If you are like us, you do a fair amount of shopping online. Did you know that every time you shop online, a portion of your purchase can be donated to Centrum?
Visit www.igive.com to learn more. Right now they will give Centrum an extra $5 if you use the service within 45 days of signing up.
iGive is very easy, and actually saves you money. We've used it internally at Centrum for a few years every time we make an online purchase. Highly recommended!
Centrum
PO Box 1158
(FedEx: 223 Battery Way)
Port Townsend, WA 98368
360-385-3102
info@centrum.org
Elaine Starz Brown, Port Ludlow
Harriet Bullitt, Leavenworth
Sue Coliton, Seattle
Charlene Curtis, Seattle
Mickey Fearn, Seattle
Anne Focke, Seattle
Lorna Jordon, Seattle
Sharon Maeda, Seattle
Laura Millen, Missoula
Denise Pranger, Port Townsend
Nita Rinehart, Olympia
Craig Stewart, Seattle
Cecilia Vogt, Yakima
Jim Westall, Port Townsend
Charlie Wright, Seattle
Terry Bergeson, Olympia
David Brewster, Seattle
Jim Buck, Olympia
Kate Burke, Port Townsend
Peter Davis, Seattle
Ed Edwards, Port Townsend
Ellen Ferguson, Seattle
Jim Hargrove, Olympia
Phil Johnson, Port Townsend
Helen Keeley, Port Townsend
Lynn Kessler, Olympia
Mary Ann Peters, Seattle
Ron Rabin, Bellevue
Catharine Robinson, Port Townsend
Anne Schneider, Port Townsend
Brent Shirley, Port Townsend
Mark Schulman, Plainfield, VT
Jim Tretter, Port Townsend
Kris Tucker, Olympia
Scott Wilson, Port Townsend
Rick Zajicek, Port Townsend
President • Libby Reid
Port Townsend
Educator, arts patron
Vice President • Cindy Thayer
Port Townsend
Realtor; arts patron
Secretary • Cynthia Stevens McBride
Port Townsend
Art dealer; arts patron
Treasurer • E. Ted Springstead
Port Townsend
Management Consultant
Past President • Bob Alexander
Seattle
Alaska National Insurance, Board member of Intiman Theater
John Begley, Port Ludlow
Chief Executive Officer, Port Townsend Paper Corporation
Cindy Hill Finnie, Port Townsend
Agency Manager, Allstate Insurance Company Seattle, Washington State Arts Commissioner
Lucy Congdon Hanson, Port Townsend
Artist, Sculptor, painter
Leah Hammer, Port Townsend
Arts patron; former owner Ravenscroft Inn
Malcolm Harris, Seattle
Attorney, jazz musician
Edmund W. Littlefield, Jr., Arlington
President, Sage Arts; musician
David Marriott, Seattle
Partner, Gogerty, Stark, Marriott Public Relations
Peter Raiswell, Sequim
Allstate Financial Services, arts patron
Michelle Sandoval, Port Townsend
Realtor; arts patron
Joseph F. Wheeler, Port Townsend
Founding Executive Director of Centrum
EMERITUS BOARD
Harriet Bullitt, Seattle
Former publisher, Pacific Northwest Magazine; Owner, Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort and Conference Retreat; arts and environmental activist
Dr. Gail E. Hanninen, Lacey
Director/Head of School for Seabury School in Tacoma
Patricia Riffle, Bellevue
Educator; Past President Northwest Gifted Child Association, Past Centrum Board President
Evelyn Tobin, Port Angeles
Member of the national board for American Symphony Orchestra League, board member of Fine Arts Center and Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra, volunteer educator
Thatcher Bailey became Executive Director in February 2004, after serving as interim director for a year. He has served on staffs and boards of nonprofit arts, social service, and social change organizations since 1977. Email = thatcher (at) centrum (dot) org.
Rebecca Brown (Artistic Director for Literature) leads Centrum’s Port Townsend Writers’ Conference. She is the author of nine books of fiction and nonfiction, most recently, Excerpts from a Family Medical Dictionary, and is a winner of the 2003 Washington State Book Award. Among her other books are The Gifts of the Body, The Dogs: A Modern Bestiary, Annie Oakley’s Girl, and The Terrible Girls.
