Visits with Santa, toy and food donations, and community concerts are among the activities for this weekend on the North Olympic Peninsula.
For information about the Northwest Ballet Theatre’s production of “The Nutcracker” in Port Angeles and other arts and entertainment news, see Peninsula Spotlight, the weekly entertainment magazine.
Information also is available on the PDN’s calendar at www.peninsuladailynews.com.
SEQUIM
Christmas Chorus
SEQUIM — The Sequim Community Christmas Chorus will give three concerts this weekend: tonight at 7:30, and 3 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
All three concerts will be at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 30 Sanford Lane, with admission a suggested $5 donation at the door for adults. Children younger than 12 are admitted free.
Gary McRoberts will direct the 65-voice chorus while Kayla Dyment serves as accompanist.
All of the concerts promise an audience sing-along, too.
A portion of proceeds will go to Sequim Community Aid and the Shipley Center, and more details are available by contacting Gail Sumpter at 360-477-9361 or gail@gailsumpter.com.
Toys for Tots party
SEQUIM — A Toys for Tots party will be held at Sequim Valley Funeral Chapel, 108 W. Alder St., from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
With every toy or cash donation to Toys for Tots, donors will receive a free photo with Santa. Children, pets and families are welcome.
Cookie decorating, hot chocolate and apple cider are planned.
For more information, phone 360-683-5242.
Food donations
SEQUIM — The Sequim Rainbow Assembly will collect food items for the Sequim Food Bank at the main entrance to the Sequim Walmart, 1110 W. Washington St., from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
At this time, the food bank is especially in need of peanut butter, canned tuna or cash.
The Rainbow Girls also will have a gift-wrapping table set up during the same hours.
Discussion group
SEQUIM — The Sequim Great Decisions Discussion Group will meet at the Sequim Library, 630 N. Sequim Ave., from 10 a.m. to noon today.
The topic is “America in Decay: The Sources of Political Dysfunction.”
The suggested background reading for the discussion is the article “America in Decay” from the September/October edition of Foreign Affairs.
New members are welcome.
For more information, phone John Pollock at 360-683-9622, email jcpollock@olypen.com or visit www.tinyurl.com/SequimGreatDecisionsDiscussion.
Santa at Hardy’s
SEQUIM — Santa Claus will visit Hardy’s Market, 10200 Old Olympic Highway, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
The store is offering free pictures with Santa, hot chocolate and cookies.
Attendees can also design an ornament to take home.
Holiday concert
SEQUIM — The Sequim City Band, in a joint concert with the Sequim Community Orchestra, will perform in the Sequim High School auditorium, 601 N. Sequim Ave., at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Under the direction of Phil Morgan Ellis, the community orchestra performs traditional Christmas hymns and carols.
Tyler Benedict will lead the Sequim City Band in its final concert of 2014.
KSQM anniversary
SEQUIM — KSQM-91.5 FM will celebrate its sixth anniversary Sunday.
The ceremony and open house will be from noon to 4 p.m. at the station at 577 W. Washington St. in Serenity Square.
The celebration will open with a flag ceremony that includes a tribute to all branches of military.
The station also will celebrate the results of its recent fund drive.
After the ceremony, the public is invited to an open house. Tours of the station will be available.
Birthday cake and refreshments will be served.
During the day, the station will include special programming as a salute to all branches of the military in a solemn observance of Pearl Harbor Day.
PORT ANGELES
Checkpoints meeting
PORT ANGELES — This month’s meeting of Stop the Checkpoints will be held at the Museum at the Carnegie, 207 S. Lincoln St., at 2 p.m. Saturday.
The group will analyze President Barack Obama’s executive orders on immigration and provide resources on the application process.
The meeting also will include plans for a forum series and a new meeting time and day for next year.
Law at the Landing
PORT ANGELES — Clallam-Jefferson County Pro Bono Lawyers will present the fourth Law at The Landing event from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Law at The Landing is a free drop-in legal advice clinic for members of the public.
Held quarterly at The Landing Mall, located at 115 E. Railroad Ave., this clinic allows for local people to address their legal issues in one-on-one consultations with volunteer lawyers.
For more information, phone Shauna Rogers at 360-504-2422 or email probonolawyers@gmail.com.
Habitat for Humanity
PORT ANGELES — Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County has scheduled a one-hour volunteer orientation at 10 a.m. Saturday.
The orientation will be at the Lower Elwha Klallam Heritage Center, 401 E. First St.
Volunteers can help with the selection of families for homes or with the building of new homes being built in Port Angeles and Forks.
