With our Merv-13 air filtration system, we feel confident hosting
our events.
Please stay home if you are not feeling well! See each event for health
precautions.
Mark your calendars with these March events - see below for more
info...
- March 4th - Ukuleles Unite! Happy Hour: Open Mic & Singalong.
- March 11th - Food For Thought presents: Grow Your Own Mushrooms! with Mushroom Cultivator Lowell Dietz.
- March 15th - Port Townsend Community Dance - with local caller David Thielk offering a rich selection of squares, contras, & related dance forms.
- March 15th - DIY Tool Maintenance Clinic - a Quimper Grange & Food Bank Growers event.
- March 22nd - George Yount to host his Final Harmonica Workshop.
- Wednesdays, March 12th, 19th, & 26th - Balkan Dancing.
- Sundays, March 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, & 30th - Beginning Line Dance. Mondays, March 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, & 31st - Intermediate Line Dance.
COMMUNITY & SPONSORED EVENTS
MARCH 2025
Ukuleles Unite: Happy Hour
Open Mic & Singalong
Ukuleles Unite! invites everyone who plays or wants to learn to play the ukulele to come be part of the fun! Even if you don’t play ukulele, you are welcome to come & sing along or just listen if you prefer.
Guidelines for Open Mic Happy Hour:
- Sign up upon arrival if you wish to perform.
- Solo performers are allowed one song and one singalong song.
- Groups can perform up to three songs, with one designated as a singalong.
- Bring singalong music for projection.
- Kindly maintain quiet & respectful behavior while performers are on stage.
Tuesday, March 4th, 2025
5:00 pm
Admission is free!
Quimper Grange is located at 1219 Corona Ave.
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Ukuleles Unite also ‘Rendezvous' at the Grace Lutheran Church on 1120 Walker St. in Port Townsend at 1:00-3:00 pm. The next Rendezvous date is March 15th, 2025. For more info, contact George Yount, at (360) 477-5788 or gyount@olypen.com
Grow Your Own Mushrooms!
with Mushroom Cultivator Lowell Dietz
In this long-anticipated presentation, Lowell Dietz will share the process for growing mushrooms at home, indoors or outdoors. He will discuss ideal mediums in which to spread spawn, and the best varieties of wood logs to inoculate.
Mushroom Cultivators Lowell & Audree Dietz are Honorary Lifetime Members of the Kitsap Peninsula Mycological Society and have been growing medicinal and edible oyster mushrooms in Sequim for more than twenty years. A longtime Sequim resident, Lowell’s most recent passion is creating regenerative soil, called “Sequim Terra Peta”. This soil does not need fertilizer; soil tests indicate it becomes more fertile with each crop grown because soil bacteria stash nutrients (normally outgassed by plants) into biochar “lockers”.
Blue cap oyster mushrooms, pathfinder mushrooms & shirotamagitake growing kits will be available for purchase on site. Dietz Mushroom Farm sells mushroom growing kits for $15 or $25 each. Learn more at www.dietzfarm.com.
Tuesday, March 11th, 2025
6:30 pm
Doors open at 6:15 pm
All Are Welcome
Quimper Grange, 1219 Corona Ave.
Port Townsend, WA 98368
The Grange has ADA access and
an outstanding Merv-13 air filtration system.
Food For Thought is a free monthly presentation addressing anything to do with farming and 'all things food’. in our area. Quimper Grange #720 sponsors this free event as a community service.
Our Third Annual:
DIY Tool Maintenance Clinic
Dust off the dirt, sharpen your shovels, and lubricate your loppers in preparation for the Spring 2025 growing season! Learn to maintain your own tools from seasoned helpers at this hands-on workshop. Wear work clothes and bring gloves. Co-sponsored by your Quimper Grange & Food Bank Growers.
Saturday, March 15th, 2025
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Admission: Free!
Quimper Grange, 1219 Corona Ave.
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Port Townsend Community Dance!
The March Port Townsend Community Dance will have long time local caller David Thielk on the mic and will be offering a rich selection of squares, contras, and related dance forms. David has been calling for many years throughout the west and is currently working on bringing more contras into his repertoire of active squares, circles, reels, and mixers. Rocking dance tunes will be served live by The Lampshades: Kristin & Otto, Rolf & Lori.
