Holly Redell-Witte
Special to La Conner Community News
The ongoing work preparing materials for La Conner’s application to ArtsWA to be designated as a Creative District is, well, ongoing. It is a lengthy process as much because the state requires a lot of information, and as our Advisory Committee and Town is devoting serious time and guidance to bring forth ideas and documentation to support the application. Thank you to Sarah Dalton, the arts commissioner leading this effort, and the creative cohort of citizens bringing the treasure of their time and talent to the drawing board (see what I did there!).
In the meantime, we have created and released a Walking Tour guide to the public art in La Conner and 1500 Coloring Books celebrating 250 years of independence, the latter of which were distributed through the La Conner Community News and during the July Fourth Parade. Big thanks to our partners La Conner Rotary, WaFd and the La Conner Community News.
You can pick up an art walk Walking Tour guide in galleries, shops, museums and restaurants in La Conner.
As for the Creative District process itself, as with many aspects of society, budgeting is on people’s minds. The state of Washington is no exception, and the constraints it faces trickle down to every community. The process designation takes time in order to cross every t and dot every i. We continue to work with ArtsWA at the appropriate steps. We expect we will be able to file the actual application sometime in 2027.
The Arts Commission will be hosting a visit from the newly appointed executive director of ArtsWA this fall. We are also working closely with the Town on a couple of projects, including informational signage.
How many ways are there to say, “We Love La Conner?” Happily, since our last update, many of those have been documented on the LA CONNER letters, placed as part of a tourism campaign to welcome people to our region during the World Cup. The letters are in the pretty little park on Maple Street. There’s plenty of chalk there… leave a message about why you love La Conner.
You can see the letters from each participating venue on the Visit Skagit Valley tourism website. If you visit each set, take a picture and send it in, you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a Skagit Valley prize.
Our meetings are open to the public, of course. Check the calendars on the La Conner website and in this paper.
Be inspired and inspire us.
Holly Redell-Witte is the chairwoman of the La Conner Arts Commission.
