NEWS BRIEFS: Thursday talk in Sequim to broach ‘Second Half of Life’ . . . and other items

SEQUIM — Local writer George Lindamood’s open group, titled “A Shared Exploration of the Second Half of Life,” moves this Thursday to the Parkwood clubhouse, 261520 U.S. Highway 101 just west of Sequim.

The group welcomes newcomers from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. each Thursday. There’s no charge to join the discussion of ways to make the second half of life more satisfying.

Lindamood uses his book The Accidental Peacemaker as a point of departure. Attendees need not have read it, though.

The book is available at local libraries and bookstores, while more information and background can be found at the group’s website, ­www.YourInnerDuck.com.

Lindamood can be reached via the website and at 360-681-3475.

State parks offer fee-free day Thursday

Admission to state parks will be free Thursday in honor of Washington State Parks turning 102 years old.

Visitors are not required to display the Discover Pass to visit a park on this free day.

State parks on the North Olympic Peninsula are Bogachiel near Forks, Dosewallips near Brinnon, Fort Flagler on Marrowstone Island, Fort Townsend and Fort Worden in Port Townsend, Anderson Lake State Park near Chimacum and Sequim Bay near Sequim.

Free days apply only to day use, not to overnight stays or rented facilities.

The Discover Pass is a $30 annual or $10 one-day permit required on recreation lands managed by Washington State Parks, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Department of Natural Resources.

For more information about the free day, visit www.parks.wa.gov.

For information about the Discover Pass, visit www.DiscoverPass.wa.gov.

Artist lecture

PORT ANGELES — Artist Clay Murdach of Port Angeles will give a free talk on his new mixed-media art show, “Out of the Bored Room,” at Peninsula College this Thursday afternoon.

The public is welcome at this 12:30 p.m. program, part of the Studium Generale series in the Little Theater on the college’s main campus, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.

Light refreshments and a free reception will follow in the PUB Gallery of Art, where Murdach’s “Out of the Bored Room” art is on display through May 14.

The gallery, inside the J Building adjacent to the Little Theater, is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and admission is free.

For more information about Murdach’s talk and show, contact Peninsula College art professor Michael Paul Miller at mmiller@pencol.edu or 360-417-6476.

Auditions slated

SEQUIM ­— Auditions for a readers’ theater staging of “Lark Eden,” a comic look at the friendship of three Southern women, are set from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Olympic Theatre Arts, 414 N. Sequim Ave.

This new play calls for three women, ages 35 to 65: Thelma, a Christian who yearns to be a good mother; Mary, who is smart-mouthed and spirited; and Emily, who’s desperately seeking something to believe in.

This production will take OTA’s Gathering Hall stage May 8-17, replacing the previously scheduled play, “The Birthday Party” by Harold Pinter.

For more information about “Lark Eden,” which was written by Natalie Symons, see www.OlympicTheatreArts.org or phone director Charlotte Carroll at 907-723-7000. To reach OTA, phone the office at 360-683-7326.

Book sale slated

PORT ANGELES — The Friends of the Port Angeles Library will hold a bag-of-books sale from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at the library, 2210 S. Peabody St.

New books will be added each day.

Customers can fill a bag for $2.

Dove House talk

PORT TOWNSEND — Dove House, 1045 10th St., will host a meeting on sexual assault services funding from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday.

All are welcome.

A discussion on the current state of specialized services for sexual assault survivors, identifying underserved populations and gaps in services, and making decisions about how to establish services for the next two years will take place.

For more information, contact Dee Dee Spann, program manager, at deedees@dovehousejc.org or 360-385-5292.

Dances of peace

PORT ANGELES — Dances of Universal Peace, meditations in motion that combine peaceful phrases with simple folk-dance steps, will be held at the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St., this Friday evening.

There’s no charge, and no experience is necessary to join the gathering from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

For information, see the “Crazy Buddha Port Angeles Meditation Group” page on Facebook.

Parenting workshops are offered

Prevention Works! Lutheran Community Social Services and the North Olympic Library System have joined together to bring area professionals and parents of children of all ages together by offering free classes, called Popcorn, Kernels of Wisdom for Today’s Parents.

The classes, held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., are intended to provide a relaxed opportunity for parents to hear from local experts and get parenting questions answered.

Today at the Sequim Library, 630 N. Sequim Ave., Darlene Clemens, a retired school principal, introduces parents to the “Seven Essential Life Skills” they can use to help their young and school-age children develop.

On March 24 at the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St., Mindy Gelder, a family therapist, will offer advice on how to create special playtimes with preschool and young elementary children.

Covering a variety of topics and ages, the classes are expected to continue once each month throughout the year in Port Angeles, Sequim and Forks.

For more information, phone the Parent Line at 360-452-5437.

NAMI cancellation

PORT ANGELES — This month’s Clallam County National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) affiliate meeting, originally scheduled for Thursday, has been canceled.

The group usually meets the third Thursday of each month in Linkletter Hall in the basement of Olympic Medical Center, 939 Caroline St.

The next meeting will be April 16.

Crop production

SEQUIM — Carol Miles will give a lecture on raising high-value crops for local markets at the Sequim Transit Center, 190 W. Cedar St., from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Friday.

Miles will include a discussion about commercial vegetable production in the Pacific Northwest and current Washington State University research on vegetable crops.

This presentation is free and open to the public.

Miles is a professor in the Department of Horticulture at WSU and specializes in vegetable crop production. She has a strong interest in alternative crops and organic production.

For more information, contact Lorrie Hamilton at 360-565-2679 or lhamilton@co.clallam.wa.us.

Reasonable accommodations will be made in advance for people with disabilities and special needs.

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