Both work and play are planned on the North Olympic Peninsula this holiday weekend.
Monday’s holiday commemorating civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated in 1968, is in honor of his Jan. 15 birthday.
The Olympic National Park’s usual $15-per-car fee continues to be waived today and Monday, and Hurricane Ridge facilities are open through Monday.
Many concessions will be discounted throughout the park, including the price of food, lodging and souvenirs.
The Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center, snack bar and ski shop will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Monday.
Rope tows operated by the Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club are scheduled to be run through Monday.
The Olympic National Park Visitor Center at 3002 Mount Angeles Road is screening a 30-minute video program, “A New Time, a New Voice,” which is about the life and work of King, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. today and Monday, with additional viewings available upon request.
The center is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
The road to Hurricane Ridge is open daily, beginning at 9 a.m., weather permitting.
A shuttle to Hurricane Ridge runs twice daily Wednesdays through Sundays plus Monday holidays from two downtown Port Angeles locations when the road is open.
Interested riders are encouraged to phone All Points Charters & Tours at 360-460-7131 to reserve seats for a $10 round-trip fee.
More information is available at the Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission website at www.olympicpeninsula.org.
Road status and current conditions are available by phoning the park’s recorded information line at 360-565-3131 or by visiting http://tinyurl.com/8rdfdk or www.twitter.com/hrwinteraccess.
All city and county government offices will be closed across the Peninsula on Monday.
Groups throughout the Peninsula are offering volunteer opportunities, with several events hosted by AmeriCorps.
Port Angeles
• A free community dinner will feature service providers for those in need.
The meal, open to the public, will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at First United Methodist and Congregational Church, 110 E. Seventh St.
Representatives of Olympic Community Action Programs, Serenity House of Clallam County, United Way of Clallam County, First Step Family Support Center and Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County will be available to answer questions and provide information.
Those attending do not need to call ahead but can just show up, said Emily Kreidler, who is one of the coordinators for the Olympic Peninsula units of the YMCA AmeriCorps.
The same goes for volunteering — just show up to participate.
• A project to help clean up a Serenity House building is planned between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Volunteers will meet at the Tempest Building, 535 E. First St. No more volunteers are needed.
• The North Olympic AmeriCorps program will hold its second annual Martin Luther King Day Quilt Making event at Roosevelt Elementary, 106 Monroe Road, from noon to 4 p.m.
AmeriCorps workers will create paper quilts from pictures that elementary school students have drawn about their dreams to benefit the community. The finished quilts will be hung around town.
The event is free and open to the public. Free food will be provided to participants.
For more information, phone Paige Boyer, AmeriCorps event organizer, at 253-389-9266 or e-mail paige.boyer@gmail.com.
Sequim
• The North Olympic Land Trust and Sequim High School Environmental Club will work on a watershed restoration project on Siebert Creek between Port Angeles and Sequim during two work sessions from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Invasive Scotch broom plants will be removed. Trees will be planted in the spring.
Participants will meet at the end of Siebert Creek Road, which is off U.S. Highway 101 between Port Angeles and Sequim.
Volunteers should bring work gloves, drinking water and rain gear, as well as lunch for those working both sessions.
For more information or to RSVP, phone Lorrie Campbell, land trust stewardship manager, at 360-417-1815, ext. 4.
Port Townsend
• Volunteers will visit Discovery View Retirement Community,1051 Hancock St., for singing and creating art projects from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
The event is recommended for volunteers 7 years and older, said Jacques Livingston, director of the Olympic Peninsula YMCA AmeriCorps.
For more information, visit the Port Townsend YMCA, 1919 Blaine St., or e-mail adayonpt@gmail.com.
• Volunteers will help remove European beach grass — an invasive species — from Point Wilson from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For more information, visit the Port Townsend YMCA or e-mail adayonpt@gmail.com
• A community dinner with live music is planned for all volunteers in Port Townsend and Chimacum from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Undertown Coffee and Wine Bar, 211 Taylor St., in Port Townsend.
Volunteers can get tickets from the Port Townsend YMCA. For more information, e-mail adayonpt@gmail.com.
• The Washington Conservation Corps will hold its annual Martin Luther King Day Volunteer Event at Fort Flager State Park, 10541 Flagler Road, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Volunteers can work on a fire pit replacement, trail maintenance, beach cleanup and a dock removal.
The public is welcome. Food and refreshments will be provided.
For more information, phone AJ Garcia at 360-550-6954 or e-mail ajgarcia1988@gmail.com.
Chimacum
• Paint and renovation of the Olympic Peninsula Thrift Shoppe at 10632 Rhody Drive and improving the Pea Patch Community Garden in Chimacum will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., AmeriCorps said.
Volunteers will build raised beds in the community garden and sort, tag and hang items.
Forks
• A school supply drive for middle school students in Forks will run from noon to 3 p.m. at the Community Center, 91 Maple Ave.
The drive, hosted by AmeriCorps, also will include arts and crafts for children.
