BLOGS

√ CheckList: 5 cheap things that look like fun

Blog: Culture Check

Hankerin’ to hibernate? A few of you are already gathering nuts and padding your hidey holes in preparation for Tuesday’s autumn equinox. Like me, you may be fattening up for the winter months ahead — scavenging for garlic fries at EZ’s Burger Deluxe or hoarding Supreme Omelette Taquitos from 7-Eleven (I hear they freeze well).

When it comes to winter preparation, the best slow-release, high-fuel foods are usually the greasiest. Ask any bear with a salmon in its mouth.

If early hibernation truly doesn’t appeal to you — and I’m guessing you hiker/skier types aren’t quite ready for a four-month nap — the coming week is packed with varied activities that’ll keep you hopping.Choice affordable fun includes:

√ Leaves and Rocks and Bubbles (Friday) — You probably never guessed that a pond surface could be so darned, um, sensual, but Seattle photographer Eva Sköld Westerlind will make you look, and then look again with delight. Her nature photography is a dip in the smooth, serene beauty that surrounds us — if we’d only take a gander. You can meet Westerlind at an artist reception (free snacks!) beginning at 5 p.m. at the Icicle Arts Gallery at the Barn Beach Reserve, 347 Division St., Leavenworth. Info: 668-4663.

√ Soap Up Your Mutt, Then Let Her Strut (Saturday and Sunday) — Two quirky pet events will give Fido and Muffy something to howl about this weekend. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, a bubble-bath dog wash complete with belly rubs and after-bath treats will be held at Pioneer Park in Wenatchee. Baths are free, but donations are accepted to benefit the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society. Info: 662-9577. At 6:30 p.m. Sunday, a Rescues & Runway Fashion Show, featuring human models with adoptable dogs and cats, will be held at Maurices, 1340 N. Miller St., Valley North Center, Wenatchee. The free fashion show will include a silent auction to benefit the Humane Society. Info: 662-1391.

√ Pieces for Peace (Saturday) — An afternoon of songs, stories, poems and commentaries will kick-off Tonasket’s 6th Annual Peace Festival, a celebration of International Peace Day. The opening peace circle forms at 2 p.m., with free readings and discussions to follow. At 6 p.m., a peace dinner ($7) precedes a 7:30 p.m. concert (adults $8). All events at the Community Cultural Center, 411 S. Western Ave., Tonasket. Info: 486-1328.

√ Cute ’Bots and Fairy Talk (Saturday) — Nothing stirs the blood like a free big-screen movie, unless it’s a free big-screen movie with Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. “Finding Neverland,” starring both of them, never reached blockbuster status but is definitely worth your time since, ahem, the price is right. Sponsored by the Wenatchee Downtown Association in conjunction with the Taste of Harvest Festival, the movie starts at 10:30 a.m. at the Liberty Cinema, 11 S. Mission Ave., Wenatchee. Still movie hungry? “WALL-E,” one of Pixar’s more recent triumphs, is the next outdoor flick at Walla Walla Point Park’s handball courts. The free movie starts at 7:30 p.m. Info: 888-3284.

√ Denmark in Cashmere? (Monday) — You don’t have enough harp, dulcimer and psaltery music in your life, do you? Now’s your chance to stock up. Beginning at 7 p.m., the Cashmere Rotary Club hosts “Castles and Cobblestones,” a concert and Denmark travelogue by David and Dari Michael, who are pluckers from way back. The high school jazz band will also perform. Admission: $10 adults, $5 kids. Location: Cashmere Middle School auditorium, 300 Tigner Road, Cashmere. Info: 782-7820.

CheckList is a weekly posting for Culture Check, a wenatchee world.com blog, where Mike Irwin writes about art, movies, books, bad TV, oddball boats and anything else he finds interesting. You can reach him at 665-1179 or irwin@wenatchee world.com.