2 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Heritage museum lays on a quilt trip in exhibition
ILWACO, WASH. — The 23rd
annual Peninsula Quilt
Guild exhibition hosted by
the Columbia Pacific Her-
itage Museum will be held
Friday to Sunday, March
16 to 18, in Ilwaco, Wash-
ington.
With more than 100
quilts on display in three
separate galleries, this ex-
hibit showcases work from
the area’s most talented fab-
ric artists, all members of
the Peninsula Quilt Guild.
Various quilting demonstra-
tions, such as paper piecing,
hand quilting, appliqué
and more will take place
throughout the three-day
event.
Tickets for a Prize
Quilt raffle will be avail-
able throughout the show
at a cost of $1 per ticket.
The drawing will be held
Sunday afternoon; it is not
necessary to be present to
win. Proceeds from ticket
sales will go to various
charitable organizations on
the Peninsula and in Pacific
County. Admission to the
quilt show is free.
COURTESY MERRI JOHNSON
Renee Newstrum and Viv Macek
The Heritage Museum
is located at 115 S.E. Lake
St. in Ilwaco. Museum
hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tuesday through Saturday.
Admission is free on Thurs-
days thanks to the Port of
Ilwaco.
For more information,
call 360-642-3446 or visit
columbiapacificheritagemu-
seum.org.
COURTESY COLUMBIA PACIFIC HERITAGE MUSEUM
The 2018 Peninsula Quilt Guild raffle quilt
Hoffman Center guest author imagines war at home
MANZANITA — Omar El
Akkad will read from his
novel, “American War,” at
the Hoffman Center for the
Arts 7 p.m. Saturday, March
17. Admission for the eve-
ning reading is $7. Doors
open at 6:30 p.m.
For 10 years El Akkad
led a double life, working
as an international war
reporter for Canada’s The
Globe and Mail and writing
fiction between midnight
and 5 a.m. The grueling
schedule allowed him to
write three draft novels that
never left his hard drive, but
his fourth, “American War,”
was not only published but
is creating significant buzz.
El Akkad’s future dys-
topian tale begins in 2075
during the second American
Civil War, in which Red and
Blue states clash over the
need for sustainable energy.
Set in a late-21st century
U.S. ravaged by global
warming, this ambitious
debut encourages western
readers to put themselves
in the shoes of the world’s
displaced peoples.
El Akkad covered the
war in Afghanistan, military
trials at Guantánamo Bay,
the Arab Spring protests in
Egypt, the Black Lives Mat-
ter movement in Ferguson,
Missouri, and the effects
of climate change in places
like Florida and Louisiana.
He is a recipient of the
National Newspaper Award
for investigative reporting
for his coverage of the
“Toronto 18” terrorism
arrests. He has also received
the Goff Penny Memorial
Prize for Young Journalists,
as well as three National
Magazine Award honorable
mentions.
Following Omar’s
reading and Q-and-A in
the evening, the Hoffman
Center will have its popular
Open Mic, where up to nine
local or visiting writers will
read five minutes of original
work. The suggested theme
for the evening’s Open Mic
is “Revenge.”
El Akkad’s visit is part
of the Manzanita Writers’
Series. The Hoffman Center
is located at 594 Laneda
Ave. More information is
COURTESY HOFFMAN CENTER FOR
THE ARTS
The cover of Omar El Akkad’s
novel, “American War”
available at hoffmanblog.
org, or contact Kathie High-
tower at kathiejhightower@
gmail.com.