Bonnie Guitar, the ageless singer whose performances span four decades, will be the headline act for the art center's 10th annual Art in the Park event, held on Aug. 20 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Ticket prices have not yet been determined, though Monarch Director Myrna Orsini said she expects to pre-sell tickets.
"It really is a fantastic event," Orsini said.
The Monarch Contemporary Art Center and Sculpture Park opened in the mid-'90s. Grounds are open from dawn until dusk yearly at the indoor gallery during summer and early fall months, and by appointment only.
In addition to the concert, the Art in the Park event will feature more than 100 sculpture pieces on display. Kent artist Cheryl Rhodes will display her mural work, while Portlander Mark Chapman will show off his sand sculptures. Retired University of Washington painter Valentine Welman will also display an indoor featuring his work.
Event organizers are requesting a $5 donation at the gate as admission for Art in the Park.. The park is located at 8431 Waldrick Road S.E. between Tenino and Olympia.
For information, visit the park's Web site: www.scattercreek.com/~monarchpark/.
Art of all kinds, however, can be found in all corners of the greater Lewis County, if one knows where to look.
In Winlock, located on state Route 508 off Interstate 5, the city proudly memorializes its history as the egg-production capital of the world with a sculpture emblazoned as the "World's Largest Egg," crafted from giant wire and mesh. The work sits in Vern Zander Park.
Further down the interstate, then east on U.S. Highway 12, a carved wooden statue of lumberjack Big Ole stands at the turnoff to Jubilee Park in Morton, where the nationally recognized Loggers Jubilee is held every year.
At Centralia College, art stands to be marveled by the eye and pondered by the mind. Pieces at the community college include Alden Mason's murals, Gerard Tsutakawa's "Cross Cut," a Bob Bauer nail sculpture, local bronze sculptor Jim Stafford's "Reach for the Stars" statue, Robert Calvo's "The Neighborhood" floor mural, and a clock tower dedicated to diversity.
A highlight of the collection are William Spafford's "Twelve Labors of Hercules" murals, hung in Corbet Theatre. Commissioned by the state Legislature in the early 1980s, the stark images depicting the mythical labors quickly drew complaints from some legislators and citizens that they appeared pornographic or didn't fit the tone of the classical Capitol building. The artwork was covered, then removed and put into storage for years before Centralia College brought it out again for viewing.
Colorful murals depicting scenes and individuals from Centralia's history decorate many of the downtown buildings.
Not all of the art shows glorious moments, as the statue of "The Sentinel" in Washington Park and the neighboring mural, "The Resurrection of Wesley Everest," attest: Both commemorate the 1919 Centralia massacre, a series of events in which four American Legion members were shot and Wobbly Wesley Everest hanged.
Continuing the oversized theme, giant black birds — one human-sized, the other truck-sized — mark the east and west entrances to the Yard Birds Mall in north Chehalis.
