Tag: SEATTLE

Folklife Festival an outstanding mix of music, culture

 

Sunday, see Komplex Kai, Tulalip Hip Hop artist

By Theresa Goffredo, The Herald

The Northwest Folklife Festival, Seattle’s free four-day party, is a celebration of cultures where people can listen to music, try out dances and hear stories from all around the world.

Whether you are into the sounds of Bollywood, Celtic traditions, Asian music or hip-hop, you can listen, experience and learn during this 42nd annual festival at Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St., which runs from 11 a.m. Friday until 9 p.m. Monday.

This year, Folklife focuses on the workplace with stories and personal histories shown in a multimedia program, “Washington Works.”

But let’s get back to the party.

Folklife features hundreds of performers, a Monday night reggae show, an urban square dance and music across all the stages. A complete schedule of entertainment can be found at www.nwfolklife.org.

The bands, just to name a few, include The Shed Players, who help kick off the festival action Friday. This folk group has performed at festivals and farmers markets throughout Snohomish County and are known for roots music and a jug band style.

Also Friday, you might want to check out The Terrible Lizards whose press material has them performing Celtic tunes and songs for 65 million years.

Also Friday, the LoveBomb Go-Go Marching Band of Portland play Indie-Balkan-funk-punk.

On Saturday the entertainment continues with Ancora, an a cappella women’s choir, among many other performers.

On Sunday you can check out the Northwest Junior Pipe Band, a traditional Scottish bagpipe band comprised entirely of kids from elementary through high school. There’s also Komplex Kai, a Native American rapper from Tulalip who performs hip-hop.

On Monday, you can hear the Everett Norwegian Male Chorus, which upholds Nordic culture through song.

The festival’s closeout band Monday night is the Fabulous Downey Brothers, who are reminiscent of The B-52s, a little more weird but definitely poppy.

Family activities are part of the party and are centrally located this year on the Fisher Terrace. The activities include the Seattle Family Dance Tent, open Friday and Saturday where the youngest visitors can dance, listen to stories and sing songs from many cultures.

There’s also toy boat building and knot tying Friday through Monday put on by the Center for Wooden Boats, which will supply traditional hand tools and show knot-tying skills and help kids make traditional rope sailor bracelets. There’s a $2 materials fee.

Another family activity is creating mosaic art with recycled glass Friday through Monday. Visitors can make and take home trivets, coasters and mirrors. There’s a $4 to $7 materials fee.

In addition to a complete schedule of events, the Folklife website provides a list of special attractions and a category called 28 Things to See This Year.

The website also offers tips on where to stay and where to eat and offers the best ways to get around the festival along with a Frequently Asked Questions section. The website is www.nwfolklife.org.

New Publication Tells Western Fisheries Research Center’s History of Innovation

Source: Paul C. Laustsen, U.S. Geological Survey Office of Communications

SEATTLE — The U.S. Geological Survey’s Western Fisheries Research Center(WFRC), headquartered in Seattle, has led cutting-edge research on fish and aquatic environments for nearly 80 years – first in the Pacific Northwest, then nationwide and throughout the world. WFRC’s history of research and innovation is captured in a new publication, “Seventy-Five Years of Science: The Story of the Western Fisheries Research Center 1935-2010,” by WFRC emeritus scientist Gary A. Wedemeyer.

The WFRC began in the Great Depression as an effort to understand and control the fish diseases that limited the success of hatcheries founded to mitigate the Grand Coulee Dam’s destruction of salmon runs in the Columbia River basin. As environmental issues grew more complex and the effects of terrestrial ecology on marine ecology became better understood, the WFRC expanded with a multidisciplinary approach that now draws on the expertise of ecologists, microbiologists, and geneticists as well as fisheries biologists and other scientists. Its six laboratories – in Seattle; on Marrowstone Island and in the Columbia River Gorge, Wash., in Klamath Falls and Newport, Ore., and in Reno, Nev. – provide the technical information that natural resource managers need to ensure the continued survival of fish and fish populations in the western United States. Because food webs, aquatic communities, and ecosystems know no borders, WFRC research is relevant worldwide.

“The WFRC has a proud tradition of solving problems that negatively impact aquatic ecosystems,” said WFRC Center Director Jill Rolland. “Working here is both an honor and a responsibility that our employees take seriously.”

But it all started in 1935, when the appropriately named biologist Frederic F. Fish was tapped by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries to found a dedicated lab in the basement of their Seattle laboratory – a “hospital for fish,” as an article in a 1939 issue of Newsweek dubbed the novel project. Important discoveries emerged from Fish’s lab from the start.

