Presentations showcase Soap Lake's spirit

Soap Lake art guild hosts event Wednesday

SOAP LAKE— Soap Lake residents get the opportunity to hear and see an exhibit which captures their town.

The Art Guild of the Soap Lake Area hosts two guest speakers at its meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Las Brisas Arts Center on state Route 17.

Beth Carsrud's photo exhibit of four small Eastern Washington towns is on display, alongside Phyllis Silver's audio visits to the same four towns — Soap Lake, Republic, the Fairchild-Rosalia area and Dayton.

Guild Vice President Al Lundberg said Silver received a grant from Humanities Washington to do an audio report on four towns in Eastern Washington which have either been revived or rejuvenated.

Republic has experienced a boom due to mining, Fairchild-Rosalia has become a bedroom community for Spokane and Cheney, and Dayton has become a weekend bed and breakfast community, he explained.

"Soap Lake is building on its mineral waters and is attempting to grab the eye of the tourist traffic with the giant Lava Light," he said.

Silver interviewed people in each community, including city council members and restaurant owners in Soap Lake, people who reflect the towns' enthusiasm.

Photographer friend Carsrud accompanied Silver, trying to take pictures to express the history of each town.

"They really do portray the heart and soul of the people, of the town," he said.

Lundberg recently went to see the photo exhibit at a presentation in Spokane, where they met Carsrud and Silver.

"They both said they wished there was a way they could share these back with the community," Lundberg said with a grin. "And we said, 'Interesting you said that.'"

Silver will share the story of her reports and the Soap Lake audio cast, as Carsrud's photo show is on display for four weekends.

The photo show, on display for the next month, serves as a welcome of sorts to usher in the guild's sixth annual Fourth of July photography show, Lundberg said, as part of the community's annual Smokiam Days celebration.

"We expect this year's photography show to be as interesting and varied as it has been in prior years," Lundberg said. "People are submitting photographs in which it's clear their eye is improving."

Photos must be entered on June 23 to June 24 at the center from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The show runs June 30 to July 4.

For more information on the photography show or the art guild, call Lundberg at 509-246-6259.