The Port Townsend Community Dance is inspired by traditional kitchen/barn dances and features a mixture of traditional sets, always danced to live music along with a dance caller. All experience levels are welcome; all dances are taught! Come alone, or with a friend, your partner, the family – or the whole village! Admission is $10 per person/$20 per family; however, no one will be turned away at the door. For more information, or if you’re interested in a work trade, please contact Dave Thielk at edavidt@gmail.com or (971) 266-3170.
Saturday, March 15th, 2025
7:30 pm - 10:00 pm
Doors open 7:15 pm
Admission: $10 per person/$20 per family,
No One Turned Away!
Please bring your own personal water bottle, & consider arriving on foot or by bicycle if possible!
Quimper Grange
1219 Corona Ave., Port Townsend, WA 98368
George Yount To Host His
Final Harmonica Workshop
George Yount will share his harmonica knowledge, experience, and skills spanning over sixty years teaching from the college level to children in the jungles of Solwezi in Indonesia. 'There is unbelievable joy in that little pocket instrument,' said George when announcing the workshop to Ukuleles Unite. He has taught over four hundred souls since picking up the harmonica at the age of sixteen.
This will be a hands-on program geared for beginner and intermediate levels. Those who consider themselves advanced are more welcome to join in and share their tips.
Registration is at the door and a suggestion of $10 to cover hall rental. A harmonica in the key of C is required (available at Crossroads Music). Bring a lunch & liquids of choice. Come prepared to meet & play with new friends. The workshop starts 10:00 am and ends at 3:00 pm.
For more information contact George at gyout@olypen.com • 360-477-5788; or Gary Dill at coltpilot@gmail.com • 360-808-0911.
Saturday, March 22nd, 2025
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
$10 fee
Quimper Grange, 1219 Corona Ave.
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Balkan Dances
Wednesdays, March 12th, 19th, & 26th
Every Wednesday except the first Wed. of the month. No partner needed.
Evenings start with mellow dances & progress to intermediate. Fast paced & fun!
Richard & Susi Watson host. 7:00 pm • $5 entry.
Richard & Susi Watson host. 7:00 pm • $5 entry.
Beginning Line Dance Class
No Experience Necessary • Drop-ins Welcome
Every Sunday in March at 1:00 pm
90 minute class • $10 Suggested Donation
For more info: 360-302-0188
vickieltownsend@gmail.com
Intermediate Line Dance Class
This class is not for beginners - one should have some line dance experience before attending.
Every Monday in March at 6:00 pm
90 minute class • $10 Suggested Donation
For more info: 360-302-0188
vickieltownsend@gmail.com
QG FOOD BANK GARDEN NEWS
by Barbara Tusting
Is it Spring yet?
The Grange Food Bank Garden is the only garden of all twelve Food Bank Growers gardens that has consistently grown food over the winter for years. This is mainly due to our three hoop houses that keep the veggies (and us) warmer than the outdoor temperatures. And new this winter were our five raised beds gifted by the Noon Rotary for our “Improving Winter Productivity” grant. In those beds we were able to grow a long-lasting crop of arugula, cabbage, radishes (38#), and carrots (134#!!). We also have an entire bed of over-wintered broccoli tucked away just waiting for spring to start shooting out stems.
We are so pleased to grow throughout the winter for our local Food Banks. In January & February alone, we’ve donated 59# of nutritious greens along with 32# of the carrots (from above-mentioned beds). That’s 91# of freshly grown and harvested vegetables.
Our garden team has gained several members this winter – hardy people who come rain or shine. Can’t wait until summer bean picking to really test their mettle!
Now is the time to start your cool weather crops indoors if you can – all the cole crops (except brussels sprouts), lettuces, and spinach. Also, all Asian greens, snow & snap peas. For the peas, use t.p. tubes that you can plant right into the ground without disturbing the roots.
Our Very Exciting Project this winter is to build another structure in the garden, with many thanks to the Food Coop Farmer’s Fund grant. We are building an All-Accessible raised bed to accommodate planting space for up to three wheelchairs, plus another ninety linear feet for sitting on the edge of the 24” inch high raised beds. We have many volunteers who are not in our 20's or 30's any longer, and people who have problems kneeling down or bending over to work. These beds will be accessible by sitting along the edges on comfortable 8” wide cap rails, or by bringing a chair to the side.
Since we won’t be buying brand new soil to fill the entire bed, we are installing a ‘hügelkultur’ system in the bottom half. This is a composition of rotting logs and thinner dead branches woven into an interlocking filler. This dead wood will eventually break down and create some luscious, loamy soil with lots of microbial activity. In the meantime, it’ll act as a sponge to help maintain moisture in the bed, and prevent a good amount of downhill runoff.
