If you’ve never been to Art Walk Edmonds, this is the month to take the plunge. Edmonds Sketchers and Shoreline Watercolor and Sketching are teaming up to fill downtown Edmonds with sketch artists during the Art Walk this Thursday, July 18, from 5-8 p.m. Edmonds plays host this weekend to artists from around the world for Sketcher Fest 2024. Many of those visiting artists will be out and about capturing the evening with their sketches. Most will be in locations along 5th Avenue, including Cafe Louvre, the Hazel Miller Plaza and Main Street. Among the many businesses welcoming artists are Camp Vintage and Graphite (which will also have live music). If you are an artist, bring your art supplies and join the sketchers.

Also, during Art Walk Edmonds, Magic Key: Unlocking the Joy of Ukulele headlines at Edmonds Main Street Commons. In addition to a vast catalog of tunes for family entertainment — including pop, classics, swing, rock and jazz —  Magic Key continues its fundraising drive to donate all show tips from its summer Edmonds shows to the Foundation for Edmonds School District’s Save the Arts program. It is going to be a beautiful summer evening of art and music.

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ARTSplash 2024

10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, July 20-21, ArtWorks, 201 2nd Ave. S., Edmonds

Celebrating the excitement of live local art, the Edmonds-based Artists Connect group is holding its annual ARTSplash show and sale on Saturday and Sunday, July 20 and 21. Located two blocks from the Edmonds ferry terminal, the free show is a great destination event this summer, and parking is free.

ARTSplash 2024 features seventeen local artists. Artwork for sale includes original oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, and mixed-media paintings of landscapes and abstract themes, art prints, underwater and nature photography, one-of-a-kind jewelry, collages and art cards.

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Story Time with Michelle Bear

9:30 a.m., Friday, July 26, Edmonds Bookshop, 111 5th Ave. S., Edmonds

Michelle Bear will lead Edmonds Bookshop’s Story Time for children this month. Harkening back to her days as a beach ranger, Michelle will take listeners on an ocean exploration with Eric Carle’s beloved classic, A House for Hermit Crab. A puppet show and craft will follow the story. All children and their grownups are welcome to join in the fun.

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2nd Annual Mrs. Roper Pub Crawl and Roper Romp dance party!

7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 2

Join the movement honoring America’s grooviest landlady! Don’t miss the 2nd Annual Mrs. Roper Pub Crawl and Roper Romp dance party in Edmonds on Friday, Aug. 2. Grab your favorite caftan (or leisure suit for you Stanleys) and comfy shoes for an evening of laughter and dancing while supporting two local nonprofits: Washington Kids in Transition and YWCA.

Last year was amazing, and the 2024 event will be bigger and better with more bars, more restaurants, more raffle prizes and a Roper Romp dance party hosted by One Love Bridge and sponsored by Old Edmonds Opera House. Make sure to snap your picture in the photo station provided by Reece Homes.

The hope is that this movement will continue to spread across the globe, because what’s better than caftans and cocktails with new friends?

The original Million Mrs. Roper March was started 10 years ago by a group of fabulous humans in New Orleans as part of the city’s Southern Decadence festivities. Spin-off groups have since spread all over North America and abroad. Last year, it came to Edmonds, the first in Washington state.

The additional day-of-event details will be posted on Facebook and emailed to those who

Registration is FREE. However, as one of America’s favorite landladies, Helen would agree that supporting organizations that work toward ending housing and food insecurity in our communities is essential. Therefore, please consider donating to support Washington Kids in Transition and the YWCA of Seattle/King/Snohomish County. All donations will be split equally between these two impactful nonprofits.

Participating bars and restaurants (aka Regal Beagles) include Calypso, Rorys of Edmonds, Taki Tiki, Engels Pub, Dusted Valley, Kelnero, Vinbero, Salish Sea Brewery, Brigid’s Bottleshop, Off Main, Leftcraft, Bar Americano, Ristorante Machiavelli’s, Fire & the Feast, Las Brisas, and Vie and Vin.

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Cascadia Art Museum launches Writers-in-Conversation Series

6-7:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 8, Cascadia Art Museum, 190 Sunset Ave. S., #E, Edmonds

Cascadia is thrilled to announce a new monthly program called Writers-in-Conversation. In partnership with the Edmonds Bookshop, the program will highlight the thoughts, creativity, and work of wonderful writers from the area. The series will focus on interviews with Pacific Northwest writers before an audience of lovers of art, literature and the Northwest.

The series kicks off with a writer whose work is creative and engaging and who represents the Northwest in all the best ways. Sharma Shields is the author of a short story collection, Favorite Monster, and two novels, The Sasquatch Hunter’s Almanac and The Cassandra.

The interviewer and emcee for the series is Michael N. McGregor, a Seattle-based author whose book Pure Act: The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax was a finalist for a Washington State Book Award. After living his early life in Seattle, he spent 17 years as a professor of creative writing at Portland State University, where he helped found the MFA in Creative Writing program.

Tickets are available online, ranging from $14 for museum members to $20 for non-members.

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Tickets for the STRUM Party Bus to the Kalama Cultural Festival

7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 10, Ingraham High School upper parking lot, 1819 N. 135th St., Seattle

Grab your ukulele or guitar and join STRUM and others on a one-day ukulele excursion to Kalama, Washington, for the annual Kalama Cultural Festival (KCF). The festival celebrates Hawaiian and Native American cultures and the aloha spirit of Chief Kalama.

The group will travel in style on a comfortable coach, with bathrooms, views, treats, music and fun!

The bus will arrive at the festival by 10 a.m. and leave at 2:45 p.m. Enjoy the music lineup (including STRUM) on the amazing amphitheater stage next to the Columbia River. Activities include crafts, clothes, jewelry, artists and canoe races. An assortment of food booths will offer shaved ice, kalua pig, and chicken. The new Timber Market Place is open, and McMenamins Lodge’s indoor/outdoor restaurant and rooftop bar will also be open on the grounds. KCF provides chairs, or you can bring your own.

Grab your ukulele and come along! Click here to reserve your $63 ticket!

Can’t make the trek to Kalama? STRUM has several upcoming local shows. They play 6-8 p.m. on Wednesdays at the Ballard Hiram M. Chittenden Locks (3015 N.W. 54th St., Seattle). Bring a ukulele and a chair and join the band, or come to listen, relax, and have a picnic.

STRUM is also scheduled to play Edmonds August Art Walk (Thursday, Aug. 22), The Lynwood Luau (Saturday, Aug. 17, Lynwood Event Center, 3711 196th St. S.W., Lynnwood), and the Edmonds Waterfront Center (6-8 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 4, 220 Railroad Ave., Edmonds).

— By Elizabeth Murray

Elizabeth Murray is a freelance writer thankful to call Edmonds home. When she’s not busy wrangling her two kids (and husband), you can find her playing ukulele. She can be reached at elmm22@gmail.com.