Past Events

This annual REFA fundraiser at the Heart of Anacortes featured the rockin’ sounds of Janie Cribbs and the T Rust Band. The sellout crowd of supporters danced and participated in the auction. A fun time was had by all the attendees and this was a very successful fund raising event for the organization.

Fireworks will light up the sky and music will fill the air as the Town of La Conner and the Port of Skagit combine forces to celebrate the 4th of July the old-fashioned way. Highlights of the day will be a free outdoor concert at the La Conner Marina followed after dark by a fireworks display over the Swinomish Channel. The concert featured Seattle Band The Side Project and local retro-rock favorites Fantasy Band.

REFA partnered with The Old Edison Inn in a fund raising event for the Burlington Edison High School Band program to help insure that all kids who want to participate have the opportunity. Entertainment was provided with a performance by three BEHS Student Bands followed at 8:30 by the rockin’ Fantasy Band for an evening of fun and dancing. The event was a big SUCCESS!

Each and every season for 33 years Grammy Award winning artists Eric Tingstad and Nancy Rumbel have been home for the holidays creating a longstanding tradition with Northwest families. Their holiday presence illuminates the enduring spirit of the season with a gift of song. This year REFA sponsored an event with Tingstad and Rumbel at The Hall at Kennelly Keys where they gave an incredible performance. A fun time was had by all.

REFA’s Annual Fundraiser featured a performance by The Penny Stinkers at The Heart of Anacortes. Although the band began over a decade ago as a folksy busking band, it has grown into a unique, high-energy party and dance band that balances trips down memory lane with the latest in musical genres and hard-charging originals. A fun time was had by all the participants and it was avery successful fundraiser for REFA.

Fireworks will light up the sky and music will fill the air as the Town of La Conner and the Port of Skagit combine forces to celebrate the 4th of July the old-fashioned way. Highlights of the day will be a free outdoor concert at the La Conner Marina followed after dark by a fireworks display over the Swinomish Channel. The concert features Pacific Northwest Legends Jr Cadillac and local classic rock favorites The Walrus.

This Lincoln Theatre St. Patrick’s Day Celtic Celebration features violin wizard Geoffrey Castle who has been putting this show on for 13 years now. For this year’s production, Castle is bringing the Award Winning Seattle Irish Dance Company, his All-Star Celtic Night Band with Dan Connolly and special guests including Anacortes Town Crier Richard Riddell, Mt Vernon’s own Don Wick as MC and bagpiper Don Scobie. Come support the arts and enjoy seeing this Northwest artist.

This Lincoln Theatre show features soul-singer/harmonica icon Curtis Salgado, a Northwest blues legend from Everett.Curtis released his latest album in 2016, The Beautiful Lowdown, which was number 6 on the Billboard Blues Chart when it came out. Curtis was awarded the 2017 Soul Blues Artist of the Year in addition to the Song of the Year for Walk A Mile in My Blues. Come support the arts and enjoy seeing this Northwest Blues legend.

REFA and Kennelly Keys in Anacortes joined together for this dress up Halloween Party to help raise money for free music lessons to kids who can’t afford them. The party featured live music by the Penny Stinkers who kept the lively crowd up and dancing for the evening.

This annual REFA fundraiser at the Heart of Anacortes featured the rockin’ sounds of the Walrus and celebrated the summer of love. The sellout crowd of supporters danced and participated in the auction and costume contest. A fun time was had by all the attendees and this was a very successful fund raising event for the organization.

This early 2017 Lincoln Theatre show featured the funky Lydia Pense and Cold Blood with former Tower of Power singer Fred Ross doing a Tower of Power set as well as a Cold Blood set. This was an energy packed show enjoyed by the Lincoln crowd.

This Lincoln Theatre show featured Paula Cole. Paula played a grand piano and was accompanied by guitar and drums. She gave a very emotional and moving performance including “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” and “I Don’t Want to Wait”. The Lincoln crowd was blown away and reacted accordingly.

The annual REFA fund raiser was a big success. Scary Monster and the Super Creeps, a Bellingham band that covers David Bowie and Prince, performed David Bowie’s hits and the whole Purple Rain album by Prince. The event was held at the beautiful outdoor Anacortes venue, The Heart of Anacortes. There was a variety of items that were auctioned or raffled off to the attendees. It was a beautiful day that involved a costume contest, dancing and lots of prizes. Another fun musical event which raised over $4000 toward our grant and scholarship programs!

This Lincoln Theatre show featured Ana Popovic. Ana brought her incredible band and wowed the local audience with her performance playing classic blues tunes and her own compositions. The Lincoln crowd as always made her feel appreciated and welcome and it was a high energy show enjoyed by both the audience and artists.

This Lincoln Theatre show featured Lloyd Jones with special guest LaRhonda Steele. Lloyd played cuts from his new release as well as renditions of his prior recordings. LaRhonda was featured as a backup singer with Lloyd as well as playing cuts from her latest CD. The Lincoln crowd as always made the artists feel appreciated and welcome and it was a high energy show enjoyed by both the audience and artists.

This Lincoln Theatre show featured Coco Montoya. He played music that ranged from his John Mayall Bluesbreakers days to creative collaborations that ranged from jazz to country. There was a full house on hand to make Coco feel welcome and it was an energy packed show that had everyone on their feet.

2015 Experience Arts Festival – This new event was held at the Conway Muse on April 25th and featured an array of local music, interactive art projects for kids and adults, dance lessons for all ages, interactive theater by the Skakespeare Theater group, story telling and an artist bazaar with arts and craft items for sale. It was a huge success enjoyed by kids and adults!

This 2015 Lincoln Theatre show was a collaboration between REFA and The Lincoln Theatre featuring Los Lobos. The band had an energy packed performance with styles ranging from latin to rock and fusion. They jammed out for over an hour in the second set. There was a sold out house on hand to make Los Lobos feel welcome.

2014 Summer Music Fest – This annual event was held at the Heart of Anacortes on August 30th and featured music by local world music artists Rivertalk featuring the talented Jan Foster on vocals. It was a huge success with a full ‘lawn’ and the dance floor was busy during the whole show. It was also our annual silent auction event.

This 2014 Lincoln Theatre show was a collaboration between REFA and The Lincoln Theatre featuring Albert Lee. Albert Lee played mostly guitar, but also played a few tunes on the piano. He covered many different styles representing the wide variety of music he’s been involved with. It was a great show! There was a sold out house on hand to make Albert and band feel welcome.