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Voted Best Gallery on Wall St.! August 27, 2009

Posted by Maren in General.
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“Voted one of the best Dutch shops on Whidbey Island!”

That was the sentence a few months ago that had me wondering about all these “Best Of” and “Voted Best” titles. My first thought was how many Dutch stores are on Whidbey Island that the one in Coupeville wouldn’t just be the best?

I started noticing other slogans. “One of the Top 100 Chinese restaurants in America.” “Voted best museum in Snohomish County.” “Voted Western Washington’s #1 Casino!”

So now I wonder, who exactly is voting?

Then I received a copy of the September issue of 425 Magazine with the cover proclaiming “Readers Voted! Best of 425.”  After just a few pages it appears every “Best Of” 425 winner is in either Bellevue, Redmond, or Issaquah. Not to say that there aren’t some  wonderful things to see on the eastside of Lake Washington, but the area code 425 actually covers 634 Zip codes and 43 cities in Western Washington. This includes Everett, which is the second largest 425 city in population.

I shouldn’t be bothered by a silly magazine poll. Most of the time these “Voted” slogans are probably just marketing strategies created to help drum up business, which we all need right now.

And that is why I’ve taken it upon myself to create a few of my own “Best of 425” winners.  Drum roll please…

Best Gallery:
Arts Council of Snohomish County. Okay I admit I polled the person at my desk. I’m not trying to make anyone mad (Lowell Artworks, WiseDesignz, etc..), but we have a wonderful exhibit gallery and gallery store, which can be seen M-Sat. for FREE! (And, a new exhibit, “Of Clocks and Crows” starting on Thursday Sept 3rd. Yes, that was a shameless plug.)

Best Free Entertainment:
425 magazine picked Crossroads Mall. Seriously!? You picked a mall? With all the wonderful free summer activities going on right now I’m a little appalled. The City of Everett’s Music in the Park concert series has been offering free fun for all tastes and ages. With concerts on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays all summer long there are plenty of free opportunities to be entertained. (And did I mention that the Arts Council is free, as well as many of our wonderful events? I digress…)

Best Happy Hour:
There are several around town offering up good cheap eats and drinks, but I happen to be partial to Anthony’s Woodfire Grill and Lombardi’s italian. The Woodfire has many great happy hour items, such as the hearts of romaine salad and baked garlic cheese. And when is it not happy hour at Lombardi’s? Everyday from 3-7pm and 8-close makes it hard not to take advantage of their great menu. (Note: My husband is a big fan of the ribs.)

Best Cocktail:
On a related note to happy hour I’m currently a big fan of the “Terratini” cocktail at Terracotta Red on Hewitt. Ginger infused Yazi vodka…yum.

Best Coffee:
425 Magazine picked Starbucks. I realize people in this area are loyal to the mother ship, but there are some wonderful independent coffee shops that I think make a much better cup of joe. My picks would be the Everett Public Library’s Espresso Americano or Kennedy’s Place on Colby Ave. Or if you happen to be in Mukilteo, I love Whidbey Coffee Co.

Best Museum:
I’d like to give a shout out to our neighbors the Imagine Children’s Museum. Everyone will want to be a kid again after visiting their tree house.

Best Trip Back in Time:
Treasure House on Colby Ave. The hours are sparse, but if you ever manage to catch it at an open moment you’ll see what I mean…

Best Beach:
Jetty Island. This surprisingly warm, sandy beach is just a quick passenger ferry ride away from the 10th St. Marina Park. The ferry is free, but donations are strongly encouraged to help offset the cost of the ferry and maintaining this beautiful two-mile stretch of nature. (Interesting that 425 magazine didn’t have this category, maybe because there are no beautiful beaches on the eastside?)

Best Live Theater:
On this (and only this) I will concur with 425 Magazine, which picked the Village Theater. They have a location in Everett, as well as Issaquah. Be sure to catch their upcoming show “Chasing Nicolette”

P.S. – Did you know the Arts Council was also voted best place to buy a Merrilee Moore votive, use a public restroom, and have a hula hoop contest?

The Floats…before they’re found August 7, 2009

Posted by Maren in Events, Fresh Paint.
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Most of the glass floats for next Saturday’s Fresh Paint Float Find arrived this week. Bob Mitchell dropped off an assortment of colorful “beach balls”. Here is a sneak peak…

FPFloats1

Beautiful!

That blue one looks like an old japanese sea float.

That blue one looks like an old japanese sea float.

To get your own Fresh Paint float you’ll have to get there early. Ferries start running at 10am on Saturday and it is first come, first serve, but PLEASE REMEMBER ONLY ONE FLOAT PER PERSON. We know how pretty they are, but let’s make sure as many people as possible get a chance. Alright?

This year you’ll also be able to register your float on the island. Each float is numbered, so be sure to see if your number is a winner. Two lucky float finders will win a JUMBO float.

And, when you’re all done on the beach be sure to check out Fresh Paint over at the marina. We have 100 artists in action, glassblowing, art cars, and a Scuttlebutt’s Beer Garden. Visit www.freshpaintfestival.com for more info! See you there.

First Float Find a Success! August 19, 2008

Posted by Maren in Fresh Paint.
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This past weekend was the first annual Fresh Paint Float Find. The weather was perfect and from reports I got back from volunteers…Jetty Island was busy! On both Saturday and Sunday morning a small crew of volunteers hid 150 floats throughout the sand, seaweed, and driftwood on Jetty Island. Most boats were packed with many people taking off in a hurry in search of the floats. About half of the people who found floats did come back to the festival, register the float and pick up a certificate of authenticity. For those of us at the information booth during the day it was fun to see all the different float color combinations and the joy on kids faces who had found a float, their own piece of buried treasure. Can’t wait to do it again next year.

The photo below is of a woman named Phyllis that gave her float to the ferry captain when she returned from the Jetty. Jill, a volunteer, snapped the photo.

Float Find participants

Float Find participants

TGIF June 27, 2008

Posted by Maren in Events, Fresh Paint.
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The phrase TGIF still makes me think of ABC’s friday night line up from when I was a kid, but I am truly thankful that friday is here and it is finally glorious outside. Fortunately, I get to go to Jetty Island this morning to do some planning for the first annual Fresh Paint Float Find. While I don’t quite have all the specifics figured out…there will be glass sea floats (like those in the photo below), they will be “hidden” on the beach, and people will find them over Fresh Paint weekend in August. That sounds like a good time, right? The Everett Parks Dept. seems excited about it too (always important), so hopefully it will become a festival main stay like the outdoor Hot Shop. Off to the beach….