There’s a lot going on this weekend on the peninsulas, so if you’re looking for something to do, read on!

Theler Wetlands Guided Bird Walk, Friday, 8/29, 9-11 a.m.: Dress for the weather and come prepared to enjoy our feathered friends on this guided tour which leaves from the Theler Exhibit Center. For more information, visit the Theler Community Center website or call 360-275-4898.

Bremerton Blackberry Festival, Saturday, 8/30 – Monday, 9/1: Stroll along the Louis Mentor Boardwalk and enjoy over 100 booths with wares ranging from arts and crafts to delicious food items. Entertainment for young and old provided on two stages, along with a car show, fun run, chalk art competition, bike race, fly-in and more!  For more information, visit the Blackberry Festival website or call the Bremerton Main Stream Association at 360-377-3041.

3-on-3 Silverdale Shootout, Saturday, 8/30 – Sunday, 8/31: Enjoy recreational and competitive basketball tournaments, as well as activities for the whole family. Get more information at the website or call the Silverdale Beach Hotel at 360-698-1000.

Olympic Art Festival, Saturday, 8/30, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.: The Olympic Art Gallery in Quilcene (40 Washington Street/Hwy 101) will host artists exhibiting their work and doing demonstrations. This quarterly art festival aims to support local artists and provide fine art and great prices. You can find more information at their website or by calling the art gallery at 360-765-0200.

Mini Van Destruction Derby, Saturday, 8/30, 6 p.m.: The Kitsap Destruction Derby presents a special Mini Van Derby in Bremerton. Gates open at 4 p.m. General admission is $10, with discounts available for seniors, children, students, and military. Get more information at the Kitsap Destruction Derby Association website.

With all these diverse events, there’s truly something for everyone!

Local area residents have a treat in store this coming weekend, with the first annual summer musical presented by Anna’s Bay: Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This production, which includes the Anna’s Bay Chorale, the Mosquito Fleet, the Hood Canal Youth Choirs and the Shelton High School Choir, will begin on Friday, August 29th at 8 p.m. in the Shelton High School Auditorium, with a second performance running at 8 p.m. on Saturday, August 30th. Tickets cost $15 ($10 for members of Anna’s Bay Center for Music), a real bargain for live musical theater!

I’ve blogged about Anna’s Bay events before, but maybe you’re still wondering what the Anna’s Bay Center for Music is all about. I think their website says it wonderfully:

“The Anna’s Bay Center for Music is many things, but most of all, it is a community of people who believe in the power of music to enrich and strengthen community. Part community music school, part professional performing arts organization, our mission is music that brings people into harmony with themselves and each other. Our flagship programs make participatory live music experiences available to as many as possible …”

You can learn more about the Anna’s Bay Center for Music at their website, including a calendar of their 08/09 season schedule, which includes several community sing-along events as well as concerts which will both engage and inspire you.

English novelist Charles Kingsley once said, “There is something very wonderful about music. Words are wonderful enough; but music is even more wonderful. It speaks not to our thoughts as words do; it speaks through our hearts and spirits, to the very core and root of our souls. Music soothes us, stirs us up, it puts noble feelings in us, it can make us cringe; and it can melt us to tears; and yet we have no idea how. It is a language by itself, just as perfect in its ways as speech, as words, just as divine, just as blessed.”

Spend a little time this weekend enjoying the language of music, and support your community musicians at the same time. Sounds like a win-win to me!

Looking for some interesting things to do this weekend? Check out these local events:

Start your weekend early! Pack a picnic basket and blanket, head on down to the Evergreen Rotary Park’s Amphitheatre in Bremerton TONIGHT (Thursday, 8/21) and enjoy “Shakespeare in the Park: The Tempest.” The show, presented by the Changing Scene Theatre Northwest and directed by Derek Niegemann, begins at 6 p.m. And if you can’t make it tonight, don’t worry. You can catch it next Thursday (8/28) instead! Call 360-473-5425 for more information.

