Yakama Nation elder opens Lake Chelan music festival

Olympia – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission Folk Arts in the Parks Program invites the public to a free music festival Sept. 18 – 19 at Lake Chelan State Park, nine miles west of Chelan. The festival is funded with help from an Arts and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act “economic stimulus” grant.

The festival begins at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, with a potluck and open mic and features Native American legends of the Columbia Plateau and folk art and music by local artists. Yakama Nation elder Virginia Beavert (Tuxámshish) will share Native American legends of the Columbia Plateau region from 8 to 9 p.m. Friday. Beavert is a renowned linguist, historian, tradition-bearer and a professor of the Sahaptin-Ichishkin language at the University of Oregon’s Northwest Indian Language Institute. Her storytelling repertoire includes legends of the Lake Chelan area that she learned from family members. Another open mic follows at 9 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 19, performances include:
11 a.m. Mariachi Huenachi (Wenatchee’s nationally famous high school mariachi band)
Noon Folk-rock singer/songwriter Olivia De La Cruz of the Chelan area
1 p.m. Mexican folklórico dance by Compañia de la Danza Mexicana of Wenatchee Valley
2 p.m. Jazzy blues by Wenatchee-area Keith Hightower Band
3 p.m. Cowboy poetry and traditional Western songs by Northfork (Ahtanum Valley ranch couple
Sharon “Silver” Glenn and George Thomsen)
4 p.m. Celtic music by the Straw Hat Band of the Puget Sound area
4:40 p.m. Pop/rock Celtic music by Mark and Jess of Olympia
5 p.m. Mellow folk music by Seattle duo Larry Baumgartner and Lynette Hensley
5:45 p.m. Olympia-area hammered dulcimer-player Tom Murrett of the Puget Sound area
6 p.m. Upbeat folk music by Seattle duo Paul Sandoval and Kathe Davis
7 p.m. Danceable original music and cover rock by Enumclaw’s Kevin Jones Band

Another open mic follows at 9 p.m. Saturday. The schedule is subject to change.

To make a campsite reservation, visit online at www.parks.wa.gov or call (888) CAMPOUT.

Nikki

Nikki is a writer and editor for Do It Yourself RV, RV LIFE, and Camper Report. She is based on the Oregon Coast and has traveled all over the Pacific Northwest.