Helen Callus (Artistic Director for Chamber Music) is an international recording artist and the first elected female president of the American Viola Society. She is a regular performer on radio and television as a recitalist, chamber music collaborator, and concerto soloist. Her debut recording, Portrait of the Viola, and her subsequent recordings have met with wide critical acclaim. Callus currently serves as Associate Professor of Viola at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
John Clayton (Artistic Director of Jazz Programs) leads Centrum’s Jazz Port Townsend festival and workshop. A Grammy-nominated bassist, composer and conductor, Clayton has written and arranged music for Diana Krall, Milt Jackson, Quincy Jones, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Whitney Houston and many others. He served as the Artistic Director of Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl from 1999-2001. His compositions have been performed by ensembles throughout the US and Europe, including the American Jazz Philharmonic and the Carnegie Hall Big Band. Clayton is the co-leader, along with his saxophone playing brother Jeff, of the Clayton Brothers Quintet.
Sue Cook (Ticket Manager) A native of Berkeley, CA, Sue Moved to Port Townsend in 1999 from the Napa Valley, and has been involved in the entertainment business on and off throughout her adult life. For 12 years, she worked as an adoption facilitator. Sue’s hobbies include sewing and baking. She joined Centrum in 2001. Email = sue (at) centrum (dot) org.
Keven Elliff (Managing Director) joined Centrum in January, 2002, and was previously the Director of Marketing and Business Development for Signal Consulting, Inc. in Redmond, WA. Keven brings a broad array of experience with community non-profits. In addition to spending time in the mountains, Keven is an avid potter, musician, and gardener. Email = keven (at) centrum (dot) org.
Kendra Golden (Development Manager) joined the Centrum Staff in spring 2001, beginning her association as a volunteer and becoming invaluable during the summer season, then acting as liaison for the Centrum Gala Auction. Her previous careers included law and teaching. Email = kendra (at) centrum (dot) org.
Jordan Hartt (Communications Coordinator and Port Townsend Writers' Conference Program Manager) joined Centrum in January, 2006. He holds degrees from Western Washington University and the University of Idaho and taught college English in the Pacific Northwest for several years. Email = jordan (at) centrum (dot) org.
Mary Hilts (Development Associate) joined the Centrum staff in 2003. Mary assists in all aspects of resource development, maintains Centrum's donor database, processes donations, performs research associated with charitable foundations and other funding sources and assists in coordination of donor events, including the Centrum Gala. A native of Los Angeles, California, Mary moved to Port Townsend in 1980, is a musician, artist, and advocate for social justice. Email = mary (at) centrum (dot) org.
Hali Johnson (Registrar) came to Centrum in early 2008 after managing the office at The Port Townsend and Jefferson County Leader. She was packed up at the age of five and relocated to Port Townsend where her father, Bill Ransom, founded and directed the Port Townsend Writers' Conference. Hali has been a PT "local" ever since. Email = hali (at) centrum (dot) org.
Orville Johnson (Artistic Director for Slide and Steel) came up on the St. Louis music scene, where he was exposed to and participated in a variety of blues, bluegrass and American roots music. He moved to Seattle in 1978. Johnson, known for his dobro and slide guitar stylings and vocal acrobatics, has played on over one-hundred albums. He has appeared on Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and was featured in the 1997 film Georgia.
Kim Jons (Sales Manager) an accomplished senior sales manager and marketing professional, serves as the contact for all advertising and creative sponsorship opportunities with Centrum. She joined Centrum in 2007 after eight years with the Peninsula Daily News. Deeply involved with everything peninsula, she is particularly passionate about Rotary and the Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce. A voracious reader, her interests include enjoying the fruits of culinary and musical genius; canine companionship; and anything on, or of, the water. Email = kim (at) centrum (dot) org.
