Community Briefs

Ride historic train to visit Easter bunny

Simpson Railroad hosts its Easter Bunny Special from 10 a.m. to

4 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at 10138 W. Shelton Matlock Road, 10 miles west of downtown Shelton.

The event includes a train ride, a hunt for Easter eggs, face painting and the opportunity to meet the Easter bunny. Tickets for people older than 2 are $15.

For more information, go to http://www.simpsonrailroad.org.

Spring Bazaar at Shelton senior center

The Mason County Senior Activities Center hosts Spring Bazaar from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 6 at the Pavilion at 190 W. Sentry Drive in Shelton, behind Brice Titus Ford.

More than 35 vendors will offer items including clocks, handmade quilts and knitting, holiday baskets, jewelry, wooden décor, toys, and silver and turquoise jewelry. Senior center members also offer homemade baked goods.

Lunch can be purchased between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Coffee and other beverages are available all day.

Proceeds benefit the senior center.

For more information, call 260-426-7374.

Poet/painter shares work at Shelton library

Caroline Holm is a nature poet, author and artist who will read from her debut book of poetry and prose at 5 p.m. March 28 at the library. She’ll also display some of the paintings that illustrate her book.

During her residency at Hypatia-in-the-Woods in Mason County, Holm is writing and painting to complete a second book of poetry, art and prose. She stated, “Reverence and observation are the main informants of my work. At its root, my writing is a celebration of the natural world and an exploration of what may be implicit within and beyond it.”

Candyland Youth Festival coming April 20 in Shelton

The Armstrong Community Outreach Foundation hosts the Candyland Youth Festival at 1 p.m. April 20 at the South Mason Youth Soccer Club, 2102 E. Johns Prairie Road, Shelton.

The gates open at 12:30 p.m. The event includes a talent show, games, an auction, youth vendors, an egg dash for all ages, prizes and raffles. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for youths younger than 18, or $25 for families that include two adults and three youths.

Seafood, auction items at Pioneer fundraiser dinner

Youths of the Pioneer School District and Mason County will benefit from the Pioneer Kiwanis Foundation’s annual seafood and dinner and auction Saturday at Pioneer Elementary School.

The doors open at 4 p.m., with the silent auction items ready for bidding.

The dinner starts at 4:30 p.m. and the live auction begins at 6 p.m. The meal includes clams, shrimp, spaghetti and coleslaw. Tickets are $35 for adults and $15 for children ages 3 to 12; children 2 and younger are admitted for free. For tickets, call Sherry at 360-229-0673. For more information, call Pamela Harrell at 360-490-0954.

The auction is the group’s largest fundraiser of the year. The group is seeking donors and sponsors, who will receive recognition in the auction materials and will be named in a “thank you” ad in the Journal. Sponsors will also receive recognition during the auction and in the live auction catalog.

Harstine talk on Washington museum oddities

Harriet Baskas talks about “Weird, Wonderful and Worrisome Objects in Washington State’s Museums” at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Harstine Island Community Hall, 3371 E. Harstine Island Road N.

The Seattle author of nine books, Baskas says most museums display no more than 10% of their holdings, and she uncovers some of the stuff from the museum’s back rooms: a Spokane institution that holds Bing Crosby’s toupees and a museum in Lynden that’s home to a 150-year-old pickle.

The Inquiring Minds series is presented by the Harstine Island Community Club and Humanities Washington.

Des Moines resident and screenwriter Steve Edmiston spotlights “UFO Northwest: How Washington State Spawned Men in Black” at 2 p.m. April 28.

Edmiston will talk about an incident Aug. 1, 1947, when the crash of a B-52 bomber in the Puget Sound area triggered an FBI investigation of “The Maury Island Incident,” an infamous UFO sighting and history’s first alleged encounter with the so-called “Men in Black.”

The FBI’s records from 1947, which were sealed for decades, reveal Cold War fears, jurisdictional disputes, cover-ups, false confessions, a courageous FBI special agent and the hands-on involvement of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.