Icicle Creek Center for the Arts is deeply saddened by the loss of our founding board member, champion, and dear friend, Harriet Bullitt. She brought to this Valley a beautiful vision, one that tied together her passion for the arts and her love of nature. Harriet sought to ensure that our children, all of them, would have the opportunity to be instilled with those same wonders.
We strive to honor her memory by continuing to faithfully build her dream, providing programs and performances that inspire the children, families and communities of North Central Washington to be life-long learners and patrons of the arts. We commit to continued work to build a sustainable future for this organization she so loved, so that it may always be a place that nurtures the human spirit through a confluence of the breathtaking landscapes that Harriet called home and the performing arts that brought her so much joy.
We’re excited to announce all summer camps are back in 2022! Our summer camps are inspiring, intensive, and fun, all in the spectacular mountain setting that is Icicle Creek Center for the Arts. Young artists can pick from a host of options all summer long at Icicle Creek – from summer symphony, acting, piano or chamber music (new this year!). Scholarships are available for all summer programs.
Registration and scholarship applications are available now at icicle.org
Summer Symphony – June 19-25
Chamber Music Camp – June 26-July 2
Young Actors Theater Camp – August 7-13
Young Pianists Camp – August 14-20
Icicle Creek Center for the Arts (ICCA) is pleased to announce that it has selected Philip Lacey as Executive Director, following a wide-ranging search in the fall of 2021. Phil began his tenure at the beginning of 2022.
Phil is a well-known member of the regional arts community and a demonstrated proponent of artistic excellence and societal awareness. Phil also has a history of helping arts organizations attain long-term financial stability. Since 2013, he served various roles of increasing responsibility at Leavenworth Summer Theater (LST), including the position of Executive Director, and since 2017, as Managing Artistic Director of Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society. In addition to greatly expanding both programming and support from the community, he inspired welcomed transformational changes in the areas of community partnerships, donor and member outreach, as well as implementing fiscal, administrative and artistic processes and standards. During the pandemic, being keenly aware that art engagement is a source of comfort and strength, Phil helped Gilbert & Sullivan pivot to virtual performances and wisely coordinated actors, directors, and staff to safely bring LST’s “Sound of Music” performances to over 8,000 attendees. Phil has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in Non-Profit Administration, and a bachelor’s degree from Whitworth University in Theatre Performance and Creative Writing.
Phil could not be more excited to join the team at ICCA. “I first visited the ICCA campus in 2007. Astounded first by its gorgeous location, it was learning of Harriet Bullitt’s mission to create a world-class destination for arts education and performance that was truly impactful,” said Phil. “Since then, I hoped that someday I would have the honor of becoming Executive Director here. ICCA has a reputation of excellence and I look forward to working with the board, staff, and artistic directors to safeguard Harriet’s vision for future generations.”
In making the announcement, ICCA Board President, Ellen Beardsley said, “Among the many candidates, Phil stood out for me as the most qualified candidate for the Executive Director position. Phil’s passion for all art forms, along with his leadership and strategic and financial expertise, placed him at the forefront of the intersection of arts, education and organizational sustainability. After the pandemic disruption of the last two years, Phil is the ideal leader for this exciting new chapter for ICCA.”
As with all live arts organizations, the pandemic has presented a major challenge for ICCA, but it also provided a wonderful opportunity. “When the pandemic hit, ICCA quickly became a leader among performing arts centers, mastering high quality virtual concerts and performance at a time when we all really needed art in our lives,” says Christine Morgan, Executive Director of the Icicle Fund, a partner nonprofit to ICCA. Phil echoes that thought. “Augmenting in-person experiences at the awe-inspiring ICCA campus with live-streaming and virtual performance potential will play a major role in the growth of our arts education and performance efforts, allowing us to connect with students and audiences of all ages across rural Washington and beyond. We have only scratched the surface, and I will be exploring that potential with the local and international artists and visionaries who continue to contribute so much to ICCA.”
“The Center will continue to inspire, support, and challenge the creative spirit of our region as we again are able to gather for concerts, performances, and retreats,” finished Morgan. “I have watched ICCA evolve over the years and, with Mr. Lacey at the helm, it will continue to expand and blossom for the good of our region.”
Located in Leavenworth, Washington, at the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, ICCA seeks to inspire and educate artists and to entertain audiences on its 13-acre campus. The arts facility boasts:
Notably known as a destination for chamber music, ICCA also plays host to world class arts education programs, summer camps, and numerous collaborations with local artists and performance groups. Dozens of local and international artists work with the organization annually, providing once-in-a-lifetime experiences for hundreds of students and attracting thousands of audience members for unforgettable experiences. To learn more about Icicle Creek Center for the Arts and upcoming programs and events, please visit icicle.org.
Icicle Creek Center for the Arts is proud to present the 27th annual Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival with performances from Canyon Wren Recital Hall and Snowy Owl Theater live-streamed and with limited in-person seating in accordance with state and local guidelines. Tickets are on sale now for all ten concerts happening July 2-24!
