I arrived at Cascadia Art Museum at 5:06 PM, expecting to explore the exhibits during regular hours…read moresince Apple Maps had listed them as open until 6:00 PM. Unfortunately, the museum had already closed to the public. Luckily, Sydney kindly invited me to stay for a private evening event that was just about to begin. The $20 admission ended up being incredibly worthwhile. Before the event I was able to walk around and see the gallery entirely while the staff set -up. The event featured a guest lecture by Dr. Simon Lhopiteau, a Paris-based art historian who recently opened a studio in Seattle. His talk centered on Henry Saÿen, a chemist-turned-painter whose work is rarely acknowledged in mainstream art history. We discussed Saÿen's invention of the self-regulating X-ray tube, his move to Paris during the rise of the avant-garde, and the influence of Henri Matisse on his artistic development. Dr. Lhopiteau also spoke about how both Henry Saÿen and Henri Matisse were among the early artists to shape the foundation of modern self-portraiture. Their work explored internal perception just as much as external form, and this introspective approach helped redefine how artists captured the self. He also shared how abstract and impressionist art in the early 20th century was not just rejected by the public, but often met with deep hostility and even violence. One of the highlights of the evening was Saÿen's 1903 painting titled Primitive Agricultures. We also explored the legendary artist gatherings at Le Dôme café in Paris and discussed the deeper connection between light, geometry, and perception in modern painting. The entire conversation felt alive--intellectually rich, spontaneous, and deeply human. It was one of the most engaging experiences I've had in a long time. Before leaving, I visited the museum gift shop and picked out a beautiful orange floral scarf for my mom. The shop was just as thoughtfully curated as the rest of the space. I also had the pleasure of speaking with Nancy, one of the museum ambassadors, who was incredibly kind and insightful. She told me about her travels through the Balkan countries and the museums and art collections she visited abroad. I shared my love for Renaissance art and armor from the Middle Ages and she encouraged me to visit France to experience those collections firsthand. I mentioned that my niece is French and currently studying there, so now I have even more reason to go. Before I left, I met Julie, the museum's education director, and learned that her academic thesis focused on Renaissance art and the representation of women. It was such an energizing conversation. She even gave me a list of local spots to eat, which meant a lot since I needed to grab dinner for my family after the event. I have attached the photos part of the current exhibit to this review to encourage people to see art in person because it is of amazing quality and deserves recognition. Had I arrived during regular hours, I probably would have paid $12 or gotten in free with my student ID, but I'm honestly glad I came when I did. Cascadia is not just a museum. It's a place of conversation, discovery, and connection. Whether you're visiting for the art or open to the unexpected, it's absolutely worth the experience.

I had the pleasure of attending a curator talk at the Cascadia Art Museum, and it was phenomenon!!…read moreDavid Martin is a dynamic speaker and is a world recognized art historian of northwest style arts. He walked us through an exhibit called "Urban Scenes of Seattle: 1910-1960". Apparently in the "old days" and before the internet, Eastern U.S. arts are influenced primarily by European arts, while Western U.S. arts are influenced by both European arts and Asian arts. As a result, these mid-1900s regional arts has an intriguing amalgam of art styles from other parts of the world while serving as a historical data point of our area. I highly, highly recommend attending one of his "coffee with the curator" talks that give so much behind-the-scenes story of the artists, many of whom David personally knows. Other than the Urban Scenes exhibit, they are currently featuring a special exhibit of Christmas cards that are individually made by local artists that were sent to family and friends. No two are the same! The museum is modest size but packs a punch! It is definitely a local gem. Housed in an old Safeway building, it shares space with a bistro in the same building. Their museum store also has excellent pieces from artists and/or uniquely curated pieces. And they sell books written by David Martin. He'll autograph them if you want!

Going to Edmonds Historical Museum this morning, Saturday 9 November 2024, I could not clearly…read morerecall if I had been before. Walking the museum exhibits, I found I could recall seeing some of the items on display before - I had come with my Grandma Rosemary maybe over 20 years ago to check it all out. My visits have been all around enjoyable experiences. For parking, I went with street parking about one street away. Parking on the streets nearest the museum was limited due to the Edmonds Saturday Market. I arrived a few minutes before opening (9 a.m.) and was eagerly the first patron of the day. I was greeted by a friendly worker who told me a bit about the museum building and an exhibit that was on its opening day, "Voices of Valor", which covered veterans from Snohomish County in various wars. She informed me I was the first patron to see the exhibit. I thought that was cool! Before proceeding into viewing the exhibits, I made my $5 donation at a box near the entrance/exit though later I did note there was a least one other donation box location in case one forgot and/or did not want to be obvious. Uniforms for the veterans varied depending on the war. It was neat to see how the dark blue for World War(s) morphed into dark green for the Vietnam War and mottled tan (Army) and blue (Navy) for the Iraq War. I appreciated the focus on the efforts of local Snohomish County residents during the war, including what role(s) they served in. Information and artifacts were clearly displayed and easy to understand, and were well laid out and straightforward to navigate (in a clockwise direction displays covered more recent wars). Downstairs, the exhibits were straightforward to navigate as well and included an old jail cell that one could enter, a model train station, and a narrated out loud diorama of an old shingle (wood/logging) mill. A second friendly worker was in the basement when I took the elevator to the lower level, she kindly turned the model train on when I got to the Great Northern Railway section. Other displays also helped contribute to my broader understanding of the development of the area and what daily life looked like in the past.

