COMMUNITYSection

B WednesdayJuly 24, 2013

THE ISSAQUAH PRESSTHE ISSAQUAH PRESSTHE ISSAQUAH PRESS

By Erin Hoffmannews@isspress.com

Issaquah is about to get a bit more colorful, thanks to the annual Chalk Art Festival.

This year, the festival, sponsored by the Issaquah Arts Commission, will hit the sidewalks around the Issaquah Community Cen-ter on July 30. From noon to 5 p.m., anyone can show up and create some art.

According to Amy Dukes, the arts coordinator for the commission, most of the participants are elemen-tary school age, although kids and adults of all skill levels come out to draw. Many are there just to doodle, while some come with a fully formed idea in mind, complete with sketches and outlines.

“I think everyone likes it because it can be whatever you want it to be,” Dukes said.

The Chalk Art Festival is a summer tradition among Issaquah residents. At the end of the day, there is judging, where outstanding participants from each age group are awarded. Judg-ing begins at 5 p.m., and winners are announced at 6 p.m. However, Dukes said that winning is not the pri-mary focus of the festival.

“Our mission is to pro-mote arts and culture in

our community,” she said. “We like to do free events for the community that are really accessible to every-one.”

Dukes said that chalk art is the perfect medium, because it’s easy, doesn’t require much artistic abil-ity and most importantly, it’s fun.

In addition to providing chalk, the Arts Commission will also provide water and snacks for everyone at no charge.

In conjunction with the Chalk Art Festival is artEAST’s “The Art of Sil-liness: Imaginary Creature Drawing” event, taught by Carla Sonheim at the Is-saquah Train Depot, just a few streets away from the festival. At the event, which is also free, participants will use pre-existing side-walk cracks, peeling paint and other found objects as inspiration for their own imaginary creatures.

Dukes said that the Arts Commission pushed back the date of the Chalk Art Festival intentionally so that it would coincide with artEAST’s event, giving families a full day of artis-tic expression.

The festival will precede that night’s Concert on the Green event at the Is-saquah Community Center, featuring Steve Kelley’s Little Big Band at 7 p.m.

Lefse Fest, named for the Scandinavian flatbread served at the festival, will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 27 on Veterans’ Memorial Field.

Admission to the event is free, along with free parking at Issaquah High School. The event includes a senior shuttle that runs every half-hour throughout the event.

Along with Lefse sam-ples, sales and competi-tions, the festival will have music, dance performanc-

es, craft vendors, cultural demonstrations and other activities. Children can also dress up as Vikings for a costume parade at the 2 p.m. Maypole ris-ing, though swords are not permitted.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Issaquah Valley Senior Center and support lodges for future fes-tivals and cultural activities.

Learn more at www.scandinavianfestivals.com or call 313-0193.

Lefse Fest provides a taste of Scandinavia

BY GREG FARRAR

Audry Sammons (right) and her dad Bill show off their chalk-colored hands after working together on a work of sidewalk beauty during the 2012 Chalk Art Festival.

Let your creative energy flow at

Chalk Art Festival

Families are encouraged to retrace the cherished memories of their parents and their ancestors during the presentation of My Wonderful Journey on July 25 at the Spiritwood Retire-ment Community near Pine Lake.

Every participant at the event will be given sample chapters at no charge to

begin their own explora-tion of family history.

Pastoral Rabbi Paul Zohav is scheduled to lead the interactive presenta-tion at the independent living facility, 3607 228th Ave. S.E., beginning at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Military veterans are encouraged to participate.

“There are people in our community who have experienced events that will never be repeated in our history,” Zohav said. “Those are the treasured memories we want to ex-plore so families can pass them on to future genera-tions.”

My Wonderful Jour-ney was designed with

memory triggers from past decades to re-create cherished stories and memories that are often forgotten. Journalist and storyteller Dan Aznoff will assist Zohav during the presentation.

Learn more by calling Sherrie Reed at 313-9100 or go to www.livinglegacy-lifebook.com.

My Wonderful Journey helps retrace family memoriesPine Lake ensemble performs at Disneyland

Pine Lake Middle School’s Wind Ensemble travelled to the Disneyland Resort in California in June to take part in the Disney Performing Arts Program.

Dance groups, choirs, marching bands and en-sembles from around the world applied for the honor, according to a press release from the theme park.

The middle school stu-dents became stars June 9 in a show for an interna-

tional audience of theme park guests. They follow in the footsteps of millions of performers who have participated in the pro-gram in the 25 years since its inception.

The Disney Performing Arts Program gives arts programs from around the world the opportunity to learn, perform and compete at the Disneyland Resort under Disney professionals.

Learn more about the program at www.Disney-PerformingArts.com or call 1-800-603-0552 toll free.

PHOTOS BY GREG FARRAR

Leo Finnegan (left) and his wife Rose, founders of the annual Challenge Series Race and of Life Enrichment Options, enjoy their first time ever in a one-on-one soapbox derby heat, as their son Tim waves the starting flag July 20 on Second Avenue Southeast. All the volunteers, drivers, co-drivers and their families at the 16th annual edition of the event provided a heartfelt cheer. Rose won and Leo was happy enough not to request a rematch.

STARTING LINE JITTERSA nervous buzz

fills the air at start of annual

Gravity Car races

Jain Garuit (left) and Alex Villa smile for spectators and family members as they get ready to roll in the soapbox car sponsored by i9 Sports.

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Below, Tim Finnegan grins and gives a thumbs up as he and Marie Harris signal they are ready for their race in the soapbox car sponsored by Fred Meyer.

Alex Furey (left) and Carson Crist anticipate their starting flag in the soapbox car sponsored by the Rotary Club of Issaquah’s sister club from North Whidbey Island.