If theatre (or Shakespeare) isn’t your thing, then you might want to head to the Kitsap County Fair & Stampede instead. It runs from August 20th (yesterday) through Sunday, August 24th at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds in Bremerton. Enjoy carnival rides and games, a rodeo, a free concert by Emerson Drive (we already missed the free concert by Three Dog Night), a Wild West show, juggling, hypnosis, a petting farm, racing pigs, tractor pull races, a beard and mustache contest, educated parrots (?!?), and even karaoke! You can get all the details at the Kitsap County Fair & Stampede web page.

History buffs and those who enjoy documentary films won’t want to miss seeing the film “Mystery U-Boat of  World War I,” showing at the Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport on Saturday at 2 p.m. Watch as the Deep Sea Detectives explore the site of the sunken German submarine UB-107 and the surprise discovered there. And did I mention that it’s FREE?

On a side note, you may see hordes of bicyclists on the roads of Puget Sound, because this weekend is the 5th Annual Ride Around Puget Sound, supporting statewide bicycle advocacy and education. It’s a 1 or 2 day ride of 170 miles (which is impressive, because I think it would take me at least a week to get that far!) So keep an eye out for those bicyclists and let’s share the roads with them!

Here’s a round-up of some fun things to do this weekend …

Thursday, 8/14, 6 p.m., Music in the Park: Shelton’s outdoor summer concert series at the Shelton Post Office Park in downtown Shelton will feature the band Reincarnation of Rock and Roll this week. Relax and enjoy some “oldies but goodies” from Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin, and others. Dress for the weather and come prepared to sit on the lawn. You can find more information here and here.

Saturday, 8/16, 12-3 p.m., Harmony Hill SummerFest & Open House: If you’re a supporter of Harmony Hill, you won’t want to miss their SummerFest and Open House, with tours, light refreshments, a Storytelling Gathering and a garden Q&A session with gardening expert Ann Lovejoy. Admission is free. You can find more information at the Harmony Hill web site.

Saturday, 8/16, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Shelton Art Festival: Come to the Shelton Civic Center and enjoy photography, ceramics, jewelry, wood sculpture, quilts, paintings, fiber arts, poetry, and knits.

Saturday, 8/16 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., 2nd annual Wetlands Festival: Theler Community Center will is sponsoring this festival, with a chili cook-off, tons of vendors, the Belfair Farmers Market, and a special performance by The Voetberg Family starting at 4 pm! Take a walk in the wetlands, enjoy some chili and an amazing concert!

Saturday, 8/16, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Salmon Fest: This festival, which includes a salmon BBQ, salmon exhibits, live performances, fine arts, and a “Kids of All Ages” zone, takes place in Shelton, WA, at the Little Creek Casino Resort parking lot. For more information, call Leslie at 360-432-3838.

Saturday and Sunday, August 16-17, Salmon Derby: The 8th annual Hood Canal Salmon Derby offers prizes of $500, $750, and $1000 for first through third place winners. Tickets cost $25. There’s also a FREE kids derby with one $100 first place prize. Get more info at the website for the South Sound Chapter of the Puget Sound Anglers.

Now you know there are no excuses for sitting inside and staring at the walls this weekend. Get out there and have some fun!

This weekend Silverdale will host the Silverdale Thunder Hydroplane Races on August 8-10th.

Racing begins Saturday morning with qualifying runs. Preliminary heats will follow the qualifying runs and will determine which teams will be “seeded” into the final heat, eligible to win the Silverdale Thunder Trophy.

Even though the racing doesn’t start until Saturday, visitors are welcome to come Friday evening to join the festivities, because there’s more than just racing going on. There will also be a carnival, live music, a beer garden, and local groups performing on a “Family Stage” (Saturday afternoon). You can get more information, including a schedule of events, at the Silverdale Thunder Hydroplane Races website.

