The leaves are changing colors and the nights are getting longer, it’s definitely Autumn out there. So, keep things warm and light this weekend, Bainbridge, with a few festivities.
Here are out Best Bets:
First, island music lover Frank McFarlane is hosting “Spark,” a bluegrass concert starring Jack Dwyer and friends, at the Bainbridge Grange on Friday, Oct. 19.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., the show shows starts at 7. Admission, $15 per person, is payable at the door.
“We are honored to have a bluegrass musician with the high caliber as Jack,” McFarlane said. “We are eagerly awaiting his time here with us on the island, and are looking forward to a night full of his expertise, creativity and wholesomeness that will be sure to stay with us long after the night has passed.”
Dwyer is a multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter and teacher based in Port Townsend. He records and performs original music under his own name and works as a freelance picker with some of the most respected Northwest and nationally-based musicians.
He tours year-round, teaches privately, and operates a recording studio.
Formerly a resident of Portland, Oregon, he taught on the music faculty at Lewis and Clark College for seven years.
The Bainbridge Grange is at 10340 Madison Ave. NE
Also, Bloedel Reserve, recently named one of USA Today’s 10 best botanical gardens in North America, is celebrating its 30th birthday as a public garden and forest preserve with a Founders’ Weekend Saturday, Oct. 20 and Sunday, Oct. 21.
The celebratory weekend recognizes the date when Prentice and Virginia Bloedel opened their 150-acre private estate and established the reserve as a public garden and community place, and both days will be filled with a host of special activities, including floral and garden demonstrations, guided garden walks, music, special exhibits, and more.
All Founders’ Weekend activities are included with regular admission.
Some highlights include:
Raking the Sand and Stone Garden: Bob Braid, 30-year veteran reserve horticulturist, demonstrates the tools and techniques used to transform yards of sand into flowing designs in the Sand and Stone Garden, a feature of the renowned Japanese Garden;
Jazz in the Residence: Jennifer Maybee, pianist, vocalist, composer/arranger and 2018 Bloedel Reserve Creative Resident performs in the Residence House;
Guided Garden Walks: Staff horticulturists Andy Navage, Darren Strenge and Ken Little will lead guided walks discussing the mysterious Moss Garden, fall colors and fungi, and the history and heritage of the reserve’s diverse and towering trees;
Floral Design Demonstration: Staff florist Cathy Tyler demonstrates what goes into making the famous floral arrangements guests enjoy throughout the buildings of the reserve; and
The Super Squash Scavenger Hunt: The annual autumn tradition is back with dozens of species of common and unusual Cucurbits (squash, pumpkins, and gourds) scattered throughout the grounds in big and colorful displays.
For more information, visit www.bloedelreserve.org.
Blues and jazz guitarist T.J. Wheeler will mark his return to Bainbridge Island with an appropriately titled performance called “My Way Back Home” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20 at Island Center Hall.
The cost of admission is a suggested donation of $10 ($25 for parents with children).
For this concert, Wheeler will mostly be playing a mixture of his original songs as well as his interpretations of classic blues and jazz standards.
In the 47 years since he first left the island, he’s returned at least 40 times. Wheeler’s performances have always included a concert at the Island Center Hall.
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