They also can help with fundraising, faith relations, in the Habitat Store and in the administrative office.
For more information, phone 360-681-6780 or email Jake Eyre at jake@habitatclallam.org.
Roller derby fundraiser
PORT ANGELES — Port Scandalous Roller Derby will hold a bowling fundraiser at Laurel Lanes, 108 W. Eighth St., at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Teams of four cost $100, or $25 per bowler. The fee includes a lane, shoes, balls, pizza and beverages.
There will be prizes for the ugliest Christmas sweater, best score and more.
Raffles and drawings also will take place throughout the evening.
Proceeds go toward roller derby expenses and a yet-to-be-chosen charity.
For more information or to sign up a team, visit www.portscandalous.com, email portscandalousrollerderby@gmail.com, find the team on Facebook or contact a local derby girl.
Veterans breakfast
PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Eagles Ladies Auxiliary will host a Pearl Harbor Day breakfast at 2843 E. Myrtle St. from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Sunday.
The menu includes hotcakes, eggs, sausage, juice, coffee or tea.
The cost is $3.50 per person.
All are welcome.
All proceeds go to Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County.
Sons of Norway dance
PORT ANGELES — The Sons of Norway will host its weekly folk-ballroom-swing dance at 131 W. Fifth St. from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Dance instruction is planned at 6:30 p.m.
Admission is $2 for members and $3 for nonmembers in this all-ages, no-smoking, no-alcohol event.
For more information, phone Sandy Maxwell at 360-457-7035.
JOYCE
‘Joyce to the World’
JOYCE — The Crescent Grange will host its 35th annual Christmas event, “Joyce to the World,” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
Children’s crafts, hay rides, refreshments and another visit from Santa are planned.
For more information, phone John Singhose at 360-457-5944 or Emil Moilanen at 360-928-3657.
Lions Club breakfast
JOYCE — The Crescent Bay Lions Club will offer breakfasts every Sunday except holidays from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. until Mother’s Day on May 10.
The cost is $6 for adults and $3.50 for children 12 and younger.
The menu includes eggs cooked to order, hot cakes, French toast, biscuits and gravy, hashbrowns and ham, sausage or bacon.
No breakfasts are planned for Dec. 21 or 28.
The club is on state Highway 112 at Holly Hill Road.
Proceeds help Crescent Bay Lions members support Crescent School yearbooks, scholarships for Crescent High School seniors, holiday food baskets, glasses for the needy and other community projects.
PORT TOWNSEND
End-of-life planning
PORT TOWNSEND — Tailored to meet the needs of seniors, a 90-minute “legal wellness” workshop is offered free to the public from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. today.
The workshop will be at Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 2333 San Juan Ave.
Retired attorney Anne Counts of the nonprofit organization Legal Voice will present legal and medical information for making key decisions in advance for later years and end-of-life.
She will cover powers of attorney, advance directives and a checklist for what to do when a death occurs.
The workshop is open to the public.
The first 45 minutes is a presentation, to be followed by 45 minutes of question and answers.
For more information, contact Joan Schrammeck, outreach coordinator, at 206-399-8401 or Joan.LegalVoice@gmail.com.
First Friday Storynight
PORT TOWNSEND — The First Friday Storynight at Better Living Through Coffee, 100 Tyler St., will feature guest teller Emilee Monson from 6 to 9 tonight
Admission is a suggested $10 donation.
This monthly event explores the art and ritual of the oral tradition, sharing old myths, folk tales and fairy tales along with more modern stories and personal sharings.
Monson, of Portland, Ore., studied the art of personal narrative story telling with Portland Story Theater in 2012.
She now coaches personal narrative story telling in addition to being a teller herself.
The group will also host an open-mic section.
The only rules are it must obviously be a story, and no reading — everything must be shared in the ways of the oral tradition.
For more information, phone 360-531-4395.
Conversation Cafe
PORT TOWNSEND — Open to all, the Conversation Cafe will meet at the Highway 20 Road House, 2152 W. Sims Way, from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today for conversation and an optional lunch.
The day’s topic is “My Legacy.”
Conversation Cafe is an exercise in active listening and nonconfrontational conversation.
For more information, visit www.conversationcafe.org.
StringFest on Saturday
PORT TOWNSEND — StringFest, a concert spotlighting string orchestra students from elementary through high school, promises music from classical to modern in the Port Townsend High School gym, 1500 Van Ness St., at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Admission is free, and all are welcome at the performance, which will wrap up with a traditional holiday number.
