Summer won’t officially arrive on the North Olympic Peninsula until June 20, but the three-day Memorial Day weekend gives residents and visitors plenty of reason to start summer unofficially.

In addition to two big town festivals — the Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts in Port Angeles (see Peninsula Spotlight magazine in this edition) and ShrimpFest in Brinnon (see story on this page) — there are myriad events scheduled between today and Monday.

For information about other arts and entertainment events, also see Peninsula Spotlight.

Memorial Day events

Solemn Memorial Day events — honoring American service members who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country ­— will be listed in the Peninsula Daily News on Sunday.

For a rundown of campgrounds, resorts and similar places to take in the Peninsula’s rich scenery, check out the newly released 2013 North Olympic Peninsula Guide.

The 136-page spring/summer guide, less than a week old, is free and available at scores of visitor-oriented locations in Jefferson and Clallam counties.

And now, on to more events happening this weekend in our communities:

PORT ANGELES

CASA benefit set

PORT ANGELES — The sixth Rock N Roll Bike Show and Poker Run benefit for Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, will be held Saturday and Sunday.

The motorcycle show will be held Saturday on the upper-level parking lot of the Armory Square building, 228 W. First St.

Registration is from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and the bike show will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Prizes will be awarded at 3 p.m.

The cost is $20 per motorcycle per class entered.

Awards will be given in a variety of classes, including vintage, trike, custom/paint/mural, best in show and people’s choice.

There will be concessions and a 50-50 raffle.

Admission to the motorcycle show is free, but donations will be accepted.

The motorcycle Poker Run will begin Sunday at Olympic Powersports, 221 S. Peabody St.

Bikers can sign up from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The first bike out will leave at 10 a.m., and riders will meet at the Romberg residence, 574 Old Olympic Highway, for prizes and dinner.

The cost is $15 for a rider and bike, and $5 for passengers.

CASA recruits, trains and supports volunteers to represent the interests of abused and neglected children in the courtroom and other settings.

Open house slated

PORT ANGELES — The new Clallam County Genealogical Society Research Center, 402 E. Lauridsen Blvd., will be open from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.

The hours are intended to accommodate those who find weekday hours inconvenient. Volunteer staff is on hand to help.

Regular hours for the center are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays.

For more information, phone 360-417-5000 or visit www.olypen.com/ccgs.

GMO Awareness

PORT ANGELES — A rally to raise awareness of the health risks of genetically modified organisms in food is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. Saturday at Front and First streets at Golf Course Road in eastern Port Angeles.

GMOs are the result of genetic engineering, which often includes the splicing of genes from different organisms into crops so they can better withstand high doses of herbicides and pesticides, their foes say.

The awareness rally is part of a worldwide day of action called “March Against Monsanto,” which includes similar rallies in more than 200 U.S. cities and around the world.

Port Townsend residents who wish to participate can meet at the Haines Street Transit Center to organize a carpool. The caravan will depart Port Townsend at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

For information, phone 360-460-4281 or email beverly.goldie@gmail.com.

Charity bake sale

PORT ANGELES — The Answer for Youth, or TAFY, will hold a bake sale fundraiser at Swain’s General Store, 602 E. First St., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will support services for homeless youths in the community.

Anyone wanting to bake for the sale can phone Susan Hillgren at 360-670-4363.

Gun club open

PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Gun Club just east of Morse Creek is inviting nonmembers to shoot at its range through June 30.

The gun club offers several types of clay-bird shooting, including singles, handicap, doubles, continental and five-stand.

Shooting is available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays.

Cost is $3.50 for a line of 25 shots, which is reduced from the standard price of $4 per line.

For safety reasons, 12-gauge trap shells must be purchased at the club for $6 per box of 25.

Shooters must have a 12-gauge shotgun in safe, usable condition; knowledge of safe gun handling; and wear adequate hearing and eye protection.

