Art Beat: ‘Pajama Game,’ theater awards, cafe jazz, new art shows, more

Seattle’s Performers earn Triple Threat Studio Award at MTC Competition in San Diego

Seattle’s Performers’ Elite Group received the MTC Triple Threat Competition’s Triple Threat Studio Award for placing the highest, nationally, across all entries: vocal, dance and acting.

“We are so honored to be recognized for the comprehensive strength and versatility of the SP ELITE program,” Founding Artistic Director Sandy Sonko said. “Our exceptionally talented young artists can be found in musicals, plays and movies across King and Snohomish counties, and these awards are a testament to their dedication to perfecting their craft.”

Isla O’Connor-Lu (17, Seattle) was awarded a $60,000 scholarship to the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA), and Violet Poort (13, Seattle) earned a spot at AMDA’s Summer Academy.  

In the Large Group Song & Dance category, SP Elite was awarded first place for Something Rotten’s Welcome to the Renaissance and fourth place for Matilda’s Revolting Children.

SP Elite performers excelled across the board, receiving 20 awards.

Local award recipients:

Mini division

• Fourth place overall acting: Esme Aillaud, 10, Edmonds

Junior division

• First place vocal duet: Elliott Aillaud, 13, Edmonds
• Fourth place overall acting: Elliott Aillaud, 13, Edmonds

Teen division

• First place overall vocal: Paxton Ream, 14, Edmonds
• Second place overall vocal: Meghan Rogers, 13, Lynnwood
• Third place overall vocal: Beatrice Cramer, 14, Lynnwood
• First place overall duet: Beatrice Cramer, 14, Lynnwood; and Farah Halverson, 13, Shoreline
• Second place overall duet: Aryah Wakefield, 14, Edmonds; and Zoey McLean, 14, Seattle

Judges awards

Entertainers: Elliott Aillaud, 13, Edmonds; Lucas Lin, 13, Seattle

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Edmonds Rotary Club Service Committee awards $1,000 to Spark! Creativity

The Rotary Club of Edmonds has awarded a $1,000 grant to Spark! Creativity to support arts education for students in Edmonds-area schools. The funding will provide essential art supplies, expanding access to creative learning in local classrooms.

Spark! Creativity partners with several Edmonds schools, including Oak Heights, Chase Lake, Cedar Valley and Spruce Elementary, and it has served more than 1,000 students grades 1-12.

“We commend your commitment to providing high-quality arts education to youth in our communities and share your belief that education extends beyond Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM),” said Edmonds Rotary Club Service Committee Representative Suzanne James. “It is inspiring to see the arts receiving greater recognition through the STEAM approach, in part due to the impactful work of Spark! Creativity.”

The Rotary Club of Edmonds’ award follows a presentation by Spark! Creativity Founder Tanya Sharp in February 2026, where she highlighted the growing need for accessible arts education amid ongoing budget constraints.

“Community support like this makes it possible for us to reach more students,” Sharp said. “We are grateful to the Rotary Club of Edmonds for investing in creative opportunities that help students build confidence, connection and new skills.”

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Upcoming Art Happenings:

Edmonds College Art Gallery’s spring exhibition

Exhibition: May 8 to June 12

Edmonds College Art Gallery, third floor of Lynnwood Hall, 20000 68th Ave. W.

The Edmonds College Art Gallery’s spring exhibition, Student Art Show, features collections of artwork by nine emerging student artists: Alexandria Ashley, Christian Douglas, Karis Johnson, Daphne Lynch, Zoe Mody, Aya Nakano, Jinx Pineda, Lika Rukhadze and Felicity Silvers.

“These nine artists have gained vital professional experience by navigating the complexities of installing their work and articulating their creative visions through formal statements and bios,” said Audineh Asaf, faculty chair of the art department. “By leading upcoming artist talks and workshops, they are bridging the gap between the classroom and the public. It is always a privilege to support students as they take this first major step in their professional careers.”

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Two new shows at Graphite

’36 x Fixed by Dimension’

Exhibition: May 1 to June 20

The Gallery at Graphite, 202 Main St., Edmonds

Open noon to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 4-8 p.m. daily (with access through Charcoal restaurant)

36 x Fixed by Dimension is an exhibition about size. Every work in the show is 36 inches in one direction or another. The other dimension was entirely up to the artist.

Artist Colleen Hoffenbacker was selected for the Curator’s Choice Award for her oil painting, Afternoon Glow (30 x 36 inches). Kevin McCarthy was awarded the Sponsor’s Choice Award for his painting, Sweet Turmeric (36 x 48 inches). Artist Paul Lewing was awarded an honorable mention for his work, Cardoon (36 x 24 inches).

36 x Fixed by Dimension is sponsored by Joyful Art Fund, which supports financial awards for artists exhibiting at Graphite.

‘Meow’ Pop-Up

May 2-23

Also opening is the pop-up exhibit Meow. Pop-up shows at Graphite are dedicated to works on paper and are displayed on panels within Graphite.

The Meow exhibit features 42 works of art, all dedicated to cats and kittens. In total, more than 50 feline friends are on display.

“This is probably the most charming exhibit we have had at Graphite,” said Gallery Director Tara Shadduck. “It is great when a student artist [Fox Danger] can have their art displayed right next to an accomplished local artist [Suze Woolf and others] and to see both works sell in the first weekend. If you like cats, you must see this pop-up before it closes on May 23.”