We are excited to bring this opportunity to more people who may not be able to garden in standard garden beds any longer. We hope to be done with this project by April 1st, just in time to plant many of our summer crops.
FOOD BANK GROWERS CULTIVATE HOPE AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE THROUGH SUSTAINABLE GARDENING INITIATIVES
by Angela Downs
3 February 2025
The Jefferson County Beacon
Though there has been a 7% decrease in American farms between 2017-2022, there has also been a steady increase in sustainable and community gardening in America. While the decrease in farms is alarming for our food systems, Food Bank Growers (FBG) are part of the silver lining, donating 100% of the food they grow and glean to food banks, schools, senior centers, volunteers and more.
Port Townsend-based, they have gardens at every school in Port Townsend, offer all-age-friendly regenerative workshops, and are currently bolstering their Ecological Committee, a branch of FBG focused on nourishing the ties between social and ecological justice. Starting the new year, the organization set a new goal, “To keep growing food for our community, we must also plant hope for the future.”
 |
| Bear Belle and Gayle Petrick. |
FBG adopted its first garden in 2012 at Port Townsend Mountain View Commons; they now have fourteen gardens, including Milly Lierman, Mary Hunt, and Gayle Petrick’s newly adopted regenerative garden at Fairwinds Winery. Inspired by the Fairwinds garden, Lierman, Petrick, and Vice President Bear Belle started the Ecological Committee together. As garden managers, Lierman and Petrick oversee the regenerative practices at the new Fairwinds garden, and the Ecological Committee guides and teaches regenerative practices. Regenerative in this context is a modern word, meaning the action of tending to land beginning with self and soil. It is the act of decolonizing the ecosystem through practices such as no-till, covering plants, hugelkultur beds (German raised beds made from organic material), and perennial gardens. “Regenerative practices prioritize healing the land by starting with the soil and ourselves. By practicing regeneration, we transform disrupted ecosystems into thriving spaces that nourish the land, our communities, and our spirits.” Belle said.
“Pause for a moment. Feel the air you breathe and observe the world around you. The plants exchanging oxygen with you and the water sustaining your body remind you that you belong to this Earth. Across generations, humans have nurtured the land, and now it’s our turn,” Belle said, “By growing gardens in schools, we can cultivate not only food but also stronger, healthier, and more resilient future generations.”
Each school garden has an FBG garden manager and a school-appointed Garden Co-ordinator who tends and teaches the children. The FBG offers action and resources to the student participants, providing important resources to combat suicide, the second leading cause of death amongst 10-14 year-olds according to the Nation Institute of Mental Health. With massive physical, emotional, and academic benefits to gardening, these school gardens are raising generations of land stewards along the crops– 30% of which are donated to the school’s cafeteria.
The Food Bank Growers website is full of resources, volunteer opportunities, donations, and maps of all the FBG gardens. You can find everything you need to know here at FoodBankGrowers.org. Support by joining a local garden, connecting with your neighbors, or planting perennial gardens in your yard.
BECOME A MEMBER • RENT • DONATE
GRANGE MEMBERSHIPSupport your local Grange! Become a member! Help keep the hall open for community events, concerts, dances and rentals! Meetings occur the third Sunday of the month, 3:30 p.m. at the Quimper Grange Hall. Come to meet members and learn about activities, concerts and new projects we’re considering. Download and print our brochure from our website: quimpergrange.com at the Membership Information tab and mail to:Quimper Grange, 1219 Corona Ave, Port Townsend, WA 98368.
BUILDING RENTAL
Rent our Grange Hall for your event or meeting. We have an excellent air filtration system and a beautiful interior.
- Check our website under “Calendar of Events” to see if the date you want is available.
- Email quimpergrange@gmail.com or Call Doug at 360-531-0326.
- An orientation to the building will follow for potential renters.
DONATE
Your support keeps the Grange Hall maintained and open to offer music, dance, community events, and private rentals. Your help also supports the food bank garden with water and electricity bills. Checks made out to “Quimper Grange #720” can be mailed to 1219 Corona Ave, Port Townsend WA 98368.
See you at the Quimper Grange!
Rent our Grange Hall for your event or meeting. We have an excellent air filtration system and a beautiful interior.
