As winter fades into spring with flowers bursting into bloom and trees leafing out, new life and freshness abound. Soak in the many activities around town this month and find March’s magic with events to match your mood and interests.

The Port Townsend School of Woodworking is hosting an Open House on March 12 from 2-4:30 pm at Fort Worden in Building 315, in anticipation of their upcoming Tiny Homes building class. Presentations from Jim Tolpin and Steven Habersetzer will talk about Gypsy Wagons and Tiny Homes.

The 3^rd Annual She Tells Sea Tales storytelling event is being hosted at the Northwest Maritime Center on March 12 at 7 pm, doors open at 6:30 pm. This event celebrates International Women’s Day by bringing together women storytellers and songwriters who share tales from their seafaring lives. Tickets are available at the door or online at www.nwmaritime.org. All proceeds fund the Northwest Maritime Center’s Girls’ Boat Project, which is an all girls woodworking and sailing program run in conjunction with Port Townsend School District.

On Friday, March 18 at 7:30 pm, come to Key City Public Theatre for laughter that is “larger than life” as Olympic Peninsula Comedy presents Comedy Night with Seattle comedian Susan Jones. Susan is a national touring act who performed on the popular Northwest show “Up Late NW” and most recently opened shows for Saturday Night Live legend Rob Schneider. She is a must-see comic who has starred in reality television and independent films and can be seen performing stand-up acts in comedy clubs across the country. Larger than life, Susan uses her attitude and experiences with size acceptance and being a single mom to deliver consistently funny, crowd-pleasing performances. To reserve tickets go to www.keycitypublictheatre.org for more info.

The 20^th Annual Victorian Heritage Festival celebrates Port Townsend’s extraordinary history and culture March 18-20. Started as a call to preserve and restore Port Townsend’s architecture and history, the festival helped establish history as a cornerstone of Port Townsend’s community. This year the festival turns its attention to the hearth and home of the region’s 19th century past. Experts discuss the lives and livelihoods of the Olympic Peninsula’s early settlers. Panels range from hunting and trapping to handicrafts and trades of the region. Cross-time panels include renovation of 19th century homes and the experience of living history as re-enactor and historian.

Perennial favorites such as the Victorian Fashion Show, Friday night pub crawl, Victorian Ball & Contradance, Building Tours by Port Townsend’s Main Street Program and, as always, free admission for young adults and children through a generous donation from the Victorian Society in America – Northwest Chapter. For more info, go to www.vicfest.org.

Celebrate Easter with Brunch at Fort Worden on Sunday, March 27 from 10 am to 2 pm. Call 360.344.4400 for reservations.

Save the date for upcoming events in April:

April 2
Port Townsend Farmers Market Opens

April 7 through May 1
Key City Public Theatre presents Women in Jeopardy by Wendy MacLeod
9 am to 2 pm

April 9 and 10
Celebrate Port Townsend Film Festival’s Women and Film
Choose from eight films and meet with acclaimed directors at the Rose Theatre.
Reserve tickets at www.ptfilmfest.com

April 30
Port Townsend Kitchen Tour
10 am to 4 pm

We look forward to welcoming you to Port Townsend!

Presented over two weekends, PT PlayFest features six winning one-acts by Jefferson County playwrights, open rehearsals of plays-in-progress, playwriting workshops, and more.

Jefferson County talent will be showcased in premieres of six plays by winning playwrights of the 2016 Port Townsend Arts Commission’s One-Act Play Competition: Christopher Clow, Doug Given, D.D. Wigley, Christopher Clow, Judith Glass Collins, and new playwright Hewitt Brooks. Three plays receive staged readings; three receive full productions.

“Locals Weekend” (March 3-6, 2016) features the winning one-acts and precedes the jam-packed “Festival Weekend” (March 10-13, 2016), with three days of back-to-back events.

Two notable regional playwrights were invited to spend a week in residence, workshopping their full-length plays in progress. In Richard Dresser’s “War Stories”, Master Sergeant Boyd Cassidy, a Vietnam vet, is in a high-end Phoenix hotel to finally receive the recognition he deserves after years of turmoil—until a knock at the door sends him into a horror more profound than anything he faced on the battlefield. In Duane Kelly’s “Escorting Tom”, Carol will be leaving her inept and isolated husband, but her secret plan to help him survive without her goes wildly off the rails.

KCPT’s featured guest playwright this year will be Darrah Cloud, whose play “The Posthumous Democrat”, the dramatic story of a composer, Catherine Starr, whose famous, connected conservative father leaves her a legacy both enormous and crippling. This full-length play will be directed by KCPT Artistic Director Denise Winter. Darrah will also be teaching the free playwriting workshop sponsored by the Port Townsend Arts Commission on Saturday, March 12, from 10 am – 1 pm. This will be followed by Darrah’s fee-based playwriting intensive Sunday, March 13, from 10 am – 1 pm (space is limited).

DETAILS:

To register for one or both of these workshops, e-mail boxoffice@keycitypublictheatre.org or call 360-379-0195.

The $35 Festival Pass grants access to all performance events both weekends. Writer’s Passes are $95 and additionally include the playwriting intensive taught by Darrah Cloud.

Single show tickets and passes are available from the Playhouse Box Office at 360-385-KCPT, or online at http://www.keycitypublictheatre.org/ptplayfest/.