A “Day of Diversity” in Forks, an exhibit focusing on historic barns and farms in Sequim and a presentation on the hazards of oil spills to local fauna are among the events scheduled this weekend on the North Olympic Peninsula.
PORT ANGELES
PALOA benefit
PORT ANGELES — “A Taste of ‘Here’s to the Ladies!’,” a benefit for the Port Angeles Light Opera Association, is planned at the Elks Naval Lodge tonight and Saturday.
The deadline for reservations for the dinner show was Tuesday. Tickets will not be sold at the door.
The show will start at 7 p.m., after dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. with a no-host bar opening at 5:30 p.m. at the lodge at 131 E. First St.
For more information, see www.nwperformingarts.com or phone 360-452-8299.
Mongolia travels
PORT ANGELES — John Wegmann will discuss and display photographs from his travels around Mongolia during a presentation at the Port Angeles Senior Center, 328 E. Seventh St., at 7 tonight.
It is the third of four slide shows in the Peninsula Trails Coalition Adventure Travel Series.
The $5 admission fee will go toward the purchase of tools, equipment and lunches for volunteers who maintain and build the Olympic Discovery Trail.
Children 12 and younger will be admitted to the presentation free.
Wegmann and his wife, Mary, have traveled to five different parts of Mongolia in the past eight years as members of summer field camps for undergraduate geology students from American colleges.
This program will present images and stories ranging from the Gobi Desert in the south to the Altai Mountains in the west and the taiga forests in northernmost Mongolia.
For more information, phone 360-452-8641 or 360-808-4223.
Puppet show set
PORT ANGELES — Portland’s Tears of Joy Puppet Theatre will present a performance of “Stellaluna” at the Jefferson Elementary School gymnasium, 218 E. 12th St., at 6:30 tonight.
“Stellaluna” is the story of a baby fruit bat who, while separated from her mother, learns why she is different from her other friends.
The show is $3 per person and $10 per family.
Snacks will be sold.
The event is sponsored by the Jefferson Parent Teacher Organization.
Oil spill discussion
PORT ANGELES — Several speakers will address “Oil Spills & Wildlife of the Olympic Peninsula” at the Arthur D. Feiro Marine Life Center on Saturday.
The presentation will be from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at 315 N. Lincoln St. on City Pier.
Topics will include oil spills’ toll on Puget Sound marine birds, lessons learned from multiple spills and the future of volunteer oiled bird response in Western Washington.
Suggested donation is $5 at the door.
Speakers represent the International Bird Rescue Research Center, the Dungeness River Audubon Center and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Oil Spill Team.
Curt Clumpner will share his photos and personal recollections of the Arco Anchorage spill in Port Angeles Harbor in 1985 and talk about other Pacific Northwest spills.
Bob Boekelheide of the Dungeness River Audubon Center will describe which of our local marine birds are most vulnerable to oil spills, based on data from the 1985 spill and other sources.
Andy Carlson of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife will describe the current state of oiled bird response equipment and volunteer readiness in Western Washington.
Attendees also will learn about oiled wildlife responder training.
The event is presented by the Clallam County Marine Resources Committee, the Feiro Speaker Series and the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.
Reservations are requested.
For more information, phone 360-417-6254.
Lions breakfast
PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Lions club will host an all-you-can eat breakfast at the Crescent Bay Lions Clubhouse on Sunday.
The meal will be from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the clubhouse at Holly Hill Road and state Highway 112.
The cost is $6 for adults and $3 for children.
Art reception set
PORT ANGELES — An art reception for Nicole Phillips will be held at the Itty Bitty Buzz, 110 E. First St., from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. today.
Snacks will be provided by Oven Spoonful.
For more information, phone Itty Bitty Buzz at 360-565-8080.
SEQUIM
New farm exhibit
SEQUIM — The Museum & Arts Center in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley will spotlight one of the economic foundations of area history in its latest exhibit, “Farms & Barns to 1916,” which opens today.
