Artistic director to be honored following concert
Published 1:30 am Friday, May 8, 2026
Music performances, art exhibits and plant sales highlight this weekend’s events on the North Olympic Peninsula.
• The Sequim Community Orchestra will present its spring concert at 7 p.m. Saturday at Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 N. Blake Ave., Sequim.
The free event will feature the Toccata for violoncello and piano by Girolamo Frescobaldi, the Viola Concerto by Georg Philipp Telemann and Symphony 40 in G minor, K. 550 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
A reception to honor outgoing artistic director Phil Morgan-Ellis will follow the concert.
Along with his wife Deborah, Morgan-Ellis has been an integral part of the music community on the Olympic Peninsula since the 1970s.
Morgan-Ellis taught at Stevens Middle School in Port Angeles until 2006 and has directed the Sequim Community Orchestra since it was founded in 2012.
• The Port Townsend Urban Sketchers will host a reception for the opening of its group exhibit from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in The Mead Werks at Wilderbee Farm, 223 Cooke Ave. Extension, Port Townsend.
The exhibit will feature images by more than a dozen artists from locations around East Jefferson County.
The group will celebrate 10 years of plein air sketching.
Visitors at the free reception can meet the artists, hear sketchy stories, enjoy complimentary snacks and sip some mead.
The exhibit will remain on display from noon to 5 p.m. Fridays through Sundays throughout May at the Mead Werks.
The group, which meets monthly at different locations to sketch, is open to artists of all skill levels.
Urban sketchers use a variety of tools and media, including pencil, pen, marker, watercolor, gouache and oil paint.
For more information, visit https://urbansketchersport townsend.wordpress.com.
• Project Benji will present the immersive art installation “Making Room” from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday in the 4-H Building at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, 4907 Landes St., Port Townsend.
“Making Room,” which recognizes May Mental Health Awareness Month, was designed by middle and high school students.
The installation is the culmination of an intensive art workshop process, which began in March.
For more information, call Heather McRae-Woolf at 360-344-2054, email heather@thebenjiproject.org or visit www.thebenjiproject.org.
• The Ladies of Laughter will present “Funny & Fabulous” at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Donna M. Morris Auditorium at Field Arts & Events Hall, 201 W. Front St., Port Angeles.
Tickets are $25 to $55 at www.fieldhallevents.org/tickets.
The show, which is recommended for audiences 13 and older, will feature comedians Wendy Liebman, Stephanie Blum and Karen Rontowski.
Ladies of Laughter, established in 2012, is a national competition and tour featuring up-and-coming female comedians.
Past contestants include Amy Schumer, Melissa Rauch, Tammy Pescatelli, Rachel Feinstein, Marina Franklin, Michelle Buteau, Zarna Garg, Kelly MacFarland and Dena Blizzard.
Liebman took a class called “How to be a Stand-up Comedian” in 1984. Aince then, she has performed on Carson, Letterman, Leno, Fallon, Kimmel, Ferguson, Hollywood Squares and in clubs throughout the country.
Liebman has done specials for HBO, Comedy Central and Showtime and was a semifinalist on NBC’s America’s Got Talent.
Blum is the 2002 winner of the Professional Ladies of Laughter and has appeared at the Mohegan Sun Casino, The Comedy Store, Improv, Flappers and the Ice House.
Rontowski has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, Sirius Satellite Radio, Comics Unleashed, Comedy.com, Live at Gotham, Comedy Central and Mysteries of the Unexplained.
In addition to performing at Ladies of Laughter events, Rontkowski tours with her Psychic Stand-Up show, which combines stand-up comedy with tarot reading.
• The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center will host “Art In Bloom” from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Sunday in the center’s Esther Webster Gallery, 1203 E. Lauridsen Blvd., Port Angeles.
The free, annual floral exhibit will feature floral arrangements created in response to the center’s current exhibit, “Field Notes,” and each arrangement is displayed next to the piece that inspired it.
Art In Bloom was established in 2004 by Mim Foley, a former president of the Friends of PAFAC, to combine her passion for gardening and the arts while encouraging community engagement.
“Art In Bloom continues to reflect Mim Foley’s vision of bringing people together through creativity, flowers and shared experiences,” said Christine Loewe, the center’s executive director. “We are proud to carry on this tradition and invite the community to participate.”
The center also will host a flower bar sponsored by the Olympic Peninsula Flower Market in the courtyard from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Attendees may purchase pre-made bouquets or create their own arrangements using a selection of seasonal flowers and greenery.
During the flower bar, there will be an assortment of floral designs for sale by local artists, including Tampopo Farms, Fig and Otter, La Vie Fleurs, A&E Florals and Ariel Zimman.