The musicians come not only from Port Townsend’s public schools but also from a number of private schools and music programs.
For more information, contact Daniel Ferland, orchestra director for the Port Townsend schools, at dferland@ptschools.org or 360-379-4540, or visit www.winterstringfest.com.
Toys for Tots
PORT TOWNSEND — On behalf of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program, Jefferson Transit and the Port Townsend Kiwanis Club are collecting new, unwrapped toys from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Donations can be dropped off at the Jefferson Transit bus parked off Sims Way behind Henery’s Garden Center.
Toys are to be donated to the Christmas for Children program serving children in need in Port Townsend, Port Hadlock, Irondale, Nordland, Chimacum and Port Ludlow.
Beneath the sea
PORT TOWNSEND — Underwater videographer Florian Granar will show footage from his film, “Beneath the Salish Sea,” as well as from other projects at 3 p.m. Sunday.
The presentation will be in the Fort Worden Chapel.
Admission is $10 for general public, $5 for marine science center members.
The lecture is the third installment of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center’s “The Future of the Oceans” series, which is held the first Sunday of each month through March.
Granar, who has a doctorate in marine biology with specialization in marine mammals, works full time as a freelance marine cinematographer.
He lives on Whidbey Island. His production company, Sea-life Productions, films and produces wildlife documentaries.
Assignments have taken him around the planet. He has worked on films for the BBC including “Pacific Abyss,” “Amazon Abyss” and “The Blue Planet,” as well as for the U.K. documentary company Icon Films and the German television company NDR Naturfilm.
He is currently completing a presentation for the National Geographic Channel.
The Salish Sea is the unified binational ecosystem that includes Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the San Juan Islands as well as British Columbia’s Gulf Islands and the Strait of Georgia.
The name recognizes and pays tribute to the first inhabitants of the region, the Coast Salish tribes.
Mini Maker Workshop
PORT TOWNSEND — Makers can demonstrate their projects during Santa’s Mini Maker Workshop by Quimper Mercantile from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
This free community event is part of First Robotics FLL “World Class” Education and Communication Challenge 2014.
The 4-H PT STEM Club, the FLL Robotics Team 7800 and Dueling Dragons will show off their robotics projects throughout the day.
For more information, phone 360-531-3575 or email ella.ashford13@gmail.com.
‘Golden Gift’
PORT TOWNSEND — The Fourth Century Players will present “A Golden Christmas Gift from St. Nicholas to the People of Port Townsend” at 6 p.m. Sunday
Admission will be free to the story and puppet show about the generosity of St. Nicholas, aka the Bishop of Myra and Lycea, at St. Herman of Alaska Orthodox Christian Church, 1407 30th St.
The evening also will bring music, refreshments and Christmas caroling, and “a very special visitor,” promised publicist Jan Freeland.
To learn more, visit www.orthodoxporttownsend.com or phone 360-385-0585.
Rhody Run training
PORT TOWNSEND — Rhody Run training is held at 7:30 a.m. every Sunday.
Runners meet at the Fort Worden Commons.
The next Rhody Run will be May 17 during the annual Port Townsend Rhododendron Festival.
For more information, contact Jeni Little, race director, at 360-385-3163 or rhodyruninfo@gmail.com, or visit www.rhodyrun.com
CHIMACUM
Gingerbread houses
CHIMACUM— The Jefferson County Warriors are planning a gingerbread house fundraiser at East Jefferson Fire-Rescue Station 11, 9193 Rhody Drive, at 7 tonight.
The Warriors are Jefferson County’s Special Olympics team.
They compete in three tournaments each year, and each athlete is responsible for obtaining funds to finance his or her hotel and meal costs.
Firefighters from East Jefferson Fire-Rescue Local 2032 have created gingerbread houses to auction off to the highest bidder.
For more information, contact public information officer Bill Beezley at 360-344-4609 or wbeezley@ejfr.org.
PORT HADLOCK
‘Explosion Boxes’
PORT HADLOCK — The Jefferson County Library will host a class, “Family Art: Explosion Boxes,” from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
The free program will be at the library at 620 Cedar Ave.
Explosion boxes are not exploding boxes, the library staff said.
“A wonderful gift to give, they look complicated but are easy to learn and can be filled with firecracker writing and dynamite artwork,” the library says on its website, www.jclibrary.info.
The class, which is taught by artist Sidonie Wilson, is designed for adults and children to create and explore a variety of art mediums together.
Space is limited. Phone 360-385-6544 to register.