By Sally Gracie
Don’t forget to be a friend of the pool as you make your end-of-year charitable donations. Wagner Memorial Pool is 50 years old and showing its age. In 2015, the Friends of the Pool board wants to raise
$115, 000 to reline the pool. Board member Patty Yates says that relining would extend the life of the existing pool by 10 years.
Wagner Pool was forced to close for 10 days during the fires, but Patty says that through most of the summer, kids could take swim lessons and adults enjoyed lap swim and aerobics. Despite the fires, more than 100 young people competed in swim meets as members of the Killer Whales team.
When you contribute to Friends of the Pool, your business name, individual, child’s or family name will be painted onto a colorful fish on the wall of the pool. Small additional donations will keep your fish on the wall year-after-year. Send donations to Friends of the Pool, P.O. Box 438, Twisp 98856. Friends is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. Patty may be reached at 997-2910.
Lots of children visited with Santa Claus at the Twisp Valley Grange’s annual holiday pancake breakfast last Saturday. I’m amazed he finds time to come to our little town. After breakfasting with friends, I did some browsing at Confluence Gallery, Local 98856 and the Christmas Bazaar at the Community Center.
The current exhibit at the gallery is “Snow and Indigo.” I’m asking Santa for Yoko Ishii’s stunning snow owl photo and pieces of Tamera Abate’s stoneware. The gallery’s gift shop is filled with items in all price ranges.
After picking my favorite Christmas rose in the Local 98856 greenhouse, my browsing led me to a display of Wild Color Baby clothes. Madeline Naumann finds “gently used” sweaters, tees and other little things in infant and toddler sizes, which she makes new with her own natural dyes. Now I need some sweet little baby to buy for! Don’t leave the Local without some of Okanogan Bakery’s chocolate shortbread cookies. I’d offer you one, but I ate all six!
Local artists have once again designed calendars to take us through the New Year. “Seasons of the Methow” for 2015 may be Mary Kiesau’s most beautiful calendar yet. Mary donates 5 percent of her sales to Methow Conservancy. Door No. 3’s calendar titled “Wildness” was designed by artists Robin Doggett and Laura Gunnip, who used a circa 1911 letter press to print it. Fifteen percent of their sales benefit Methow Valley Long Term Recovery.
Winthrop hosts its annual bazaar at the Barn next weekend, and you will have one more chance to shop from dozens of local artists and craftspeople there.
Send your picks for “Best Books of 2014” to me this week! I know you’re all reading lots of good things. Share them with other readers around the valley.
I’m looking forward to “Winter Wonder” at The Merc this weekend. There will be four shows — Wednesday through Saturday (Dec. 10 – 13) at 7 p.m. You may want to save 7 p.m. Saturday evening for Community Covenant Church’s production, “A Swinging Yuletide” at the Community Center. The variety hour features “music, comedy and fun.” Tickets are $10.
