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In the Duv

Duvall, WA ~ Overrun by giraffes, periodically an island, the greatest little city this side of the Atlantic

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Archives for April 2017

What Are You Doing, Duvall? – Week of May 1st

April 30, 2017 by Kathryn Leave a Comment

Do you appreciate teachers?! Then show it. This week is Teacher Appreciation week, so let’s do all we can to help those teachers know how much we love and appreciate their hard work and dedication. Check with your school’s PTA to see what they have planned or just go rogue and get all grateful on your own.

So predictable. The City Council plans to meet AGAIN this Tuesday May 2nd. You can join them or just wait two weeks. They’ll probably give a repeat performance. They always do.

Get your beatnik snap fingers ready because Wednesday May 3rd is Duvall Poetry Night at the Duvall Library. You like to spit a verse betimes with your friends? Slow down your rap and it’s poetry! You’re welcome to share.

It’s MARKET TIME! The Duvall Farmer’s Market is starting again. This Thursday and every Thursday through October 12th from 3-7pm. Come down and see the amazing food and crafts our valley residents produce. There’s often live music and activities for kids. You will love the market. It’s located on Brown Ave between NE Richardson & NE Ring.

If you didn’t make it out last week, check out Cedarcrest High School’s Production of Little Shop of Horrors, playing this week on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. This should be a fun one for the family. They always do a great job.

Black Bears & Other Large Native Carnivores. Oh my! Come learn about them with Western Wildlife Outreach at the Duvall Library this Saturday from 10am-12:30pm.

Saturday from 10am-3pm, Northwest Arts Center will be housing a Spring Makers’ Market from a curated group of local artists called Duvall Handmade. Beautiful, arts, jewelry, and crafts will be on sale just in time for Mother’s Day. 15705 Main Street NE in Duvall.

CHS DECA is hosting a father/daughter dance on Saturday May 6th. So much cuteness.

I’ve noticed the owners of Cherry Valley Winery don’t like to drink alone. If you’d like to join them for a taste, their wine tasting room is open this Saturday from 12-5pm.

If you have event and activity ideas for future editions of What Are You Doing, Duvall? submit them here. I want to keep this short so I can’t include everything, but would love more ideas to choose from each week.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. This means, I may receive a small commission if you choose to purchase something from a link I post. Don’t worry, it costs you nothing. Thank you for supporting my website!

Filed Under: Arts, Community, Events, What Are You Doing Duvall?

What are You Doing, Duvall? Week of April 24th

April 24, 2017 by Kathryn Leave a Comment

The Riverview School Board meets on Tuesday night at 7pm. Join them or suffer the consequences of your own disengagement.

Thursday is a great day for a plant sale party. It’s a plant sale to benefit the Cedarcrest High School FFA team going to State Competition. There will be food and prizes and all kinds of fun. Support the kids. Get your plants for spring. Hang out with friends. Tickets are $15.

Plants will also be on sale at Cedarcrest from 2-7 on Friday and 9-3 on Saturday. It’s a great activity to combine with the SVNLL Jamboree. Speaking of…

Counting down the days until Duvall Days and hoping for a small community carnival to tide you over until the big show in June? Little League has you covered. The annual Sno-Valley North Little League Jamboree takes place this Saturday at Cedarcrest High School from 9-2. It’s a fun carnival with games, activities, concessions, face painting, bouncy house, and an auction. There are also several live games to watch throughout the day. Come one, come all. It’s a fun one.

What I’m most excited for this week is the Free Shredding Event on Saturday, sponsored by The Irwin Group. From 11am-2pm, bring any private or personally incriminating papers to the Duvall Family Drugs parking lot for free shredding services.

Cedarcrest High School’s Production of Little Shop of Horrors is playing this weekend and next weekend on Friday and Saturday. This should be a fun one for the family. They always do a great job. As a special bonus – it features some 80’s silk flowers I donated… so I’m pretty much the star of the show.

On Sunday, April 30th from 1-4 you can go to Northwest Art Center and paint your own pottery for Mother’s Day. Remember when you used to do this every year in elementary school? Maybe your mom is interested in a plate with your 40-year-old man handprint on it. If so, do this.

If you have event and activity ideas for future editions of What Are You Doing, Duvall? submit them here. I want to keep this short so I can’t include everything, but would love more ideas to choose from each week.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. This means, I may receive a small commission if you choose to purchase something from a link I post. Don’t worry, it costs you nothing. Thank you for supporting my website!

Filed Under: Arts, Community, Events, What Are You Doing Duvall?