The exhibit will be at the MAC Exhibit Center, 175 W. Cedar St.
It features historical photographs of the earliest Sequim-Dungeness Valley barns, many of which no longer exist, as well as farming-related artifacts and a painted backdrop of the Olympic Mountains created exclusively for the exhibit.
While the time frame of this exhibit is limited to pre-1917 area barns and farms, it marks the first installment of a larger, evolving “Farms & Barns” exhibit that will be added to every several months leading up to the Sequim Centennial celebration in 2013.
The exhibit opening will coincide with the Museum Lecture Series presentation “Barns & Farms: Then & Now” with Cathrine Bennett and Bob Clark from 10 a.m. to noon today at the Dungeness Schoolhouse, 2781 Towne Road.
The complete list of Museum Lecture Series presentations can be found on the MAC website at www.macsequim.org. The eight-week series runs through Feb. 25.
The center is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information, phone the MAC Exhibit Center at 360-683-8110 or visit www.macsequim.org.
Pruning class set
SEQUIM — Henery’s Garden Center, 1060 Sequim Dungeness Way, will host a free class on pruning at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
Class instructor R.T. Ball will cover basic pruning of trees and shrubs for “healthy and happy trees and plants.”
Ball is a Clallam County native, a Washington State University graduate and owner of Evergreen Enterprises, a landscaping and maintenance firm.
Registration is recommended.
For more information, phone Henery’s at 360-683-6969.
Pancake breakfast
SEQUIM — A pancake breakfast put on by Sequim Prairie Grange on Sunday will benefit the Sequim High School Select Choir’s trip to New York City to perform at Carnegie Hall.
The breakfast opens at 7:30 a.m. and runs to 1 p.m. at the grange, 290 Macleay Road.
Juice, ham, eggs and all the pancakes you can eat will be served.
Cost for adults is $5; for children 10 and younger, $3.
For more information, phone Bonnie Hagberg at 360-681-4189.
Genealogy event
SEQUIM — The Museum & Arts Center in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley is working with the Clallam County Genealogical Society to present a two-day genealogy workshop today and Saturday.
Clallam County Genealogical Society President Roberta Griset and genealogist Virginia Majewski will lead the workshop in basic family history research techniques at the MAC’s DeWitt Center, 544 N. Sequim Ave., from 9 a.m. to noon both days.
Topics include online genealogy research, surname research and researching census records.
Class space is limited, participants are asked to reserve a space by phoning the MAC Exhibit Center at 360-683-8110 or doing so in-person at 175 W. Cedar St.
The cost is $30 for MAC and genealogical society members and $35 for nonmembers.
Payment is to be made via check or cash and will be collected prior to the start of the first class.
Participants are encouraged to bring laptop computers to the workshop, though they are not required.
For more information, visit www.macsequim.org and www.olypen.com/ccgs.
Homebuyers class
SEQUIM — A free first-time homebuyer’s class will be held at Sequim Library, 630 N. Sequim Ave., at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Instructors trained by the state Housing Commission will provide information about purchase-assistance programs, eligibility requirements and lending options.
Subjects will include below-market interest rate loans, lending programs for low- and moderate-income borrowers, sweat equity homeownership, new lending limits and credit.
All participants receive a certificate of completion, necessary to unlock various lending programs and self-help homeownership programs and a requirement for some of the first-time homebuyer and down-payment assistance programs.
The class is offered through a partnership of North Olympic Peninsula organizations including Olympic Community Action Programs and Homeward Bound, a Community Land Trust serving Clallam and Jefferson counties.
For more information or to RSVP, phone OlyCAP at 360-385-2571, ext. 6303, or 360-452-4726, ext. 6100.
Blood drive
SEQUIM — The Sequim Community Church will host a blood drive Saturday.
Donations can be made between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and between 1:45 p.m. and 5 p.m. at the church at 950 N. Fifth Ave.
No appointment is needed.