Club rules and etiquette brochures are available at the club, located at 253093 U.S. Highway 101 across from Wilder Auto Center.

For more information, visit www.shootpagc.com or phone 360-457-4053.

SEQUIM

Benefit breakfast

SEQUIM — A benefit breakfast for the Port Angeles Relay For Life will be held at Applebee’s restaurant, 130 River Road in Sequim, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday.

For $10, diners will receive two pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs and a drink.

To purchase a ticket, phone Kimberly Hunter at 360-775-1369 or email canuhunt@yahoo.com.

MAC swap meets

SEQUIM — The Museum Arts Center of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley will hold the first of its monthly summer swap meets Saturday.

The swap runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the MAC’s DeWitt Administration Center field, 544 N. Sequim Ave. Vendor setup time begins at 8 a.m.

There is no advance sign-up for vendors, and the cost for a 10-foot-by-10-foot selling space is $15.

Vendors are expected to pay that day and provide their own display equipment.

Nonprofit groups and clubs also are welcome to participate as vendors.

Those interested should contact Priscilla Hudson at 360-681-2257 or priscilla@macsequim.org.

The MAC will hold additional swap meets the fourth Saturday of each month through August.

For more information, visit www.macsequim.org.

Weekend art demos

The Museum Arts Center presents two free art demos at the MAC Exhibit Center, 175 W. Cedar St., this weekend.

Watercolorist Iris Edey will demonstrate botanical sketching and sign copies of her illustrated books from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Paulette Hill will demonstrate bead stitching and pendant wire-wrapping from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Admission to the MAC Exhibit Center is $2 for adults, and children get in free.

Artists interested in conducting demonstrations this summer can phone Steph Ellyas at 360-683-8110.

Home improvement

SEQUIM — The Home Depot, 1145 W. Washington St., will hold free do-it-yourself gardening workshops Saturday and Sunday.

A vertical-garden workshop will run from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

A seminar on organic gardening will be held from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Shepherd’s Festival

SEQUIM — The annual Shepherd’s Festival will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday at Sequim Prairie Grange’s Macleay Hall, 290 Macleay Road, with lamb kabobs, lamb chili and arts and crafts for sale.

The event is sponsored by the North Olympic Shuttle and Spindle Guild, and the Olympic Peninsula Fiber Growers Association.

Guild members will demonstrate fiber-spinning and will talk about weaving with fiber.

Becky Northhaven, who trains border collies, will put on a sheep-herding demonstration with her dogs at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.

Sheep and llama demos also are planned.

A petting farm for children is sponsored by the Lambchops 4-H Club.

PORT TOWNSEND

Glee club concert

PORT TOWNSEND — The 25-member Pomona College Glee Club will perform at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1020 Jefferson St., at 7:30 p.m. today.

Glee club members will present a free hourlong concert of choral music dating from the Renaissance to the present, featuring the work of composers such as Tallis, Brahms, Verdi and Lauridsen.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Champion at 909-607-2671 or elizabeth.champion@pomona.edu.

Children’s voices

PORT TOWNSEND — Two African choirs will perform this weekend for the Fort Worden Children’s Choir Festival: the Makini Schools Children’s Choir from Nairobi, Kenya, and the Nairobi Girls’ Chorale.

The singers will step up at 3 p.m. Saturday for the festival concert in McCurdy Pavilion at Fort Worden State Park, 200 Battery Way.

This event is part of the Makini choir’s first tour of the United States.

The Makini Schools Children’s Choir is made up of singers ages 9 to 11, with 11 girls and three boys.

Along with the Nairobi Girls’ Chorale, they will meet young singers in three more West Coast choirs:

■ The Spectrum Vocal Performance Ensemble from Gig Harbor.

■ The Bellevue Girlchoir from King County.

■ The All Saints Youth Chamber Choir from Pasadena, Calif.

The vocalists in these groups range from elementary through high school ages.

