Taste of Edmonds: Lots more than food to chew on

With 38 entertainment acts and a dash of arts and crafts, A Taste of Edmonds demonstrates there's a big appetite for things other than food.

The family festival's food samples run from Thai satays to brats to Cajun fare among the 32 food vendors, but that's not necessarily what will draw about 75,000 people over three days starting Friday.

During the event's past 24 years, "most of the growth has been in our entertainment and in our children's area and arts-and-crafts area," said Jan Vance, the executive director of the sponsoring Greater Edmonds Chamber of Commerce.

Vance said the festival is "a little more manageable than the Bite of Seattle," but parking still could be tight around the festival site, the Edmonds Civic Center Playfield. To make it easier to get there, free shuttles will ferry people between Edmonds-Woodway High School and the festival.

Each of the festival's four stages faces a different direction on the playfield. This year's headliners are rock legend Rick Derringer, performing from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday on the main stage, and Canadian family entertainer Fred Penner, performing from 2 to 2:45 p.m. Sunday on the kids stage.

In between, acts will include zydeco rock, Gypsy soul, jazz guitar, Brazilian jazz and Navy Band Northwest's "Sounds of Freedom" patriotic show on the main stage. At the beer garden, the Islanders will play tropical sounds, and Whiskey Creek will crank out Southern rock.

The wine-garden stage is to host pianist Scott Cossu, folk-rocker Funk Mason, Angelo Pizarro's jazz-and-pop trio, smooth vibes with the Susan Pascal Trio and Latin music with the Fred Hoadley Trio. The kids stage will include Tim Noah, Buck & Elizabeth and J.P. Patches.

An Edmonds Idol competition is scheduled for 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday on the main stage, with contestants ranging from 16 to 59 years old. The winner will represent Edmonds in the Battle of the Idols on Sept. 17 at the Puyallup Fair.

Derringer was 17, as young as many of the Idol contestants, when he got his big break in 1965 with No. 1 hit "Hang on Sloopy," played by his band the McCoys.

Now 58, Derringer draws from more than 40 years in music and will perform on guitar with Tom Curiale on drums and Charlie Torres on bass.

There'll be songs from Derringer's stage and sessions work with Johnny and Edgar Winter, and from his work with such artists as Barbra Streisand, Alice Cooper, Richie Havens, Bette Midler, Kiss and Steely Dan.

Derringer finds his shows becoming intergenerational.

"Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo" has been played on movie soundtracks, and in the past few years, Derringer has branched into blues and, lately, smooth jazz, collaborating with his wife on "Hot and Cool" and "Derringer Times Two."

He'll do a patriotic segment around his 1980s song "I Am a Real American," written with Bernard Kenny. Professional wrestler Hulk Hogan turned it into his theme song, and it contains some prophetic lyrics: "When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside / You got to take a stand; it don't help to hide."

"It spoke to 9/11," said Derringer. "It's gained a lot of importance to me."

Penner is a Toronto-based entertainer, composer, author and speaker who has won a Juno Award, Canada's equivalent of a Grammy. His TV show, "Fred Penner's Place," aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. for more than a decade and on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. television in the U.S. from 1989 to 1992.

Penner estimates he's written more than 600 songs, and several now are packaged as compact discs with his children's books.

He starts his show with his 1979 signature tune, "The Cat Came Back," a story about an invincible cat that survives a rocket trip to the moon and other adventures.

The song's theme is that no matter what adversity is thrown at you, you can come back.

Penner has traveled the world with UNESCO, UNICEF and World Vision, among other relief agencies.

Like Derringer, Penner said he is frequently told by fans, "I grew up on your music."

At 60, "I'm constantly being renewed," he said. "My purpose in this scheme of things is working."

Whether it's 200 people or 2,000, Penner said he tries to connect with each member of the audience, a technique he drew from his theater career.

"I'm looking at the front row, at the back row, constantly in every direction," said Penner, who plans to perform with his daughter Hayley Jene in Edmonds.

"I am looking at every person. You make eye contact; an exchange happens. You share a moment."

A Taste of Edmonds is the largest fundraiser for the Greater Edmonds Chamber of Commerce, helping the chamber operate and to further the city's "stay and play" image, chamber director Vance said.

Tables will dot the playfield grounds, and part of the proceeds help fund chamber projects, including seminars and special events such as a Fourth of July celebration, the Hot Autumn Nites car show and a community Christmas-tree-lighting ceremony.

About $20,000 of annual proceeds goes to nonprofit service clubs, and about 500 members of those groups volunteer along with chamber members to run the event.

Diane Wright: 425-745-7815 or dwright@seattletimes.com