GARDINER
Dance workshops
GARDINER — In preparation for Valentine’s Day — and any other occasion dancing fits into — Seattle-based dance coach Roberto Villamarin will lead a full afternoon of workshops Saturday.
The place is the Gardiner Community Center, 980 Old Gardiner Road off U.S. Highway 101 between Sequim and Discovery Bay.
The schedule is as follows:
• 1 p.m.: Villamarin teaches bachata, a sensual Latin dance.
• 2 p.m. West Coast swing moves especially for blues music.
• 3 p.m. Nightclub two-step class including dips.
• 4 p.m. West Coast swing “flash mob” review class.
Dancers pay $11 for one workshop, $18 for two of the sessions, $26 for three or $32 for all four.
Villamarin also will be available for private dance lessons from 9:15 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday.
His fee is $40 for 45 minutes. For details, phone him at 425-753-8086.
FORKS and the WEST END
Day of Diversity
FORKS — “Day of Diversity,” a cultural awareness day in honor of the memory of Martin Luther King Jr., will be held on Sunday.
The celebration will be from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Rainforest Art Center, 35 N. Forks Ave.
West End AmeriCorps, the Quileute Tribal School and Forks High School will host an exhibition of the artistic and musical talents of the cultural groups that make up the community.
Quileute, Quinault and Hoh students and community members will perform songs and dances of their drum circle.
Dance performances by Mexican and Guatemalan student groups at Forks High School also are planned.
Local artists will display their work to exhibit the artistic traditions of Forks.
Annual tea party
FORKS — The Bogachiel Garden Club will hold its annual tea party at St. Anne’s Catholic Church, 511 Fifth Ave., at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The tea party will have an Asian theme this year and the speaker will be Dungeness Bonsai Society member Robert Kauffman.
He will speak on selecting a plant suitable for bonsai, pruning it into shape and maintaining it through the years.
The event is $9 per person.
For more information, phone 360-374-2126.
PORT TOWNSEND and JEFFERSON COUNTY
Cajun dance set
PORT TOWNSEND — An old-time Cajun dance featuring music from the Folinchon Cajun Trio will be held at the Quimper Grange, 1219 Corona St., on Saturday.
A dance lesson will be from 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., with the dance running from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
The event is open to the public. Cost is $12.
Cajun fiddler Karen England returns to the place where it all began for her, Port Townsend.
In 1978, England was at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes at Fort Worden and grew interested in Cajun music through direct contact with the legendary Dewey Balfa and Marc Savoy.
She is joined in the Folinchon Cajun Trio by Tim Parker on accordion and Ted Granger on guitar and vocals.
The two have learned Cajun music through many years of attending Cajun and zydeco dances and jams in Seattle, attending Fiddle Tunes and numerous trips to Louisiana to learn firsthand from the masters of the genre.
Sierra Club in PT
PORT TOWNSEND — The North Olympic Group of the Sierra Club will hold its first general meeting in Port Townsend at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
The meeting will be at the Port Townsend Recreation Center, 620 Tyler St.
Rick Jahnke of Friends of Kah Tai Lagoon will discuss the history of the park and current development plans for the area, and provide an overview of the 90 species of birds that inhabit the park.
The event is free and open to the public.
For more information, phone Mary Porter-Solberg at 360-683-8072.
Pesticide lecture
PORT TOWNSEND — Washington State Pest Management Resource Service Director Catherine Daniels will discuss “How Understanding Pesticide Regulations Helps Everyday Decision-Making” on Saturday.
The talk is the third in the Washington State University Jefferson County Extension Master Gardeners 2011 Yard and Garden Lecture Series.
The lecture series is held at the Port Townsend Community Center, 620 Tyler St., from 10 a.m. to noon each Saturday through Feb. 12.
Attendees will learn how organic pest products, citronella candles and pool chemicals are all regulated as pesticides in Washington state, one of the most highly regulated states in the nation when it comes to pesticides.
