Magic spells back with 'Arts in Nature' fest

FIRE DANCE AT ARTS-IN-NATURE FESTIVAL. This weekend is when the Arts-in-Nature Festival populates the cabins and glens of Camp Long and the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center with the most eclectic gathering of artists and musicians to be found in the Seattle area. Whether your taste runs to the sophisticated or the sublime, whether you prefer the refined strains of classical music or the low spark of musical lawnmowers, the Arts-in-Nature Festival has something for you. Here is the fire performance by troupe members of The Cabiri at Camp Long during the 2005 festival. Photo by Rita Alcantara.

Tue, 08/22/2006

"Boxtania Revolutionary Lawnmower Band - Making music and sounds from Boxatania composed and improvised on eccentric musical lawnmowers."

A program note like the one above can only mean one thing: it's time, once again, for West Seattle's own Arts-in-Nature Festival at Camp Long.

Now, as any rock climber or fifth grade conservation camp veteran can tell you, Camp Long has a little magic trick it performs every day of the year. Take a quick turn off SW 35th Avenue, duck down the Camp Long driveway, and you're transported, instantaneously, out of the city. Any reminders of the urban experience - traffic, noise, congestion - are gone in a heartbeat. Instead you find yourself emerging from a wall of trees into a large forest meadow, complete with a pond, a mountain lodge that would look quite comfortable on Mount Rainier, a smattering of rustic cabins, and the legendary (rock climbers, back me up on this) Schurman Rock. You have, in fact, entered a portal into the largest contiguous forest in the city of Seattle - and a time warp into the architectural apotheosis of the Civilian Conservation Corps.

On first contact with Camp Long, the average city dweller experiences a disorienting unclenching of the soul. That psychic rubber band that is knotted up your spine suddenly unwinds several loops and you feel a giddy, uncontrollable urge to take a deep breath. Your stride slows down, way down - unless, of course, you are a participant in the afore-mentioned fifth grade conservation camp, in which case the impulse seems to be to run whooping across the meadow in a re-enactment of Mongols' ransacking of Legnica - but that's another story.

Indeed, Camp Long has a magic spell to cast, and on this Saturday and Sunday that magic gets ramped up a notch or two.

That's when the Arts-in-Nature Festival populates the cabins and glens of Camp Long with the most eclectic gathering of artists and musicians to be found in the Seattle area. Whether your taste runs to the sophisticated or the sublime, whether you prefer the refined strains of classical music or the low-spark of musical lawnmowers, The Arts-in-Nature Festival has something for you.

Got a craving for acrobatic marvels ala Cirque du Soleil? Be sure to catch Cabiri and their aerial dance performance. Looking for a way to get the kids to sit still for something besides a video game? Don't miss the fire dance in the meadow. Do you long to connect with serious artists who remain untainted by commercial compromise? Make your way to the Museum of Sound installations in the Camp Long Cabins. Everywhere you turn there is an artistic or musical experience to be savored (59 of them, in fact) under the soothing, tree-dappled light of Camp Long.

And the good news for you rockers and dance lovers who don't mind a little urban edge in your art experience: The Arts-in-Nature Festival is, for the first time, offering a second venue at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. There you can rock to the sounds of Hot Laundry and the Sunups, or experience the whipcord grace of Phffft! Dance Theatre Company.

The hardest part of a day at The Arts-in-Nature Festival may be choosing which performances you're going to catch and which ones you're going to pass up (only to hear your friends rave about them). The Nature Consortium, the festival organizer, is determined to make that part easy for you too. Go to their website at http://www.naturec.org and click on the link labeled "festival." There you'll find a complete listing of the festival's offerings, and, as an added bonus, many of the listings have links to the performers' websites, allowing you to pre-sample their work.

If you decide to make a day of it, there will be a food vendor at Camp Long and plenty picnicking space. So bring a picnic basket or a little bit of cash and be prepared to stay a while.

Both Camp Long and The Youngstown Cultural Arts Center are conveniently located on bus lines. There is also a free shuttle between the two venues; if you decide to take the bus or walk you won't be limited in which performances you can enjoy. The Nature Consortium website has complete transportation information.

The Arts-in-Nature Festival hasn't forgotten the kids. Besides gobs of romp-able open spaces, there are several interactive performances designed for - or interesting to - children. Whether it is the EcoRhythm Kids' Jam Session or the Laughter Circle, there will be plenty of activities to fill up their day besides terrorizing mom by showing off their mountain-climbing prowess on Schurman Rock.

The question remains: what are you up for? Japanese harp music with Brian Falconer or the sultry vocals of Laura Gibson? Improvisational dance with Acro-Culture or a Joshua Beckman poetry reading? When The Arts-in-Nature Festival comes to Camp Long and The Youngstown Cultural Arts Center on this Saturday and Sunday, there will be choices to make.

So, I'm going to say this and I'm only going to say it once: If you have any respect for your inner Andy Warhol, or know a fifth grader who needs to liberate his inner Genghis Kahn, you cannot miss this festival.

(Specifics)

Arts in Nature Festival

Saturday, August 26 and Sunday August 27

Locations:

Camp long

35th Ave SW (at SW Dawson St)

Youngstown Cultural Arts Center

4408 Delridge Way SW

Transportation

Free Shuttle between Camp Long and Youngstown Cultural Arts Center

Camp Long has a small parking lot with additional parking on 35th Ave SW

Or via Metro bus #21