PORT ANGELES — For the Juan de Fuca Festival, 2011 may go down as a year of firsts.
The 18th annual arts and music festival that started Friday and continues through Monday has brought in more new acts this year than in recent memory — more than 20 in total — including acrobats and its first hip-hop group, said Dan Maguire, who is in his first year as festival executive director.
Probably most surprising was an unscheduled dance routine, known as a flash dance, performed by 15 young women from the Port Angeles Dance Center.
They performed Saturday afternoon outside the Vern Burton Community Center, festival-central at 308 W. Fourth St., Port Angeles, to promote their upcoming shows at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 11, and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 12, at the Port Angeles High School Performing Arts Center.
The festival also has added more after-hours venues this year. That, along with getting more acts, has increased attendance at this year’s festival, Maguire said.
Maguire, who became the head of the festival in July, said he didn’t have attendance estimates available.
But just by looking around at the throngs of festival-goers, he said, there is “no question” that attendance has increased.
“It’s been going very well,” he said.
Carol Pope, festival office manager, agreed.
“I think on the whole this has been incredibly successful,” she said.
While the festival isn’t lacking new acts this year, it still has everything that Tom May said keeps him coming back.
“I just love the spirit of the festival,” said May, who has performed at the Juan de Fuca festival for the past 14 years and hosts the River City Folk radio show in Portland, Ore.
“It’s a rare combination of community spirit and artistry.”
Brian Buntain of Joyce also said there are few festivals like it.
“The community really comes out for it,” he said.
His favorite musical group performing this year? Sequimarimba.
“You can’t stand still or sit still when they’re playing,” said Buntain of the band, which played African music Saturday outside the Vern Burton center.
Performing inside the center was the acrobatic group Kazüm.
The Portland-based performers wowed audience members as they showed off their strength and flexibility.
Kazüm member Ari Rapkin said it was the group’s first year to perform at the festival and that members hope to return.
The performers said they all love to perform, though they all don’t come from the same backgrounds.
Jon Dutch said he was a football player in college but a “theater nerd” at heart.
Rapkin said his background is in gymnastics.
“I got back into it as an adult and loved it too much,” he said.
Also performing for the first time this year is the hip-hop group My Dad Bruce.
The rappers from Bellingham performed Saturday at Studio Bob, upstairs at 118½ E. Front St. — one of the festival’s new venues — in front of a mixed crowd of young and old.
Chris Willis and Julian Friedman, who make up My Dad Bruce, said they both grew up with hip-hop and started performing together 1½ years ago.
“We do it all the time without people,” Friedman said. “We just love to do it.”
They will play again tonight at the R Bar.
General admission at the door at Park Avenue and Peabody Street for the June 11-12 Port Angeles Dance Center performance, “Every Age, One Stage,” is $14 or $10 for seniors and students.
For more photos and information about what’s up at the festival today, see
Page C1.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.