Live music returns to Gilkey Square
By Luisa Loi
La Conner Community News
On Sunday, La Conner Live’s loudspeakers dulled the volume of a weekslong controversy surrounding the future of the annual concert series and the general handling of a 4-year-old ordinance that town officials acknowledged was a mistake.
A week after its originally anticipated kickoff show, La Conner Live drew a crowd of humble foot-tappers and bold dancers to Gilkey Square, where organizers, performers and officials got to test a new noise limit of 85 decibels with transient peaks of 100 decibels, a change from the 55 decibel limit the Town Council adopted in 2022 to align with state regulations.
Per tradition, the series began with a performance by Mary Ellen Lykins and the CC Adams Band. Prior to the show, event organizer Gloria Hulst was a little nervous that Lykins’ powerful voice would exceed the limit approved by the Town Council last Tuesday. Much to her relief, that didn’t seem to be the case, she said in an interview.
Town Administrator Scott Thomas and Councilmember MaryLee Chamberlain, who were among Sunday’s attendees, said they were casually looking at the decibel meter apps they downloaded on their phones, and didn’t notice any exceedances.
Hulst said a sound engineer from Seattle donated and mailed her an actual sound monitor, which she expected would be delivered Tuesday. The device should measure sound levels better than a cellphone, she said, noticing inconsistent results when comparing different apps.
Greg Self and Arbie Adams of Sedro-Woolley sat under the sunshine with their friend Phyllis Trial of Burlington. The three, who have been enjoying the shows for several years, said Sunday’s loudness was “perfect.”
When asked to comment on the new ordinance, Hulst said she was excited and that the nonprofit will work with the Town and the musicians to make it work.
“We’ve got a year to dial it in,” she said, before a community member brought her a cardboard tray full of cherries as a sign of gratitude.
“We’ll just have to adjust as we go,” Thomas said. “We’ll see how it goes and try to come up with a good dividing line to make as many people as possible happy.”
Chamberlain was of a similar opinion.
“I do think our bands want this to be sustainable and they’re gonna do what they can to stay within the range that we identified, which we believe has some leanings towards safer levels for people’s hearing and (is) more considerate of the folks that live and work really close to the venue,” she said.
In the meantime, La Conner Live is accepting donations to book more bands, get equipment, cover insurance and promote the shows as funding has decreased, according to Hulst. Since she was unsure if the concerts were going to happen at all due to the previous 55 decibel limit, some bands were not booked, and late bookings can be more costly, she explained.
Bayview residents Susan and Brian Adam, who made Sunday’s show part of their 40th wedding anniversary celebration, said they would be making a donation to La Conner Live’s GoFundMe, which had reached $1,405 out of a requested $6,000 in donation as of Tuesday night.
Jeri Kaufman, who can be seen dancing at every show with her husband Jerry, helped out by collecting donations from attendees. She expressed her gratitude to the Town for coming up with a solution, as well as community members and merchants for supporting the shows.
La Conner Live receives financial support from the Town, with allocations based on that year’s lodging tax budget. The highest sum, $10,000, was disbursed in 2024, when the Town’s total lodging tax budget amounted to $342,111.
The amount dropped to $6,000 the following year, when the budget dropped to $215,180.
This year, the allocation increased to $7,000 as the budget grew to $260,050, according to information provided by Thomas.
La Conner Live supplements its budget through other sources as well, including donations from local merchants, which can vary year to year, Hulst wrote in an email. Other donors may not contribute on a yearly basis.
The nonprofit is considering the possibility of hosting a fundraiser party in the fall, she wrote.
Luisa Loi is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
