Whales, tales, lectures and a walk through movie history are among the entertainment and educational activities offered this weekend on the North Olympic Peninsula.
For more on the arts, see today’s Peninsula Spotlight, the Peninsula Daily News’ weekly entertainment guide.
For information on other activities, see “Things To Do” on this Web site.
Here is a sample of activities to enjoy this weekend.
Whale lecture
PORT TOWNSEND — The first presentation of a lecture about humpback whales returning to area waters is scheduled at the Northwest Maritime Center on Sunday.
Fred Sharpe of the Alaska Whale Foundation will present “Humpback Whales of Puget Sound and the Salish Sea” at 7 p.m. at the center at 431 Water St
More presentations of the lecture are planned next week.
They will be at:
•SEnSThe Port Ludlow Bay Club, 121 Spinnaker Place, at 7 p.m. Monday
•SEnSThe Sequim High School lunch room, 601 N. Sequim Ave., at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
•SEnSThe Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles, at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Humpbacks were common in Olympic Peninsula waters in the 1800s, but Salish Sea humpbacks were hunted to extinction.
Now, Sharpe said, they are beginning to return.
A $5 donation is suggested for the lecture.
For more information, phone 360-808-0579.
Volksport walk set
PORT TOWNSEND — The Olympic Peninsula Explorers Volksport Club will relive a part of movie history with its “An Officer and a Gentleman” walk in Port Townsend this Saturday.
The 6.2-mile walk will visit 17 sites from the 1982 film.
Participants will meet at Swain’s Outdoor in Port Townsend, 1121 Water St., shortly before 9 a.m., to register.
A carpool will leave from the Sequim QFC shopping center parking lot near the Dynasty Restaurant before 8 a.m.
For more information, phone Frances Johnson at 360-385-5861.
Feiro hosts talk
PORT ANGELES — The Feiro Marine Life Center will host Sam Brenkman, chief fisheries biologist for Olympic National Park, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
Brenkman will present “Radiotelemetry, Ear Bone Chemistry, Genetics and Snorkeling: Some Tools Being Used to Characterize Fish Populations in Olympic National Park Watersheds.”
Suggested donation is $5.
Phone 360-417-6254 to reserve a space.
Cultural discussion
PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend Library will present Dilara Hafiz and her teenage son, Imran, as they discuss “Muslim Teenagers in America: Can You Separate Facts from Fiction?” on Saturday.
The discussion, which is free and open to the public, will be at 2:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church at 1202 Lawrence St., next door to the library.
The pair authored The American Muslim Teenager’s Handbook.
For more information, phone 360-385-3181.
Grange breakfast
SEQUIM — A pancake breakfast will be served by the Sequim Prairie Grange from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.
The grange is located at 290 Macleay Road.
Other menu items will be ham, eggs and beverages.
The breakfast is $5 for adults, $3 for children age 10 and under.
High tea in Forks
FORKS — The Bogachiel Garden Club’s annual high tea will be Saturday.
The tea will be at 1 p.m. at the St. Anne Catholic Church meeting hall, 511 Fifth Ave.
In keeping with the theme “Tropical Paradise,” orchid expert Toby Klaussen will discuss how to keep orchids alive and blooming.
Door prizes and a raffle also are planned.
Tickets are $8. They will be available at the door.
For more information, phone 360-374-2126.
Blood drive slated
SEQUIM — Sequim Community Church’s first blood drive of the new year will be Saturday.
The blood drive will be from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 2:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the church at 950 N. Fifth Ave.
Donating takes about an hour, including time for refreshments after the donation.
For more information, phone Ree Huston at 360-681-7205.
Trail fundraiser
PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula Trails Coalition Adventure Travel Speaker Series continues with Bill and LaVonne Mueller presenting “Rails to Trails Across the USA” tonight.
The presentation is set for 7 p.m. at the Port Angeles Senior Center, 328 E. Seventh St.
The speaker series serves as a fundraiser for the Olympic Discovery Trail. Admission fees go entirely toward building and maintaining the trail by purchasing tools and equipment and lunches for volunteers.
Admission is $5, with children admitted free.
Pruning class set
SEQUIM — Henery’s Garden Center, 1060 Dungeness Way, will host a free pruning class at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
The class will cover basic pruning of trees and shrubs.
R.T. Ball, a Clallam County native and owner of Evergreen Enterprises, a landscape and maintenance firm, will instruct the class.
