Nov. 6 - 11

This year's performance selection, Hercules, will be a thrill for young thespians and audiences alike at Methow Valley Elementary School. Creativity, social skills, goal achievement, communication skills and self-esteem are all characteristics that are attained through the participation in this unique, educational project. MCT's mission is the development of life skills in children through participation in the performing arts.  

Mark your calendars and stay tuned for details, including audition and registration information, in the coming weeks.

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Bethany Wray & Amber Zimmerman - Youth Arts Initiative brings art teachers to elementary schools in our region

Shout out to the Methow Valley School district! Art education is prioritized and funded at the Methow Valley Elementary School. What began as a pilot program, the Youth Arts Initiative was a three-year project of Methow Arts funded by Leavenworth-based Icicle Fund. The goal was to have a teaching artist in schools – ideally for three years – to give students a foundation in the basic concepts of art. Bethany Wray began her work in the school in 2020, and the school district took on the cost of the program as the years progressed. This year they have successfully funded the program entirely, and they hired Bethany to teach art in grades K through 5 at Methow Valley Elementary.

Not long after the program began in the Methow, we branched out and hired Amber Zimmerman to teach in the Cascade School District in Leavenworth. Amber has been working at Alpine Lakes Elementary School since 2021 and returns again this year through the YAI.

YAI aims to increase the access to and amount and quality of arts education – visual, dance, theater, and music – for K-6 students, both inside and outside the classroom. The underlying principle is that access to the arts benefits students in ways that go beyond the arts, improving their mastery of language and math, and enhancing skills in critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication. Implementation of the YAI program utilizes Okanogan County data from the 2017 Youth Arts Opportunities Study funded by Icicle Fund, which identified gaps and opportunities, as well as barriers and supporters of youth arts education in Okanogan County.

Twisp Fall Art Walk
Saturday, September 23rd
11AM-3PM FREE EVENT

Downtown Twisp Creative District on Glover St & TwispWorks Campus

Artists, musicians, performers and food vendors of all kinds will be set up downtown on Glover Street and on Twispworks campus. DJ Noah Ashford, The High Country Kickers and musicians from Cascadia Music will be performing downtown. You won’t want to miss the lineup on the TwispWorks pavilion stage with poetry performances from Confluence Poets and a local Marimba band! With new vendors joining every year there is always a wide selection of handcrafted goods to take home and inspiring creations to see. There will be art and entertaining performances to enjoy throughout the afternoon plus a FREE Leaf Art project for all ages in the Methow Arts office. Come check it out!

Coming in October

GIVE METHOW 2023

We’re honored to be a part of the vibrant nonprofit community that, together, builds a bright future. It’s almost October and that means Give Methow 2023 is nearly here. This annual giving campaign is your chance to support the causes you care about in the Valley. Starting October 1st, you’ll find all information and the list of participating Methow Valley organizations at www.givemethow.org.

Missi Smith Joins Our Staff, Interim Executive Director

Welcome Missi Smith. Here to help us while we continue our search for an Executive Director, Missi takes the reigns as our interim replacement.

Missi has lived in the Methow Valley for 20 years. She comes to Methow Arts after working as the Executive Director at The Merc Playhouse for eight years. With a strong passion for the arts in general, her primary focus through the years has been performing arts. She has been dancing since early childhood, choreographing for three decades, and acting onstage since moving to the Methow. Missi has directed theater productions at The Merc and the Methow Valley Theater and she has taught dance classes in the after school programming at Methow Valley Elementary. She has done artist in residency work with Methow Arts in the classroom, as well as virtually during the pandemic. Check out her instruction videos and dance along here!