Washougal Songcraft Festival set for this weekend

Washougal residents Christoper and Stephanie Corbell like to think of the term “songcraft” in terms of the Pacific Northwest’s renowned craft beer culture.

“Imagine if all our local breweries were trying to make Budweiser, how boring the scene would be,” the couple noted. “We feel the same way about local songwriting. We think cultural wealth comes from local invention (and) variety.”

The Corbells are set to put a significant amount of inventive and diverse songwriting on display later this month with the first annual Washougal Songcraft Festival, which will be held from Friday, Aug. 11, to Sunday, Aug. 13, in Washougal.

The festival will feature 16 local and regional musicians performing two “evening out” concerts, to be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11, and from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday Aug. 12, at 54-40 Brewing Company in Washougal; a daytime concert at Reflection Plaza from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, during the annual Washougal Arts and Culture Alliance (WACA) Washougal Arts Festival; and a songwriting workshop, to be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13, at the Sunset Ridge Clubhouse in Washougal.

“There’s just a lot of excitement,” Stephanie said. “This is the first annual Washougal Songcraft festival, so it seems like a really big deal, and we’re just feeling all the love right now.”

Four of the artists are scheduled to speak during the songwriters’ workshop session on the festival’s final day.

“(They’ll) give ‘lightning talks’ about whatever topic they want to talk about, just to share their wisdom or their experience of songwriting,” Christopher said. “And then from there, it will become a hands-on workshop where anyone who wants to can share a song. It will be a safe space to learn and receive encouragement, or receive (more advanced) critiques.”

The Corbells wanted to hold their festival on the same weekend as the Washougal Arts Festival to take advantage of the WACA signature event’s “built-in audience,” according to Christopher.

“We approached WACA and talked to them about the idea of scheduling (our festival) at the same time (as theirs),” he said. “We had that collaborative communication early on, and they were excited about having music. We’re all still in this ‘rebuilding of cultural events post-pandemic (phase),’ so building that synergy seemed like a really good idea. They’ve been super supportive.”

The effort has been aided by Christopher’s background in non-profit arts management in Portland, where he founded the independent vocal-music troupe Cult of Orpheus and completed the Regional Arts and Culture Council’s Cultural Leadership Program under the mentorship of George Thorn, and Stephanie’s “connection to the Washougal community as a long-term resident,” which helped them foster relationships with 54-40 Brewing Company co-owners Bolt and Amy Minister and WACA leaders.