To reserve a seat, phone Henery’s at 360-683-6969.
Yard and garden
PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County Master Gardeners continue the 2010 Yard & Garden lecture series on Saturday.
Willi Evans Galloway will present “Gourmet Gardening: Tips & Techniques for Maximizing Flavor and Quality in the Kitchen Garden.”
The lecture series takes place at the Port Townsend Recreation Center, 620 Tyler St., from 10 a.m. to noon each Saturday in January and February.
In this lecture, attendees can learn the science behind flavor, and how variety choice, soil and watering all influence the taste and quality of the food grown in gardens.
Evans Galloway is the creator of www.digginfood.com, dedicated to organic vegetable gardening and seasonal cooking.
She is also the West Coast editor of Organic Gardening magazine and the garden expert for www.ehow.com.
Four programs remain in the series. Series tickets, which guarantee the holder a seat at each of the programs, are $42.
Tickets for individual programs are $10 each, on a space-available basis.
For more information about tickets, phone 360-379-1172.
Ticket sales help underwrite the Jefferson County Master Gardeners Foundation Grant Program, which provides awards supporting environmental stewardship and horticultural-based, sustainable projects.
In addition, 10 percent of the net proceeds from the lecture series will be donated to food banks serving residents of Jefferson County.
Magic of Cinema
PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College’s Magic of Cinema will open its winter quarter offerings with a documentary about Hurricane Katrina tonight.
The film, “Trouble the Water,” was shot before, during and after the landfall of Hurricane Katrina just east of New Orleans in 2005.
The screening will be at 7 p.m. in the college’s Little Theater, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd., Port Angeles.
“Trouble the Water” won the documentary grand jury prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary.
The winter series includes five other award-winning international films and documentaries, which will be shown throughout January and February.
Admission to each of the films is $5, or $1 with college identification.
For more information, visit www.pencol.edu.
Pet Pals benefit
PORT TOWNSEND — The Olympic Mountain Pet Pals will host an evening of short stories called “Short Tails SEmD Stories of Pets and People Who are Owned by Them” at the Pope Marine Building at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The readings include short stories from Merrill Markoe’s book What the Dogs Have Taught Me; poems from the book, Unleashed SEmD Poems by Writer’s Dogs, edited by Amy Hempel and Jim Shepard; Call Me Crazy . . . My Life as a Cat Lady by Lisa L. Goldstein; and quips and quotes about dogs and cats.
Reading these selections are local actors Consuelo Audviso, Denise Fleener, Deborah Hammond, Sheila Lauder, Pattie Miles-Van Beuzekom and Catherine McNabb.
Well-behaved pets are welcome, and there will be an intermission to allow both the pets and their people a chance to stretch and indulge in refreshment.
Pet treats will be provided free of charge by The Gathering Place and will be available for sale during intermission and after the program.
As part of the fundraiser, raffle tickets for the “Asian Garden” quilt made and donated by Betty Kuller will be for sale.
Olympic Mountain Pet Pals is a nonprofit organization that provides free spay/neuter services and emergency veterinary care for animals of low income families in Jefferson County, administers a trap/neuter/return program for feral cats and provides community outreach programs like Pets to People and Read to Rover.
Puppet theater
PORT ANGELES — The Jefferson Parent Teacher Association will host Tears of Joy Puppet Theatre’s “When Animals Were People” at the school gymnasium at 6:30 tonight.
“When Animals Were People” is a bilingual puppet program depicting folktales from Argentina and Mexico.
Tickets are $2 per person or $7 per family. They are available at the door.
There will be snacks for sale.
Wood stove clinics
The Olympic Region Clean Air Agency will offer free clinics on the efficient use of wood stoves in Port Angeles and Port Townsend on Saturday.
The clinics are set for 11 a.m. at Everwarm Hearth & Home, 257151 U.S. Highway 101 near Port Angeles, and Strait Flooring, 1915 E. Sims Way in Port Townsend.
The clinic will help people learn how to use a wood stove properly, to potentially save money, improve heat efficiency and help improve air quality.
The Olympic Region Clean Air Agency is offering the clinics in partnership with members of the Northwest Hearth, Patio Barbecue Association.
For more information, phone Everwarm Hearth & Home at 360-452-3366, or Strait Flooring at 360-452-3366.
To learn when a burn ban is in effect because local air quality is poor and a risk to public health, sign up to receive e-mail notices at www.orcaa.org or phone 800-422-5623.