In person seating is very limited in Canyon Wren and Snowy Owl venues to allow space for distancing and live-streaming requirements. Please buy your ticket in advance as we expect many or all of these concerts to sell-out. Before and after checking out, please check your ticket order to make sure you have correctly chosen your virtual (livestreamed) or in-person ticket. Tickets are required for virtual (livestream) attendance as well as in-person.
Find more information on the Chamber Music Festival webpage here!
Thanks to additional funding from the Icicle Fund, Icicle Creek Center for the Arts is able to provide grants to more artists in Chelan and Grant counties during a very difficult year. The Icicle Fund 2020.21 Relief Fund provided over $100,000 in artist grants in support of the critical needs of working artists in North Central Washington* whose incomes have been impacted by COVID-19. *Please note, grants are intended for working artists residing in Okanogan, Chelan, Grant and Douglas Counties and Icicle Creek is awarding grants to those residing in Chelan and Grant counties.
Application is open through May 15 or until funding is fully allocated.
Apply now via Icicle Creek Click here for more details.
Icicle Creek Artist Talk is a new virtual series from Icicle Creek where we interview artists of all kinds from around NCW to learn about their craft, processes, methods and artistic ideologies!
The series will stream monthly from our website and Facebook page. Our first episode features creative, Austin J. Smith from Ellensburg, WA, and streams Wednesday, January 27 at 7 PM.
You can watch the series and learn more about Austin at icicle.org/find-events/artist-talk/
Thanks to the Icicle Fund, Methow Arts and Icicle Creek Center for the Arts will get to provide 72 artists with critical funding during a very difficult year. The Icicle Fund 2020.21 Relief Fund provides $72,000 in artist grants in support of the critical needs of working artists in North Central Washington* whose incomes have been impacted by COVID-19. *Please note, grants are intended for working artists residing in Okanogan, Chelan, Grant and Douglas Counties.
Artists are the basic building blocks of the Arts Ecosystem – without creating artists, the system does not exist. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NCW artists are facing severe loss in income and business. The Icicle Fund recognizes that artists continue to be deeply impacted as events, conferences, art at Farmer’s Markets, and performances across the country continue to cancel. They are impacted by hospitality industry and retail/artist studio closures, school closures, travel restrictions, continued lay-offs and social distancing recommendations.
Icicle Creek Center for the Arts will review and artist grants in Chelan and Grant counties and Methow Arts Alliance will review and award artist grants in Okanogan and Douglas counties.
Apply via Icicle Creek or Methow Arts starting December 15. Click here for more details.
Icicle Creek is excited to be participating in Give NCW this year! Give NCW is the Community Foundation’s online fundraising campaign designed to build awareness about nonprofits in Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan counties that are impacting our communities and provide an easy way to support them! Visit givencw.org to give to Icicle Creek.
Plus, certain days of the week have special incentives! Each time you donate on a Monday, your name is entered to win $1,000 to use on Give NCW any way you choose, and all donations made on Wednesdays will be matched up to $3,000!
Join us for virtual, live-streamed concerts from Icicle Creek to you! Sundays at Icicle Creek is a series of chamber music concerts beginning on October 4. Reserve your complimentary ticket at icicle.org/find-events
The Sundays at Icicle Creek fall series line up:
Oct 4: Volta Piano Trio
Works by Joseph Haydn, Zenobia Powell Perry, Felix Mendelssohn
Nov 8: Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir, cello; Elizabeth Dorman and Oksana Ejokina, piano
Works by Ludwig van Beethoven and Richard Strauss
Nov 22: Elizabeth Dorman and Oksana Ejokina, piano
Works by J.S. Bach and Franz Schubert
Dec 6: Hoorig Poochikian, violin; Christie Chen, cello; Oksana Ejokina, piano
Works by Francis Poulenc, Gabriela Lena Frank, Felix Mendelssohn
We love birthdays and in keeping with tradition we are planning to celebrate our dear friend and founder Harriet and her 96th birthday. This fun online party will be filled with messages from some of her favorite artists and showcasing highlights from the best performances over the years. The online stream is Thursday, September 10 at 6pm at icicle.org/birthday.
Artists include Lisa Bergman, Oksana Ejokina, Misha Myznikov, Matthew Baldwin, John Pickett, Overton Berry, Andre Feriante, Charles Robert Stephens, Henry Hettick, Arlene Wagner, Landon Davies, Mason Atwood, Olive Ryan, Gary Lumsden, the Marlin Handbell Ringers, along with a cameo performance from Harriet herself!
As always, there is no cost to attend and all donations collected from her party will go to support Harriet’s favorite cause – providing student access to the educational programs of Icicle Creek Center for the Arts. Your gifts will be appreciated and thoughtfully distributed throughout the year.
Join us for this special event as we honor this special woman, and the arts, virtually with YOU!