1. Going batty
Families are invited to learn what it’s like to stay up all night during Second Saturday at the Water Resources Education Center, 1 to 3 p.m. Oct. 12. This month’s theme is Creatures of the Night, when kids can learn about nocturnal critters as volunteers shine a light on traits and characteristics that allow animals to adapt to the night. Kids are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite animals (or insects or arachnids) and celebrate the spooky-yet-remarkable creatures who come alive at sunset, hunting for food while we are asleep in our beds. Second Saturdays at the Water Center, 4600 S.E. Columbia Way in Vancouver, are always free and best suited for families with elementary-aged children. 360-487-7111 or www.cityofvancouver.us/watercenter
2. A Christie mystery
Love Street Playhouse continues its 12th season with Agatha Christie’s murder mystery thriller, “And Then There Were None,” playing Oct. 11-27 at 126 Loves Ave. in Woodland. “And Then There Were None,” widely considered to be Christie’s masterpiece, is the best-selling mystery novel of all time, with 100 million sales to date. The play is Christie’s own stage adaptation of her story, which follows 10 strangers who come to a remote English island at the request of an eccentric millionaire. When they arrive, however, their host is missing. And by the end of the evening, one of the guests has been murdered. One by one, more guests die. Who among them is the killer? Tickets are $20, available by calling 800-966-8865 or online at www.LoveStreetPlayhouse.com.
3. Keep on squashin’
The SaSQUASH Fall Art Festival is an unusual fundraiser for the animal residents of Odd Man Inn Animal Refuge, a nonprofit farm animal shelter in Washougal. Attendees can bid on art in a silent auction, buy raffle tickets for prizes, play games, enjoy food, beer and cider, and make their own art to take home at art booths. The art festival, overlooking Lacamas Lake at Lacamas Lake Lodge, 227 N.W. Lake Road in Camas, takes place from 3 to 6 p.m. Oct. 12. The entry fee is one squash; gourds are a favorite treat of Odd Man Inn animals. Proceeds from the festival support the refuge, which helps animals that have suffered abuse and neglect, outlived their “usefulness,” or have simply outgrown their homes. 360-837-1926 or oddmaninn.org
4. This old house
Washington’s first house still stands at 4201 Main St., Vancouver. The cabin, built in 1849 and available to book for celebrations and meetings, will be open for tours from 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 13, during the Fall Festival at Covington House. Parents can take advantage of Children’s Corner, where kids will be busy doing monitored activities while parents enjoy a discussion with Pat Jollota, who will relate the site’s history, tell ghost stories and talk about her true crime book. A historical lecture will cover events from Europeans’ arrival in the Americas to Northwest exploration. Finally, attendees will see a presentation about Native American culture, ceremonies and regalia. Guests can also enjoy tea and scones and listen to the haunting sounds of a bagpiper. www.covingtonhouse.org
