The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center (1203 E. Lauridsen Blvd.) hosts the Celebration of Shadows Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 21.
The family-friendly event returns for a third year with pumpkin carving workshops, followed by free evening festivities that include a pumpkin walk and contest through Webster’s Woods, spooky readings in the courtyard, the opportunity for an evening visit to the gallery for the latest exhibition “Home- The Essence of Place” and a shadow puppet theater performance.
Two sessions of a Pumpkin Carving Workshop will be led by local artist Tracy Beals from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1-2:30 p.m. Pumpkins have been donated by Sunny Farms Country Store and Grocery Outlet, and tools will be provided as participants learn how to take their carving skills to the next level.
Cost is $8/person and includes a pumpkin and an entry into the pumpkin carving contest later that evening.
Advanced registration for all workshops is highly encouraged; do so at pafac.kindful.com/e/pumpkincarving2023.
The Celebration of Shadows Festival begins at 5 p.m. See the artwork in “Home- The Essence of Place” in the gallery and get snacks and drinks from Pacific Pantry, Angeles Brewing and The Goat & The Radish. Live readings of spooky stories by the Olympic Peninsula Authors begin at 5:30 p.m. in the courtyard.
Starting at 6 p.m., attendees are welcome to stroll through the pumpkin walk where submitted pumpkins will line park paths. Three judges will decide on the winning pumpkins based on design, creativity and skill of execution. For $1 per vote, anyone can cast a vote for their favorite pumpkin. At 7 p.m., winners of the Adult, Youth and People’s Choice divisions will be announced at the meadow stage before the performance.
To cap the festivities, attendees are invited to gather in the meadow for a multi-faceted performance by West of Roan starting at 7 p.m. West of Roan is made up of multi-media performance artists Channing Showalter and Annie Schermer. The duo will perform two original shadow puppet shows with musical performance and film shorts intertwined followed by a Q&A opportunity where festival-goers will have a chance to ask questions and see up close how the puppet theater works.
Evening events are free and open to the public with a $5 suggested donation welcome to support this and other programs at PAFAC.
The festival is brought in partnership with event sponsors KONP Radio, Country Aire Natural Grocery, Kitsap Bank and D.A. Davidson.
For more information about the Celebration of Shadows Festival and to register for a workshop, visit pafac.org/fall-festival-9.
