Along with a multitude of Earth Day events planned on the North Olympic Peninsula, benefits, teas and a free walk in the park are also planned.
As part of National Park Week, Olympic National Park is waiving admission fees from Saturday through next Sunday, April 25.
The fee free waiver for National Park Week does not include other fees collected in advance or by contractors — such as charges for camping, reservations and use of concessions.
Aramark Parks and Destinations is offering a buy-one-get-one-free deal on lodging in the park.
Visitors can book one night, starting at $157, at any of three properties and get a second consecutive night free.
The promotion includes stays at Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort and Kalaloch Lodge from Saturday to April 25 and stays at Lake Crescent Lodge May 7-31.
Guests must book stays for Lake Crescent Lodge by April 25. To make reservations, phone 866-761-6262 or go to http://tinyurl.com/FeeFreeDays.
For more information, contact the Olympic National Park Visitor Center, 3002 Mount Angeles Road, at 360-452-0330. It is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Here are events scheduled in places across the Peninsula.
PORT ANGELES
Formal high tea
PORT ANGELES — A formal high tea will be served at the Elks Naval Lodge, 131 E. First St., at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The tea will include sweets and savories, specialty tea sandwiches, demi-scones with assorted spreads, stuffed shells and mini pastries, dessert and three different choices of Murchies Tea from Victoria.
The afternoon program will include music by the Port Angeles High School String Quartet and Teresa Pierce and a fashion show of new spring arrivals from Tiger Lily Clothing, Cottage Queen and Rissa’s Consignment Store.
Tickets are $17.95 in advance or $25 at the door, and can be purchased at the Elks Lodge or by phone at 360-457-3355.
Princess tea slated
PORT ANGELES — A princess tea and silent auction benefit for the Clallam County Fair Royalty Scholarship Fund and program will be at 2 p.m. Saturday.
The tea and auction will be in the Fair Exposition Building, 1608 W. 16th St.
The Clallam County Fair Royalty will welcome fairy tale royalty to their tea.
A mermaid princess and her prince will be the master of ceremonies for the afternoon tea, along with other “special guests.”
Music will be provided by fair royalty Stephanie Lindquist and Marissa Wilson and friends.
Tickets, which are $5, are available at Nancy’s Fashions, 680 W. Washington St. in Sequim; Cowboy Country, 923 E. First St. in Port Angeles; and at the door.
For more information, phone Christine Paulsen at 360-461-1866.
One-act play auditions
PORT ANGELES — Community auditions for Peninsula College’s Festival of Student-Directed One-Act Plays are set from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. today and from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.
Auditions will be in the college’s Little Theater, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
Peninsula College drama professor Lara Starcevich is looking for all ages and all levels of experience and will welcome everyone who wants to try out.
Cold readings will be available but actors are also welcome to bring a prepared monologue.
The fifth annual festival will be held May 21-23.
Scandinavian meal
PORT ANGELES — The Sons of Norway will hold a bake sale and soup luncheon at Scandia Hall, 131 W. Fifth St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Homemade breads, pastries and cookies from Scandinavian recipes will be available.
Gluten-free split pea, vegetable beef and vegetarian vegetable soup will be served, along with pie and coffee.
Pioneer music
PORT ANGELES — Vivian and Phil Williams will present pioneer dance tunes from the 1850s to the 1880s in a special free musical program at the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St., at 1 p.m. Saturday.
They will play fiddlestix, fiddle, jew’s harp and guitar.
The program will include stories about the songs, descriptions of the dances and accounts from pioneer journals and interviews.
For more information, visit www.nols.org or phone librarian Beth Witters at 360-417-8500.
Tall ships
PORT ANGELES — The tall ship Lady Washington, the official ship of the state of Washington, and her companion ship Hawaiian Chieftain will be docked at City Pier until Tuesday.
Battle sails are scheduled at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. An adventure sail is set for 10 a.m. Sunday.
Crew in period costume will welcome visitors for dock-side tours of the vessels from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. today, and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. A $3 donation per person is requested.
Battle sail tickets are $60 adults; $50 for students, seniors and active military; and $40 children 12 and younger.
Adventure sail tickets are $55 adults; $45 students, seniors or active military; and $35 children 12 and younger.
The ships will be at the John Wayne Marine in Sequim on Wednesday, where they will offer dock-side tours.
