In the arts

Posted

Square dance gives last do-si-do of season May 12

Quimper Grange host its last square dance of the season at 8 p.m. May 12.

Port Townsend’s Ferry Hoppers, who have just returned home from a Lopez Island square dance adventure, will provide the music. The band features Channing Showalter, Joanne Pontrello, Paul Denison and Annie Schermer. Colin Sterling of Olympia calls the dance. Sterling has called square dances from Conway all the way down to Olympia.

“I have been wrangling to get Colin to call one of our dances for several years, and he is finally on the schedule,” said dance organizer Dave Thielk in a press release.

Dancers are invited to stop by early at 7 p.m. to jam with the band. Dancing begins at 8 p.m. and goes to 11 p.m. All dances are taught, and all experience levels are welcome and encouraged. Admission is $7; $5 for those who arrive on bike or foot or bring a non-disposable water bottle. Students ages 16 and younger are admitted free. For more information, call Thielk at 360-602-1270.

Food bank garden tour presented May 12

The community is invited to take a tour of production gardens that provide fresh, organic produce to Jefferson County Food Banks from 9 a.m. to noon May 12.

The Food Bank Farm and Gardens of Jefferson County tour will begin at the Quimper Grange Food Bank Garden, which is located behind the Grange at the corner of Sheridan and Corona streets, 1219 Corona St., in Port Townsend.

The 7,000-square-foot garden, one of the oldest in Port Townsend dedicated to helping to provide for the Port Townsend Food Bank, has harvested more than 10 tons of organic fruit and vegetables per year since 2013. Produce from the garden is delivered twice a week to the food bank.

The tour will then continue with a visit to the Port Townsend High School Garden, a new 5,000-square-foot garden in development at Woodland Hills, and then proceed to Swan Farm Community/Food Bank Garden in Port Hadlock and Farms Reach Food Bank Garden in Chimacum.

Maps and directions to the other gardens will be provided at the first site. People are encouraged to carpool from the first location. The tour is free and open to the public, especially anyone interested in organic vegetable gardening.

For more information, go to ptfoodbankgarden.com or call 360-301-0982.

Lend an ear to poetry, music at arts center

Northwind Arts Center hosts two events this week: a poetry reading hosted May 10, followed by a concert May 11. Both events begin at 7 p.m. at the arts center, located downtown at 701 Water St.

Richard Widerkehr and Gayle Kaune are two poets who met 15 years ago during the Centrum Writing Conference at Fort Worden. They have been writing together, critiquing each other’s work and publishing their poetry ever since.

Widerkehr, who lives outside Bellingham, will read from his recent book, perform a song he wrote and read a few other poems. Kaune of Port Townsend will be reading from her newest book, “Noise from Stars.”

On May 11, Claudia Schmidt presents a “hodge-podge of music, poetry, story, laughter and drama” at Northwind in a concert presented by Matt Miner Presents.

Opening the show for Schmidt is Port Townsend’s Judith-Kate Friedman.

Schmidt has been performing for almost four decades and has worked in clubs, theaters, festivals, television and radio.

Friedman is a performing songwriter and folk/roots artist whose award-winning work aims to celebrate liberation and transformation. For tickets and more information, visit brownpapertickets.com.

Compiled by Leader staff writer Katie Kowalski.