Quimper Grange #720
1219 Corona St
Port Townsend WA 98368
360-531-0326
quimpergrange.org
Connect ~ Learn ~ Benefit
Grange motto: "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity."
May 2026
Special Events!
Tuesday, May 12, 6 - 7 pm Food for Thought presents
Owner's Manual for your Body ~ Ergonomics & Body Care for Gardeners
Regular Grange Events
check Calendar for updates
-
Sundays, 1 pm & Mondays, 6 pm - Line Dance Classes
-
1st Tuesdays, 5 pm - Ukuleles Unite
-
Wednesdays, May 13, 20, 27, 7 - 9 pm - Dance Balkan
-
Saturday, May 16, 7:30 - 10 pm - PT Community Dance
-
Notes from the Garden
Save the Date!
Tuesday, June 9, 5:30-8:30 pm - Food for Thought Series ~ Jefferson County Food Bank with Board President Roland Faragher-Horwell
Food for Thought presents:
Owner's Manual for your Body
Ergonomics & Body Care for Gardeners
with Physical Therapist, Erica Mack
Tuesday, May 12, 6:00-7:00 pm
This free series offered by Quimper Grange #720, examines "all things food & growing” in our area. For over 100 years, this Grange has supported the Jefferson County community through public programming, concerts, dance, rental space, and a 7,000 ft² Food Bank Garden, donating produce to help mitigate food insecurity. The Grange is at 1219 Corona Ave, PT.
Doors open at 5:45 pm
Join us for this practical workshop designed to teach you how to care for your most important gardening tool —your body.
Led by a physical therapist, you’ll learn essential ergonomic strategies, body mechanics, and self-care techniques that will help you avoid inconvenient aches and injuries while gardening. Whether you’re planting, weeding, pruning, bending, or lifting, discover how to move with ease, improve posture, and keep muscles and joints healthy. Walk away with simple yet effective strategies to enjoy gardening with less aches and pains.
Erica has been a physical therapist for over 30 years. Her approach is hands-on as well as educational; she knows that information empowers us all to determine the best ways to take care of our bodies and practice radical self-care. Community, healthy relationships, play, laughter, good sleep, quiet time, power-sharing, and moving toward love and joy comprise Erica’s recipe for a good life.
She loves the outdoors, time with family and friends, dancing, singing, playing, walking, reading, hiking, biking, playing beach volleyball, floating down rivers, and dipping in oceans.
Line Dance Classes
Beginning Line Dance Class
No Experience Necessary, Drop-ins Welcome
Every Sunday at 1:00 pm
90 minute class
$10 Suggested Donation
Intermediate Line Dance Class
One should have some line dance experience before attending.
Every Monday at 6:00 pm
90 minute class
$10 Suggested Donation
For more info: 360-302-0188
Ukuleles Unite!
Happy Hour:
Open Mic & Singalong
First Tuesday
Happy Hour is open to the public on the first Tuesday of the month starting at 5:00 pm. Enjoy listening and singing along with us. The relaxed atmosphere encourages beginners to advanced groups and individuals to perform. Bring your musical instruments and play along with us. We suggest a small donation to help pay the rent.
Guidelines: 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.
For more info visit: ukulelesunite.com or George Yount at 360-477-5788 • gyount@olypen.com
Dance Balkan
Wednesdays
(except the 1st Wednesday of each month)
May 13, 20, 27
7:00 - 9:00 pm
No partner needed
Evenings start with mellow dances & progress to intermediate. Dances from Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria and more.
Fast paced & fun!
Hosts Richard & Susi Watson • by donation
PT Community Dance
Saturday, May 16
Dancing from 7:30 to 10:00 pm
Doors open at 7:15 pm
The caller for May is Anne Marie Schaeffer. Hailing from Centralia, Anne Marie learned from David Kaynor and Warren Argo as she took her first steps into calling dances many years ago. Bill Martin, Frederick Park, Tony Mates, Sherry Nevins, and Larry Edelman also have been strong influences along the way.
When calling dances, she pulls from her collection of lines, circles, contras, and square dances to match the energy and needs of the dancers at hand.
Anne Marie Schaeffer
Port Townsend Irresistible Antiques will be pulsing out the dance tunes on May 16th! Bobbi Nikles (fiddle), Jere Canote (guitar), Jack Dwyer (banjo) and Tracy Grisman have been playing dance music and beyond for decades.
We are hard pressed to have a better group of players for the last spring dance!
The Port Townsend Community Dance is inspired by traditional kitchen and 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, with a friend, with a partner, with the family – or with the whole village.
Admission is $10. Donations to our program are always appreciated.
Please bring your own personal water bottle and consider arriving on foot or by bicycle if possible! The May dance is sponsored by both the Country Song and Dance Society and the City of Port Townsend Arts Commission. This dance is the last dance until September! Hope to see you there.
From the beginning of Food Bank Gardens, plant propagation for garden sites fell on the shoulders of Garden Managers, adding yet another responsibility to an already demanding role that includes planning, recruiting volunteers, and preparing garden spaces for the growing season—not to mention commitments such as Master Gardener plant sales and their own home gardens. By 2025, it became clear that the organization would benefit from a centralized propagation service to support those who needed it.
Garden Notes
May 2026
The FBG Propagation Team: "PropaGators" Mado, Seth and Kim
With us since January 2026
That need led to the creation of the FBG Propagation Team—affectionately known as the “PropaGators.” Since building a fully operational propagation facility in early 2026, the team has quickly become an instrumental force within the organization, serving seven gardens and producing thousands of vegetable starts in just a few short months.
"I volunteer because helping to provide nutritious food to members of my community helps support and strengthen local food systems while providing delicious nutrient dense produce to those who need it."
Mado Most
Led by Mado Most, the team includes Seth Katz-Monet and Kim Duddy. The Grange Garden has played a vital supporting role by providing a hoop house and a wide range of supplies. Special thanks to Barbara Tusting and Mary Beth Haralovich for their continued support of this initiative while managing both the Grange Garden and Blessings Garden.
On any given day, the propagation team can be found seeding trays, monitoring germination conditions, transplanting seedlings, and coordinating distribution schedules to ensure each garden receives the plants it needs at the right time. Their work requires careful planning, attention to detail, and a deep understanding of seasonal growing cycles in East Jefferson County.
The propagation effort has significantly reduced the burden on Garden Managers while also strengthening collaboration across garden sites. By centralizing early-stage growing, individual gardens are able to focus more energy on cultivation, maintenance, and harvests later in the season. The result is a more efficient use of resources and a greater overall yield for the communities we serve.
Looking ahead, the team continues to explore ways to improve both their facility and their service. Planned enhancements include the addition of innovative equipment such as solar-powered vents and fans, helping to increase efficiency, sustainability, and overall capacity as the program continues to grow.
ENDORSEMENT: "This is an especially busy year for me, and I am so grateful to know that the PropaGaters are willing to take my seed-starting requests and then care for the seedlings until it’s time to plant. I keep telling everyone that the Prop Squad has saved my life this spring — or at least my sanity. All I have to do is show up and claim my beautiful seedlings when they are ready. Keep up the excellent work, Prop Team!" ~ Suzanne E, Swan
To read earlier Garden Notes postings from the Quimper Grange Food Bank Garden click on this link.