What’s the Deal with the Thayer Barn?

April 20, 2017 by Kathryn 5 Comments

Save the Clock Tower

I’ll come clean here and tell you I have not paid much attention to what’s been going on with the Thayer Barn. I know where it is. I’ve seen the beautiful art around town. I know Duvall loves the Thayer Barn and citizens have donated a ton of money to hopefully restore it. Remember in Back to the Future, how people would interrupt Marty McFly making out with his girlfriend, and ask him to donate money to, “SAVE THE CLOCK TOWER”? The Thayer Barn is Duvall’s clock tower. Minus the making out. And the time travel.

Everyone talks about Thayer Barn as though we all know about it, so you feel silly asking for details.

For example, I say, “What’s the deal with the Thayer Barn?” and someone else replies, “You don’t know about the Thayer Barn? You must hate Duvall and farmers and all of rural America! And I thought I liked you…”

Photos courtesy of Duvall Foundation for the Arts

So, over the past few weeks I researched online and spoke to experts and I think I’m qualified to give a brief introduction to the project and an update on the current status. I’ve included several links in this post so you can read ALL the details of the nearly 30-year saga. I’m giving you the condensed version.

What is the Thayer Barn?

The Thayer Barn, now largely dismantled, rests on Highway 203 diagonally across from the Starbucks complex. It was a kit barn, built in the 1930s by the Thayer Family for their dairy cows. Kit barns are cool. They were ordered by catalog and assembled onsite. This one came from Sears and Roebuck a year before they stopped selling them.

Photos courtesy of Duvall Foundation for the Arts

People in Duvall love this barn. As of 2002 it was the last dairy barn still standing within the Duvall City Limits. At that point, the Duvall Arts Commission* had already been dreaming and planning for 10 years to convert the old girl into a community art center.

**Update from Patricia Chapman – “Our red barn was built in 1906. It was a dairy barn for decades, and is still standing. We are in the city limits of Duvall. The big yellow barn is the only dairy barn with the gambel style roof in the city limits. It was a work of art in the day.”**

To the people of Duvall, the barn represents our heritage as an agricultural community and it connects us to our past. It’s a gorgeous reminder of our roots and people are passionate about preserving it.

What Will the Thayer Barn Become?

Duvall Foundation for the Arts is currently working to convert the Thayer Barn into a community art center. This process officially began in 2000 when the developer who owned the land signed an agreement with the City of Duvall, stating that they would donate the building and a parcel of land to create a city art center/parks department in the middle of their new development.

They had 10 years to make it happen.

The city agreed to put up $200,000 toward the project and in just 4 months DFA raised the $100,000 they had committed to contribute.

Then for the next several years, the developer was on-again/off-again about moving forward with the project. All this time, the barn continued to decay. Time was of the essence and the project took a lot of it.

Photos courtesy of Duvall Foundation for the Arts

As the development plans fell apart, the project stalled indefinitely. Since the project had taken so long to get off the ground, some of those early donors requested their money back, but all the remaining funds are still set aside for the project.

The Saga Continues

Then, in late 2013 a new developer planned to purchase the property, and Duvall Foundation for the Arts picked up the torch and again began talks with the city and the new developer (Westcott Homes) to restart the community art center project.

And it’s happening. It’s just really slow because there are so many steps that need to happen all in the right order.

In order for DFA to apply for additional grant money to build the center, they need to own the land. In order for Westcott homes to deed the land to DFA/The City of Duvall, they have to separate the land into parcels. They can’t separate the land into parcels until they have water/sewer/other infrastructure in place. In order for Westcott to get the infrastructure built, they need the City of Duvall to approve the plans for their development.

Project Manager Elizabeth Hill hopes the city will approve the plans so they can begin installing the infrastructure this summer because there is a small window when this kind of work can be done successfully. If they don’t get the plans approved in time to do it this summer, they’ll likely have to wait until the summer of 2018.

Fingers crossed, City of Duvall!

But It’s Falling Down!

You may have driven by the barn recently and noticed… it’s not standing anymore. You’re right. The barn continued to decay and in 2015 it had to be dismantled.

“So, how can they turn it into a community art center?” you might ask. Good question. It’s not going to be turned into a community art center so much as it’s going to be honored and partially preserved in a community art center. Plans are currently in place to preserve what remains of the Thayer Barn and pieces of it will be used in the interior structure of the new community art center, which will be built in a similar style.

Specifically, they hope to install the north face of the barn in the upstairs interior of the new building.

