Go: Music in the Garden, Shougtoberfest, Pick-a-Pear-a-Thon

1. Blossoms, bluegrass, Beaujolais

Meander through a tranquil, 5-acre garden while soothing your soul with the sounds of Native American flutes, lilting tunes from ukeleles and fiddles, rollicking bluegrass, traditional folk songs and uplifting classical melodies. Music in the Garden, a drop-in event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 7, is a fundraiser for the Master Gardener Foundation of Clark County. Bring lawn chairs and blankets for seating, sip wine from Stavalaura Vineyard and nosh on nibbles from the Soup’R Sammiches food cart. Buy tickets ($15 for one ticket, $25 for two) at musicinthegarden-2019.bpt.me; you’ll receive the address of the privately owned garden upon payment. 360-521-1190 or www.mgfcc.com

2. Septembeer is here

There’s no need to wait for the official start of Oktoberfest (Sept. 21, according to German tradition) to don your lederhosen and quaff pints of lager while accordions and tubas pump out a lively polka. At 54?40′ Brewing’s family-friendly Shougtoberfest, noon to 9 p.m. Sept. 7 at 3801 S. Truman Road in Washougal, you can enjoy Oktoberfest music and participate in beer-hall games like a stein-holding contest, a cornhole tournament, a dunk tank and a prize raffle. Sample German-style beer and savor German food specials in the knowledge that your $5 admission will benefit CDM Caregiving Services, a local in-home care agency. 360-844-5932 or 54-40brewing.com

3. Firelight at the fort

Stroll through a living timeline of history during Campfires & Candlelight, 4 to 10 p.m. Sept. 7 at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, 1001 E. Fifth St., Vancouver. Costumed volunteers will portray residents of Fort Vancouver and Vancouver Barracks from the 1840s through the 1940s, cooking meals, making music and playing old-timey games like hoop trundling. Inside the fort — which opens at 5 p.m. — re-enactors will recreate the night of Sept. 26, 1844, when a massive wildfire threatened to engulf the stockade. Visitors can meet volunteers portraying specific characters who were present on that night 175 years ago. 360-816-6230 or www.nps.gov/fova

4. Fresh air and fresh art

Plein Air and Art brings artists to downtown Camas from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 6, when they’ll be doing plein air (open air) painting around town. See paintings take shape before your eyes, then vote for your favorite at Camas Gallery, 408 N.E. Fourth St., during First Friday, 5 to 8 p.m. — plus enjoy art shows and receptions, after-hours shopping, kids’ crafts, the Hidden Bronze Bird Tour and a dual artist live painting. The winning plein air paintings will be auctioned off at Dinner in White on the Columbia, a benefit for the Washougal Library Building Fund, 4 p.m. Sept. 7 at Marina Park, 24 S. A St., Washougal. downtowncamas.com or www.dinnerinwhiteonthecolumbia.org

5. Pickin’ and grinnin’

Urban Abundance, a local nonprofit gleaning organization, invites the community to join its biggest harvest event of the year: Pick-a-Pear-a-Thon, happening twice at day (9 a.m. to noon and 5 to 8 p.m.) from Sept. 6-8. Bring the whole family to pick Bartlett pears from hundreds of trees at Foley Community Orchard, 12018 N.W. 21st Ave., Vancouver. The goal is to prevent as much as possible from going to waste — instead, fruit will be donated to the Clark County Food Bank. Bonus: all volunteers get to take home just-picked fruit. It’s free to participate, but RSVP at www.eventbrite.com. More details can be found at www.pickapear.org or by calling 678-850-8702.