By Kitty King
May’s Featured Artist:
Sandy Wolf
Sandy Rood Wolf attended Bellingham High School where she participated in the theatre program. Always the understudy and never the lead, she put theater on hold, studied medical technology and later worked in pediatric hematology. But her love for theater never died. At the University of Alaska she earned a theater degree and a masters degree in playwriting. Later she taught theater and English at the university.
Sandy has lived in Blaine for 20 years, following 30 years in Alaska. Fifteen years ago, she began writing a musical, “Marina.” The show, set in 1908 Blaine, features a protagonist who has fled Alaska following the drowning of her young son in the Copper River, a river Sandy and husband Bruce floated twice without mishap. She began writing the play as a song and dance piece to draw tourists to Blaine. The more research she did, the more she realized that the basis of a great story lay in Whatcom County history. The sinking of the Star of Bengal; the conflicts between organized labor and out-of-work immigrants; the fight for temperance and the ongoing relationship between the cannery here and fishing up north gave her the basis for a complex piece of musical drama.
Mark Kuntz is directing her fully orchestrated production May 21–23 at the Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham.
Blaine schools
May 9–10: 10th annual Springfest Art and Gift Tour. Blaine artists showing their art at Semiahmoo Resort, Dakota Creek Winery, Swanson Glass Studio and Bayside Treasures Studio. Primary students’ art on display at Paso del Norte. Open 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
May 22–24: Art by the Airport. Whatcom Art Guild’s annual spring show offering fine arts and crafts. Artist demonstrations and daily raffle in support of WAG’s Art Scholarship Fund. Free admission, parking and refreshments. May 22, 2–8 p.m., May 23–24, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Hampton Inn’s Fox Hall, 3985 Bennett Drive, Bellingham. Info: 778-2930, greenwoodsblue@aol.com or whatcomartguild.org.
May 28: Evening of the Arts, presented by Blaine school district and the art department. Free admission. 6 p.m., Performing Arts Center, 975 H Street.
The Jansen Art Center, Lynden
Wednesday Lunchtime Music in the Piano Lounge: Grab lunch in the Firehall Café and enjoy an hour of free music from local musicians. Begins at noon.
May 6: Jan Brink
May 13: Terhi Miikki Broersma
May 20: Nick Swanson
May 27: Eric and Steve (saxophone duo)
Thursday Nights Live Music 5:30-7:30 p.m. Enjoy free music by a variety of local musicians each Thursday evening at Jansen Art Center’s Piano Lounge.
May 14: Anissa Caprina and Erik Snyder. For further listings, visit jansenartcenter.org
May 7: Spring Juried Exhibit. Showcasing the artistic talent in Whatcom County and the surrounding region. Live music from 6 to 8 p.m. Paintings by Quincy Anderson and Promising Futures: Whatcom County High School Student Art. On display until May 30, 2015. Free.
May 12: How It’s Made: Whatcom Symphony Orchestra Conductor Yaniv Attar. Attar will discuss music from the time of the Holocaust. 6:30–7:30 p.m. Free.
In The Know
June 26–28: International Art Festival, a three-day gathering of artists within Peace Arch Park. Info at peacearchart.org.
Watch for Drayton Harbor Music Festival, July 5–11, draytonharbormusic.org.
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