PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center will host the Celebration of Shadows Fall Festival on Saturday.
The family friendly event returns for a third year with pumpkin carving workshops followed by free evening festivities that include a pumpkin walk and contest through Webster’s Woods, spooky readings in the courtyard, the opportunity for an evening visit to the gallery for the latest exhibition “Home — The Essence of Place,” and a magical shadow puppet theater performance.
The event will be at 1203 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
Two sessions of a pumpkin carving workshop will be led by local artist Tracy Beals from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Pumpkins have been donated by Grocery Outlet and Sunny Farms, and tools will be provided as participants learn how to take their carving skills to the next level.
Pricing for the workshop is $8 per person and includes a pumpkin and an entry into the pumpkin carving contest later that evening.
Advanced registration for all workshops can be found at https://pafac.kindful.com/e/pumpkincarving2023. Registration is encouraged as space is limited.
The pumpkin carving contest is open to anyone who would like to enter their carving, whether from the workshops or from carving at home, for a chance to win a prize basket with gifts from local businesses. Prizes have been donated by the Port Angeles Winter Ice Village, Hurricane Ridge Association, Brown’s Outdoor, Welly’s Ice Cream, Anime Kat, Evergreen Surf Shop, Barhop, Olympic Stationers, Rebel Heart Coffee, Northwest Fudge and Confections, Fat Yeti Froyo, New Day Eatery, Alley Cat Boutique and The Goat & The Radish.
Drop-off entries are $5 per pumpkin, and community members can drop off their pumpkins at the fine arts center any time between 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday to be entered. Payment can be made in person at drop off or ahead of time online.
The Celebration of Shadows Festival will begin at 5 p.m., when festival goers can see the artwork in “Home — The Essence of Place” in the gallery and get snacks and drinks from Pacific Pantry, Angeles Brewing and The Goat & The Radish.
Live readings of spooky stories curated by the Olympic Peninsula Authors will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the courtyard. The selection of short stories and poems will range from the spooky and eerie to celebrations of bountiful harvests and autumn fantasies. All readings are suitable for children.
Starting at 6 p.m., all are welcome to stroll through the pumpkin walk, where submitted pumpkins will line the park paths. Three judges will peruse the entries and decide on the winning pumpkins based on design, creativity and skill of execution. For $1 per vote, anyone can cast a vote for their favorite pumpkin.
At 7 p.m., the winners of the Adult, Youth and People’s Choice categories will be announced at the meadow stage before the performance.
Finally, all are invited to join in the meadow for a multi-faceted performance by West of Roan starting at 7 p.m. West of Roan is made up of multimedia performance artists Channing Showalter and Annie Schermer. The duo will perform two original shadow puppet shows with musical performance and film shorts intertwined followed by a Q&A opportunity during which festival goers will have a chance to ask questions and see up close how the puppet theater works.
The shadow puppet shows will touch audiences with themes including the power of dreams, transformation, and love and relationships. Bring chairs, blankets and sweaters for the evening show.
These evening events are free and open to the public with a $5 suggested donation welcome to support this and other programs at the fine arts center.
For more information about the Celebration of Shadows Festival and to register for a workshop, visit https://pafac.org/fall-festival-9. The Celebration of Shadows Fall Festival is brought in partnership with event sponsors KONP Radio, Country Aire Natural Grocery, Kitsap Bank and D.A. Davidson.
