Arts and Culture in Colville WA
Art is an important ingredient in the fabric of Colville. Expressive outlets include performing arts venues; sites featuring public art and unique sculpture; ballroom, ballet and jazz dance studios and an award-winning Irish dance company!
Colville Valley Performing Arts Association, an integral artistic resource in the greater Colville Valley since 1982, welcomes a diversity of entertainers from all over the country. Musical performances, plays and art exhibits are all in the line-up through the Colville Valley Performing Arts Association. The organization also sponsors the popular Colville Community Concert Series, a four-concert event featuring internationally recognized artists, as well as the annual Missoula Children’s Theater production.
Colville High School’s Drama Club and Jazz Band offers a number of performances every year. Woodland Theatre Productions, a volunteer drama troupe, is the local community theater that presents an excellent spring musical and fall play, plus a variety of concerts throughout the year.
The Colville Arts Foundation is a nonprofit organization known for its activity in the Colville arts community. The foundation sponsors a wealth of annual artistic programs and events throughout the area, including the North Country Artist Trails, a great arts organization that opens its art studios for public viewing several weekends each year. In addition, the Colville Arts Foundation, in collaboration with the Colville Chamber of Commerce, displays local artists’ works to a variety of area businesses in the community through the innovative Art Around Town program. www.northcountryartisttrails.com
Distinct sculptures can be found throughout the community. Notable sites include the Historic Colville Clock Tower on Main Street and Astor Avenue, which features a Native American fisherman, a logger, a miner and a trapper encircling the base with an eagle’s nest atop, and the street lamp pole silhouettes on Main and Oak streets, which display local scenes and animals. Both the clock tower and the silhouettes were designed and constructed by local metal sculptor Chris Anderson. Stevens County Courthouse on South Oak Street displays a beautiful mural in tile by Leno Prestini along with war memorials and historic farm implements on the grounds.
For those who prefer the art of motion picture, the Alpine Movie Theater, located on Main Street and First Avenue, is the ticket. The area is home to the only remaining drive-in movie theater in eastern Washington. The Auto View Drive-In is open during the summer months for the best in movie-going entertainment. Call (509) 684-6119 for the latest information on what is showing.
The Colville Public Library and the Stevens County Rural Library District provide 21st-century services in a lovely, historic 20th century building. Services include public Internet terminals; electronic resources; an extensive local history and genealogical collection and materials in print, audio and video. The library subscribes to several daily and weekly newspapers and more than 75 magazine titles. For the kids, staff presents weekly story times and a fabulous summer reading program. The library also hosts local art displays. Go to www.scrld.org for information on activities. For information all about Colville, go to the library staff-maintained Wiki page at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colville,_Washington.
If museums are your forte, make sure to visit the Keller Heritage Center, which encompasses a General History Museum, the Graves Mountain Lookout Tower, a Pioneer Machinery Museum, Colville’s First Schoolhouse, a Trapper’s Cabin, a Homestead Cabin, a Blacksmith Shop, a Mining Display, the Hixson Castles and a Pioneer Sawmill. More than 4,000 historically significant items lines the walls of this museum, which arranges its galleries in a story-telling chronological order to assist visitors in understanding our city’s history.
Also, do not forget to check out the Kettle Falls Historical Center Museum. The “People of the Falls” Interpretative Center allows tourists to experience Native American lifestyles up close. History buffs should also plan to stop at Meyers Falls, the oldest continually used source of industrial power in the Pacific Northwest.