PORT TOWNSEND — Santa will come to town in the afternoon and downtown art galleries will stay open late in the evening on Saturday.

Photo opportunities with Santa, who will listen to children’s wishes, will be available from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Flagship Landing, according to the Port Townsend Main Street Program.

After that, he will travel on the Kiwanis Choo Choo at dusk for the lighting of the community tree at Haller Fountain.

Festivities will begin at 2 p.m., with caroling by the Wild Rose Chorale and ornament-making; visitors can make their own holiday ornaments at the Tyler Street Plaza tent from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Donations will benefit PT Artscape, which supports the arts in the public schools.

After the holiday celebrations will be the monthly Saturday Art Walk.

The art walk is the first Saturday of each month from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., largely in the downtown area on or near Water Street. Most galleries will have featured artists on hand, and many offer complimentary appetizers and beverages.

Also, admission will be free to the Jefferson Museum of Art & History at 540 Water St. Live music by Micaela Kingslight will be performed from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., where Juxtapositions and Exquisite Jewels are on display.

Saturday art walk performances in the gallery are sponsored in part by the City of Port Townsend Arts Commission.

Port Townsend Gallery

Artists will be on hand and new exhibits will be featured at the Port Townsend Gallery, 715 Water St., from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. with light refreshments served.

December’s featured artists at Port Townsend Gallery are Kristen Wade, Andrea Guarino-Slemmons, Martha Collins and Shirley Moss.

Starting this Saturday, cups created by LaughinGnome Pottery Studio will be on sale at Port Townsend Gallery for $12 each or two for $20.

The money goes to Olympic Neighbors, which provides community-based living for adults with developmental disabilities, said Darby Huffman, owner of the business and self-described “head gnome.”

The idea is that art walk participants can take the cups around to the venues so they don’t have to use temporary drinking vessels for refreshments and “keep plastic out of the landfill,” Huffman said.

Wade is showing her silver and gemstone original designs that are inspired by nature. She has been a jeweler for more than 25 years. Her work has been shown in numerous galleries and arts crafts shows throughout the Pacific Northwest and along the West Coast.

Guarino-Slemmons has been creating jewelry for more than 30 years. She was the recipient of Jewelry Artist of the Year award from Bead and Button Magazine.

She makes glass beads and uses sea glass and beach stones in her jewelry.

Moss, “The Chainmaker,” has been creating handmade chains for 50 years. She did her first show in a little park in Michigan at the age of 16. Now at a later age, she is still showing her varied designs of hand-linked chains.

Collins has been exploring the interplay of different natural woods and dyed maple veneer for 45 years. She fashions jewelry from wood, using sustainable harvested hardwoods from all over the world.

The Port Townsend Gallery, 715 Water St., is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and also by appointment. For more gallery information, phone 360-379-8110 or see www.porttownsendgallery.com.

Northwind Art

Northwind Art, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., will feature an exhibit at the Grover Gallery, 236 Taylor St., curated by The Grover Gallery Group, to highlight the influence of teaching artists and their impact on the creative community.

The Grover Gallery Group includes Tracy Bigelow Grisman, Larry Crockett, Max Grover and Julie Read.

At the same time, Northwind Art’s Jeanette Best Gallery, 701 Water St., shows Small Expressions. Now in its 21st year, Small Expressions is an annual juried exhibit of small works open to artists from the Pacific Northwest region. Works are no more than 16 inches in any direction and include a variety of mediums, including jewelry.

Gallery 9

Gallery 9, 1012 Water St., will be open until 8 p.m. Saturday.

It is featuring this month Linda Lundell’s oil paintings and cloisonné jewelry and Robin McKann’s fine woodworking.

Lundell has taught at several art schools in California and has developed an impressionistic style of realistic oil paintings.

“Her paintings from a distance look absolutely real, but up close, one gets lost in abstract dabs of color,” organizers said.

Her cloisonné jewelry captures miniature replicas of hummingbirds, irises and other symbols of nature using colored enamels in finely powered glazes.

“The sounds of nature are gentle and they are in harmony with my spirit,” she said.

In 1978, McKann was given the opportunity to work on his spiritual master’s house in Malibu, and his skills as a cabinet and furniture maker evolved from there.

After retiring from finish carpentry business in Southern California, he moved to Port Townsend, where he uses spalted alder, figured maple, myrtle wood and many well-aged exotic woods that he has collected over the years for his creations.

He produces functional art like cabinets, tables, decorative boxes and cutting boards.

“I have spent many years chasing rainbows in grains of wood,” he said.

Gallery 9 is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day but Tuesday. For information, see www.gallery-9.com.