“These discoveries became the basis for the hatchery operations needed to ensure the continued survival of economically important fish and fish populations both in the United States and abroad,” Wedemeyer said.

WFRC research toward recovery plans for endangered species has led to the successful establishment of self-sustaining fish populations in U.S. desert aquatic ecosystems. Other projects have proven critical to the continued survival of Pacific salmon and sturgeon populations throughout the U.S. portion of the Columbia River basin in five Western states. The Center was part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service until 1996, when it came under the aegis of the USGS.

WFRC’s history of innovation continues. Since 2008, the Coast Salish Nation and Swinomish Indian Tribal Community have partnered with WFRC on the Coast Salish Tribal Water Quality Project, which blends science and Coast Salish cultural practices to study water quality and its effects on an ecosystemthat supports orcas, salmon and other culturally important species. WFRC scientists are studying fish populations and ecosystems within the Elwha River Restoration Project, the largest dam removal project in U.S. history. Others are developing acoustic imaging techniques to safely monitor the endangered Delta smelt, whose status is an ecological bellwether for a region critical to California’s economy. Still others are developing strategies to fight the ecological and economic damage wrought by invasive aquatic species introduced into U.S. waters in the ballast tanks of ocean-going ships. WFRC is an International Reference Laboratory for the World Organization of Animal Health in Paris, and its scientists assist more than 170 WOAH member countries to establish effective fish disease control programs.

The publication “Seventy-Five Years of Science: The Story of the Western Fisheries Research Center 1935-2010” is available online. Video of Wedemeyer talking about WFRC is available here.

 

Seattle schools urged to revitalize Indian Heritage program

By Linda Shaw, The Seattle Times

Supporters of  Indian Heritage Middle College today urged Seattle school leaders to revitalize the alternative high-school program, and not move it to leased space at Northgate Mall.

The program almost closed last year, but after Jose Banda became superintendent, he delayed the closure, and is forming an advisory committee to help determine the program’s future.  But he also recently announced the program will move from the Wilson-Pacific building, where it has been since 1989.  As part of the district’s construction plans, the buildings at Wilson-Pacific will be torn down, and a new elementary and middle school will be constructed at the site.

The supporters, who held a rally outside district headquarters, said district administrators have let the Indian Heritage program deteriorate, and moving it to Northgate Mall, where another district program already is located, would hurt it further.   They would like Indian Heritage to be moved to a school site instead and, eventually, for it to return to the new Wilson-Pacific campus.  They also want the program to have Native instructors and Native-focused curriculum, and they urged the district to preserve the murals that nationally known artist Andrew Morrison has painted on buildings at Wilson-Pacific.

4Culture + Red Bull Skateable Artwork Opportunity

Red Bull, in cooperation with the Seattle Department of Parks & Recreation is looking for an artist to work in collaboration with a world‐class team of experts to design public artwork that is skateable. This is not a skate park – it is first and foremost a work of art. But this is art that invites interaction and participation.

Red Bull is investing in the Seattle community by creating a truly unique public art experience that explores the creative nexus of public space, athletic skill and individual imagination. Red Bull and the Seattle Department of Parks & Recreation have selected a site for the Red Bull SkateSpace in Myrtle Edwards Park, just north of the Olympic Sculpture Park on an elevated knoll with spectacular views to Elliott Bay and the Olympic mountain range. Red Bull SkateSpace will blend art and skateboarding to create unique terrain where the innovation of skateboarders can truly flourish.

 

ORGANIZATION: 4Culture
DEADLINE TO APPLY: Monday, June 3, 2013
MORE INFO:  Willow Fox, 206.205.8024
Budget: $76,000
Visit www.4culture.org/apply/index.aspx and follow the application specific links.

10th Anniversary Native Voices Film Festival

Celebrating and Honoring Native Voices at the University of Washington, and Pacific Northwest Native filmmakers. Meet the filmmakers, free and open to the public.

May 1-3, Beginning Wednesday, May 1 at  7:00 PM, University of Washington campus, Kane Hall 220
This event is in partnership with “The Living Breath of Wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ: Indigenous Ways of Knowing Cultural Food Practices and Ecological Knowledge,” hosted by the UW’s American Indian Studies Program, and the 12th Annual Symposium of Native and Indigenous Graduate Student Research, “Reminds Me of Home: The Cultural Shaping of Our Senses,” where Native and Indigenous graduate students, staff, faculty, and community members will present on how their research, analysis and presentation of data has been shaped by their culture and communities.

https://www.facebook.com/events/423295094430917/

http://depts.washington.edu/native/wordpress/?page_id=299

Weekend Activities at the Burke: Coast Salish Art

Burke Museum
Sat., Apr. 20, 2013 – Sun., Apr. 28, 2013
11 am –  3 pm
Included with museum admission; FREE for Burke members

Saturdays and Sundays in April, 11 am – 3 pm

Photo (c) Jack Storms/Storms PhotoGraphic.
Photo (c) Jack Storms/Storms PhotoGraphic.

