PORT ANGELES — The 21st annual Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts, a cavalcade of music and dance performances, art shows and workshops May 22-26, needs volunteers.
Without them, coordinator Sam Calhoun said, the festival wouldn’t be possible.
But in contrast with previous years, the sign-ups have not been pouring in, she added.
Calhoun noted that for each day a volunteer works at the festival, he or she receives a free day pass, valued at up to $25.
To find out more and obtain an application, visit www.jffa.org and click on “Participate” or phone Calhoun at 360-670-6471.
The festival lineup, with dozens of acts from the Paperboys and Poor Man’s Whiskey to Curtis Salgado, Charles Neville (formerly of the Neville Brothers) and the Highlife Band, can also be seen on the website.
In advance, full festival passes cost $55 for teens and adults; children 12 and younger are admitted free.
Once the festival begins Thursday, May 22, passes go to $70, with single-day tickets ranging from $20 to $25.
For more details, phone the festival office at 360-457-5411 or visit the Juan de Fuca Foundation for the Arts on Facebook.
Royal Drag Off
PORT ANGELES — The deadline is this Saturday to enter the Royal Drag Off, the May 31 contest on the Alle Stage at Studio Bob, 118½ E. Front St.
There’s no entry fee in this competition for drag queens, aka men dressed as women, and drag kings, as in women masquerading as men, and it’s open to seasoned performers as well as those who are new to the stage, said organizer Sarah Tucker.
“We are especially in need of performers with little or no experience,” added Tucker, who also staged drag offs in January and October.
The contest, which involves singing, dancing, lip-syncing and other demonstrations of style and talent, is open to all genders, while competitors must be 16 or older.
To learn more and enter, email Tucker at sarah@tuckerart.com by Saturday.
Northwind reading
PORT TOWNSEND — The Northwind Reading Series will feature Doris Thurston and Kay Mullen at the Northwind Arts Center, 2409 Jefferson St., at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Readings are free, though donations are accepted.
Thurston was born in Kelso in 1924. Her poetry has appeared in journals, and she has published and edited four chapbooks.
She is a writer, storyteller, singer, part-time weaver and a bit of a gardener with five children, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Mullen’s work has appeared in a variety of anthologies and poetry journals. Several of her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, as well as Best of the Net, 2009.
She has given numerous readings in the Seattle-Tacoma area and has authored three full-length poetry collections.
Mullen offers poets-on-loss workshops and teaches and lives in Tacoma.
Northwind is a nonprofit organization that sponsors visual and literary art events and education on the Olympic Peninsula.
Phone Bill Mawhinney at 360-437-9081 or visit www.northwindarts.org.
Cancer support
SEQUIM — The Olympic Medical Cancer Center, 844 N. Fifth Ave., is offering support groups this month.
A Women’s Cancer Support Group will be held in the center’s library Tuesday and May 27. The drop-in group will be facilitated by Maggie Jamison.
This Tuesday’s meeting is from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
The May 27 meeting is from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
There also will be a “Look Good, Feel Better” program in the center’s conference room from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday, May 19.
This meeting will cover skin and hair care during cancer treatment.
Pre-register for this program by phoning 800-395-5665 or 360-582-2845.
For more about the center’s cancer support groups, phone Susan Clements at 360-582-2845.
Stamp Out Hunger
PORT ANGELES — The 22nd anniversary of the National Association of Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger food drive is Saturday.
Each year on the second Saturday in May, letter carriers across the country collect nonperishable food donations from customers.
These donations go directly to local food pantries.
Last year, more than 74 million pounds of food was collected nationally, feeding an estimated 30 million people.
Locally, more than 8,500 pounds of food was collected for the Port Angeles Food Bank.
To participate, leave a nonperishable food donation in a bag by your mailbox Saturday, and a letter carrier will take care of the rest.
VideOlympics set
PORT ANGELES — VideOlympics, the outdoor film festival starring the talent of local filmmakers, athletes and locations, will return to Wine on the Waterfront, 115 E. Railroad Ave., at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Each submission is judged before the event by a panel for technical merit, production values and “stoke” factor.
In addition, there is an award for crowd favorite; audience participation is mandatory.