DFA Wants to Hear From You

Here’s a link to the preliminary plans. They’re currently seeking community input about how to design the interior of the building to meet the artistic needs of the community. Meetings are from 11-1 most Saturdays at Match Coffee and Wine Bar. You can email DFA with questions or input.

Personally, I’m excited to see a beautiful location for local theater and dance productions and a gallery space for local artists.

To preserve what remains of the barn, plans are moving forward to install a massive cover. The cover needs a moveable ecology block foundation to be built to hold it in place and it will be installed by Dan Cook, the same contractor who disassembled the barn and preserved the north face. When the foundation’s in place, the cover supplier will install the cover.

It’s just a ton of work and I’m amazed at how well it’s all coming together. What a persistent team of volunteers and what an awesome legacy they’re building!

The designs have been created with the developer who’s building the condo development. When it’s completed, the city will own the utilities, road, sidewalks, and parking lot. Duvall Foundation for the Arts will own the land and the building.

You Can Still Donate

If you’d like to contribute to the project, you can do so from their website and, since they’re a 501c3, they’re eligible for corporate matching. They also have a few of these beautiful giclee prints of a painting by Vicki Perry available for $50 each (unframed) or $250 (framed). Anyone interested should contact Deanna.

Reproduced from the Original Painting by Vicki Perry with Permission

Currently the best place to go for project updates is this page, last updated in March of 2017.  Elizabeth says future updates will be uploaded there.

Here is an excellent explanation of the DFA and the Art Center history

Art Center FAQ

*An explanation of the difference between the Arts Commission, the Cultural Commission, and DFA From Elizabeth Hill

“The Duvall Arts Commission was formed when the barn project was first imagined by Sunny Ruthchild. The idea of the Arts Commission was to support the development of an arts center and the arts in general. I was appointed along with others to that first Art Commission.

Relatively quickly after that it became clear that what we really needed was an Art Foundation because the Commission was not a non-profit and therefore could not give potential donors receipts for tax deductions. Also, the commission was associated with the City and could not actively fundraise for the art center. We looked around to see what other communities had done to address these challenges and then developed Duvall Foundation of the Arts. It was Huston Barclay who did the work to establish DFA as a 501C3 to raise money for the arts center/barn project and for the arts in general.

“Later the City morphed the Arts Commission into the Cultural Commission.

DFA continues to work on the art center project, DFA puts on Sandblast every year as a gift to the community. DFA also puts on Art in Bloom and provides scholarships for people to pursue art and music educational opportunities. The vision we had as a community of having a non-profit foundation for the arts all those years ago has paid off and has contributed to Duvall’s thriving art community.”

As always, if you find any inaccuracies in this post, please tell me in the comments. I love learning about our town.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. This means, I may receive a small commission if you choose to purchase something from a link I post. Don’t worry, it costs you nothing. Thank you for supporting my website!

Filed Under: Arts, Community, History, Mysteries of Duvall

What Are You Doing, Duvall? – Week of April 17th

April 17, 2017 by Kathryn Leave a Comment

Spring Break has broken and all the children have been forced back into schools for learning. But there is still fun to be had In the Duv.

The City Council will council on Tuesday night, as is their custom.

I’m bummed that our schedule is so crazy Thursday night because Snoqualmie Valley Rifle Club is offering a Junior Rifle Shooting class free of charge for kids aged 10 -18 at 5pm. They provide all equipment; you provide a good altitude and a desire to learn. Do you want your kids ready to fight by your side in the zombie apocalypse? Word on the street is these will continue for several weeks on Thursdays so maybe I can get my kids to one.

Superhero Rainbow Bingo is real and it is happening at the Sno-Valley Senior Center in Carnation. There will be bingo, prizes, a light dinner, costumes welcome and all sorts of silliness. Friday. Doors open at 6pm.

If you’re looking for a good time here in town, check out the live music Friday night at the Twin Dragon Sports Bar.

There’s an Earth Day/Arbor Day celebration hosted by The City in McCormick Park this Saturday from 10am-4pm. There will be educational stations with information about birds, mammals, storm water, plants, geology, fish, composting and much more. They will even have free trees for you to hug and plant in your yard.

Also on Saturday, the Cedarcrest Varsity Fastpitch Players are hosting a camp. Play along with the Red Wolves and learn or improve your skills. Ages 5-13. Email tandbnixon@aol.com with questions.

If you have event and activity ideas for future editions of What Are You Doing, Duvall? submit them here. I want to keep this short so I can’t include everything, but would love more ideas to choose from each week.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. This means, I may receive a small commission if you choose to purchase something from a link I post. Don’t worry, it costs you nothing. Thank you for supporting my website!

