PORT TOWNSEND — The Friends of the Library will sponsor an evening of mushroom hunting adventures focused on finding edible mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. today.
The presentation by Daniel Winkler will take place at the library at 1220 Lawrence St.
Winkler has had a blended career as an ecologist and geographer, researching mushrooms in Tibet, Himalayas and China.
He said he is fascinated by ethno-mycology, or the role mushrooms play in different cultures, especially as a source of food and medicine.
Winkler writes and speaks extensively, authoring field guides to “Edible Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest and California” and “A Field Guide to Amazon Mushrooms” with Larry Evans.
For more information on Winkler’s work, visit www.mushroaming.com.
Summer reading party
PORT TOWNSEND — The library will celebrate the reading accomplishment of patrons and welcome the autumn equinox.
The public is invited to the event at 1220 Lawrence St. from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. today.
The community read 13,359 hours during summer reading this year.
The library will take a group photo of its “Super Readers” and Swami John Pickle will play his handmade kora, a West African harp.
Music, crafts, a pub quiz and more for all ages will be on tap, plus a sneak peek at summer reading 2017.
Family orchestra
PORT TOWNSEND — Family Orchestra in Concert will present “play for the fun of it” at 1008 Lawrence St. from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. today.
The event will take place on the second floor in the Room to Move studio.
The concert will include Smetana’s “Moldau,” three movements of Mozart’s “Eine kleine Nachtmusik,” Bach’s “Sheep May Safely Graze,” Bartok’s Romanian Dances and pieces by Handel and Purcell.
The venue requires climbing stairs, and there is an $8 suggested donation.
For more information, contact Fred Nussbaum at 503-936-6792 or fredtrain@aol.com.
Reading series
PORT TOWNSEND — The Northwind Reading Series will present Carol Light and Richard Kenney at 7 p.m. Thursday.
The talk will take place at the Northwind Arts Center, 701 Water St.
Light received the Robert H. Winner award from the Poetry Society of America in 2013 and an award from Artist Trust in 2012.
Her poems have appeared in Poetry Northwest and Narrative Magazine.
She studied poetry in the University of Washington MFA program, where she was awarded the Academy of American Poets Prize.
Kenney has authored four books of poetry: “The Evolution of the Flightless Bird” (Yale Younger Poets Award), “Orrery,” “The Invention of the Zero” and “The One-Strand River.”
He received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Lannan Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation.
The suggested donation for the reading is $3 to $5.
For more information, contact Bill Mawhinney at 360-302-1159 or visit www.northwindarts.org.
Association meeting
PORT ANGELES — The Olympic Peninsula Art Association will meet in the upstairs conference room of The Landing mall, 115 Railroad Ave., from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
The meeting is free and open to the public.
Sherry Nagel will share a new hybrid art form combining acrylic painted canvas, fabric and stamping. The pieces are cut apart and stitched back together.
Nagel retired from banking in 2008 and moved back to the Northwest.
She has spent much of her retirement on arts and crafts as well as serving on the former Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center board of directors.
She dabbles in mixed media fiber arts and has shown her work in OPAA/Sequim Arts juried shows and in the Northwest Fiber Arts Festival.
For more information, phone Linda Stadtmiller at 360-681-4884 or 360-670-9971, phone Maryann at 360-681-5320 or visit www.sequimarts.org.
NOLS storytime
The West End branches of the North Olympic Library System (NOLS), in partnership with First Step Family Support Center, will present three free clothing exchanges and storytimes for children and their parents or caregivers.
The first exchange will take place at the Forks Library, 171 Forks Ave. S., at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
Additional exchanges will happen Tuesday at the Clallam Bay Library, 16990 state Highway 112, at 2 p.m. and at the Makah Tribal Head Start, 80 Ba’adah Village Loop Road, Neah Bay, at 5:30 p.m.
Each will feature songs, rhymes, stories and a free clothing exchange.
Participants can also swap gently worn children’s clothing for larger sizes provided by First Step.
For more information, phone Pam Force at 360-374-6402 or email youth@nols.org.
