Community Newspaper for Blaine, Birch Bay and Semiahmoo, Washington

A good time for a good cause

By Meg Olson

Next Saturday a train station will pop up in the Blaine performing arts center and the middle school cafeteria as the Blaine Fine Arts Association (BFAA) invites the community to “Take the A Train” and support art programs in local schools.

The annual Arts and Jazz concert, dance and silent auction is the primary fundraiser for the association, which generates funding for special equipment, events and scholarships to allow young Blaine artists and musicians to grow in their craft. In previous years, funds have sent the high school jazz band to perform at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Moscow, Idaho, purchased a raku kiln for the art department, sent the choir to perform with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and allowed art students to attend adjudicated art events and workshops.

Besides being for a good cause, Arts and Jazz is a swinging evening out on the town. You can take a spin on the dance floor to the music of the award winning Blaine high school jazz band and swing choir. There will also be live art as teacher Brian Smith shows off the new kiln the BFAA helped purchase. One of the Raku pieces will be auctioned off later in the evening.

During the intermission there will be a live auction and a silent auction throughout the evening. Auction items range from original artwork to vacations, including certificates for lot of local services such as massages or dinners out.

“The evening features not only the talents of our students but the talents and generosities of our community,” said organizer Dorita Gray.

Local artists have popped up where you might not expect them. Middle school vice-principal Jeff Coulter is a potter, bus driver Allie Ryser is a stained glass artist and Point Roberts carpenter Kit Roberts makes glass platters – all have donated their work for the auction. In keeping with the theme of the event, Amtrak gift certificates and Spirit of Washington dinner train tickets will go on the block along with plenty of stops along the way, from the Crown Plaza in Seattle to Blaine’s own Resort Semiahmoo.

Tickets for Arts and Jazz, which gets rolling February 2 at 7 p.m., cost $5 and are available at the door or through Nancy Hamburg at 332-8226..