie is reaching out to artists from within and beyond the fair to create a collection of large scale art installations. Some will be interactive. We may be able to blur the line between art as a stand-alone object, and art as how the space is presented.

Piano Lounge! Listening to the Path Planning committee’s idea to keep the understory of the trees open to the public, we have visioned a piano lounge under the eastern cluster of oaks. Imagine our baby grand piano, with an inviting open air lounge…for sitting, reclining, listening, watching…..Jay Hogan is pitching in on this project.

Flow Arts! Finally a place big enough for big swinging toys! We are inviting hula hoopers, poi spinners and other movement artists to inhabit an area for the experienced, and not so experienced, flow artists. We’ll have the occasional workshop, lots of toys available, and plenty of space to play.

Dancing! The Dance pavilion will be the centerpiece venue of the Crafts Lot. Each session will have a live band, and dancers. We will showcase international dance, social dance, performances and participation. We’ve started conversations with African dancers, blues fusion dancers, tango dancers, ecstatic dance conveners, swing dancers, contra dancers, Cuban social dancers….We will continue to solicit participation to represent the range and high quality of dance offerings in the northwest. There are some cutting edge dancers in our community—we are so excited to dance with them. We are aiming to have top notch live music with dance that is fun to watch, and inviting to join.

Work it! As an adjunct to the Dance Pavilion we have a workshop space that can be used by the dancers to teach, warm up, or explore further. For example, Wren LaFoot of Nomad dance has workshops for dancers to experience examples of using dance to explore power and gender dynamics. If we have times not claimed by the dancers from the dance pavilion, we’ll book other movement workshops—perhaps tai chi in the morning, some kids’ tumbling, some acro yoga, some physical theater….

We’ll be using an application process to reach out and invite participation. Our plan is to use the same schedule as the other entertainment areas (applications available mid Nov, due mid Feb). Word is getting out….and we will continue to make connections and shape the vision.

Come move with us!