PORT ANGELES — A silent meditation retreat will be held at Joyous

Refuge, 231 E. 12th St., from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Admission is a suggested donation of $20. Pre-registration is required by emailing home@joyousrefuge.org.

Coffee and tea are provided; bring a brown bag lunch.

Retreats are led by Jikyo Cheryl Wolfer, a Soto Zen Buddhist priest.

Wolfer is the editor of Seeds of Virtue, Seeds of Change, a recently published collection of teachings from women Zen teachers.

For more information, visit www.joyousrefuge.org/practice-schedule.

Preparing for worst

SEQUIM — William Bahrt, retired county emergency speaker, will present a free WOW! Working on Wellness Forum at Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave., at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

“Preparing for the Unforeseen Disaster” focuses on strategies to help prepare for unforeseen disasters, including the ABCs of disaster planning and “grab-and-go” kits, to reduce property damage and injury, to help ourselves and others and to avoid being a victim.

For more information, phone 360-582-0218.

Neighbor welcome

PORT LUDLOW — A neighborhood welcome will be held at the Bay Club, 120 Spinnaker Place, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday.

Anyone who is new or feels new to Port Ludlow is invited.

There are more than 30 community organizations represented with information on a wide range of activities that go on in

Port Ludlow.

Participants can meet neighbors over a glass of wine and appetizers. For more information, phone 360-437-0423 or email barbara.berthiaume@gmail.com.

Pie-making class

SEQUIM — Kate McDermott will present “The Art of Pie” at Nash’s Farm Store, 4681 Sequim-Dungeness Way, at 10 a.m. Thursday.

McDermott will conduct a pie-making demonstration and focus on gluten-free pie crusts featuring pear/apple/walnut pie filling.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

The farm store also will offer samples of gluten-free grocery products between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. that day.

Local expert to discuss mushrooms

PORT ANGELES — Local mushroom expert Lowell Dietz will give a talk on how to cultivate edible mushrooms at the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., at noon Thursday.

Dietz will explain how to make mushroom growing kits using pasteurized straw and grain spawn.

He will also discuss making organic fertilizer — what he calls “Sequim Terra Preta” — using charcoal, a by-product of straw cooking and red wiggler worm castings.

Dietz has been foraging for wild mushrooms for more than 25 years and cultivating half that time. He is a member of the North American Mycological Association, Kitsap Peninsula Mycological Society and Olympic Peninsula Mycological Society.

This presentation is part of the “Green Thumb Gardening Tips” brown bag educational series, sponsored by the Clallam County WSU Master Gardeners.

There will be no brown bag presentation Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27.

For more information, phone 360-417-2279.

Holiday pet drive

SEQUIM — Hurricane Ridge Veterinary Hospital is accepting donations for its annual Holiday Pet Food Drive until Dec. 31.

All are welcome to donate unopened, nonperishable dog and cat food, treats, toys, bedding and more to the office at 530 W. Fir St., Suite D, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

For more information, phone 360-681-0117, email reception@hurricaneridgevet.com or visit www.hurricaneridgevet.com.

Scholarships

PORT TOWNSEND — The University Women’s Foundation of Jefferson County, founded by members of AAUW Port Townsend in 1994, is seeking applicants for university and high school scholarships in early 2015.

The Elmira K. Beyer Endowed Scholarship is awarded annually to an East Jefferson County woman who has completed at least one year of university study and wishes to continue her education.

Additional university scholarships also will be awarded. Recipients will be chosen from the same pool of candidates applying for the Elmira K. Beyer Endowed Scholarship.

The high school scholarships are awarded to young women graduating from Port Townsend, Chimacum and Quilcene high schools in 2015 and going on to college.

Qualifying criteria for both types of scholarships are available on the AAUW Port Townsend website, http://pt-wa.aauw.net, under “UWF.”

More details and application forms will be posted in mid-December.

The deadline for applications is March 13 for the Elmira K. Beyer Endowed Scholarship and March 27 for high school scholarships. Scholarship recipients will be notified in early May.

For more information, email aauwptschol@hotmail.com.

Studium Generale

PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College’s Studium Generale and the Foothills Writers Series will offer a joint program Thursday when Tor Parker speaks at 12:35 p.m. in the Little Theater, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.

Parker is poet and editor of Tribal Voices: Echo, an anthology.

She will focus on leadership and activism, including camping on Alcatraz during the Indian Occupation, standing with her father on the banks of the Nisqually River during the fishing wars and the influence of her parents, her family and her community on her life and work.

The program is open to the public at no charge.

For information, visit www.pencol.edu or www.facebook.com/PeninsulaCollege.