Spring brings follies, fiddlers and fun

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Happy Easter! May all your eggs be found.

The new version of the Port Ludlow Follies was a resounding success a couple of weeks ago. The Port Ludlow Singers, the Adorables, the One Night Stand quartet, the Choral Belles, the improv group Anything Goes, and the Covers duo provided an incredible afternoon of entertainment for a big crowd at the Bay Club. Cheryl Wheeler put together a team that helped her organize, decorate and stage the event. Approximately 70 locals participated in the performances, and a few participated in more than one. The last I heard, the event raised more than $1,600 for scholarships at Chimacum High. Fun for all and funds for students – what’s not to like?

The annual Saint Patrick’s Day pot luck dinner at The Beach Club was a success, with all 96 tickets sold. Steve Gross was again the master of ceremonies, managing to tell some more bad jokes and successfully managing the dinner line. Several folks in attendance were recognized as never having attended one of the dinners before. One couple has lived in Port Ludlow for 12 years and never been to one of the pot luck dinners. Thank goodness they came out of hibernation. GBF catered an excellent meal, so even though the event was on the regular pot luck dinner schedule, it was not actually a pot luck. Kim Kaye did a wonderful job of organizing the event, with help from a big team of locals.

This coming Saturday, the Quebe Sisters of Burleson, Texas, are the headliners for the Port Ludlow Performing Arts at the Bay Club at 7 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30.) When these triple-threat fiddle champions take the stage and start playing and singing in multi-part close harmony, audiences are usually transfixed, then blown away. It’s partly because the trio’s vocal and instrumental performances are authentic all-Americana, all the time, respectful of the artists who inspired them the most. And whether the Quebes (rhymes with “maybe”) are decked out in denim and boots or fashionably dressed to the nines in makeup, skirts and heels, the fresh-faced, clean-cut sisters, all in their 20s, look as good as they sound.

Along with headlining their own shows to ever-growing audiences, they’ve shared the stage with American music legends Willie Nelson, George Strait, Merle Haggard, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Ray Price, Connie Smith, Marty Stuart, Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers, Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel, Riders in the Sky and many others. Today, after more than a decade of traveling the U.S. and the world, and recording three acclaimed albums, Grace, Sophia and Hulda Quebe are pros in a variety of genres, and count many famous musicians among their biggest boosters. This group may be one we would all be sorry to miss.

If you read last week’s column, you know that BJ and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary last Friday. Friends and family descended on us from Nantucket Island, South Carolina, Florida, Missouri, Kansas, Denver and Los Angeles. In addition, one of my groomsmen flew in from Chicago. The last time we saw him or even had contact with him was at the wedding, 50 years ago. It was a wonderful celebration for us and offers more proof of what can happen if you give people free food and drink.  

Love a curmudgeon and have a great week.

Ned Luce writes this column monthly from his home in Port Ludlow, where he is active in the community. He can be reached at nedluce@sbcglobal.net.