The ships will dock at the Port Ludlow Marina, 1 Gull Drive, from April 23 through 25, and offer dock-side tours and battle and adventure sails.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.historicalseaport.org or phone 800-200-5239.
Pet food drive
PORT ANGELES — Boy Scout Troop 1473 will hold a pet food drive at two stores Saturday.
The pet food drive will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Albertsons, 114 E. Lauridsen Blvd., and Walmart, 3500 U.S. Highway 101.
For more information, phone JoAnne Crawford at 360-457-6454.
SEQUIM
Student film festival
SEQUIM — The fifth annual Sequim Student Film Festival will showcase seven short films tonight.
The films will be shown at 7 p.m. in the Sequim High School performing arts building, 601 N. Sequim Ave., preceded by a spaghetti dinner to benefit the Sequim Education Foundation.
The dinner will be from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Sequim High School cafeteria.
The films are “Survivor: Banana Belt” by siblings Holly and Brendon Hudson; “Next Generation” by Fariss Ryan, Peter Harker and Christian Merrikin; “Fairytales Gone Wrong” by Rebecca Case and Amy McAndie; “Lib or Die” by brothers Jack and Ted McColl and Ryan Tucker; “The Great Race” by siblings Jeb, Jenny and Luke Mooney; “Misty Pond,” by Frank Catelli, Mackenzie Grinnell and Evan Watkins; and “The Summer Wind Came Killing In” by Michael Cullinan and Ravi Carlson.
Scholarships will be awarded to winners. The Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society will present a $250 environmental award.
The Elkie, the award for the film most loved by the audience, is a trophy rather than money.
Tickets for the dinner and the festival are $15 for adults or $10 for students.
For information, visit www.SequimEducationFoundation.org.
Flea market
SEQUIM — A flea market is planned at Sequim Prairie Grange on Saturday.
The flea market will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the grange at 290 Macleay Road.
For more information, phone 360-683-4431.
DAR meeting set
SEQUIM — Kit Stewart will give a PowerPoint presentation on “Using DNA for Genealogical Research” to the Daughters of the American Revolution at 10 a.m. Saturday.
The free presentation will be at the Sequim Library, 630 N. Sequim Ave.
For more information, phone Pat Graham at 360-417-1346.
iPad demonstration
SEQUIM — A slide show on Apple’s recently released tablet computer, the iPad, will presented to the Sequim PC Users Group on Saturday.
The meeting will be at 10 a.m. in the computer lab, room E-3, at Sequim High School, 601 N. Sequim Ave.
Guest speaker Ray Bensten will introduce some of iPad’s capabilities.
A suggested donation of $5 is requested from visitors.
For more information, visit www.spcug.net or e-mail spcug1@gmail.com.
Arbor Day event
SEQUIM — Tribal Edge Primal Arts Training Center and Tarzan’s Tree Service will hold an Arbor Day celebration at Over the Fence, 112 E. Washington St., on Sunday.
The family-oriented event will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
It will include informative games, a healthy bake sale, trees and T-shirts to take home, as well as raffles for Tribal Edge classes and free consultation and tree care from Tarzan’s Tree Service.
Benefit breakfast
SEQUIM — The Sequim Ladies of the Elks will hold a benefit breakfast for the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.
The breakfast will be at the Sequim Elks Lodge, 143 Port Williams Road.
Pancakes, scrambled eggs, link sausage, orange juice, coffee and tea will be served.
The cost is $5 for adults and $3 for children ages 6-10, with children under 6 served free.
Car wash benefit
SEQUIM — The Sequim High School marching band and flag team will hold a car wash fundraiser in front of Tarcisio’s Italian Place, 609 W. Washington St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Proceeds will go toward upcoming band and flag performances in Victoria, and next spring’s trip to the Heritage Music Festival in Anaheim, Calif.
JOYCE
Oldfield memorial
JOYCE — Clallam County Fire Protection District No. 4 will hold a memorial open house in memory of George Oldfield at Fire Station No. 1, 51250 state Highway 112, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
The public is invited to tour the fire station and honor the memory of Oldfield, who was a retired firefighter and fire commissioner.
Light refreshments will be served.
FORKS
Forks story time
FORKS — April Showers will be the theme of story time at the Forks Public Library today at noon.