There also will be food vendors on site Saturday, including Dragon’s Brew Coffee and Tiny Biscuits Sweet & Confections.
For more information, visit www.pafac.org.
• Plant sales are planned for both Clallam and Jefferson counties this weekend.
In Port Townsend, the Jefferson County Master Gardener Foundation will host a sale from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. The annual fundraiser, co-sponsored by Washington State University’s Jefferson County Extension, will be at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, 4907 Landes St.
“This sale promises to be significant in both size and diversity,” said Suzanne Eggleston, the sale organizer. “Not only are we growing a wide variety of flowers, we are offering some good-sized perennials and trees. We also are offering a variety of themed baskets. Shoppers can take home baskets planted with lettuce, strawberries, herbs and flowers.”
For more information, visit https://jefferson.master gardenerfoundation.org.
The Port Angeles Garden Club will host its annual fundraising sale and raffle from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Port Angeles Senior and Community Center, 328 E. Seventh St., Port Angeles.
The sale will reopen at 12:30 p.m. for a half hour of half-price sales until 1 p.m.
The sale will feature perennials, annuals, trees, vegetable starts and hanging baskets.
The $5 grand raffle will include a package for two on the Coho, a night at the Huntingdon Hotel, transportation to Butchart Gardens and a $100 gift certificate for dinner in Victoria.
The $1 raffle will include Victorian hanging baskets by Wayne Roedell, valued from $80 to $140, along with additional prizes.
Proceeds will support the club’s scholarship program for graduating seniors.
For more information, visit www.portangelesgardenclub.org.
• The Salish Sea Early Music Festival will present Handel and Bach at 2 p.m. Sunday at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1020 Jefferson St., Port Townsend.
A $20 to $30 free-will offering is requested. Youths 18 and younger will be admitted free.
The concert will feature Hans-Jürgen Schnoor of Lübeck, Germany, playing harpsichord; Maike Albrecht, a soprano from Lübeck, Germany; Susie Napper of Montreal playing viola da gamba; and the festival’s artistic director, Jeffrey Cohan, playing the baroque flute.
While they were born in the same year not more than 80 miles apart and are recognized as two of history’s great composers, Bach and Handel never met.
The program will include six of Handel’s nine German arias, selected Bach arias from cantatas, the Italian Concerto for solo harpsichord and Bach’s entire cantata “Ich habe genug.”
Future concerts in the festival include:
• June 7, Johann Sebastian Bach, featuring Irene Roldán and Cohan.
• June 28, The French Connection, featuring Annalisa Poppano, Billy Simms and Cohan.
For more information, visit www.salishseafestival.org.
• “The Wizard of Oz” will finish its run with shows at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and a matinee performance at 2 p.m. Sunday in the auditorium at Sequim High School, 601 N. Sequim Ave., Sequim.
Tickets are $18 per person, $15 for Associated Student Body members and children 12 and younger at www.sequimschools.org or at the door.
The musical, a production of the Operetta Club at Sequim High School., was written by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Howard and is based on the novel by L. Frank Baum.
• “Bark! The Musical” will continue its run with shows at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and a matinee at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Key City Public Theatre, 419 Washington St., Port Townsend.
Tickets are $5 to $65 and pay-what-you-wish at www.keycitypublictheatre.org.
The production will be directed by Denise Winter, Key City’s artistic director, and Linda Dowdell has returned as musical director.
Dowdell, who received last September’s Sound on Stage award for Original Music Composition, worked on Key City’s original production of “Bark!”
Cast members include Brendan Chambers, Robert Winstead, Karen Skrinde, Maggie Jo Bulkley, Elaine Tosado and Kat Agudo.
Music will be performed by Dowdell on piano with Isaac Jasinski on bass and Angie Tabor on drums.
• A reception to mark the opening of Britt Greenland’s exhibit “Shimmering Light” and the Quimper Arts’ exhibit “Painted From Life” will be conducted from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Bayside Art Gallery, 310 Hadlock Bay Road, Port Hadlock.
All the art, in both exhibits, will be available for purchase. Proceeds will benefit Bayside Housing and Services, which provides support for people experiencing homelessness and poverty in Jefferson County.
Greenland’s exhibit features a collection of 10 new oil paintings that explore the beauty of light across the rugged landscapes of the Cascades and the Puget Sound.
Greenland, a plein air painter, is a member of the Puget Sound Group of NW Artists. Her work is defined as an impressionistic side of realism, utilizing bold brushstrokes and warm and cool color contrasts.
