ARTS

The Volta Piano Trio, a chamber music ensemble including a pianist, cellist and violinist, will perform on Saturday (May 4) at The Merc Playhouse in Twisp. The Volta Piano Trio, formerly known as the Icicle Creek Piano Trio, has established itself as one of the Pacific Northwest’s premier chamber ensembles, according to the group’s website. […]

Twisp could benefit not just artistically but also economically if it is certified as a “creative district” by the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA), the Twisp Town Council learned at its meeting last week. Amanda Jackson Mott, executive director of Methow Arts, said the designation has the potential to “strengthen the creative sector, diversify the […]

Liberty Bell High School sophomore Stephanie Strong recently took first place in the 2019 Angela Schuster Svendsen Young Musician Competition sponsored by the Wenatchee Valley Orchestra. The competition was on March 23. The Young Musician award includes a $1,000 cash prize and the opportunity to play with the orchestra in concert. Strong has been playing […]

Confluence Gallery’s ninth annual Trashion Show will once again bring the creative couture of clutter to the Methow Valley Community Center in Twisp on May 4. Artists, designers, models and spectators will share in the creation of spectacular and odd outer (and under) wear made from repurposed items. The runway show features upcycled recycled outfits […]

Twisp resident Rose Weagant has won an award for fiction from the 2019 Write on the River Writers’ Competition. Weagant received third place for a short fiction story titled “The Buskers.” The story focuses on two boys who play music in the center of their small town in order to earn money for a movie, […]

Poems by two Methow Valley students are included in an online interactive poetry project that features poems about different areas of Washington state. Liberty Bell High School students Keeley Brooks and Travis Grialou wrote poems about the Methow Valley that are included on the map. The project, called “Washington Poetic Routes,” was created by Washington […]

Name changes to NCW Libraries next year The local library system will be known as North Central Washington Libraries (NCW Libraries) starting next year, to make it easier to remember by simplifying the name but still keep the geographic identity. The North Central Regional Library (NCRL) board approved the name change last month after evaluating […]

The Merc Playhouse announced this week that the comedy farce “Boeing Boeing” will be produced this September, replacing the originally scheduled production of “Lend Me a Tenor.” Kelly Donoghue, who had prepared to direct “Lend Me a Tenor,” will now direct “Boeing Boeing.” The Merc decided not to stage “Lend Me a Tenor” after a change in […]

Blackface controversy makes its way to community theater The Merc Playhouse’s fall production of “Lend Me a Tenor” appears to have gotten ensnared by a painful national controversy sparked by photos of elected officials in blackface. The award-winning Broadway comedy, set in the 1930s, involves a madcap story of confused identity. A beloved superstar tenor […]

The 32nd annual Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival has announced the lineup for the July 19 – 21 at the Blues Ranch west of Winthrop, featuring Los Lobos. Also on the stage will be Shemekia Copeland, Larking Poe, The Proven Ones, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Ural Thomas & The Pain, the Greyhounds, perennial favorites Too Slim & the […]