Story time at the library, which at 171 S. Forks Ave., is for children 3 to 5 years old.
The free event will feature stories, rhymes and games.
For more information, phone 360-374-6402 or go to www.nols.org.
PORT TOWNSEND
Greek skiffs exhibit
A new exhibit by Sandra Offutt, a Port Townsend plein-air oil painter, opens at the Art Mine in the Inn at Port Hadlock on Saturday.
The reception will be from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“Local Landscapes and Foreign Waters” will run through May at the Art Mine.
During April and May, Offutt’s paintings also will be shown at Family Medicine of Port Angeles, 240 W. Front St., Port Angeles, as well as at “The Shape of Water” exhibition in the Northwest Maritime Center and Gallery 9, both in Port Townsend.
Offutt, who lived in Greece for many years, spends several months a year on the small Aegean island of Amorgos, where she depicts the fishermen’s wooden skiffs.
Offutt says she’s drawn to the azure water and the boats ordinary people have access to, like the small craft her father used to rent every Saturday near Tacoma to fish on Puget Sound.
“Showing the Greek boats on the Olympic Peninsula is like coming full circle–back to those long Saturdays on the Sound,” she said.
For more information, phone Offutt at 360-379-9270 or e-mail sandraoffutt@earthlink.net.
Friends of Fort Townsend
PORT TOWNSEND — The Friends of Fort Townsend will hear about Tony Rogstad’s work rehabilitating injured wildlife at its annual meeting Saturday.
The meeting, which is open to the public, will be from 10 a.m. to noon in the Friends Barn on the lower parade ground of Fort Townsend State Park, 1370 Old Fort Townsend Road.
Rogstad, co-founder of T.J.’s Wildlife Center, also will talk about native wildlife behavior and habitat.
State Parks and Recreation Commissioner Rodger Schmitt will provide an update on state parks budget matters.
Attendees can also view the new propane fireplace in the Friends Barn, a gift from Friends of Fort Townsend.
A guided “Stroll in the Park” following the meeting will be led by Ann and Fred Weinmann, members of Friends of Fort Townsend and the Washington Native Plant Society.
For more information, phone Nancy Steinberg at 360-385-2998.
Car wash benefit
PORT TOWNSEND — The Chimacum and Port Townsend High School Interact Club will wash cars to benefit Haitian relief efforts Saturday.
The car wash will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Penny Saver, 2140 E. Sims Way, Port Townsend.
The fundraiser is part of an effort to raise $1,000 to buy a ShelterBox for victims of the Haiti earthquake.
Each box supplies up to 10 people with a tent and equipment.
For more information or to donate, phone Chimacum Interact President Lisa Rowan at 360-385-0825 or e-mail beamgirl167@yahoo.com.
Marine electronics
PORT TOWNSEND — West Marine Manager Tom Leasure will discuss marine electronics at a meeting of the Point Wilson Sail and Power Squadron today.
The presentation will be at 9 a.m. at the Port Townsend Yacht Club, 2503 Washington St.
Leasure will present an overview of new marine electronics including fish finders, chart plotters and radar from brands like Garmin, Raymarine and Lowrance.
A potluck is set for 8:30 p.m.
The event is open to the public.
For more information, phone Chelcie Liu at 360-379-1954.
Boaters course
PORT TOWNSEND — The Point Wilson Sail & Power Squadron will offer an eight-hour boating seamanship and safety course at the Northwest Maritime Center, 431 Water St., on Saturday.
The course will be taught from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This is an approved course for qualifying for the state Boater’s Education Card that became mandatory on Jan. 1 for boaters 30 and younger who operate a 15-horsepower vessel.
Cost is $45 per person with a discount for family members sharing texts and other materials.
For more information or to register, phone Linda Newland at 360-437-9350.
CHIMACUM
Septic system TLC
CHIMACUM — Linda Atkins of Jefferson County Public Health will present “TLC for Septic Systems: Protect your Investment and Health” at the Chimacum Grange Hall, 9572 Rhody Drive, from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.
Atkins will cover operation, maintenance, landscaping without interfering with the operation of the septic system, garbage disposals and the impact of failing systems on drinking, ground and surface water.
The class will be repeated at Olympic Canal Tracts, 310703 U.S. Highway 101 in Brinnon from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 15.
For more information, phone 360-385-9400.