Category: Local Events

Clallam County Fair

The Clallam County Fair was last weekend and it was full of all the things you’d expect from a fair, starting, of course, with animals. The swine barn is always a must-visit. Aren’t they just the cutest?

And there’s the lineup of the hardworking kitchen canners.

The quilters strut their stuff.

There are always flowers, simple or exotic, single or arranged.

Things to buy. (Okay. I didn’t purchase and I took a picture anyhow. So far no one’s come after me.)

And, of course, there’s fair food. Good luck trying to find the alien stuff they eat on another planet: anything healthy. It is, after all, the County Fair!

Ice cream social

The Sequim Prairie Grange has “ice cream socials” during the summer months and it didn’t take much to convince recent guests to become ice cream socializers. This is an example of what $5 gets you: a sundae or banana split with your choice of ice cream and toppings. Three scoops, table service, and good cheer. It benefits a variety of local causes.

Hollywood sculpted in sand

The annual Windermere Sand Sculpture Classic contest was held recently in Port Angeles. I could only attend before the sculptors completed their works, which were themed “Hollywood.” Above is Sue McGrew of Tacoma working on “Hollywood Heroes,” which won first place.

Second place honors went to this piece entitled “Metropolis” by Delayne Corbett of Vancouver, B.C.

This year’s event included community team sculpting, which was a new feature here. Assisted by a master sculptor, two local groups learned sand sculpting, then each team worked collaboratively on a project. A dragon was taking shape, above, for a piece entitled “Phoenix Dragon” which was the work of about a dozen sculptors. The team event is an opportunity to get a start in this art form. This year’s winner started in Olympia in a similar contest.

Here are the owls

The Northwest Raptor & Wildlife Center’s presentation at our recent Lavender Festival included three owls. Above is a barred owl, the largest of the three shown.

Next came a screech-owl.

And, finally, a saw-whet owl was introduced. If you have looked carefully at these shots you may have noticed that where you can see two eyes they do not match. That is because all three are blind in one eye, the result of being hit by cars. Night-hunting owls are vulnerable to such accidents as their focus is on prey, not oncoming traffic.

I was pleased to read recently in the local newspaper that permanent resident owls at the Northwest Raptor Center do duty as surrogate parents to baby owls that end up at the center for one reason or another. Though they may not live naturally in the wild, they nonetheless are able to do service for their own.

Paddle journey

Native American and Canadian First Nations paddlers in traditional canoes will arrive in Jamestown today on their way to a weeklong potlatch at Squaxin Island near Shelton, WA. The Paddle to Squaxin 2012 is this year’s version of a now annual cultural revival. Tribe members from Western Washington and Canada paddle to the potlatch location, stopping for celebrations hosted by local tribes along the waterway routes. Tonight the Jamestown S’Klallam will welcome up to 25 canoes from 10 to 12 tribes on their way to Squaxin.

The potlatch at the final destination is hosted by a different tribe each year. I took these photos two years ago as paddlers journeyed to the Makah Reservation at Neah Bay. The canoes were gorgeous. Many were hand carved from cedar logs. They can carry eight or more paddlers, called “pullers.” There are formal landing and departure protocols at each landing site and tribes sing and dance during their visits.

My kind of grafitti, 2 of 2

Yarn bombing is a seemingly spontaneous art movement that’s popped up around the world. But to look at some of the work that’s now on display in Sequim, it seems like lots of people kept themselves busy all winter.

I can imagine conversations: “Now that looks interesting. What are you working on?” “Oh, just a little something for a chilly looking bike rack.”

The daffodil at top was in one of the “flower beds” on the plaza where this was taken.

I had a hard time deciding which photos to post. There were wrapped and garlanded trees, other decorated benches, and a snake draped over a street sign. It’s a unique and cheerful sight. Thank you, Fiber Arts Bombadiers!

My kind of grafitti, 1 of 2

Yesterday was International Yarn Bombing Day and Sequim became a target. Fiber artists – knitters, felters, weavers, crocheters – from the North Olympic Peninsula adorned our streets with random color and whimsy.

The Sunshine Cafe on Washington Street was one of the first targets earlier this week.

Nothing was safe as the city was cloaked in bits and pieces of fibrous splendor.

More shots tomorrow.