Festival lets you Take Part in Art of all kinds and with good deals

Most arts festivals focus on one particular theme or medium. The Puget Sound region's new "Take Part in Art Festival," however, covers every conceivable arts activity: dance, music, film, theater, visual arts and more. And its only discernible theme is: Pay less to enjoy the creativity flourishing in your own backyard.

The festival's scope is impressive, as are some of the deals. You can get 50 percent off concerts at Northwest Sinfonietta (including cellist Joshua Roman's upcoming performance of John Tavener's "The Protecting Veil") and at all 2009 previews at ACT Theatre (except their Central Heating Lab series).

Two-for-one deals are available for Kirkland Performance Center's production of "Defending the Caveman," Seattle Shakespeare Company's production of "The Merchant of Venice" and Tacoma Musical Playhouse's staging of "Footloose." You can get three tickets for the price of two to any production of Intiman Theatre's 2009 season.

Pacific Northwest Ballet is offering a 20 percent discount on its upcoming "Broadway Festival." The same is true for two July events presented by the Seattle Symphony: The Peking Acrobats and Michael Feinstein's "The Sinatra Project."

You can get 25 percent off tickets to Seattle Public Theatre's "End Days," Seattle Opera's double bill of one-act operas (Béla Bartók's "Bluebeard's Castle" and Arnold Schoenberg's "Erwartung") and a Beethoven-Copland-Mahler program at the Tacoma Symphony.

Straightforward cash offers include $20 to see the Jupiter String Quartet at Meany Theater and $20 for Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George" at the 5th Avenue Theatre — both real deals.

Be advised, though. The discounts apply only to particular shows at particular times. Go to www.TakePartinArt.org and read the fine print carefully. The festival officially takes place Feb. 20-March 1, but many deals are available only if you buy your ticket on Feb. 25 (or Feb. 21, in the case of Intiman). Go to the Web site now, figure out what you want and when it's on sale, and you'll be able to save some serious dollars in the coming months.

Michael Upchurch: mupchurch@seattletimes.com