Every weekend in April, enjoy Coast Salish art activities at the Burke. See Coast Salish artifacts not normally on display, and try your hand at a large weaving loom. Also join us for guided exhibit tours every Saturday at 1 pm.

The Burke Museum offers weekend activities throughout the year with themes changing monthly. Check our events page for updates on other upcoming weekend activities.

New coalition of regional leaders formed to oppose coal exports

Leadership Alliance Against Coal includes leaders from cities and tribes

 

Source: Office of Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn

SEATTLE – Leaders of city governments and tribal nations across the Pacific Northwest today announced the formation of a new coalition to oppose coal trains and coal exports. The Leadership Alliance Against Coal will work together to raise awareness about the damaging economic, cultural, and health impacts of coal trains and coal exports, as well as take action to protect their communities.

“These coal trains threaten the health of our communities, the strength of our economies, and the environmental and cultural heritage we share,” said Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. “We will stand together to stop the coal trains.”

“For thousands of years Washington State tribes have fought to protect all that is important for those who call this great state home. We can no longer allow industry and business to pollute our water and land; we as leaders need to protect our treaty resources, our economies, and the human health of our citizens and neighbors,” said Brian Cladoosby, Chairman of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.

The Leadership Alliance Against Coal grew out of conversations between leaders from cities and tribal nations concerned about the impact of coal trains on their communities. Alliance members are calling for agencies to work together to explore the impacts on the health of people living near the rail tracks and the coal terminals. They urge state and federal agencies to deny permits for coal export proposals, as their proposed benefits do not outweigh the likely costs to local economies, health, natural environment, and cultural resources.

The City of Seattle conducted a study that found coal trains could add an additional two hours of gate downtime at major street crossings of the railway by 2025. Similar delays are likely in cities large and small along the proposed route of these trains

Tribes are concerned that coal trains and the proposed coal terminals would violate their treaty rights and damage their cultural heritage, as well as cause economic and health impacts.

“The economic, environmental and health issues raised by this 19th Century proposal are below us as a city and a state,” said State Representative Reuven Carlyle. “We need to focus on high quality, innovative, entrepreneurial markets and ideas that lift us up – not unhealthy, dangerous commodities that assault our global economy.”

“The risks not only to our tribe can be devastating, but also to the entire region,” said Chairman Melvin Sheldon, Jr., of the Tulalip Tribes. “We’ve made substantial retail investments that depend heavily on quality of life. Tulalip supports job creation. We are one of the largest employers in Snohomish County and contribute to economic solvency in the Northwest. However, we do not support an industry such as this one that we believe will damage our natural and cultural resources or diminish existing jobs in our region.”

“This increased rail traffic will have a significant impact on our local community by among other things increasing traffic congestion, creating a higher risk of accidents, decreasing our ability to provide effective emergency response times, impacting local commerce, and interfering with local truck freight delivery systems also affecting the local economy,” said Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring.

“The proposed coal trains pose a detriment to the health, economy, and quality of life of the people and communities I represent,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, Chair of the King County Council’s Transportation, Economy, and Environment Committee. “I stand united with neighborhood, business, environmental, tribal, and government leaders in protecting the prosperity and beauty of our state by opposing coal trains.”

“The City of Spokane cannot afford to have additional coal trains coming through that disrupt truck routes, emergency services and the health of our citizens,” said Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart. “In addition we must address climate change as elected leaders and must take action. I am proud to be part of the Leadership Alliance and look forward to working with Tribal and elected leaders across the state to represent our communities.”

“The citizens of Edmonds, like so many in our region, are committed to protecting our environment, improving our public health and safety, and building our economy. Coal trains run counter to every one of these important goals,” said Edmonds City Councilmember Strom Peterson.

“Washington State has been a national leader in creating clean-energy technologies and jobs that promote sustainable global economic development. Coal exports promote damaging and unsustainable energy programs. Shoreline stands in opposition to the proposed coal export terminals and the environmental, health and economic damage that will ultimately result,” said Shoreline Mayor Keith McGlashan.

“The City of Bainbridge Island supports economic growth that does not jeopardize Washington State’s commitment to fight the serious impacts of climate change,” said Bainbridge Island Mayor Steve Bonkowski, on behalf of the City Council. “The City urges the Governor and the Legislature to work on a comprehensive policy opposing coal export terminals in Washington State.”

