‘Sunday Salons’ return to Washougal

The Washougal Arts and Culture Alliance (WACA) is reviving its “Sunday Salons” series this summer.

The series will bring musicians into local living rooms to perform for a small group of public ticket holders.

WACA board member Chuck Carpenter said the idea gelled several years ago, after WACA members were discussing the need to expand “local arts” to include “more than what you hang on a wall or sculpt.”

“We wanted to know how we could promote music in our community, and so we came up with the idea of the living room concerts,” Carpenter said.

WACA launched the series in 2019, but put it on hold for the next three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We had three concerts that year,” Carpenter said. “One of them was with Gordon Washburn, a retired educator from Washougal living in Mexico. The second group was a Washington jazz pianist by the name of Steve Kristofferson. And the third group was Jeffree White and friends. All three were a full house, which is easy to do when you limit it to 20. They were very well received and very enjoyable.”

Now, the intimate-but-informal concert series is back, with three events already planned: The series kicks off at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 11, when Raven Fables, a folk-rock duo consisting of Washougal residents Christopher and Stephanie Corbell, perform at the home of Paul Greenlee and Cathy Morton. On Sunday, July 9, jazz performers Louis Pain and Renato Caranto will perform at Pain’s residence, and the September Sunday Salons event will feature pianist Rod London at Carpenter’s home.

“We’re up in the air right now in August — we don’t have a location or a performer yet,” Carpenter said. “We’re hoping to find classical music performers — a chamber group. It would be nice to have a string trio or string quartet. We’re working hard to find someone that would like to perform — (ideally) somebody local, but that’s not necessary. What is necessary is a talented performer who enjoys talking with the audience.”

Admission to the living room concerts costs $10, with proceeds going to the artists, and includes wine and snacks.

Reservations are required and can be made through an email to Carpenter at washougalchuck@gmail.com. Attendees should note which concert(s) they would like to attend and how many people are in their group.

“Many (artists) perform in nightclubs and lounges where the audience is chatting a lot of the time,” Carpenter said. “Here the audience is very attentive, which performers enjoy. And from the audience standpoint, the chance to interact with the musicians and learn a little bit (about them) is, I think, unique.”