Try This: Brides & All That Jazz

The 51st annual Clark College Jazz Festival offers three days of big-band jazz as 60 middle and high school jazz ensembles perform in the competition. The top ensembles in each category will receive awards. The Dale Beacock Memorial Sweepstakes Award will be presented to the most outstanding band. The Clark College Jazz Ensemble will perform at noon today. The Mountain View High School Jazz Band, the 2012 Sweepstakes Band, performs at 8:30 p.m. tonight.

When: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with preliminary competitions, with the finals starting at 7 p.m. today.

Where: Gaiser Hall, Clark College, 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver.

Admission: $5, free for children.

Telephone: 360-992-2662.

Web: http://clark.edu/cc/jazzfestival

The jazz festival is one of many options for getting out and about this weekend.

2. Comedic competition

The Portland-based improv group ComedySportz will bring its brand of comedy while benefiting the Union High School Choir Program. Their signature show features two comedy teams taking turns improvising, singing and playing games in a “Who’s Line Is it Anyway?” style, presided over by a referee. The audience votes for the winner. The choir is raising money to travel to the American Choral Directors National Conference in Dallas, Texas.

When: 7:30 p.m. tonight.

Where: Union High School Auditorium, 6201 N.W. Friberg-Strunk St., Camas.

Admission: $10.

Web: http://unionchoir.org/comedysportz-night

3. Calling unpublished writers

The annual National Unpublished Writers’ Day, held in celebration of author Richard Brautigan’s birthday and his distinct worldview, will be at the Brautigan Library for Unpublished Works in the Clark County Historical Museum. The event will feature writer discussions, workshops and writing stations.

When: Noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Clark County Historical Museum, 1511 Main St., Vancouver.

Admission: Free.

Telephone: 360-693-1840.

Web: http://cchmuseum.org

4. Cakes and gowns

The Marry Me! wedding event puts the focus on wedding cakes, with ticket-sale proceeds benefiting the Pongo Fund and Panda Paws Rescue. The event includes more than 60 cakes and inspiration boards featuring a collaboration of wedding coordinators, floral designers and cake artists. There will also be vendors, DIY seminars and a designer and couture wedding gown sale.

When: Noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Hilton Vancouver Washington, 301 W. Sixth St.

Admission: $5 to $10.

Web: http://marrymeevent.com

5. Witches, beware!

Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) turn a childhood run-in with a hungry witch into a bounty hunter business. They dedicate their lives to destroying every witch plaguing the forests and towns of their homeland. But when rumbling of a greater evil begins to emerge, the siblings find the past coming back to haunt them. “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” is rated R.

Where: Battle Ground Cinema, 1700 S.W. Ninth Ave., Battle Ground; Cinetopia Mill Plain, 11700 S.E. Seventh St.; Cinetopia Vancouver Mall 23, 8700 N.E. Vancouver Mall Drive; various Regal Cinemas.

Admission: Varies by theater.

Telephone: Battle Ground Cinema, 360-666-7200; Cinetopia, 360-213-2800 Cinetopia Vancouver Mall 23, 360-448-4100; Regal Cinemas, 800-326-3264.

Web: http://battlegroundcinema.com, http://cinetopia.com, http://regmoviescom.