Swap your ski gear, attend a Marine Corps ball, find out more about the Clallam County Gem & Mineral Association at an open house or enjoy a Sunday afternoon listening to Mozart.
You can also win a $3,000 shopping spree in Port Angeles.
And Santa makes a first appearance!
Those are just a few of the experiences offered this weekend on the North Olympic Peninsula.
For more information on the Old-Time Chautauqua in Port Townsend, and other arts and entertainment, see Peninsula Spotlight, the Peninsula Daily News’ weekly entertainment guide, in this edition.
Other events are headlined in this section — and in the PDN’s online Peninsula Calendar at www.peninsuladailynews.com.
PORT ANGELES
Gear swap, expo set
PORT ANGELES — The Hurricane Ridge Gear Swap and Olympic Peninsula Outdoor Sports Expo will be held at Jefferson Elementary School, 218 E. 12th St., on Saturday.
Bring gear to the Jefferson Elementary School gym from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., then come back between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to shop for new items.
Tickets are $3 for individuals and $7 for families. Gear that does not sell can be picked up at 4 p.m.
Kitsap Sports will be on hand to offer boot fittings and fittings for season rental packages (skis, snowboards and boots).
The Silverdale-based shop also will take skis and boards for tuning.
Other items available for purchase at the Winter Expo include season passes to Hurricane Ridge (at a preseason discount), snow school lessons, ski team registration and tickets to Winterfest, the annual fundraiser for the Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club, set for Nov. 17.
Scandinavian band
PORT ANGELES — Skolkis, a Scandinavian dance band from Seattle, will perform at the Sons of Norway’s Scandia Hall, 131 W. Fifth St., from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Seating is available for those who wish only to listen. Adance lesson will be given at 6:30 p.m. for those who want to dance.
Suggested donation is $4.
For more information phone 360-452-6334.
Coping lecture
PORT ANGELES — Mental health counselor and Volunteers in Medicine of the Olympics volunteer Joe Cress will present “Coping with Chronic Illness and Depression” today.
The talk will be at the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St., from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
People with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and arthritis very likely will experience depression. Depression makes treatment of these illnesses even more challenging.
Cress will talk about the common co-occurrence of chronic illness and depression, and how each can worsen the other.
He will describe strategies to deal with chronic illness and depression.
The presentation, sponsored by the VIMO clinic, is free and open to the public.
For more information, phone Mary Hogan at 360-457-4431 or email info@vimoclinic.org.
Genealogical talk
PORT ANGELES — Susan Karran of the Seattle branch of the National Archives and Records Administration will speak to the Clallam County Genealogical Society on Saturday.
She will discuss “Putting Meat on the Bones of Your Ancestors: Telling Their Stories,” a talk on using archival resources to add interest and dimension to genealogical research.
The talk will be held at First Baptist Church, 105 W. Sixth St., from 10 a.m. to noon.
The event is free and open to the public.
It is recommended that attendees come between 15 minutes and 20 minutes early to register, visit and have a cup of coffee.
Derby doubleheader
PORT ANGELES — “Project MyJam,” a roller derby doubleheader, will cap the Port Scandalous Roller Derby season Saturday.
The bout will be held at Olympic Skate Center, 707 S. Chase St., at 6:30 p.m.
Doors will open at 6 p.m.
In the first bout, the Port Scandalous Roller Punks junior team will take on the Seattle Derby Brats Galaxy Girls.
Co-ed roller derby will follow in the finale. In this bout, men and women will compete on the track for the win.
Teams will include Port Scandalous teaming up with some of the Puget Sound Outcasts and others brawling it out with Skate Club.
Skate Club is a co-ed league based out of Kitsap County, with skaters from all over Washington coming together to play.
A beer and wine garden will be available.
Tickets are $10 in advance at www.brownpapertickets.com or Bada Bean! Bada Bloom!, 1105 E. Front St.; or $12 at the door.
Fans who bring canned or nonperishable food items will receive one ticket per item for a raffle during the event.
Beekeepers meeting
PORT ANGELES — The North Olympic Peninsula Beekeepers Association will meet at the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St., on Sunday.
An apprentice beekeeping class will be held at noon, followed by a general business meeting at 1 p.m.
Interested beekeepers and the general public are invited to attend.
For more information, phone Cindy Ericksen at 360-477-9335 or visit www.NOPBA.org.
SEQUIM
Marine Corps ball
SEQUIM — The 237th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps will be celebrated with a Marine Corps Ball on Saturday.
It will be held at the Sequim Elks Lodge, 143 Port Williams Road, with a social hour beginning at 5 p.m. and the dinner and ceremony at 5:45 p.m.
