MarchFourth will take the stage at the Methow Arts Festival on July 4 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. The festival begins in the morning immediately following the Fourth of July parade.
Kids 12 and younger get in free this year
Dance, sing, march and make art. Eat tacos, teriyaki pizza and Indian food; drink beer and coffee; and test your pie-eating skills. Learn about local rivers and the animals that live in them.
This year’s July 4 Methow Arts Festival is more welcoming than ever, with free admission for all kids 12 and under. Methow Arts made a special fundraising push to eliminate any financial barriers to participation (in past years, anyone over age 5 had to buy a ticket).
In addition to art-making, there’s entertainment by local bands and by the highly acclaimed MarchFourth — a unique ensemble of 20 musicians, dancers and artisans who mix stilt-walking with Vaudeville-style dance and wildly colorful costumes. The creative troupe has been described as “a joy-inducing, foot-stomping, booty-shaking, soul-stirring journey.”
MarchFourth likes to call themselves “steam-funk.” Methow Arts is picking up the inspiration, creating a turn-of-the-20th-century steampunk-circus theme for the entire festival. Participants will be able to decorate top hats and make beaded ribbon chokers from that stylish era.
There will be perennial favorites like making tie-dyed T-shirts. And this year festivalgoers can build decorative wooden sailboats, turn recycled books and music into flowers, and even make their own slime. The youngest children get to explore art and the environment by constructing fairy houses from pine cones and moss (although those houses stay at the park to be returned to nature).
A key change this year is that all arts booths are free — for all kids, all day long. Kids no longer need to save up tickets to participate. Adults will need tickets for the arts projects.
Other festival activities include an obstacle course run by local firefighters, caricatures by Pastor Jeff Palmberg from the Community Covenant Church, and pie-eating and hula-hoop contests (BYO hula hoop). There will be demonstration booths by Methow Housing Trust (where people can help assemble a small dwelling), the Methow Beaver Project, and other local organizations.
Methow musicians will help celebrate. Bitterroot Beets will bring their joyful take on rock, soul and Americana; and Laura Love & Family Dog will dish up an invigorating set of danceable tunes.
The annual arts festival gets underway at the Twisp Town Park right after the July 4 parade. MarchFourth is on stage from 2:30 p.m. until the end of the festival at 4 p.m.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for kids 13 to 18, and free for kids 12 and under.
People who get advance tickets — either at the Methow Arts office on Glover Street or online through Brown Paper Tickets — don’t need to wait on line in the park to get into the festival. Methow Arts is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. People can also trade volunteer time for a ticket — call Methow Arts at 997-4004.
Methow Arts is emphasizing waste reduction and recycling at this year’s festival. People should bring their own water bottles to fill (or rent a reusable one from Methow Arts).
All payments — for tickets, arts booths, food or beer — must be in cash or check.
