PORT ANGELES — Now in its 20th year, the Juan de Fuca Festival is adopting a broader moniker, the Juan de Fuca Foundation for the Arts, to highlight its year-round activities.
The 20th annual Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts will bring to central Port Angeles venues more than 40 acts, from the local to the internationally known, over Memorial Day weekend May 24-27.
But there’s a lot more going on, said Dan Maguire, the executive director who has expanded the event lineup.
The the Season Concerts are feathers in the nonprofit foundation’s cap: Just about every month, Maguire books a touring act for a concert in Port Angeles. In February it was the Eugene Ballet and its tribute to the Beatles titled “All You Need Is Love” at the Port Angeles High School Performing Arts Center.
This month — Tuesday night — it’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the nine-man a cappella ensemble from South Africa.
The Juan de Fuca Foundation will continue a longtime emphasis on making the arts available to young people, Maguire said.
The Juan de Fuca Education arm brings Seattle’s Book-It Theatre to Clallam County, where elementary school children get to see performances of literary works, for example. Other groups such as the Eugene Ballet come to offer master classes before and during the Juan de Fuca Festival in May, and in the summer the week-long Discovery Arts Camps are open to children age 5 to 10.
To start the Juan de Fuca Festival itself, the foundation presents three Youth Day concerts for more than 3,000 local children at its main stage, the Vern Burton Community Center in Port Angeles. And throughout the four-day festival, the Children’s Art Show fills the Vern Burton atrium.
Tickets are on sale now at a discounted price for the 20th annual Juan de Fuca Festival, Maguire noted.
Full festival passes are available for $50 for adults and teens; once the events begin May 24 the passes will go to $60. Single-day tickets will also be available as always.
[As in the past, the Peninsula Daily News is principal sponsor of the four-day festival.]
To see the festival lineup of acts, purchase tickets and learn more about other Juan de Fuca Foundation activities, visit www.JFFA.org, find the foundation’s Facebook page or phone the office at 360-457-5411.