PORT TOWNSEND — This Earth Day weekend looks something like a fresh, green community salad served through Sunday, with a swap meet, town and country cleanups, topical talks, a bike ride and an outdoor movie.
And just in time, there will be tulips, loads of them from Chimacum’s Red Dog Farm, at the Port Townsend Farmers Market.
The Saturday market, at the intersection of Lawrence and Tyler streets uptown, will be a hub of Earth Day activity with more than 60 vendors of local food and art, plus live music by the Steve Grandinetti Band from 10 a.m. until noon and George Rezendes and friends from noon until 2 p.m.
Nearby, in front of the Port Townsend Community Center at 620 Tyler St., a variety of Earth Day displays, children’s games, food vendors and child care will be set up.
Admission is free to the community center’s event, which coincides with the farmers market from 9:30 a.m. until 2 p.m.
This Earth Day is also the day when the ReCyclery, a nonprofit devoted to safe, enjoyable bike-riding for all, moves to its new place at Blaine and Kearney streets.
Naturally, the crew is inviting cyclists to pedal together from the farmers market down to the new ReCyclery at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Later on, weather permitting, the ReCyclery will host a free outdoor showing of “I Am,” a documentary about happiness, at 9 p.m. Saturday.
Weekend’s events
Here’s a sampling of other Earth Day events in and around Port Townsend:
Today
■ 3:30 p.m.: The Jefferson Transit Authority unveils winning student artwork from the Earth Day and sustainable transportation art contest at the Haines Park and Ride on the corner of Sims Way and Haines Place.
Saturday
■ 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.: A Maritime Swap Meet hosted by the Northwest Maritime Center will be in the gravel lot across from the maritime center at 431 Water St. and next to the Swan Hotel. It will offer deals on tools, marine hardware, bronze, blocks, and other goods.
■ 9 a.m. to noon: Port Townsend Main Street’s annual Earth Day Spring Clean Up will beautify the historic districts.
Volunteers will meet at Adams Street Park. For more information, phone 360-385-7911 or email [email protected]
■ 9 a.m.: A Big Quilcene River watershed cleanup is planned by 4-H youths. Volunteers and pickup trucks are needed to haul out trash; they will meet at the U.S. Forest Service Station on U.S. Highway 101 in Quilcene. For details, phone Pamela Roberts at 360-379-5610, ext. 208, or email [email protected]
■ 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.: The Port Townsend Farmers Market is open at Lawrence and Tyler streets uptown.
■ 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.: A free, family-friendly Earth Day celebration will offer environmental displays, products, kids’ games, demonstration projects and workshop opportunities on the Port Townsend Community Center lawn, 620 Tyler St. Visitors can enjoy live music and food provided by the adjacent farmers market.
■ 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: First Federal hosts a free shredding of sensitive documents at its Castle Hill branch, 1321 W. Sims Way.
■ 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.: Local 20/20 will give a presentation on the new Transition Initiative and its current projects with a focus on the local food system, in the upstairs meeting room of the community center.
■ 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Local 20/20 will host small group discussions on a variety of sustainability topics in the community center’s upstairs meeting room. All are invited to convene ad-hoc groups to discuss topics of interest.
■ 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.: A “Solarize Port Townsend” workshop on solar power, pricing, financial incentives, loan programs and systems will be presented by Power Trip Energy in the community center’s upstairs meeting room. For more information, visit www.solarizePT.com.
■ 2 p.m.: A bicycle ride will take off from the farmers market on Lawrence Street and head for the new ReCyclery community bike center at Kearney and Blaine streets for a reopening party.
■ 9 p.m.: A free outdoor screening of “I Am,” Tom Shadyac’s documentary exploring happiness, happens at the new ReCyclery at Kearney and Blaine streets.
Sunday
■ 11:30 a.m.: Earth Day forum with Jefferson Land Trust past President Owen Fairbank on “A Collaborative Vision for Our Jefferson County Future,” Port Townsend Community Center; free.
■ 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.: A “Living off the Grid” workshop is planned at WSU Extension at 201 W. Patison in Port Hadlock. It will explore how to cut energy use through building a low-footprint house from the ground up or by retrofitting a home. The fee is $40 at the door with partial scholarships available. To reserve a seat, email [email protected] or phone 360-379-5610, ext. 202.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at [email protected]
