Revamped Poulsbo Art Walk brings out the art in all things Sept. 25

Published 10:31 am Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Three-hour Dragonfly Dazzle gets local businesses thinking creative.

The typical idea of the town art walk often lends itself to a high-brow image of patrons sipping wine and sauntering about the town’s fine art galleries.

Wherever a town may not have enough local galleries to actually constitute a “walk,” local businesses will instead open up their wall space and play art gallery for the night.

But this year’s Dragonfly Dazzle — Poulsbo’s first art walk in almost a decade — is rethinking the whole concept.

“In the past, what they always did was brought other artists into their space,” said Anita Albala, Verksted Gallery artist and Poulsbo Art Walk coordinator, noting Poulsbo’s formerly quarterly art walks. “This year, we’ve left it up to the businesses to focus on some aspect of their business and present it in a creative way.”

Thus — from 5-8 p.m. Sept. 25, all along Front Street — more than 30 downtown businesses will be getting creative.

The town bookstore will emphasize the art of the book hosting local author June Cotner, the local boat rental shop will feature the art of the outdoors offering local wine-and-cheese-catered boat tours, while the town naturopathic clinic will focus on the art of healing providing free foot scans, mini-reiki and self-hypnosis sessions — just to name a few.

See a full list of participating businesses at www.poulsboartwalk.com. The event is free to attend.

“And it’s not just ‘come down and see the same old stuff,’” Albala noted.

In addition to the local, regional and national art on display that night, a variety of equally artful fanfare, also is planned — including a slate of street performers ranging from the Tahoma Voices Chorale to singer/songwriter Valerie Markell to bluegrassers Rob Gilbert and Georgia Browne, and more.

The Eagle’s Next — Poulsbo’s home for Northwest Native Art — will host native singers/drummers/storytellers Chenoa Egawa and Alex Turtle. Verksted Gallery artist Sanae Goveas will demonstrate Japanese Ikebana flower arranging outside the town’s long-standing artists collective.

And keeping at least in part with the traditional idea of a town art walk, the whole evening is dedicated to bringing attention, and foot traffic, to downtown businesses.

“We’re hoping to get the community more excited for the businesses and shops downtown,” Albala said. “A lot of downtown events have been geared toward the restaurants and food side — we’re more the retail side.”

For more on the Poulsbo Art Walk including a list of participating businesses, artists and musicians, go to www.poulsboartwalk.com.