This evening, the Schack Art Center opened its doors for the artist reception and garden party celebrating Present Tense, the institution's 24th annual juried exhibition. Coinciding with Sorticulture weekend, the gathering drew artists, collectors, and community members for an evening of art, awards, and garden-party flair. Guests wandered the galleries, bid in the summer auction, and turned out for a garden hat competition in whimsical creations - some adorned with fresh flowers, others veering into full fantasy.

"This particular installation demonstrates the excellence of the arts community here."

Present Tense showcases a breadth of contemporary art across the Pacific Northwest, bringing together more than 75 regional artists working across disciplines and media. The exhibition is a long-standing Schack tradition, meant to celebrate the region's creative talent and invite the public into the conversation between artist and viewer. The works were selected through a juried process by a panel of arts professionals - Nancy Loorem Adams, Andrew Vallee, and Christian Waguespack - who narrowed the field from a remarkable pool of submissions.

"It was a really exciting process. I've been so impressed with the quality and diversity of the work submitted by artists," said Waguespack. "We had over 700 submissions for this event, and it was a real challenge to narrow it down, but this particular installation demonstrates the excellence of the arts community here."

If the juried works on the walls represented art at rest, the evening also put art in motion. A high school jazz combo performed among the paintings and sculptures, filling the galleries with live music. And just twenty feet from the reception, separated only by a glass wall, students shaped molten glass at the furnace - a reminder that Schack is as much a working studio as it is a gallery. "I've always loved working with glass. It's fun and challenging, it demands your attention," said one participant.

That blend of polish and play set the tone for the night. "Sometimes the weirdest, wildest ideas come about, and if you're creative enough to pull it off ... this is awesome, everyone's having a ton of fun, hanging out and experiencing the art," said one attendee. The center's volunteers, who help make events like this possible, were part of that energy too. "The Schack is a great place to volunteer. They organize it really well, and there are always fun things going on," said one volunteer. "I would definitely encourage folks to sign up."

The night's awards were met with resounding applause. Jeremy Kester took the Grand Prize for Waiting for Judy. In the 2D category, Fog Story 2 by Julie Sevilla Drake placed first, followed by Pink Pants by Erika Bass and Passing Time by Miles Labitzke. In the 3D category, Tlaloc Vase by Emmanuel Aguilera took first, with Bark Beetle Book by Suze Woolf second and Under Pressure Trio by Carolyn Autenrieth third. The Elegant Rousseau Monowheel by Volodymyr Parkhuts received the Preparator's Award.

Events like Present Tense are a reminder of how much creative life is concentrated in downtown Everett. The juried exhibition, now in its 24th year, sits alongside the Schack's year-round programming of classes, working studios, and rotating shows - and its timing with Sorticulture places it squarely within a weekend that draws thousands downtown. For a city often described in terms of its port and its industry, evenings like this reinforce Everett as an arts destination.