Anne Kearson (Production Director) joined Centrum in the fall of 2007. She is a third-generation member of the entertainment industry, and comes from a family of singers, dancers, musicians, producers, and promoters. In her own career, she has had the pleasure of working in regional theater (South Coast Repertory, ACT Theatre, the Seattle Repertory Theatre), and with arts festivals (the Los Angeles Festival of the Arts, Latino Laugh Festival). Anne's great joys in life are her three children, her husband, and her 38-foot sailboat, Aleeska. Email = anne (at) centrum (dot) org.
Bill Kiely (Jazz Program Manager) comes to Centrum with a mix of experience in business, teaching, and the performing arts. After years spent in private business and in public school teaching, Bill re-focused his goals and formed UpWest Arts, a concert production company based in Port Townsend. He enjoys managing Jazz Port Townsend and being fully engaged in Centrum's heady mix of concerts, business, and teaching. Email = bill (at) centrum (dot) org.
Tina McCleese (Finance Director) joined Centrum in 2006. She graduated from Eastern Washington University with a BA in Accounting. Tina owns Clarity Enterprises and serves as a financial consultant and guide to several Pacific Northwest non-profit and for-profit organizations. Her Port Townsend clients include Centrum, Swan School, the Boiler Room, and Jefferson Land Trust. Tina's passions include her two kids and her fabulous husband, learning to sail, and exploring her creative side. Email = tina (at) centrum (dot) org.
Peter McCracken (Program Manager, Blues, High School Creativity) was on staff at Centrum from 1987 to 1998, serving in various capacities, including Arts Program Director and Traditional Arts Program Manager. In 1992, he started the Blues workshop and festival, bringing five National Heritage Award recipients to Fort Worden to perform and teach. McCracken led the initial curatorial project for Centrum's Festival of American Fiddle Tunes Preservation and Stabilization project in 2000, producing Volume 1 of the Fiddle Tunes Archives. The CD "A 20th Anniversary Festival Sampler" captures twenty-two performances from the festival's twentieth gathering. The long-term project received initial funding from the National endowment for the Arts, along with generous donations from individual donors. Email = peter (at) centrum (dot) org.
Gregg Miller (Associate Director) first came to Centrum in 1978 as a student in the Chamber Music camp. In the early '90s, he returned for three years as a faculty member at Jazz Port Townsend. In the fall of 1999 he began organizing the educational and performance components of Jazz Port Townsend, the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival, and other concerts. In November 2003, he became Director of Programs, and assumed his current position in 2005. Gregg is active as a professional clarinetist and educator. He enjoys working with his hands, including driving and repairing wheat combines each summer in eastern Washington. He lives with his wife and son on Bainbridge Island. Email = gregg (at) centrum (dot) org.
Kisha Palmer became Director of Business Development in February, 2008. She is a Seattle native and first came to Centrum as a high-school participant in the Young Artists' Program. Kisha was previously employed in Community Benefit of Kaiser Permanente as a Program Coordinator for Education Theater in Los Angeles, CA. Her most recent projects include the Summer Arts and Life Skills Program for middle-school students and a training conservatory for health educators and actors. Kisha is happy to be back in the Pacific Northwest. Email = kisha (at ) centrum (dot) org.
Dirk Powell (Artistic Director, Fiddle Tunes) has expanded on the deeply rooted sounds of his Appalachian heritage to become one of the preeminent traditional American musicians of his generation. In addition to acclaimed releases on Rounder Records, he’s recorded and performed with artists such as Loretta Lynn, playing several instruments on her Grammy-winning release “Van Lear Rose,” Sting, Jack White, Levon Helm, Jewel, T-Bone Burnett, Ralph Stanley, and Linda Ronstadt, among others. His ability to unite the essence of his culture with modern sensibilities has led to work with many of today's greatest film directors, including Anthony Minghella, Spike Lee, Ang Lee, Victor Nuñez, Steve James, and Edward Burns.
Tom Scharf (Development Director) has worked in public relations, marketing, writing, and editing for museums and nonprofits in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. He has also authored numerous articles, reviews, and columns for many publications. Before moving to Port Townsend, he spent seventeen years with public relations at the Zoological Society of San Diego, editing a monthly magazine with a circulation of half a million. Tom holds BA and MA degrees from the University of San Diego and is a graduate of a number of management and administrative programs and seminars. Email tom (at) centrum (dot) org.
