PORT ANGELES — A new show of artwork from the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe opens today at the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St., and to celebrate, a summer Art Blast party is slated for Friday night.
Admission is free to the event, to start with an opening reception Friday at 6:30 p.m.
That’s when the public is invited to meet the featured artists, enjoy refreshments and see the summer show.
It features work from John Teichert, Vicki Trudeau, Floyd Cooke, Sam White, Jamie Valadez and others to be announced, and will stay on display through Oct. 6.
Then at 7 p.m. Friday, Elwha tribal member, storyteller and artist Roger Fernandes will share stories of the Lower Elwha people and their lands.
The executive director of the South Wind Native Arts and Education Foundation, Fernandes is a recipient of a Washington Arts Commission Folk Life Award for his work teaching Coast Salish art.
A storyteller for a decade now, Fernandes offers myths and stories of creation, floods and heroes.
His CD, “Teachings of the First People,” contains several of the stories he tells during his performances.
Also Friday, the Elwha Drum Group, made up of young and adult members of the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, will share songs and drumming in the heart of the library.
The Art Blast is part of a summerlong series of programs titled “Elwha: A River Reborn.”
Poetry and a hike
The next one is a poetry workshop and short hike with Washington state poet laureate Elizabeth Austen on the Elwha River’s Smokey Bottom trail Saturday, July 18.
No previous writing or hiking experience is needed, but participants must be 18 or older.
Smokey Bottom used to be the West Lake Mills Trail.
Since Glines Canyon Dam was removed last year, Lake Mills no longer exists, and the trail provides a chance to see the old lake bed — and the Elwha River restoration effort firsthand.
The hike will start at 9 a.m. and culminate in a brief, guided writing session.
Advance sign-up is advised, so visit the North Olympic Library System site, www.NOLS.org, or contact library manager Noah Glaude at 360-417-8500 or nglaude@nols.org.