More than $1,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded.
Admission is $5 at the door. All ages are welcome.
Proceeds will go to the Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club.
Last year’s event was standing-room-only, so arriving early for dinner is recommended.
Mother’s Day swim
PORT TOWNSEND — A free afternoon “Second Sunday” Mother’s Day swim will be held at the Mountain View Pool, 1919 Blaine St., from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
All ages are welcome. Children younger than 8 must be accompanied by an adult in the pool.
Each free “Second Sunday” family swim is sponsored by a local business.
The YMCA is offering free shuttle bus service for this event from Brinnon and Quilcene.
For transportation information, phone 360-385-5811 or email ptadmin@olympicpeninsulaymca.org.
Norway sons to offer trip slide show
PORT ANGELES — The Sons of Norway will meet for a slide show program at the lodge, 133 W. Fifth St., at 7 p.m. Monday.
Presenters Michael Matheson and his wife, Gay Knudsen, will share a slide show of their recent trip to the west coast of Norway.
For more information, phone Elsa Johnson at 360-457-4081.
Growing tomatoes topic of talk
PORT TOWNSEND — Dick Schneider of RainCoast Farms will give a talk, “Growing Tomatoes in PT: The Agony & the Ecstasy,” at the Quimper Grange, 1219 Corona St., from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday.
A suggested donation is $5 to $10 to support the hall.
Schneider will share the insights he has gained in the past seven years of scientifically growing tomatoes in the Northwest marine environment.
Types that grow best and taste best will be presented. Techniques for growing, including soils and fertilizers, will be covered, along with ideas for avoiding diseases like late blight.
Socializing over light refreshments will follow the talk.
For more information, contact Jo Yount at 360-385-0456 or joyount@olypen.com.
‘Spinning Bee’ set
PORT TOWNSEND — Every Monday through August, the Bazaar Girls Yarn Shop, 126 Quincy St., will host a free “Spinning Bee” from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
There is an option for wheel tune-ups at $10 per hour with Amelia Garripoli or LauraLee Deluca with pre-registration.
For more information, phone 360-379-9273, email info@bazaargirls.com or visit www.bazaargirls.com.
Jazz performance
PORT TOWNSEND — Craig Buhler, director and first tenor sax with Sequim’s Stardust Big Band, and Al Harris, director of Adventures in Music, will perform at the Seaport Landing, 1201 Hancock St., from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Friends, relatives of residents and musicians are encouraged to attend.
There is no admission fee.
Buhler is a charter member of the California rock band Honk, which toured nationally with the Beach Boys, Loggins and Messina, Chicago, Santana and others.
Harris has taught piano and improvisation for the past 25 years and formerly wrote, arranged and produced music for radio, TV and films.
The musical event is presented by Arts to Elders in conjunction with the Northwind Arts Center and sponsored by the Port Townsend Arts Commission.
For more information, phone Harvey Putterman, director of Arts to Elders, at 360-379-2620.
Anglers meeting
PORT TOWNSEND — The East Jefferson chapter of Puget Sound Anglers will hold its next meeting in the port commissioners’ office, 333 Benedict St., starting with the board meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The event is free and open to the public.
The formal meeting begins at 7 p.m. with guest speaker Scott Chitwood, natural resources director for the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe in Blyn.
Chitwood will present on the history of the Jamestown S’Klallam as it applies to shared and harvested resources from the Salish Sea.
Preschoolers learn about instruments
PORT TOWNSEND — Ten preschoolers from the Magical Days Preschool recently took a field trip to Crossroads Music for a morning of musical instrument exploration.
Traci Meacham, a teacher at the preschool, was getting ready to introduce the letter “I” for “instruments” in the alphabet to her kids when her husband had the idea of having the kids take a look at some instruments as part of their lesson.
Crossroads Music owners Dan Gessner and Sara Lopez arranged to have three different stations of instruments with music teachers Bruce Cowan and Chuck Easton on hand to help demonstrate how to play them.
The kids also had a chance to play guitars, ukuleles, the piano and percussion instruments.
The trip ended with Cowan leading the kids in a kazoo hum-along of “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”