Diana West (Bookkeeper) came to Centrum in 2006. She is originally from a small northern Wisconsin town, Solon Springs, and previously worked as a bookkeeper for a large marine dealership and a newspaper group. She and her life partner Dick Zinn relocated to Port Townsend to enjoy the milder climate and the outdoor activities. They have two grown children and enjoy gardening, hiking, and travel. Working at Centrum has provided wonderful opportunities to learn about education, music, art, and the people.
Phil Wiggins (Artistic Director of Blues Programs) leads the Port Townsend Country Blues Festival. One of the nation's most gifted harmonica players, Wiggins began his musical career with some of Washington, DC's leading blues artists, including the noted slide guitarist and gospel singer Flora Molton. As part of the duo of Cephas and Wiggins, he is recognized as one of the leading exponents of traditional Piedmont blues. Wiggins is a multiple W.C. Handy Award Winner, and in addition to appearing in theater and feature films, has toured the world on behalf of one of America's great art forms.
Martha Worthley (Program Manager Youth Education Programs) joined Centrum in 2007. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, she studied at the San Francisco Art Institute (BFA 1977) and also studied textile design and printing at the Rhode Island School of Design and Oregon College of Arts and Crafts. Worthley recently returned from a year in Mexico where she lived in Guadalajara and taught at the American School Foundation. While there she took the opportunity to travel in order to pursue her interest in Mexican arts and crafts.
Note: We apologize for the inconvenience of having to type out our staff email addresses. Having direct links brought us staggering quantities of spam every day.
What is this place?
Centrum is a gathering place for artists and creative thinkers from around the world, students of all ages and backgrounds, and audiences seeking extraordinary cultural enrichment. We're located at Fort Worden State Park, in Port Townsend, WA.
Our mission is to promote creative experiences that change lives. Creativity is our primary resource. We achieve excellence by taking risks and embracing change. We change by actively seeking out, inviting in, listening to, and learning from people of all ages and backgrounds.
Centrum and Fort Worden were created in 1973 in a visionary partnership between the Washington State Arts Commission, and the Washington State Parks Commission, and later Washington's Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Would you like to receive updates to Centrum's websites? With RSS you can. Each of Centrum's sites have their own RSS feeds. We've collected them here so that you can subscribe to any or all of them at your leisure.
What is RSS?
RSS (Rich Site Summary) is a format for delivering regularly changing web content. Many news-related sites, weblogs and other online publishers syndicate their content as an RSS Feed to whoever wants it.
RSS solves a problem for people who regularly use the web. It allows you to easily stay informed by retrieving summaries of the latest content from the sites you are interested in. You save time by not needing to visit each site individually. You ensure your privacy, by not needing to join each site's email newsletter.
How do I start using RSS?
One of the best explanations of RSS we've found is at the BBC's website. Read that, and in no time at all, you'll be getting exactly the information you want, faster than you ever thought possible.
...and now, on to those feeds...
Centrum's workshops, performances, and residencies simply could not happen without the dedicated and energetic support of more than 300 volunteers. This amazing group of people helps in many ways--from office work before and after programs, to assisting patrons and staff at public events.
To see all the ways you might be able to help at Centrum, and to sign up to be a volunteer, go to our secure volunteer registration form.
Centrum salutes and thanks these foundations and corporation for their recent grants and contributions.
Recent Foundation Support
Educational Endowment Funds
Public Support
Recent Corporate Matching Gifts Support
For some, receiving donor benefits isn't important--you just want to
donate and donate quickly. Are you a fan of a particular program and
want your donation targeted to that program? Just let us know.
Monetary Donations
In-Kind Donations
Replacing that "old" computer or microwave? Tired of your sofa and
thinking of throwing it away? Give us a call first. From office
equipment and cabin furnishings, to workshop supplies and performance
goodies--you might be surprised what we need, or can find a use
for. For information, please call Kendra Golden at 360-385-3102
or email kendra@centrum.org.
Centrum is located at historic Fort Worden State Park in the Victorian seaport of Port Townsend, WA.
