The Anacortes Arts Festival pre-festival activities kick off this weekend with the Art Dash on Saturday morning and the Arts at the Port exhibit that night.
The 9th annual Art Dash half-marathon, 10k, 5k run starts at 8 am behind Anacortes City Hall. The run follows the scenic Tommy Thompson Trail along the waterfront, ending at the Port of Anacortes dock, to ethnic drumming. It is a fast, flat course, USTAF certified.
All participants receive t-shirts, medals for half marathon, awards to top finishers. Register online at CityofAnacortes.org or the day of the race. The Art Dash is a partnership between the Anacortes Arts Festival and City of Anacortes Parks & Recreation, with proceeds funding public art projects.
The Arts at the Port fine art exhibition, opens Saturday, July 26th at 6 pm at the Port Transit Shed warehouse. This is the first opportunity to view the artwork, meet the artists, and enjoy wine, refreshments and music. It is a free event.
Arts at the Port is the crown jewel of the Festival. It consists of three unique fine art exhibitions – the Annual Juried Competition, the Allen Family Focus Gallery and the Youth Art Exhibition curated by Anacortes Community and Youth Arts.
The theme for this year’s show is “Air, Earth, Water”. It contains work from over 40 regional fine artists, including 19 from Skagit County, as well as Bellingham, Seattle and beyond. The Juried Show was selected by Patricia Watkinson, a Seattle based art and museum consultant. It is landscape heavy, but includes a wide range of styles and mediums in both 2D and 3D.
The Allen Family Focus Gallery is an invitational show curated by the Festival Fine Art Committee. It includes five diverse artists – Peregrine O’Gormley (sculpture), Kris Ekstrand Molesworth (painting), Brian O’Neill (ceramics), Patricia Resseguie (fiber) and Aaron Haba (mixed media). Look for some WOW pieces including a wooden bowl vessel that measure 9 feet across and 8 feet tall.
Rounding out Arts at the Port is the annual ACYA non-juried youth art exhibit with work from k-12 grades. Also this year are two smaller exhibits including black and white photos taken by Wallie Funk for the first Festival in 1962, and a Tribute Wall honoring Don de Llamas, Joel Brock, Phyllis Ennes and Rebecca Hyland.