Museum exhibits are engaging for kids and adults. Old jail cell, diorama of shingle factory, old…read moreschoolhouse -- lots to see. Our main problem was hours of operation. We called their telephone number to get voicemail saying check FB for hours of operation. We looked on FB which told us one set of hours... then drove over to find them closing. The woman at the front desk said they didn't know how to update their FB page to give current/accurate hours. Come on! Pretty basic... I don't recommend driving out of your way to get here given the risk that it will be closed.

This dated, basic theater is an absolute joy. Yes, it's a little shabby, and depending on which…read morehouse you're in, the seating can be a bit cramped. But it's clean and well-maintained, has a nice mix of mainstream and art-house films, offers bulk candy, and is staffed by universally nice people. I ordered a coffee once and assumed I'd need to pop back out to the lobby in five minutes to pick it up--imagine my shock when someone *came and found me* at my seat instead. (Yes, this was before the show.) It was wholly unnecessary, and just the kind of small human touch that makes the Crest such a pleasure. Also, you know how at huge megaplexes you actually have to go track down an employee to report a sound or projection problem? (Or if, say, the wrong film is playing entirely, as happened to me at Thornton Place last summer?) Doesn't happen here because they actually pay attention. I've only ever experienced a couple of technical issues here anyway, and each time the staff was already on top of it.

Pretty standard theater, but was nice! Love the $7.50 tuesdays too, good location for a cheap movie…read morebecause of the mall+food nearby. Theater was also super clean

What a wonderful theatre! I love that this is a small local spot that's perfect for a daytime or…read moredate night outing. The concessions by donation are perfect and the ushers make you feel like home. Not a bad seat in the house. I know some friends who volunteer their time here. What a great place to have some affordable fine arts fun!

Growing up, my grandmother lived in Edmonds and really enjoyed the Edmonds Driftwood Players…read moreTheater, so we would come with her to various plays. It was a more formal occasion so we got to wear our nice clothes. We would arrive fairly early to avoid the crowd that could form as the play start time neared. The plays we saw here were varied in content, though tended to be musicals. I typically got headaches when I saw plays growing up, and the acoustics hear were better than average. It depended on the play and type of music sung whether I got a headache. During intermission we would make a dash for the restrooms, which could have a long line, however us and other theater goers tended to be quick to keep the line moving. We would also go on the hunt for a small cookie or two that might have been put out.

This was a nice little find. We got here late as my sister had to take her son to this de's appt…read more By the time we got to Seattle, it was already 1 pm. Once the entire family met up, we climbed back into the car and headed to Bellevue. Not sur if it was due to the time. But we were surprised there was a lot of parking available. We spent a good 2-hrs here which included getting lost and finding other street entries into the botanical park from a school and from other busy street corner at the bottom of the park. Nice and shaded, quiet little creeks, plenty of seating for those that were inspired to journal, plenty of elderly people using this time to exercise and stretch. We enjoyed the different areas like the swinging bridge, the Japanese garden and even the little cafe they have there. Fairly priced items and plenty of tables to enjoy a refreshment and snack. By the time we were done, the gift shop was already closed. So I took the opportunity to drop a donation into the box instead.

The Bellevue gardens is a pretty quiet and secluded little spot to relax and take in some nature…read more It's not a huge place, but it's big enough that you can spend an hour or two there, casually strolling about. No trouble with parking, and it is free to enter, so you really should stop by if you are nearby. It's worth it.

I love our local library and how convenient it is to drive up of walk. I always place my books on…read morehold so I can just swing by to check them out. I don't really browse the library, outside of the children's section. I'd rather know what I want, place the item on hold and they let me know when it's available for pickup.

Clean library and very easy to move around. Very helpful people next I will bring the kids.read more

Went to the Edmonds Theatre for the first time last night for the Throwback Thursday screening of…read moreWHEN HARRY MET SALLY in honor of Rob Reiner. My hubs and I love this movie from 1989 and it was wonderful to see it in a classic, vintage theater (100+ years old!) with a good-sized crowd. So fun to laugh and cry with lots of people at the movies again!! The COVID pandemic took this tradition away and I am really hoping more people start going back to the movies again. The staff were friendly and the place was clean and full of good popcorn smells. We didn't partake though because $9 for a small bag of popcorn is just too expensive. But we appreciated this nice, old theater and we will be back.

I used to LOVE this theater. It just had such a great vibe, GREAT employees, who ENJOYED their jobs…read moreAND patrons & it had an old school feeling theater vibe. Just such an enjoyable experience whenever I frequented it. Unfortunately from what I understand it was recently sold. Sigh. It's STILL a great old school theater, but that's about all that has remained. The fun, quirky, employees that always seemed to enjoy their work and showed their commitment to our lovely community have been replaced by dour, seemingly VERY unhappy and just CRANKY employees. I worked in Costumer Service for 30 years, and believe me it's HARD, especially during and after COVID. IMHO employees ACT like this under really bad mangers and management. Miserable employees treat customers with no kindness, no joy. My advice to management is FIX yourselves and the employee will follow. 'Nuf said! Best of luck, you bought a GEM, I hope you can find it again and KEEP IT.