Filed Under: Community, Events, What Are You Doing Duvall?

What Are You Doing, Duvall? – Week of April 10th

April 10, 2017 by Kathryn Leave a Comment

Riverview School District is on spring break all week. So, you may be too busy vacationing to read this. I hope you are breaking so hard this spring.

This is real and if you’ve had kids, you know just how real. My favorite physical therapy office (PhysioCare) is offering a FREE pelvic health course Tuesday night at 7pm. Continence is your friend, or can be again, if you take this course.

Thursday from 3-4 at the Duvall Library, kids in grades 1-5 can come with a grown-up friend in tow to build with “plastic bricks.” A nice, creative way to spend spring break.

Saturday from 11-noon, head to the Carnation Library to be oriented if you want to volunteer at the new community radio station, Valley 103.1. Get all your questions answered and meet other people passionate about local radio.

When you think about it, hunting for eggs isn’t all that fair. They don’t even have legs. But if you’re into that sort of thing, you can hunt for Easter Eggs this Saturday at 2pm in McCormick park.

If you have event and activity ideas for future editions of What Are You Doing, Duvall? submit them here. I want to keep this short so I can’t include everything, but would love more ideas to choose from each week.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. This means, I may receive a small commission if you choose to purchase something from a link I post. Don’t worry, it costs you nothing. Thank you for supporting my website!

Filed Under: Community, Events, What Are You Doing Duvall?

What Are You Doing, Duvall? – Week of April 3rd

April 2, 2017 by Kathryn Leave a Comment

Women on Purpose are meeting on purpose to eat lunch on purpose and network on purpose. This meeting will be Tuesday at 11:30am and it’s free to the public. I’m not 100% sure what’s going on here but I’m interested in finding out.

If your kids are starting middle school next year, don’t worry, everything will be fine. If you need more information than that, the Tolt Middle School parent information night will give you answers. Tuesday from 5-6:30pm at Tolt.

The timing is convenient because you can find out about the next three years of your child’s raging hormonal mood swings and STILL make it to the City Council meeting at 7pm.

The Riverview All-District Choir Concert is this Wednesday night at 7pm in the Riverview ESC. Many children. Singing many songs. Very little parking. Enjoy.

Kindergarten registration packets are due to the various elementary schools by this Thursday.

Duvall Reads Book Club is discussing The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bojalian at 10am this Saturday at the Duvall Library. They’re always looking for new members.

Is this site fake news? I’ll never tell. But you can find out for yourself after attending the fake news workshop at the Duvall Library on Saturday at 2pm. Learn how to spot fake news and evaluate all news sources with a more critical eye.

If you have event and activity ideas for future editions of What Are You Doing, Duvall? submit them here. I want to keep this short so I can’t include everything, but would love more ideas to choose from each week.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. This means, I may receive a small commission if you choose to purchase something from a link I post. Don’t worry, it costs you nothing. Thank you for supporting my website!

Filed Under: Events, What Are You Doing Duvall?

March of the Vegetables

April 1, 2017 by Kathryn Leave a Comment

I had to go. How could I not? You had me at “people dressed up as vegetables.” You had me. At. “People dressed up as vegetables.”

If you ask anyone who knows me well, they will tell you that my single favorite exhibitor in any valley parade for the last ten years was a man dressed up as a stalk of corn at the Carnation 4th of July Parade. I became obsessed with seeing him again. Obsessed.

And last year’s Duvall Days heralded the first human corn in several years. It cheered my heart.

So, when I heard about March of the Vegetables, I was stoked. It’s a parade focused on art and agriculture and community, celebrating creativity and the return of the growing season for local farms and gardeners.

I’ve been following news and announcements for the past couple of months leading up to Saturday’s March of the Vegetables. I knew people were making art. I knew people were planning to march. I had no idea there would be a band of musical vegetables playing “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.”

That was just icing.

Over a hundred people in handcrafted costumes marched down 1st Avenue smiling, waving, cheering, showing off their art and celebrating their favorite vegetables.

Some costumes were cute.

Others beautiful.

They were all creative.

One woman handed out hand-colored packets of beet seeds she’d saved from her own garden. Could these be cuter? No. The answer is no.

And I love that we’re glorifying growth and community and nutritious foods. It was seriously magical and odd and endearing in a way only Duvall could pull off.

I hope they do it again next year. I may be forced to join in on the fun.

Filed Under: Community, Cuteness of Duvall, Events, March of the Vegetables

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