SEQUIM — The public is invited Saturday afternoon and evening to a rip-roaring shindig that will benefit Five Acre School.

The eighth annual Beat the Blues Barn Dance will be at the Big Red Barn, 702 Kitchen-Dick Road.

Tickets will be available at the door the day of the event.

Tickets for access from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. are $5. Tickets for the evening events after 5 p.m. are $20, as are tickets for the entire day.

Those 13 and younger get in free.

The dance is the private school’s biggest fundraiser of the year, said Woody French, a school employee and member of the school’s parent service organization.

The school at 515 Lotzgesell Road in Sequim is not publicly funded and relies on fundraising efforts to pay for everything from “playground equipment to maintenance needs,” French said.

The money raised also is used to provide tuition assistance and fund field trips and special requests from teachers, he said.

French encourages the public to attend.

“It is a lot of fun for the entire community,” he said.

“It is a great time for everyone to get together. Kids love it. Parents love it. It is a lot of fun and is a great fundraiser for the school.”

Entertainment

The dance will offer plenty of entertainment options beyond music and cutting a rug, French said.

Activities and performances for children and the whole family are planned from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

At 2 p.m., Alex “The Zaniac” Zerbe — a comedian, magician and juggler based in Seattle — will wow the audience, French said.

At 3:45 p.m., a giant family drum circle will commence.

After that, Soundwaves, the school’s marimba band, will perform.

The band is composed of third-through-eighth-grade students who perform frequently at public events.

Other events include a silent auction, raffle packages and a children’s robot station.

New this year is an experience that lets children “fly” in front of a green screen, French said.

“We add the effect, and they get a 30-second video where they are flying like a superhero,” he said.

At 5 p.m., the on-site bar will open, with bluegrass group Joy in Mudville taking the stage shortly thereafter.

“Kids are allowed to stay as the bar opens and the sun sets at 5 p.m.” French said.

However, “we ask that all minors are within view of a responsible adult,” he said.

Five Acre School

The small independent school currently has about 100 students enrolled from preschool through eighth grade.

Established in 1994 by Bill and Juanita Jevne, Five Acre School is owned and operated by Autumn Piontek-Walsh and Brian Walsh.

The school occupies the first commercial straw-bale building in Washington state and is surrounded by 5 acres of playgrounds, fields and wetlands.

Straw-bale construction is a building method that uses bales of straw as structural elements, building insulation or both in lieu of traditional construction materials.

For more information, call Five Acre School at 360-681-7255.

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Reporter Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.