Unity is what makes the scene stronger.
I staunchly believe in that statement, my name is Bill Mickelson and I am the newest writer for What’s Up. With this assignment, I’m now in the position to act on my conviction.
OK. So last week would have been the opportune time to weigh in on the Academy Awards, right? Not necessarily since it’s basically a sham that puts high fashion over films and makes the rich and detached world of celebrities so many drool over even more opulent.
The average film festival features fab faces like Jack, Tom and Gwyneth, flogging their art as a phalanx of fans feed the frenzy. But the ninth annual Celluloid Bainbridge Festival, taking place this weekend at the Lynnwood Theater on Bainbridge Island, is nothing like average. Instead of a star-studded personality parade, this event pays tribute to local creativity in a low-key setting.
The rodeo may be six months away but that’s reason enough to throw a party.
The folks behind the Kitsap County Fair & Stampede are throwing their second annual “Dance for a Wish” western party starting at 7 p.m. March 9 at the Fairgrounds Presidents’ Hall. Tickets are $35 in advance from www.kitsaprodeo.com (click on Dance for a Wish) or $45 at the door.
Near the corner of Sylvan Way and Warren Avenue in Bremerton, Winterland is rapidly becoming the place to be in the Kitsap-based rock scene.
Every weekend, the club brings in local and regional acts, new and old, along with a collective community inline with the Winterland mission — Classic. Rock.
Ever seen a fish swing dance?
The March edition of Bainbridge Island Metro Parks and Recreation District’s Second Saturday Dance will give toe-tappers young and old the chance as the Port Townsend’s power quintet — Dogfish and the Catsharks — gets back into the Island groove March 10.
For three years, the group of musicians has been playing swing dances and parties around the Olympic Peninsula, begging audiences to pose the question, “What’s in a name?”
He may be categorized as a Christian artist, but that hasn’t stopped John Reuben from thinking outside the box when it comes to spreading his message.
Reuben, once called Christian radio’s answer to Eminem, is out in support of his new release, “Word of Mouth,” and is making a stop at the Roxy Theatre, 270 4th St., in downtown Bremerton. Indie rockers Deas Vail from Russellville, Ark., and Lexington, Ohio’s Jonathan Hape, a singer/songwriter, open the show starting at 7 p.m. March 10.
Not even a full year after following his dreams from Bainbridge to Los Angeles, the 20-year-old choreographer and creator of 2005’s “This is Now,” Vince Palazzolo is returning to the island with a new show and a new dancing addiction — contortion.
His latest work is an ode to that fixation which Palazzolo has been forging along with some professionally trained circus acrobats and gymnasts. “Toys and Dreams,” a collaborative circus style show without words, premieres at 7:30 p.m. March 15 at Bainbridge Performing Arts.
A hazard in growing up is seeing the world through a haze of clutter. Experience may bring wisdom but it also fosters our biases, prejudices, and preconceived ideas about the world around us. Children who haven’t yet learned how they “should” feel or think retain an innocence and instinct capable of teaching that wisdom doesn’t always come from experience and sometimes the best way to learn is to slow down and look at the world through new eyes. “The Picture Project” is an educational art program striving to accomplish exactly that.
From a flurry of composition that’s included charting the scores for several full musicals as well as recording, producing and arranging Nordstrom’s holiday disc in the past three years, Dehner Franks returns to Bainbridge Island.
A classically jazzed and accomplished gem on the keys, Franks departed from the intimate concert circuit of the Pacific Northwest for the commercial music hub of Las Vegas, but he’s kept strong ties to his formative stomping grounds.
Sometimes a car crash or six just doesn’t seem to cut it and the need to see bullets flying fast and furious comes over me quicker than Jack Bauer can order a cornered terrorist to “Stand down!”
ARTS & CRAFTS
PAINT IN: Kitsap Artist Association will host a Paint In from 9 a.m. to noon March 10 at the Clear Creek Community Club, 12641 Clear Creek Rd NW, Silverdale. Challenge is painting with white and crystal obects. Info: kitsapartists@kitsapartists.com or Sandy Ramsey (360) 698-5991….
During the first weekend in March, the Bainbridge Performing Arts stage will host a trip to early 14th century Japan for a look into the beginnings of the Eastern Noh and Kyogen theatre followed by a somewhat apathetic look at the current state of western performance.
A troupe from the San Francisco based Theatre of Yugen will be making a stop on its national tour on Bainbridge, while Marya Sea Kaminski’s sequel to the one-woman show “In DisDress” will take the stage with the BPA’s After Dark series.
Olalla author Gregg Olsen’s first novel has the same tone and subject matter as his eight true crime books, but the ability to control the plot allowed him a new freedom.
“Real life is messy,” Olsen said. “Writing true crime forces me to stick to what actually happened. Writing fiction allows me to tie up all the loose ends.”
Going off the theme that the is no theme, natural landscape artist Jackie Bush-Turner renderings of birds, barns, sunsets, wetlands and waterways are taking over the walls of Collective Visions Art Gallery for the month of March.
Rick Miller has devised an ingenious plot to link cartoon lovers to the world of the Bard. He even tosses a few pop culture characters into the mix as he plays in the one man performance of MacHomer — MacHomer Simpson that is.
The unspoken elegance of a swan is a fitting compliment to the old-fashion sophisticated speak of author Howard Norman.
The two join hands in his latest novel “Devotion,” a love story that revolves around a main character who is a Canadian swanherd.
The call for unity between artists of all ages has been vocalized. Its resonance is beginning at an old gallery hall on Callow Avenue.
The Artists for Freedom and Unity, a new non-profit visual and performing arts promoting union, is laying down its roots at 318 N. Callow Ave., in the space that used to house Metropolis the Gallery.
To call the Turtle Island String Quartet a classical music act is akin to calling Jackson Pollack a painter. Sure the label fits, but like Pollack, Turtle Island are revolutionaries of their craft, taking classical elements and splattering them all over the wall along with elements of folk, funk, rock, hip-hop, be-bop, bluegrass, swing, Latin American and rhythm and blues.
The language of sexuality is often shunned by society but will be spoken openly and fluidly starting tomorrow on Bainbridge Island as Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” takes the stage at Bainbridge Performing Arts.
Its return is due to the vision and determination of Island resident Mary Granfors.
“I know that this is an important social piece that needs to be happening,” said Granfors, who is directing the play.