The cost is $40 per person.
The event will be presented by the Mount Olympus Detachment of the Marine Corps League.
Many branches of service do not have a local celebration, so the Marines are inviting all veterans and their families to the ball.
Michael G. Reagan of the Fallen Heroes Project will serve as guest speaker.
The Fallen Heroes Project creates portraits of every U.S. service member killed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Reagan, a Marine Corps Vietnam War veteran, started the project in 2004 when he received a request for a portrait from a wife who lost her husband in Iraq.
Reservations can be made at www.mtolympusmcl.org.
For more information, phone 360-582-0271.
Gem, mineral open house
SEQUIM — The Clallam County Gem & Mineral Association will hold its fall open house at the club’s shop, 81 Hooker Road, Unit 5, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Attendees can bring rocks for identification; learn how to cut rocks and polish stones for use in jewelry or display; watch demonstrations of wire-wrapping polished stones, faceting and creating chain-mail jewelry; and see facilities for silver smithing, casting and other lapidary activities.
The event is free and open to the public.
For more information, visit www.sequimrocks.com or phone President Ed Bourassa at 360-681-0372.
‘Up the Down Staircase’
SEQUIM — “Up the Down Staircase” will take the stage four times at the Sequim High School Performing Arts Center, 601 N. Sequim Ave., starting today.
Curtain times for “Up the Down Staircase” are 7 p.m. today and next Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16-17, and at 2 p.m. this Sunday only.
Tickets, available at the door of the high school Performing Arts Center, are $8 for adults and $6 for students and seniors.
For more information, phone Hall at 360-460-7860 or Sequim High School at 360-582-3600.
PC users meet
SEQUIM — The Sequim PC Users Group will host “An Overview of Microsoft Word” at 10 a.m. Saturday.
This presentation will be in the computer lab, Room E-3, Sequim High School, 601 N. Sequim Ave.
Charles Norman will teach how to use the word-processing program to write letters, set up files, save and find later, and more.
The presentation will be followed by an open forum for questions on any computer-related topic.
There is no charge to attend.
Donations are accepted.
For more information, visit www.spcug.net.
Grange breakfast
SEQUIM — A pancake breakfast will be held at Sequim Prairie Grange, 290 Macleay Road, from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.
The meal will include all-you-can-eat pancakes and eggs, ham and juice.
The cost is $5 for adults, $3 for ages 10 and younger.
For more information, phone 360-681-4189.
Backyard birding
SEQUIM — Christie Lassen of Wild Birds Unlimited will speak at the Backyard Birding series, presented by the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society, from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.
The talk will be held at the Dungeness River Audubon Center in Railroad Bridge Park, 2151 W. Hendrickson Road.
Lassen’s presentation will cover general bird feeding, including types of feeders and different feeds for attracting specific birds, with an emphasis on over-wintering species.
She will include ideas for providing continuing winter water supplies and meeting the needs of Anna’s hummingbirds, which have started staying on the Peninsula year-round.
Participants’ questions also will be answered.
The presentation is the second in a series presented by the Audubon.
Events are open to the public. A $5 donation is suggested for ages 18 and older.
If five sessions are attended, a free membership in OPAS will be offered to the participant.
OMC fundraiser
SEQUIM — Olympic Medical Center Auxiliary will hold an HZ Designs (jewelry) fundraiser from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.
The event will be at the Olympic Medical Services Building, 840 N. Sequim Ave.
Designer Holly Zhang specializes in freshwater pearls, saltwalter pearls and other gems in limited-edition creations.
All proceeds benefit the Olympic Medical Center Auxiliary.
For more information, phone Linda Sudela at 360-809-3125.
Education Under Fire
SEQUIM — The Baha’is of Sequim will host a free screening of “Education Under Fire” at the Sequim Library, 630 N. Sequim Ave., at 10 a.m. Saturday.
The film, a documentary about Iran’s 30-year policy of denying higher education to members of the Baha’i community, will be followed by a discussion on educational rights.
PORT TOWNSEND/JEFFERSON COUNTY
PT Palooza tonight
PORT TOWNSEND — PT Palooza will feature Port Townsend musicians in a benefit for Blue Heron Middle School at Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 2333 San Juan Ave., at 7 p.m. today.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students, and are available either at the door or in advance at Crossroads Music, 2100 Lawrence St.
The benefit is sponsored by the Blue Heron Parent-Teacher Association.
Featured performers are Simon Lynge, George Rezendes, Jenna Marit, Aimee Ringle, Sue Logg and Ahmad and Kreea Baabahar.
Also, several area artists have donated original pieces that will be raffled off.