Perched at the northeast tip of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, Port Townsend is a magical combination of land and sea, with panoramic views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, as well as the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges.
Located a short ferry ride from Seattle, Centrum is ideally located for easy access, while being a world away, set in the timeless beauty of Fort Worden State Park.
Here is a Google map of Fort Worden and Port Townsend.
DIRECTIONS
Getting to Port Townsend and Fort Worden
Taking the ferry From Seattle or Edmonds to Hood Canal Bridge
Take the ferry from the Colman Ferry Dock (at the foot of Madison Street in downtown Seattle) and drive across Bainbridge Island, through Poulsbo, turning right on Highway 104 and follow signs to the Hood Canal Bridge...
... or take the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston and proceed, following the signs to the Hood Canal Bridge....
Allow 30 minutes crossing time, and an hour to an hour and a half drive time. We urge you to get to the ferry early.
Five miles past the Hood Canal Bridge, turn right off Highway 104 onto Highway 19.
Or, from Sea-Tac Airport to the Hood Canal Bridge.
Take the “exit to freeways” from the airport. Get on I-5 south. Take Rt 16 west to Tacoma and the Narrows Bridge & Bremerton. Go across the Bridge. Now you are on Rt 3 north. Signs will say “Bremerton-Hood Canal Bridge’, and then ‘Silverdale-Hood Canal Bridge”. Stay on Rt 3 until you get to the Hood Canal Bridge.
Go across the Bridge. Now you are on 104 west. Stay on 104 west for about 5 miles, until you see signs for Rt 19 north-Port Townsend. Turn right onto 19 north.
Then...
Stay on 19 north until it curves to the right (about 20 miles) and becomes 20 east at the stop light (you’ll see the Courtesy Ford Dealership). Stay on 20 east and it goes right into Port Townsend.
Hwy 20 will go thru the first part of Port Townsend (and will be called Sims Way now) and then you will see the water and head down a hill. You will go through a stop light right by the Safeway. You will see a sign for Fort Worden right before the next light. Turn left onto Kearney St. at the light. At the next stop sign (at a T intersection) turn right onto Blaine. At the next stop sign (another T) turn left onto Walker. Walker curves around to the right and becomes Cherry St. Follow Cherry St thru the next stop sign. You will come to a ‘Y’ intersection. Follow Cherry to the right and up the hill. At the bottom of the other side you will be at the Fort gate. (You can also go left at the ‘Y’ and you will be on Redwood. Turn right at the next stop, go one block and turn left into the Fort. Campers and motorhomes need to go this way.) To get to the Centrum office, come thru the gate and to the 4-way stop. Turn right and go down past the flag pole. Turn left onto Battery Way. The office is the 2nd building on the left.
Getting to Sea-Tac Airport from Fort Worden/Port Townsend
Go straight out the Fort Gate and up and over the hill on Cherry St. Stay on Cherry thru the 4-way stop and past the golf course (on your right). Take a right onto Blaine St. Take the next left at Kearney St. At the stop light turn right onto Sims Way. Sims Way turns into Hwy 20 west. Follow 20 to the intersection and stop light at the Courtesy Ford Dealership. 20 turns right, but you want to go straight and you are now on Rt 19 south.
Follow 19 south (it is also Beaver Valley Rd after you go thru the 4-way stop in Chimacum) until it ends at 104. Turn left onto 104 east and follow it across the Hood Canal Bridge. On the other side of the bridge turn right onto Rt 3 south. Stay on Rt 3 south down thru Silverdale and Bremerton, and to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Cross the bridge and you are on Rt 16 east. Stay on 16 until you hit I-5 north. Take I-5 north up to exit 154A, 518 west, to Sea-Tac Airport. Follow signs into airport parking or pick up area.
Centrum is working closely with its Access Advisory Committee, Fort Worden State Park, and the Washington State Arts Commission to ensure that programs and facilities are increasingly welcoming to people with disabilities. Accessible seating and listening devices are available at all our performances and in most classrooms. There are accessible dorms and other overnight accommodations available. If you have inquiries or require assistance, please contact Susan Cook.