Single tickets may be sold at the door on a space-available basis for $10.
Series tickets are available. They cost $42 and are transferable.
Checks should be made payable to Jefferson County Master Gardener Foundation and mailed with one’s name, address and phone number to P.O. Box 490, Port Hadlock, WA 98339.
Ticket sales help underwrite the Jefferson County Master Gardeners Foundation Grant Program.
For more information, phone the Master Gardeners at 360-379-1172.
Native plant workshop
PORT HADLOCK — WSU Jefferson County Extension, the North Olympic Salmon Coalition and the Jefferson County Conservation District will present a free workshop on native plants at the Chimacum Grange, on Rhody Drive across from Chimacum School, today.
The workshop will be from 9 a.m. to noon.
It will focus on native plants for sale during the Jefferson Conservation District’s annual plant sale, covering such topics as how to select the right plant for the right place, planting and caring for new native plants, and the benefits of planting native plants.
A short overview of each of the 30 plants that will be for sale this year will be followed by an opportunity to talk individually with experts about specific planting situations.
Workshop participants will be able to place an order for plants at the workshop. Orders for plants will be accepted by the Conservation District until Feb. 11.
Plants will be available for pickup at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds or the Quilcene Community Center on Saturday, Feb. 26.
The public will also be able to purchase plants as available on the day of the sale at the fairgrounds.
For more information about the plant sale and a list of the plants for sale, visit www.jeffersoncd.org or phone the conservation district at 360-385-4105.
Benefit concert
PORT TOWNSEND — The PT Songlines Choir will perform a winter concert and participatory sing benefit fundraiser for KPTZ-FM radio at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The benefit will be at Trinity United Methodist Church, 609 Taylor St.
It will include performance pieces by Songlines choir members and special guests, as well as opportunities for the audience to sing along.
Guests will include Songweavers, a trio made up of Laurence Cole, Aimee Kelly Spencer and Aimee Ringle.
Songlines, now in its fifth year in Port Townsend, is a nonauditioned philanthropic community choir that welcomes all voices and sings an eclectic repertoire of songs under the direction of Laurence Cole and Gretchen Sleicher.
KPTZ, a community radio station, plans to be on the air at 91.9 FM by early spring.
Before broadcasts can begin operators, need to raise enough money to cover the cost of erecting a tower, at price tag of more than $20,000.
Admission is by donation.
For more information, phone 360-379-9123.
Auction fundraiser planned
PORT TOWNSEND — Grant Street Elementary School’s Parent Teacher Association will hold its second annual fundraising auction at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The auction will be at the school, 1637 Grant St.
Both silent and live auctions are scheduled.
More than 100 donations from local businesses and artists have been received.
Proceeds will benefit programming and enrichment activities for grades K-3 and early childhood education.
Sponsors include Harrison Law Inc., Henery’s Garden Center, Power Trip Energy Corp. and Windermere Real Estate agents Holley Carlson and Allegra Bothell.
Kevin Benedict will serve as auctioneer.
Admission is free.
For more information, e-mail lovem@rocketmail.com.
Fort Townsend walk set
PORT TOWNSEND — The Olympic Explorers Club will walk through Fort Townsend State Park on Saturday.
Participants will meet at Subway, 1300 Water St., at 9 a.m. and drive out to Fort Townsend State Park.
Both 5-kilometer and 10-kilometer walks are planned.
A carpool will leave the Sequim QFC parking lot at 8 a.m.
For more information, phone 360-385-5861.
Madrona Writers
PORT TOWNSEND — The Madrona Writers will read from their work at the Northwind Arts Center on Sunday.
The reading will be at 7 p.m. at the center at 2409 Jefferson St.
It will feature poets and prose writers from California, Oregon, Idaho and Washington state.
The Madrona Writers meet annually at Fort Worden State Park, with the support of Centrum’s Artist in Residence program.
Readings are free but donations are accepted.
For more information, phone 360-437-9081.
