Drive-by with Santa set for Saturday

Families can meet up with Santa and friends at a special “drive-by” event set for 9:30-11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, at Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church, 925 N. Sequim Ave., hosted by Parenting Matters Foundation and First Teacher.

The event, along with a Zoom meeting in late November, were scheduled in lieu of the organizations’ Breakfast With Santa event.

Younger visitors will receive goodie bags full of age-specific books and other gifts. Wearing masks is encouraged.

Heidi Hansen and Alan Halfhill will be on hand to broadcast KSQM Christmas tunes in a live broadcast from the event, organizers said. Families unable to attend can listen to festivities at 91.5 FM. Mac Macdonald will be playing Santa while KSQM program director Jeff Bankston will be Santa’s morning DJ elf.

For more about Parenting Matters Foundation and First Teacher, visit firstteacher.org.

Holiday bazaar to benefit guild efforts

A Christmas Cottage Holiday Bazaar, hosted by the Sequim Guild of Seattle Children’s Hospital, is scheduled for 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, at 81 Timothy Lane in Sequim. Shop for homemade holiday goodies, hand-crafted Christmas items, special gifts made by guild members — or pick up a Christmas tree. The event’s venue can host three or four masked visitors at a time and will follow current COVID-19 health guidelines.

All proceeds go to fund research and uncompensated care at Seattle Children’s Hospital, where last year more than 2,500 visits were made by Clallam and Jefferson county children, local guild members say.

Craft sale, holiday meals at Shipley

The Shipley Center, 921 E. Hammond St., hosts a Christmas Craft Sale from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 4-5. The number of shoppers is limited to five at one time, and face coverings are required.

The Cafe at Shipley Center is also providing holiday meals for $12 per person, tax included. Meals include turkey, scalloped potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, glazed carrots, side salad, dinner roll and butter, and spice cake. Food is available for pick-up from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 23.

Order meals by 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18, by calling 360-683-6806.

Sequim pond re-stocked

Members of the Puget Sound Anglers-North Olympic Peninsula Chapter recently restocked the pond near the City of Sequim’s Water Reclamation Facility off North Blake Avenue, adding 500 1-pound and 25 “jumbo” trout recently, group representatives said last week.

Fishing is open to youths 14 and younger. Fishers can keep two rainbow trout daily from the angler group’s stock recently planted from the Hurd Creek hatchery.

Angler group members ask that fisher not catch-and-release to get larger fish, as most are about the same in size. They also ask youths and parents/guardians to practice good pandemic habits of social distancing and wearing masks.

Serenity House changes plans for holiday meals, looks to deliver

After working with the Clallam County Department of Health and Human Services, staff with both the 1010 Recovery Center and Serenity House have decided to serve only their in-house clients this year, organization representatives said last week. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no sit-down holiday dinner open to public.

Holiday meals will be served to shelter clients during their normal dinner time using established daily COVID-19 protocol.

Serenity House has partnered with fellow service providers on alternative outreach initiatives to serve the wider community this holiday season, the organization said in a press release, and is working with agencies such as the ReDiscovery program to deliver prepared holiday box meals to homeless.

See www.serenityhouseclallam.org.

Food program expansion helps PC students

An expansion in eligibility requirements means more Peninsula College students now qualify for Basic Food Employment and Training (BFET) funds, college officials announced this week.

Under the new standards, PC officials said, students no longer needs to be pursuing a professional or technical degree to be eligible for BFET funding. The BFET program may also be able to help students with tuition and book fees, as well as childcare subsidies through DSHS.

For more information, visit pencol.edu/BFET. A Zoom lobby is available for students with questions, Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m.-noon, at zoom.us/j/325930425%C2%A0.

Mac Macdonald plays St. Nick at the First Teacher/Parenting Matters “drive-by” event set for 9:30-11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, at Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church, 925 N. Sequim Ave. Photo by Eric Neurath