The Quimper Arts exhibit, “Painted From Life: A Celebration of Direct Observation and Community Artistry,” showcases a collection of works created through the practice of working directly from life.
The show highlights a range of styles and mediums, including charcoal, pastel and watercolor that reflect the individual voices within the collective.
Both exhibits can be viewed from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through June 30.
For more information, visit www.baysideartgallery.com.
• The Port Angeles Arts Council will host the Second Saturday Art Walk from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday in the Port Angeles Waterfront District.
Participants who visit and collect stamps from half of the locations will be entered into a raffle for two adult one-day tickets to the Juan de Fuca Festival, set for May 22-24.
The Art Walk Passport can be picked up and returned at any Second Saturday Art Walk location between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Participants must include their contact information to be entered into the drawing.
The Harbor Art Gallery, 114 N. Laurel St., will present a special exhibition featuring ceramics and ink landscapes by member artist Nathan Shields alongside ceramic art created by his students at Crescent School.
Visitors can meet Shields from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. during Saturday’s Art Walk. Shields will donate the sales of his own ceramic work to benefit the Crescent School art room.
The exhibit will be on display from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays throughout May.
• Atlas Wylde will perform from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at Taps @ The Guardhouse, 300 Eisenhower Ave., Fort Worden Historical State Park, Port Townsend.
No cover charge.
• Sol Azul will perform from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at Taps @ The Guardhouse, 300 Eisenhower Ave., Fort Worden Historical State Park, Port Townsend.
No cover charge.
• The North Olympic Library System will host Slide Night from 6 to 7:30 tonight at the Port Angeles Main Library, 2210 S. Peabody St., Port Angeles.
Teens in seventh through 12th grades can present a two- to five-minute slideshow about topics in which they are interested.
Presentations may be silly or serious and may include topics such as favorite bands, animal facts or little-known history.
The library will have 10 laptops available to use; if a personal device is used, it must have an HDMI port to connect to the screen.
Snacks will be provided.
Slide Night was designed with input from the library’s Teen Advisory Board and is partially funded by the Friends of the Port Angeles Library.
For more information, call 360-417-8500, email teens@nols.org or visit www.nols.org.
• The Clallam County Master Gardeners will present “Tips for Success with Tomatoes and Other Veggie Starts” at 10 a.m. Saturday to start the Fifth Street Community Garden Clinic, which will run from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at the Fifth Street Community Garden, 328 E. Fifth St., Port Angeles.
The master gardeners offer garden tours, answer plant clinic questions and give timely gardening advice for vegetable gardeners during the monthly clinic.
For more information, call the Washington State University Extension at 360-565-2679 or visit https://extension.wsu.edu/clallam/mg.
• The Mother’s Day Market will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.
The market will feature more than 50 makers and small businesses.
Food vendors Good Days Coffee Truck and Kweenies will be on site.
The East Clallam 4H Club will have a lemonade stand.
For more information, call Krista Cox at 360-461-4115 or email Evergreen Events at evergreenevents2@ gmail.com.
• The Salish Sea Makers Market will open its Mother Nature Makers Market from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at Finn River Farm and Cidery, 124 Center Road, Chimacum.
The market will feature an array of artists and makers who hand make, curate vintage or upcycled goods.
For more information, email ssmakersmarket@gmail.com.
• Jefferson County Master Gardeners will conduct an “Ask a Master Gardener” plant clinic from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in the Humphrey Room at the Jefferson County Library, 620 Cedar Ave., Port Hadlock.
Master gardeners will be available to answer questions on selecting the right plants for the environment, composting, insect infestations and unknown pathogens damaging plants.
Attendees may bring a sample of an afflicted plant or bring plant or insect specimens for identification.
Samples of plant problems should include both the healthy and affected tissue; the cut end of the stem should be wrapped with a moist paper towel, and the cut plants should be kept in a cool and dark location to prevent wilting. For plant identification, include photos or samples of the leaves, branches and stems of the plant, a portion of the fruiting or flowering structure and a representative portion of the stem or bark.
For insect identification, bring an intact specimen in a small container soon after capture; keep it stored in a cool, dark place.
For more information, email Bridget Gregg at bridget.gregg@wsu.edu.
• The North Olympic Library System will host “Craft and Connect: Pressed Flower Bookmark” at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Forks Branch Library, 171 S. Forks Ave., Forks.
Participants can create a handmade bookmark adorned with pressed flowers for themselves or as a gift.
All supplies for the free workshop will be provided.
The workshop also will be offered May 22 at the Clallam Bay Branch Library.
For more information, call the library at 360-374-6402, email discover@nols.org or visit www.nols.org.
