Sequim Museum & Arts gets grand opening

By Michael Dashiell • July 10, 2019 1:30 am

Ushered in by pageantry from numerous Freemason officials from across the state, the new Sequim Museum & Arts facility opened its doors to the community on July 6.

The 6,500-square-foot building at 544 N. Sequim Ave. saw several hundred interested resident and area dignitaries celebrate the museum’s grand opening Saturday, perusing the displays of area history such as the Manis mastodon exhibit, the newly-christened Judith McInnes Tozzer art gallery and, with 1984 Olympic Games gold medalist Matt Dryke and family present, a display of Sequim’s gold medalists: Dryke and 1936 crew medal winner Joe Rantz.

“This museum and art will preserve its rich history for long into the future,” Freemason Grand Orator Jimmy Norton told a crowd, just before the museum’s doors opened to a throng of visitors.

“You may find yourself coming back again and again,” he said.

Inside the Sequim Museum & Arts facility on June 7, and a (below) month later, at the facility’s grand opening. Photo by Bob Lampert

Photo by Bob Lampert

Sequim Museum & Arts will be open 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday, with private tours by appointment.

Executive director Judy Reandeau Stipe said admission rates are still being considered but that staff will accept donations.

For more about Sequm Museum & Arts, see www.sequim museum.com, email to Sequim Museum@olypen.com or call 360-683-8110.

Freemasons Grand Master Charles Wood asks dignitaries to help lay the cornerstone at the grand opening of the Sequim Museum & Arts facility on July 6. Museum executive director Judy Reandeau Stipe is behind Wood. Sequim Gazette photos by Michael Dashiell

Freemason Jim Bekkevar of Sequim, center, talks with the family of Matt Dryke near an exhibit extolling Dryke’s sharp shooting at the 1984 Olympic Games that earned the Sequim native a gold medal. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Above, visitors check out the Manis mastodon exhibit and more at the grand opening of the new Sequim Museum & Arts building on July 6. Left, Matt Dryke, 1984 Olympic Games gold medal winner (skeet shooting), joins his daughter Ellen at the opening of the new Sequim Museum & Arts building. A section of the museum details Dryke’s storied career in the sport.

Judy Reandeau Stipe, executive director of Sequim Museum & Arts, welcomes visitors and dignitaries to the museum’s new exhibit center on North Sequim Avenue on July 6. Photo by Bob Lampert

Matt Dryke, 1984 Olympic Games gold medal winner (skeet shooting), joins his daughter Ellen at the opening of the new Sequim Museum & Arts building on July 6. A section of the museum details Dryke’s storied career in the sport. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell