AE briefs — Dec. 6, 2023

December 6, 2023 1:30 am
Photo courtesy of Port Angeles Community Players Cast members of “Georgiana & Kitty - Christmas At Pemberley” enjoy a recent Jane Austen Tea. Pictured are (back row, from left) Wesley Vollmer, Olivia Wray, Cecie Gonzales McClelland and Sunshine Pederson, and (front row, from left) Poet XIX and Belle Robinson. Photo courtesy of Port Angeles Community Players / Cast members of “Georgiana & Kitty — Christmas At Pemberley” enjoy a recent Jane Austen Tea. Pictured are (back row, from left) Wesley Vollmer, Olivia Wray, Cecie Gonzales McClelland and Sunshine Pederson, and (front row, from left) Poet XIX and Belle Robinson.
Photo courtesy of Port Angeles Community Players Cast members of “Georgiana & Kitty - Christmas At Pemberley” enjoy a recent Jane Austen Tea. Pictured are (back row, from left) Wesley Vollmer, Olivia Wray, Cecie Gonzales McClelland and Sunshine Pederson, and (front row, from left) Poet XIX and Belle Robinson. Photo courtesy of Port Angeles Community Players / Cast members of “Georgiana & Kitty — Christmas At Pemberley” enjoy a recent Jane Austen Tea. Pictured are (back row, from left) Wesley Vollmer, Olivia Wray, Cecie Gonzales McClelland and Sunshine Pederson, and (front row, from left) Poet XIX and Belle Robinson.

Stardust Big Band to hit stage at Sequim Elks Lodge

The Stardust Big Band plays a holiday dance from 6-8:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 10, at the Sequim Elks Lodge, 143 Port Williams Road. Admission is $12 per person, $10 for Elks club members (with card).

For more about the event or group, contact director Marge Rosen at 360-486-4687 or bigbandstardust@gmail.com, or visit bigbandstardust.com.

Join Old Time Fiddlers for jam session on Saturday

Washington Old Time Fiddlers Association musicians meet for a jam session from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 525 N. Fifth Ave.

“Old Time” music is a genre of North American folk music played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combination of fiddle and plucked string instruments including the guitar, banjo and mandolin, dobros, dulcimers, autoharps and ukuleles.

Community members are invited to play or just to listen and learn about this traditional style of music.

There is no charge to attend, though donations in support of the club’s youth scholarship program are welcome. Snacks to share are also appreciated.

Sale, open studio set at gallery

Gallery 223 on Hudon hosts a holiday sale and open studio event from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16, at 223 Hudon Road. All artworks by Carol Wilhelm are by donation of $5 each. Wilhelm’s subject matter is varied and includes seascapes, landscapes and barnyard animals.

Also on display are works by Cathy Stanfeld, Thomas Massey, Crystal Abbott, Deborah Young, Melody Todnem, and Lauren Churchill. Check out Abbott’s wood turnings, Stanfeld’s acrylics and Massey’s local landscapes. Churchill’s coloring book, “Friends of the Forest” will be available for half-off the original price. Attendees are encouraged to bring pens, pencils and brushes to celebrate the season and check out gift offerings.

Toastmasters to teach ‘on the fly’

Community members are invited to a special presentation hosted by SKWIM Toastmasters about speech coaching “on-the-fly” from 7-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at the KSQM 91.5 FM broadcasting offices at 609 W. Washington St., or online (see humor-coaching-on-the-fly.eventbrite.com).

This event is free, and open to the public both on-line and in-person.

Also known as “stop-and-go,” this style of coaching requires an open, flexible speaker. Three experienced speakers — Kunal Moon, M.E. Bartholomew and Nazeer Gazaq Alqasem — bring their humorous speeches to three award-winning humor speech coaches: Lee Amatangelo, Kyle Hall and Yolanda Ali-Paige.

“I am definitely looking for ways to up the humor factor of my speeches and look forward to hearing from our skilled humor coaches,” said Judy Sadler, SKWIM Toastmasters Vice President of Public Relations.

SKWIM Toastmasters is part of Toastmasters International, a worldwide nonprofit educational organization that “empowers individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders.” The Sequim club meets from 7-8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at the KSQM office.

See skwimtm.org or facebook.com/SequimToastmasters for more information.

‘Christmas At Pemberley’ featured in Port Angeles

The Port Angeles Community Players will present “Christmas at Pemberley — Georgiana and Kitty,” the third and final play in the Jane Austen inspired trilogy by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, from Dec. 8-23 at the P.A. Community Playhouse, 1235 E. Lauridsen Blvd.

The play is set at Christmas, 1816, two years after the events at the end of “Pride and Prejudice” and young Georgiana Darcy (Poet XIX), the younger sister of Fitzwilliam Darcy (Justin Stapleton) is looking forward to welcoming a gentleman with whom she has been corresponding with for a year about music. The shy young man, Henry Gray (Michael Sickles) arrives from Oxford with his best friend, Thomas O’Brien (Shaina Lent), who soon catches the eye of the youngest Bennet sister, Kitty (Belle Robinson). A disapproving older brother, a family scandal and a collision of wills seems like it will bring ruin to the planned holiday celebration.

Filling out the cast are Sunshine Peterson as Elizabeth Darcy, Cecie Gonzales McClelland as Jane Bingley, Wesley Vollmer as Mary Bennet, Olivia Wray as Lydia Wickham, and Chaz Stephen as Reginald.

“In so many ways, watching the antics of the Bennet sisters seems incredibly familiar and relatable,” director Richard Stephens said. “We all can relate to the struggles to the awkwardness that can happen when a stranger is dropped into the middle of family dynamics.”

The play hits the stage at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Friday and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Sundays, with an extra evening showing on Thursday, Dec. 21. Tickets are $18 for adults, $9 for students; on Tuesday nights, any remaining tickets are $9 at the door. Get tickets at pacommunityplayers.org.

Pipe organ concert set

As part of the new Margaret Graebner Series, organist Balint Karosi will be playing a program of organ music by J.S. Bach starting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Port Angeles.

The program is free and open to the public; any donations will go to fund facilities at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 302 E. Lopez Ave.

Ample parking is available.