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Jake Bergevin Quartet at d’Louvre

4-6 p.m. Sunday, May 17

Cafe Louvre, 210 5th Ave. S., Edmonds

No cover

Join the Jake Bergevin Quartet for a Sunday Kind of Love at Cafe Louvre, featuring Milo Petersen on guitar, Michael Glynn on bass and Joel Steinke on sax.

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Plein Air in Edmonds

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, May 17

Graphite Arts Center, 202 Main St., Edmonds

Cost: $60

Ages: Adults 18+

Level: All levels

Instructor: Ray Munger

Pre-registration required

There will be two plein air sessions this summer. The May 17 session will take place near the beach/ferry with an opportunity for drawing seascapes.

The June 28 session will be held downtown with an opportunity for capturing cityscapes.

Participants will meet at Graphite and then walk to the destination. They will need to have the mobility to walk 10 to 15 minutes to the location and back to Graphite, which is about half a mile each way. Class will be held mostly outdoors, so participants should dress appropriately for the weather and be prepared for potential changes in conditions.

The class will focus mainly on sketching, composition and perspective, improving observation skills and the ability to capture a scene in the moment.

Munger will share his own sketchbook and bring a pochade box with watercolors to demonstrate techniques and share tips for creating in the field. Participants are responsible for bringing their own supplies.

Tentative schedule:


11-11:15 a.m.: Meet at Graphite and walk to location


11:15-11:30 a.m.: Arrive at location and set up


11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.: Drawing/painting


1:30-1:45 p.m.: Pack up and walk back to Graphite


1:45-2 p.m.: Wrap-up and sharing

Munger studied art, worked and taught classes at the Gage Academy of Art in Seattle and has shown his art locally. For the past several years, he has been focusing on plein air drawing and painting while keeping a daily sketchbook.

Supply list (supplies are not included): paper or sketchbook, pen, pencil, clipboard, sun hat and water bottle.

Optional supplies to bring: umbrella (if more shade is desired), portable chair or stool, snack, portable easel and paints (acrylic, oil or watercolor).

Contact [email protected] with questions.

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‘The Pajama Game’

Performances: May 15-24 (seven performances)

Edmonds Heights K-12, 23200 100th Ave. W.

Tickets: $13 + $1.39 fee

Run time: approximately 2.5 hours, plus intermission.

Online tickets
or email Box Office at [email protected]

Edmonds Heights Performing Arts (EHPA) presents The Pajama Game, directed by Dorothy Rosenthal Pierce and performed by Advanced Musical Theatre 9th to 12th-grade students.



The Pajama Game, by George Abbott and Richard Bissell with music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, is based on the novel 7 1/2 Cents by Richard Bissell. 


Conditions at the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory are anything but peaceful as sparks fly between new superintendent, Sid Sorokin, and Babe Williams, leader of the union grievance committee. Their stormy relationship intensifies when the workers strike for a 7.5-cent pay increase, setting off not only a conflict between management and labor, but also a battle of the sexes. 


Featuring dance numbers, comedy, and a large ensemble cast, The Pajama Game remains one of musical theatre’s most beloved classics. The Tony Award-winning musical includes iconic songs such as Steam Heat and Hernando’s Hideaway, along with the comedic “dream ballet.”

Originally awarded the 1955 Tony Award for Best Musical, The Pajama Game later earned the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, proving the story’s enduring appeal and timeless humor.

The Pajama Game is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

The EHPA program at Edmonds Heights K-12 serves a significant portion of the school community, offering theatre classes across all grade levels and producing multiple live performances each year. Students participate both on stage and behind the scenes, gaining experience in acting, technical theatre and production leadership.

EHPA is self-supporting through ticket sales, fundraising and sponsorships. Each year, the program produces a wide range of theatrical works involving hundreds of students.

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Big Band Night

6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21, (during Art Walk Edmonds)

Edmonds Opera House, 515 Dayton St.

No cover

Join Jake Bergevin and the Jazz Punishments Big Band for their last Big Band Night of the season.

Amateur musicians are invited to participate in a sight-reading session alongside professional musicians, offering a unique experience.

Refreshments will be provided by Vinbero.

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Edmonds Author Talk: David Horsey discusses ‘Beach of Stars’

6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 28, (doors open at 6 p.m.)

Edmonds Waterfront Center, 220 Railroad Ave. Box 717

Cost: $7.50 (walk-ins welcome based on available seating)

Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist, columnist and author David Horsey will discuss his new novel, Beach of Stars, during the Edmonds Author Talk at the Edmonds Waterfront Center.

In Beach of Stars, a college kid working a summer job in Mexico takes a beer to a young woman on a secluded beach. It’s a simple, whimsical act that sets off a chain of events that, 20 years later, lures the man from his career in city politics into a search for the now-fugitive woman.

Read more here.

Subtitles and closed captioning will be provided for guests who are deaf and hard of hearing. The Waterfront Center also offers assistive listening devices available to check out or connect with a smartphone.

The event is co-sponsored by the Edmonds Waterfront Center, the My Neighborhood News Group and the Edmonds Bookshop.

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Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop

9:30 a.m. Friday, May 29

Edmonds Bookshop, 111 5th Ave. S.

Free

This month’s Story Time will feature children’s author and illustrator Jennifer K. Mann. She will be reading from a new picture book she’s illustrated, Good Morning, Morning, written by Maya Myers.

Mann will have a fun art activity following the story. All children are welcome with an accompanying adult.

*If you would like your event included in future Art Beat listings, email Nahline Gouin at [email protected].

Based in Edmonds, Nahline Gouin is a freelance writer, ceramicist and arts advocate with experience in art museums and performing arts centers. She continues to create with clay, homeschool her son and write as a creative practice.