Hello.
Perhaps you have noticed that we have been quiet since we last partied at the final What The Heck? fest last summer. Perhaps you heard us ambiguously hint at “some new thing” we had in the works. Perhaps you’ve never heard of any of this and you’re just curious about what’s going on in Anacortes. For you I’ll break it down:
From 2002 to 2011 we held a weekend festival of music and other stuff every 3rd weekend in July at various spaces in Anacortes, Washington. It was called “What The Heck? fest”. People came from all over and it was awesome. It was not like the typical music festival, with beer sponsors and dehydration rehab tents and golf carts for the bands. It was a small town version where everyone hangs out together and discovers new slang and eats food. After 10 excellent editions we decided to wrap up that project and embark on a new different thing called “the Anacortes Unknown Music Series”. All we knew about the new project was that it might be more frequent than once a year and it might be smaller than a full 3 day festival of music, and it would be more deliberately curated special events. Also, it would be centered around a new space we’re calling “the Unknown”, located inside the empty old catholic church.
Ten months later we have done almost no events in the Unknown. The people of Anacortes (at least us few festival planners) have been immersed in a period of super productive work, focussed on our own projects, holing up and making music and art, grey northwest style. What The Heck fest began in a time when founder Bret Lunsford was inspired by and attentive to the projects of those around him. It was a simple “what the heck? why not?” that gave birth do the easy first festival, some friends playing and eating together. Now in 2012 we are all busy in our woodsheds, making something special and virtually ignoring the neighborhood.
With this in mind, the theme of this first installment of the Anacortes Unknown Music Series is “what we’ve been up to lately”.
We’re starting back in a simple place, exploring the new idea, bringing the winter projects out into the July sun. The shows will be held at Causland Park, the Croatian Club, and the Unknown. There will be a book fair. There will be movies. There will be some food. It will not be overwhelming. You will be lying in the grass and discovering something new, unknown.
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(Source: anacortesunknown.com)
