December arrives with peppermint mochas and peppermint bark. Lights sparkle on branches and Lite Brite houses, and festive gatherings fill calendars we somehow never skip.
It’s a month of dualities: Warm indoors and cold outside, staying in or venturing out, quiet reflection or holiday bustle. Sunday, Dec. 21 is the Winter Solstice, which marks the longest night of the year and the gentle start to longer days – a reminder that light is returning.
And even though December seems to rush by like a flurry, magic and creativity linger, twinkling like fairy lights, waiting to be noticed and inspire something new.
Spotlight: ‘The Island of the Shark: Guardians of Malpelo’
Dec. 12-18 at various times
Edmonds Theater, 415 Main St.
The Edmonds Theater hosts a weeklong screening of The Island of the Shark: Guardians of Malpelo, a visually stunning and timely new documentary by award-winning filmmaker and ocean advocate Annie Crawley. Known to many as “Ocean Annie,” Crawley is an Edmonds-based filmmaker, underwater photographer and ocean educator.
At the heart of the film is Erika López, executive director of Biodiversity Conservation Colombia (BCC), whose mission is to protect Colombia’s last stronghold for migratory sharks. Her journey unfolds against the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor, one of the planet’s most biologically rich ecosystems.
Malpelo Island rises 4,000 meters from the ocean floor and hosts massive schools of hammerheads, silky sharks, whale sharks and tuna. Despite its national park status, illegal and unregulated fishing continues to threaten this fragile ecosystem.
With stunning underwater cinematography, The Island of the Shark: Guardians of Malpelo immerses audiences in one of Earth’s last wild sanctuaries. Crawley captures harrowing encounters with illegal fishers, powerful partnerships between conservationists and the Colombian Navy, and the deep emotional connection between humans and the ocean.
Special Q&A sessions with guests will follow the screenings on Dec. 12, 13 and 14 where Crawley will be joined by colleague and journalist Hanson Hosein.
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This Week in the Arts
A curated calendar of upcoming art exhibits, performances, classes, author readings, art walks and more.
Holiday evening at Sunlight Gallery + Studio
Friday, Dec. 5, 4 – 8 p.m.
Sunlight Gallery + Studio, 102½ 5th Ave. N., Edmonds
Sunlight Gallery + Studio invites the community to a festive holiday gathering Friday evening, featuring seasonal snacks and treats, holiday mocktails, and pours from Virtue Wine. Guests can also enjoy 15% off all in-studio prints.
Attendees who bring a canned food item to support the local community will be entered into a holiday giveaway. Organizers ask that guests RSVP through the gallery’s website.
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Sundays, Dec. 7, 21, 28, noon to 3 p.m.
Graphite Arts Center, 202 Main St.
Ages: 16+
Level: All Levels
Cost: $10
Drop-in (no registration required)
Spend your Sunday afternoon creating at Graphite. This drop-in art session is hosted by artist Mary Olsen, founder of Graphite Arts Center.
Bring your own supplies and/or current project or explore a collection of artist tools and creative prompts.
New: Clay hand-building on Sundays:
Interested in working with clay during your drop-in session? Clay options are now available.
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St. Alban’s Christmas Concert
Tuesday, Dec. 9, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 21405 82nd Pl. W.
Cost: Free (donations accepted for Chase Lake Community School)
Enjoy an evening of festive music featuring the Edmonds-Woodway High School Jazz Combo and the schools’ Brass Quintet.
Under the direction of Jake Bergevin, Director of Bands and head of the Music Department at Edmonds-Woodway, the ensembles will perform holiday favorites as well as special selections prepared by the students for the occasion.
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Candle Making at the Museum
Dec.12, 6-8 p.m. (stop by anytime during the event; the last entry is at 7 p.m.)
Edmonds Historical Museum, 118 5th Ave. N.
Create a little winter magic at the Edmonds Historical Museum with an evening of candle making. Pick your favorite wax colors, mix custom scents (for jar candles) and decorate with fun surprises. It’s creative and the perfect way to light up a winter night with friends and community.
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December 14-15, 7:30 – 9 p.m.
Edmonds Center for the Arts, 410 4th Ave. N.
Tickets or call (425) 275-9595
A delightful collection of Christmas carols and classics, including music by Johann Strauss, Bizet, Puccini, Henry Mancini, Sousa and others. Soprano Kristin Vogel returns to celebrate the season with inspiring holiday songs and famous operatic arias.
Acclaimed for her powerful lyric voice and onstage intensity, Vogel has been praised for roles that require both dramatic passion and sensitive musicality, including Puccini’s Tosca, Mimi in La Bohème and Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. She performs regularly in Europe and the United States and divides her time between Vienna and the Pacific Northwest.
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‘From the Mountains to the Coast’ exhibition
Through Jan. 6, 2026
Cole Gallery, 107 5th Ave. S.
In her new exhibition, Barbara Jaenicke, presents a collection of landscape oil paintings that travel from the mountains to the coast.
Known for her painterly style, Jaenicke captures shifting light, atmosphere and movement.
*If you would like your event included in future Art Beat listings, email Nahline Gouin at nahline.gouin@gmail.com.
Based in Edmonds, Nahline Gouin is a freelance writer, ceramicist and arts advocate with experience in art museums and performing arts centers. She continues to create with clay, homeschool her son and write as a creative practice.