And if you’re curious about what the view from the cockpit is like during one of these races, check out this video on YouTube:

If hydroplane racing isn’t your cup of tea, you might enjoy stopping by the 7th annual “Taste of Hood Canal” in downtown Belfair (on Clifton Lane) on Saturday, August 9th, instead. The day kicks off with the Mason County Fire District 2 Pancake Breakfast, served from 8-11:30 a.m., with the rest of the events beginning at 10 a.m. (The pancake breakfast will be served at Station 21, 460 NE Old Belfair Highway.)

The Taste of Hood Canal, sponsored by the North Mason Rotary Club, features a custom and classic car show, microbreweries, wine tasting, specialties from local restaurants, family entertainment and live music all day, arts and crafts, antique fire engines, local artists, and food booths featuring local delicacies like grilled oysters.

You can park on the Old Belfair Highway, just 500 feet from the event, or take the free shuttle from Sandhill Elementary School.

Of course, if you can’t make up your mind, you could always spend Saturday at the “Taste of Hood Canal” and Friday night and Sunday at the races!

This coming weekend, August 8-10th, the Alderbrook Golf & Yacht Club (AGYC) will host its 38th annual “Skippers and Mates” golf tournament. This is AGYC’s largest golf tournament of the year and includes golfing couples from as far away as Bellingham, WA.

The festivities begin on Friday, August 8th with a practice round, and the tournament itself will take place on Saturday and Sunday, August 9th and 10th. Participants will enjoy continental breakfasts and delicious lunches on Saturday and Sunday, as well as a buffet dinner on Saturday night.

The frosting on the cake is the $6,000 prize fund for the winners. That makes for some exciting stakes, I think!

Even though registration for this tournament closed on August 1st, you can still enjoy golfing on one of the nicest courses in Washington State, because the Alderbrook Golf Course is open to the public. 

Here’s what one AGYC member has to say about the Alderbrook golf course:

“The Alderbrook golf course is cut into the forested hills just a mile from the Alderbrook Inn on the Canal. Someday you will be coming down our finishing hole, you will look over the 18th green, see the majestic snow-capped Olympic mountains, and say as I have many times, ‘this must be God’s country, and I’m living the dream…’ The golf course is laid out with no parallel fairways. No stray balls to duck, no other golfers to hear. Just listen to the birds and the breeze.”

Sounds like a dream to me, and a very pleasant one, at that!

Here’s a round-up of some of the fun things to do on the Peninsula this weekend:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – 1950’s Rock & Roll: Shakespeare meets “Happy Days” in this adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy of mistaken identities set in the Athens High School gym on Prom Night in 1957. Presented by The Mountaineers Players at the Kitsap Forest Theater near Bremerton, shows happen every Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. from Saturday, 8/2 through Sunday, 8/24. You can find more information at the Forest Theater web site.

The Naval Undersea Museum: This Keyport, WA museum — a joint project between the U.S. Navy and the local Museum Foundation — will be showing the film, “The Death of the Edmund Fitzgerald” at 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 2nd. This film explores the fate of this legendary shipwreck, and includes footage from more than 20 years of dives, as well as interviews with relatives of the victims. To get in the mood, you can watch a video tribute to the 29 men who lost their lives in this shipwreck.

Paddle Kitsap: This 2-day event (Friday and Saturday) is sponsored by local paddlers and volunteers with the North Kitsap Trails Association. Although registration to participate in this year’s event is closed, you might want to give a little wave of encouragement to any paddlers you see along the trail, which runs along the coast from Port Gamble to Poulsbo’s waterfront park. And if you’re a paddling enthusiast, mark this event on your calendar so you can register for next year’s event. You can find more information on this event here.

This year marks the 100th Mason County Fair and Rodeo, which will be held July 25th, 26th, and 27th at the Mason County Fairgrounds in Shelton, WA. In honor of this centennial, the fair is waiving the admission fee. That’s right, folks – you can get into the fair for FREE! (There will still be fees for the rodeo, concerts, and carnival rides.)