“What is most concerning to me are the affects and impacts created by increased coal export put upon down-line communities like ours and we are just expected to take it,” said Sumner City Councilmember Nancy Dumas. “There is zero direct benefit for pass through communities like ours, yet our taxpayers are expected to bear the burden of expense, responsibility and liability that the increase in coal train traffic bisecting and disrupting our towns will bring.”

“On Earth Day, the city also introduced our Climate Action Plan, the city’s roadmap to be carbon neutral by 2050. Despite all our efforts to invest in energy efficient homes and an active transportation system, we will not achieve our climate goals if we allow a massive expansion of coal exports through our community,” said Seattle Councilmember Mike O’Brien. “I’m proud to stand united with cities and tribes to oppose coal exports and promote a climate friendly future.”

The following individuals are members of the Leadership Alliance Against Coal:

•           Mayor Mike McGinn, Seattle

•           Councilmember Mike O’Brien, Seattle

•           Councilmember Larry Phillips, King County

•           Mayor Jon Nehring, Marysville

•           Mayor Keith McGlashan, Shoreline

•           Deputy Mayor Chris Eggen, Shoreline

•           State Representative Reuven Carlyle

•           Council President Ben Stuckart, Spokane

•           Mayor Dave Earling, Edmonds

•           Councilmember Strom Peterson, Edmonds

•           Councilmember Nancy M. Dumas, Sumner

•           Mayor Steve Bonkowski, Bainbridge Island

•           Chairman Melvin Sheldon, Jr., Tulalip Tribes

•           Chairman Brian Cladoosby, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community

•           Councilmember Jay Julius, Lummi Nation

Makah Tribe and U.S. Coast Guard Sign MOA to protect ocean

Source: Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

Rear Adm. Keith A. Taylor, commander of the 13th Coast Guard District, and the honorable Timothy J. Greene Sr., chairman of the Makah Tribal Council, sign a memorandum of agreement at the Jackson Federal Building in Seattle, April 12, 2013.
Rear Adm. Keith A. Taylor, commander of the 13th Coast Guard District, and the honorable Timothy J. Greene Sr., chairman of the Makah Tribal Council, sign a memorandum of agreement at the Jackson Federal Building in Seattle, April 12, 2013.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Makah Tribal Council signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to reaffirm their integral partnership, cooperation and coordination in pollution prevention and response during a ceremony at the Jackson Federal Building in Seattle, April 12.

“This MOA will solidify an enduring relationship for decades to come,” said Rear Adm. Keith A. Taylor, commander of the 13th Coast Guard District. “The agreement establishes consensus guidelines of environmental stewardship necessary to succeed over the long-term. Additionally, the MOA will serve as a model for cooperation between Coast Guard leaders and other sovereign tribal authorities.”

Additionally, the Makah Tribe  bestowed a name and dedicated artwork for the primary conference room of the Thirteenth Coast Guard district. For more details about the MOA, see the full United States Coast Guard press release.

Suquamish Tribe donates fry for release in Carkeek Park

Source: Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

In its 10th year of a successful partnership, the Suquamish Tribe has donated 50,000 chum salmon fry to the Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project, supporting the effort to teach the public about salmon and why it’s important to keep streams clean.

“A few years ago, we released 70,000 fry and 164 came back last year, which is a good return for us,” said Bill Hagen, the volunteer coordinator for the community group.

Ben Carkeek Park Transfer April 2013 web

Suquamish natural resources technician Ben Purser takes a dip net of chum salmon fry from the tribe’s Grovers Creek hatchery near Indianola. The fry were transferred to Carkeek Park’s Piper Creek in Seattle. More photos of the transfer can be found on NWIFC’s Flickr page. 

 

“We appreciate volunteers all over Puget Sound who are excited about the salmon life cycle and teaching others about it,” said Jay Zischke, the tribe’s marine fish program manager. “These types of programs are key to helping stress the importance of clean water, for both fish and people.”

The fish were donated in March and kept in a large swimming pool at the end of a trail on Piper’s Creek until released in April. Volunteers, from retirees to entire families, feed the fish three times a day until they are released.

The creek and trail are popular with school groups learning environmental science and the salmon-watching public, especially in the fall.

About 700 people came up this trail last year, Hagen said, so it gets a lot of traffic and is a good place for both kids and adults to learn about salmon.

“This is enjoyable for everyone who comes up here and if it weren’t for the tribe, we wouldn’t have it,” Hagen said.