Admission to the concert is $15 for adults or $12 for students and senior citizens, and patrons may buy tickets in advance by phoning Stephanie Charbonneau of Exceptional Choral Events at 360-271-8086.

Tickets also will be sold at the door Saturday.

Stove workshop set

PORT TOWNSEND — A biochar stove-building workshop will be held at the Quimper Grange, 1219 Corona St., from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Biochar is the resulting product of pyrolosis — the thermochemical decomposition of organic material — in a simple gasifier stove.

Participants will help build five 55-gallon biochar stoves, learn how to operate a variety of smaller stoves, and learn about the benefits of applying biochar to their home garden.

Biochar can be a useful soil amendment, retaining moisture and nutrients that promote healthy soil fauna, organizers said.

When buried, biochar can sequester carbon in the soil for thousands of years.

A potluck lunch will be cooked on the stoves, so attendees are encouraged to bring food to share.

Suggested donation for the workshop is $20, though no one will be turned away.

To take home one of the stoves, the total cost of the workshop and equipment is $90.

All proceeds benefit the Quimper Grange.

For more information or to register, contact Francesco Tortorici at francescot@gmail.com or 360-385-5068.

Concert for orphans

PORT TOWNSEND — Children and adults will perform the music of Mozart, Beethoven, Sarasate and Brahms, plus a selection of African and American songs, Sunday in a concert to benefit a group of orphaned children in Uganda.

Organizer and pianist Lisa Lanza said the players will be teenage cellist Madelyn Kowalski, violinist Rinnah Becker, pianist Jackson Schott and singer and ukulele player Juniper Dunlap.

Also to appear: soprano Sophia Parkhurst and the PT Trio, with clarinet player Paul Becker and Fred Nussbaum on cello.

Also: the Grace Players — Jim Espensen, Jeni Little and Don Fristo — and the Yesango Marimba Ensemble.

All proceeds from the concert will support 11 children who have lost their parents to the AIDS scourge in Uganda.

Admission to the 4 p.m. performance at Grace Lutheran Church, 1120 Walker St., is a suggested donation of $12.

For more details about the concert and the AIDS Orphans program, phone Grace Lutheran at 360-385-1595 or visit www.GraceLutheran.us.

QUILCENE

Plant and pie sale

QUILCENE — The Quilcene-Brinnon Garden Club plant sale, pie sale and raffle will be held Saturday.

The event will be at the Quilcene Masonic Lodge, 170 Herbert St., from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Plant sale items include Japanese maples, vegetables and herbs, shrubs, native plants and hanging baskets, along with indoor houseplants and seeds.

Fresh bouquets will be available, plus homemade pies, pastries and gardening books.

Raffle items will be provided by local businesses, artists and craftspeople.

Donations of raffle and baked-good items are welcome.

All proceeds from the sale are returned to the community through donations to food banks, school libraries and scholarships.

For more information, visit http://bit.ly/qbgc-sale.

FORKS

Bluegrass concert

FORKS — The Forks Elks Lodge will be site of the fourth annual Bluegrass BBQ beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday.

The event features several bands, including Crescent Blue, Laura and Isaiah and Loose Gravel.

Proceeds from the $20 admission — advance purchase required — will benefit the Forks Abuse Program.

Tickets are available at Windfall thrift store, 181 Bogachiel Way, or from the Forks Abuse Program office at 81 Second Ave.

The Forks Elks Lodge is located at 941 Merchants Road.

For more information, phone 360-374-6411.

SEKIU

Fly-in slated

SEKIU — The annual Memorial Day weekend Sekiu Fly-in will be held at the Sekiu Airport from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Attendees should bring side dishes and desserts to the airport by 11 a.m.

Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and $1 for children 5 and younger.

A barbecue lunch of pulled pork, beef and chicken will be served.

Proceeds benefit the Rocky Hinkle Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Pilots flying in can chart a course over the Swiftsure Yacht races in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.