Yes, they do go together. We are in Leavenworth for the weekend, partaking of activities in the Leavenworth International Accordion celebration.

We got to town around 5:00PM, offloaded our gear at our hotel, and attended the first performance of the amateur bands. Of course, Tempo Trends Music, from Victoria, BC, had their normal extensive display of accordions to sell. Here are some.

And, for the accordion lover…

At intermission, we walked outside. Mountains and sky!

This morning, we had breakfast, then I walked the couple of blocks into town, and watched the tail end of one competition. Nothing to write home about.

I made the obligatory stroll through town. It wasn’t very crowded.

In the afternoon we attended a lecture and demonstration of the button-box accordions, by a local player and collector. Here are some of his instruments.

Back at the Festhalle, I again caught the tail end of a competition. The two young ladies below are sisters, from Spokane, and they have been playing and competing for years here. It is such a joy to watch them grow and mature. In fact, their performance today deserves a post to itself. Here are stills, and watch this space for video.

One more full day to go, more to come here.