For more information about the Blue Heron PTA, visit http://tinyurl.com/bfeuthp.
Landscape lecture
PORT TOWNSEND — Richard Waitt of the U.S. Geological Survey will present “The Great Missoula Floods and other Megafloods of the Columbia River: Agents of Catastrophic Landscape Change in Washington” at 4 p.m. Saturday.
The talk will be at the Port Townsend Community Center, 620 Tyler St.
The lecture, sponsored by the Jefferson Land Trust Geology Group, is free and open to the public, though a $5 donation is appreciated to help cover expenses.
Nearly 90 years ago, J. Harlan Bretz proposed a single “Spokane Flood” as the agent of catastrophic landscape change in Eastern Washington.
As a result of more than 40 years of research, particularly by Waitt and Brian Atwater in the late 1970s to late 1980s, the great Missoula flood is now known to have consisted of perhaps 100 floods that occurred intermittently across several millennia.
Between about 18,500 and 15,000 years ago, immense floods from glacial Lake Missoula in Idaho and Montana drowned the Wenatchee reach of the Columbia Valley, arriving there by different routes.
The pattern of floods and lake reformation would carve different pathways and landscapes across much of Eastern Washington.
For more information, phone Michael Machette at 360-385-2224 or email paleoseis@gmail.com.
Dance at grange
PORT TOWNSEND — The Second Saturday Community Dance at Quimper Grange, 1219 Corona St., will be from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
Jeanie Murphy, Scott Marckx and Jim Ketterman will play the tunes, with calls by Dianne Carreri.
The cost is $6 for adults, $3 for ages 3 to 18 and free for those younger than 3.
For more information, visit www.ptcommunitydance.com.
Sustainability film
PORT TOWNSEND — “Fixing the Future,” a documentary film on building local jobs, income and sustainability, will be screened at the Rose Theatre, 235 Taylor St., at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Doors open at 12:30 p.m.
Tickets are $15 at the box office.
A networking reception will follow next door at the Silverwater Cafe.
The event is a benefit for Local 20/20, a grassroots organization that since 2006 has been working toward local sustainability by balancing economy, ecology and community.
For more information, visit www.L2020.org.
Farm stories project
CHIMACUM — The Paradise Theatre School will host a potluck to launch a Chimacum Farm Stories project Sunday.
The potluck will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Chimacum Grange, 9572 Rhody Drive.
The Paradise Theatre School is seeking Chimacum farming stories of the past, present or future to use in a combined community food-sharing and performance project, the group says on its website at http://tinyurl.com/a2954rk.
“The Paradise plans to recruit writers and performers to conduct interviews with farmers, their families, seasonal workers in Chimacum at Farm’s Reach Café at The Chimacum Corner Farmstand, at the farms — over a meal, a drink, a snack grown locally to hear about our communities history through storytelling,” the group says on its website of the project that could take up to a year to complete.
For more information, contact the school — which is at 161 Center Road, Chimacum — at TheParadiseTheatreSchool@gmail.com or 360-643-3493.
All about pets
PORT TOWNSEND — Seattle author and pet specialist Steve Duno will speak at the Library Learning Center, 1256 Lawrence St., and answer questions about pets at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Duno has written 18 books, his most recent being Last Dog on the Hill.
He has trained both dogs and cats.
For more information, phone Pat Todd at 360-765-0598 or email info@centervalleyanimalrescue.org.
FORKS/WEST END
18th annual ‘Hoh Down’
FORKS — The Forks Chamber of Commerce will present its 18th annual Wine and Cheese “Hoh Down” on Saturday.
Chamber volunteers will be recognized at the celebration from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Roundhouse at 110 Business Park, which will include a silent auction of donations from artists and merchants, snacks, wine and country music by Loose Gravel.
Tickets, which include two glasses of wine, are $10.
The get-together will feature Harbinger wine and root beer from Gordon Gibbs.
The chamber will present its 2012 awards for Business of the Year, Volunteer of the Year and Citizen of the Year.
Proceeds will benefit the chamber’s visitor information center.
Forks storytimes
FORKS — The Forks Library, 171 S. Forks Ave., will resume its fall storytime series today.
Preschool storytimes will be Fridays at 10:30 a.m. beginning today and continuing through Dec. 21.
These storytimes are for children ages 3 to 5. They feature rhymes, songs, dancing and the best books for young children.
Tips on effective ways to read, talk, sing and play with children are offered.
For information on storytimes and other programs for youths, visit www.nols.org and click on “Youth,” or contact West End library supervisor Theresa Tetreau at 360-374-6402 or Forks@nols.org.