This year, for the first time, we have been attending the wonderful Methow Valley Chamber Music Festival. In its 16th year, the festival brings world-class performers from the Pacific Northwest and around the country. Featured this year was the Grammy-award winning Parker String Quartet; they played together, and in various combinations with other musicians. Fabulous!
Two years ago the festival moved to a new location at Signal Hill Ranch in the hills above the valley between Twisp and Winthrop. Owners Howard and Liz Johnson opened their ranch to the festival, and converted their barn to a state-of-the-art 200-seat venue. Howie is an electrical engineer by trade and designed the acoustics for the barn. Here is a short quote from this article about the Johnson’s and Signal Hill Ranch: “Originally built to house show horses, the barn sits high on a pastured, east-facing slope between Winthrop and Twisp with stunning views of mountains and hillsides all around. If the timing and weather are right, audiences can enjoy top-flight chamber musicians while, through an open barn door, they watch the moon rise over the hills – one of those special Methow Magic moments.” Indeed!
We bought two flex-passes, each good for 4 concerts, and have been to every center-stage performance since last Friday, July 22 (there are also a lot of free events during the festival in various locations up and down valley, and a music camp for young musicians, plus you can attend open rehearsal up at the barn in the mornings).
They also have food & beverages available before the concerts, and although we had dinner at home, reports of the catering by Rocking Horse Bakery were quite favorable. All the beer, wine and cider were donated by local businesses with sales to benefit the festival – typical generosity from these folks: Twisp River Pub, Lost River Winery, and the Methow Valley Cider House.
This ranch horse seemed particularly interested in someone’s Asian noodle salad:
It’s been a wonderful experience and we plan to make this a yearly event! I love this valley.
Twisp of Fate 
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