Here are some of the highlights of this year’s fair and rodeo:

• Country singer Lacey D performs on Saturday at noon in Building 17.
• Watch exciting rodeo events (admission fee to rodeo is $10 for adults)
• View the Roxy 94.5 Kids Art Contest entries and winners in the Fine Arts Building
• Enjoy (or participate in!) the first annual hands-free chocolate pie eating contest for the Guinness Book of World Records (must be 17 years or older to participate)
• Attend a Trent Tomlison concert on Friday night (tickets start at $15)
• Relive your childhood on lots of fun carnival rides (all-day wristbands for $16 in advance, or $18 at the fair – or go on “Buddy Day” and get 2 wristbands for $27)

You can get lots more information on these events at the Mason County Fair web site.

For the past 100 years, Mason County residents have been attending this fair, displaying their prize fruits, vegetables, flowers, wool, quilts, livestock, arts and crafts, and canned goods. And while these skills may have declined in importance for many of us today, the fair gives us a chance to pause, look back, and reflect on where we’ve come from so that we can move forward with confidence. As this year’s theme says: “Pride in the Past, Faith in the Future.”

One of the most unique concerts I’ve ever attended was held in a barn. And no, I’m not referring to a symphony of moos and bleats from barn animals. Instead, I heard world-class musicians performing great pieces from Beethoven, Handel, Mozart and Bach while wearing my blue jeans and sitting on bales of hay.

I’m talking about the Olympic Music Festival, of course. This year marks the 25th anniversary of this wonderful, idyllic summer concert series held in a pastoral setting. It first began with only a few weekends of concerts held during the summer months, but over the years it has expanded to run from late June through the beginning of September, with concerts held each Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.

So if you’re a lover of classical music, or just interested in a new and unique concert experience, you’ll want to check this out. You can find the current season of performers and pieces, as well as directions to the barn, on the Olympic Music Festival web site.

On a side note, on Sunday, July 27th, Alderbrook Properties will host KING-FM classical radio host Steve Reeder along with 10 KING contest winners and their guest(s) to a tour of Alderbrook Properties homes, as well as lunch and a free round of golf at the Alderbrook Golf Course. This is one of KING radio’s “98 Days of Summer” events.

With its rural settings, one wouldn’t necessarily expect classical music to resonate on the Olympic Peninsula, but it does! Join in the fun and check out the Olympic Music Festival. And if you’ve ever attended the festival, share your experience with us in the comments section below!

Whether you’re an art buff, a movie afficionado, or just someone who enjoys a good community festival, we’ve got it all going on here on the peninsula this weekend!

For art lovers, we have two different art shows happening: one in Union and one in Gig Harbor.

The Union Art Show takes place at Cameo Boutique (6871 E. State Route 106 Union, WA 98592; phone 360-898-3200) on Saturday, July 19th, and features the beautiful photography of Nancy MacDonald, known for her captivating shots of Hood Canal scenery and wildlife.

The Gig Harbor Summer Arts Festival begins on Saturday and runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday on Judson Street in downtown Gig Harbor. There you will find almost 130 Northwest artists plying their paintings, jewelry, ceramics, stained glass, metalwork, clothing, basketry, mixed media work, toys and more. Throw in some music and food, and you’ve got the makings of a fun family weekend!

If you’re a community supporter, or if you just love to eat salmon, then you’ll want to head over to Allyn’s Waterfront Park on Saturday or Sunday for their annual Allyn Days Festival and Salmon Bake. The Salmon Bake runs from noon until 6 p.m. on Saturday, although the festival runs both Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy over 100 booths and attractions, including several local micro-breweries and the Hoodsport Winery. You can find more information on the Allyn Community Association web site.

Finish off your Friday or Saturday night with a free outdoor movie at the CinimaGig Outdoor Movies in Gig Harbor. Friday nights are dedicated to the Date Night series, with romantic favorites like Casablanca, Sleepless in Seattle, A League of Their Own, and Singing in the Rain. Saturdays entice families with family favorites like the Bee Movie, Enchanted, The Water Horse, and Happy Feet. Movies start at 8:30 p.m. both nights. For more information, call 253-857-4842.