Basic HTML Version
12
washington county arts guide
❘
June — August
By Janis Brentano
N
othing says “Oregon
summer” quite like
abundant local
opportunities to enjoy movies,
music and theater during a
warm evening under the
stars.
Grab a lawn chair, pack up supper
and head outside to a park or plaza to
enjoy mostly-free entertainment
ranging from the tragedies of
Shakespeare to a hot new country
music duo.
Every weekend throughout the
summer cities across Washington
County transform their parks into
seasonal movie theaters, concert
venues and theater stages where
residents can kick off their flip-flops
and relax with their kids and
neighbors.
For both Shakespeare lovers and
those who haven’t tackled a play
since high school English class, two
local theater groups will be staging
outdoor productions of well-known
tragedies penned by the Bard.
Willamette Shakespeare, a nonprofit
theatre company based in Oregon’s
Willamette Valley dedicated to
providing classical theatre, free of
charge, will perform The Tragedy of
Romeo and Juliet Friday through
Sunday each weekend in August.
The free, all-ages performance
rotates venues each weekend and
includes Forest Grove’s Montinore
Estate Aug. 9-11.
“This is the first time we’ve
performed a tragedy,” said Daniel
Sommerfield, WS’s co-founder. “And
it’s actually quite funny.” Sommerfield
said people of all ages will be able to
relate to the story line of this
romantic tragedy. “The contrast of
the comedy and the tragedy is what
makes it really powerful,” he noted.
Also performing outdoors this
summer is Hillsboro’s Bag & Baggage
Productions. The theater company
will stage an updated, modernized
version of The Tragedy of Julius
Caesar. (See story on page 7)
If your taste runs more toward
Nemo than Romeo, one of the best
entertainment bets is catching a free
outdoor movie in the park. Hillsboro,
Tualatin, Beaverton and Sherwood all
offer a variety of family-friendly
movies beginning at dusk Fridays and
Saturdays. The Hillsboro Water
Department kicks off the season in
June with a movie each Friday night.
“We’re starting earlier this year,” said
event coordinator Amy Geerling. This
year movies will be shown in June
rather than August in an effort to
attract more families before they
head off for summer vacations, she
added.
The movies draw about 200 people
and are shown on a large, inflatable
screen at Hillsboro’s Civic Center
Plaza. Geerling is working with local
organizations, including gymnastics
and karate programs, to bring pre-
movie entertainment beginning at 7
p.m., followed by the movie at 8:30
p.m. The lineup begins with a
showing of Madagascar 3, followed by
Breaking Dawn Part 2, Hotel
Transylvania — and caps off with the
1980s hit Top Gun. Beaverton hosts
another popular outdoor movie venue
called Flicks By the Fountain. This
summer will feature movies from 2003
in celebration of Flicks’ tenth
anniversary. The movies will be
selected through a vote of the people
and the choices run the gamut from
the animated classic Finding Nemo to
Jack Black’s School of Rock.
For music lovers, a variety of
parks will host free concerts featuring
a diverse array of musical genres
throughout the Washington County
area. Tualatin Park and Recreation
District’s Concerts and Theater in the
Park will lead summer lineup with
the country duo Cloverdayle on July 6
at Garden Home Park. Throughout
the summer TPRD varies the concert
locations to showcase different parks
within the district.
“These concerts are a great place
to spend a summer evening and we’re
typically blessed with good weather,”
Bring your own chair and head outside for summer entertainment in Washington County
Get out!
Whether it’s music you’re after — Enda Vazquez and Patrick Lamb both will appear at Showtime at Shute in Hillsboro — or movies,
stage performances and special events, there’s no shortage of outdoor entertainment in Washington County this summer.
courtesy photo