Megan Boss (left) gives a hearty two-thumbs up as she and Zachary Hochman wait at the starting line for the course to clear for their race.

Kelly Thompson (left) has the time of her life as she and Eli Dever drive a soapbox car sponsored by the Oak Harbor Fire Department. The Issaquah Police Department and Eastside Fire & Rescue also sponsor cars and recruit other public safety jurisdictions.

SLIDESHOW

See more photos from the Challenge Series Race

at www.issaquahpress.com.

By Christina Corrales-Toynewcastle@isspress.com

The sport of fencing is often associated with a cer-tain aristocratic air, pos-sibly perpetuated by film depictions and the sheer history of the pastime.

To those unfamiliar with the sport, fencing is simply the means by which storied characters such as Zorro, or The Three Musketeers, vanquish their enemies.

Those who are close to the sport understand that it is much more than that. It is a sport of respect, chivalry and craft.

Issaquah is home to one of the state’s most prominent fencing schools, the Washington Fencing Academy. The school is committed to teaching and developing competitive and

recreational athletes.“There is a certain

romance about fencing because of its history and how it’s been portrayed in film,” Washington Fencing Academy co-founder Serge Timacheff said.

As one of the oldest sports in existence, fencing has an allure to those who are seeking a nontradi-tional form of exercise, Timacheff said.

“There are plenty of peo-ple who fence and they’re jocks, but there are also plenty of people who fence who probably wouldn’t do another sport,” he said.

The main skill needed to excel at fencing is su-perb footwork, something that the academy works diligently to instill in its students, co-founder Kevin Mar said.

“Fifty percent of the fencing game, and that’s including all of the blade work, endurance and things like that, is really about footwork,” he said. “If you think about it, the distance that you can extend your arm, unless you’re growing, is not go-ing to change. So, you have to move your feet to get in and out of that distance.”

The academy offers fencing classes for all ages and skill levels, and draws most of its students from Issaquah, Bellevue, Mercer Island and Sammamish.

By Kristine Kimnews@isspress.com

When the physical edu-cation teachers working with the greater Seattle chapter of First Tee inter-act with kids, they are not just handing off golf clubs and sports advice. They dole out life lessons, too, on par with situations that youths encounter in life.

The nationwide First Tee School Golf Program meshes golf and character lessons in the classroom. Since its introduction to the Issaquah School District this past year, it has become a hit in local schools. Fifteen of the dis-trict’s physical education teachers participate in the school program, teach-ing students the First Tee curriculum in a monthlong rotation.

The pioneer behind the program coming to Is-saquah schools was Kris Coleman, the physical edu-cation specialist at Creek-side Elementary School.

He first heard about it at a P.E. conference a couple of years ago, and intro-duced the idea of writing a grant request in one of his monthly meetings with other P.E. teachers in the

district. The main reason he

brought in the idea, Cole-man said, was character education.

“These are core values we try to instill in our cur-

riculum,” he said.First Tee packaged char-

acter traits with the skill of golf so well that he said he thought it would be a great addition to what educators already teach.

Shelby Lanting, a First Tee employee who helps Issaquah teachers coordi-nate the curriculum, said golf is a lifelong sport.

While many elementary schools teach activities

like basketball or la-crosse regularly, First Tee thought that adding golf to kids’ education would be

SPORTS WednesdayJuly 24, 2013B4

THE ISSAQUAH PRESSTHE ISSAQUAH PRESSTHE ISSAQUAH PRESS

B4

By Neil Piersonnpierson@sammamishreview.com

Its 2013 record is a gaudy one, but don’t be fooled: The Lakeside Recovery Senior American Legion baseball team has had to win several close contests this season.

Lakeside Recovery stretched its record to 6-2 in one-run games, defeating Chaffey, 2-1, in a nonleague outing at Is-

saquah High School on July 17. But the team’s biggest win of the campaign might have come a day earlier, when it rallied for a 7-4 triumph in nine innings at Bellingham to capture the Northwest League title.

The July 16 win at Belling-ham was important because it kept Lakeside Recovery (31-11 overall, 10-2 league) at home for the first round of the Legion playoffs.

“If we lost, we had to go to Spokane,” Lakeside head coach Rob Reese said. “So, it saved us about 10 hours” in travel time.

Lakeside is looking to repeat its 2012 performance, when it finished third at the American Legion World Series in Shelby, N.C. The players indicate there aren’t many weaknesses on this

Bradley Hoss, of Lakeside Recovery, digs in at the plate. Hoss, a Skyline High School product, had an RBI double as Lakeside Recovery defeated Chaffey, 2-1, on July 17.

BY NEIL PIERSON

Lakeside Recovery relies on pitching depth for close victories

See LAKESIDE, PageB5

First Tee connects golf to life lessons

PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED

Above, Megan Miller, physical education specialist teaches Creekside Elementary School students to proper form during their courtesy unit. At right, Kira Yoshimura, a first-grader at Creekside Elementary School, lines up her putt during her physical education class in fall 2012.

EN GARDEWashington Fencing Academy carries on the tradition of centuries-old sport

BY GREG FARRAR

Russell Smith (left), 10, of Maple Valley, fences against Martin Hausenfluck-Poli, 11, of Covington at Washington Fencing Academy.

BY GREG FARRAR

A fencer is backed up to the end of the strip by the offensive attacks of his opponent during épée class at Washington Fencing Academy on Northwest Mall Street in Issaquah. See FENCING, Page B5

ON THE WEBLearn more about the Washington Fencing Academy at www.washing-tonfencing.com.

See GOLF, Page B5

B6 • Wednesday, July 24, 2013 The Issaquah Press

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