Stage productions, a three-day convention and the First Friday Art Walk highlight weekend events on the North Olympic Peninsula.
• “Footloose the Musical” will be staged by The Port Angeles High School Thespian Society at 7 p.m. tonight and Saturday and a matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday in the auditorium at Port Angeles High School, 304 E. Park Ave., Port Angeles.
Tickets are $15 per person, $10 for students.
The story follows Chicago teenager Ren McCormack, who is dismayed to find out that dancing has been outlawed in Bomont, a small town to which he has moved.
The musical stars Elliot Warren, Helen Fishman, Rihana Lundrick, Alex Rodrieguez and Thea Nelson.
The production is directed by Sage Bateman and choreographed by Cecilia Pereira with Liam Wiedenhoeft as stage manager.
• Raincon will return to Forks from 4 p.m. to midnight Friday and from 10 a.m. to midnight Saturday and Sunday at the Rainforest Arts Center, 35 N. Forks Ave., Forks.
The free three-day convention will focus on independent artists, regional creators and fandoms of the Pacific Northwest. Raincon is designed to be a local hub for pop culture enthusiasts, moving away from the size of major conventions and focusing instead on the connection between fans and creators.
Attendees can look forward to:
— Artist Alley, a curated selection of local and regional comic artists, illustrators and crafters who will sell original prints, books and merchandise.
— An indie comic focus with dedicated space for small press publishers and independent writers to discuss their projects and connect with new readers.
— A cosplay contest with categories for handmade costumes and beginner entries.
— Discussions and workshops focusing on PNW folklore in fiction, the craft of comic book writing and local creative industries.
• The First Friday Art Walk will celebrate with a brown-themed event from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at various venues in downtown Sequim. Maps for the self-guided tour are available at www.sequimartwalk.com.
Special events in November include:
— The Blue Whole Gallery, 129 W. Washington St., will host an opening reception for “Nature vs. Machine,” showcasing paintings by Molly Chris White and ceramics by Mike Middlestead, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
White, a former teacher, focuses on nature through whimsical interpretations of animals.
Middlestead, a retired Coast Guard aircraft mechanic, has combined his love of ceramics with the mechanical aspects of his former life.
“Nature vs. Machine” will be on display from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays throughout November.
For more information, visit www.bluewholegallery.com.
— The Sequim Arts Commission will host a reception for its new exhibit, “Black and White,” from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Karen Kuznek-Reese Gallery at the Sequim Civic Center, 152 W. Cedar St.
The resulting submissions explore duality, balance, tension or harmony and celebrate the timeless contrast of light and shadow, form and texture, simplicity and complexity.
The exhibit will remain on display at the civic center through Jan. 21.
For more information, call Sarah Hurt, the city’s arts coordinator, at 360-582-2477 or email shurt@sequimwa.gov.
— The Sequim Museum and Arts, 544 N. Sequim Ave., will feature the “Pop-Art” exhibition by Cammry Lapka in the Judith McInnes Tozzer Art Gallery. Lapka is a comic book artist and illustrator based in Port Angeles who also uses acrylics, watercolors, alcohol markers and ink for traditional art.
— The A. Milligan Art Gallery, 520 N. Sequim Ave., has added new pieces to its Chiaroscuro exhibit in the main gallery.
For more information, including adding a venue or an artist to the list, call Renne Emiko Brock at 360-460-3023 or email renneemiko@gmail.com.
• “Uncle Vanya” by Anton Chekov will be staged by Saltfire Theatre at 7 p.m. tonight and Saturday and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the 4-H Building at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, 4907 Landes St., Port Townsend.
Tickets are $25 per person at www.saltfiretheatre.org/tickets. The comedy, Saltfire’s 10th production, is directed by Ki Gottbeerg from the new translation by Annie Baker.
• The fourth Strait from the Artists Studio Tour will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Local artists from Diamond Point to Port Angeles’ west side will share their studios with the public this weekend during the annual self-guided tour.
Details about the 17 participating studios as well as a studio map for the free tour are available at www.strait fromtheartists.com.
“We look forward to opening our gallery up for the Strait from the Artist Tour each year,” Keith Ross said. “We get a lot of new faces every year, and we seem to have something for everyone that visits. Making new friends and sharing our art is what it is all about.”
Participating artists include Christine Alexandre-Zeoli, Christopher Allen, Renne Emiko Brock, Ross Brown, Lauren Blair Churchill, Drew Ealey, Lizbeth Harper, Deborah Anne Harrison, Michelle Lindblom, Anne Milligan, Sharman Owings, Pat Reichner, Linda Silvas, Randall Tomaras, Ross, David Willis and Len Zeoli.
“We had an exciting weekend at Len Zeoli Studios last November,” Zeoli said. “Not knowing what to expect for our first year, we were prepared to sit quietly and wait while enjoying our clean studio spaces. We were more than pleasantly surprised to have well over 50 visitors.”
• The Buck Ellard Band will perform music for dancing from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday at the Elks Lodge #2642, 143 Port Williams Road, Sequim. Admission is $12 per person, $10 for lodge members.
• The Friends of the Sequim Library will conduct a book sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Friends’ storefront location at Rock Plaza, 10175 Old Olympic Highway. This month’s sale will include a variety of DVDs, Christmas-related selections and Christmas giftables.
• The Friends of the Jefferson County Library will conduct a book sale from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Jefferson County Library, 620 Cedar Ave. The sale will feature used books, audiobooks and DVDs.
All proceeds will benefit the library district.
• A food drive will be hosted by Lakeside Industries from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot at Swain’s General Store, 602 E. First St., Port Angeles.
The donations will benefit the Port Angeles Food Bank.
The drive will accept unopened, pre-packaged food items, cash or checks made out to the food bank.
Donations of 5 pounds or more of food or $10 in cash will be entered into a raffle for a $100 gift card at Swain’s or a $100 gift card to Traylor’s restaurant.
• Mitch Friedman will read from his new memoir, “Conservation Confidential: A Wild Path to a Less Polarizing and More Effective Activism” at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Port Angeles Main Library, 2210 S. Peabody St., Port Angeles.
Friedman’s book aims to share lessons from decades of conservation work by highlighting successes, challenges and strategies to make progress in a polarized environment. Friedman is the founder and executive director of Conservation Northwest, which has led campaigns to protect ancient forests, recover wildlife corridors and restore habitat across the Northwest.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase, and Friedman will be available to sign them.
• A pancake breakfast will be served from 7:30 a.m. to noon Sunday at the Sequim Prairie Grange, 290 Macleay Road.
The menu will include ham, eggs, applesauce, coffee, orange juice and all-you-can-eat pancakes. The meal costs $9 per person, $4 for children 10 or younger. Additional eggs or ham slices will be available for 50 cents each. There also will be a bake sale featuring homemade goods from grange members.
• Jakob Bean will be the featured player at an accordion social from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Shipley Center, 921 E. Hammond St., Sequim.
Accordionists are invited to bring their instruments and play a song or two. The public is welcome to listen or to dance.
A recommended donation of $5 will defray room rental costs.
