First Friday events on June 3 include paintings by Donna Catotti at the Haines Brewing Company, putting practice at the Valley of the Eagles Golf Course and the chance to win cash prizes at a hammer guessing game at the Hammer Museum.

Catotti, who recently won several awards from the Southeastern Pastel Society and the Pastel Society of the West Coast for her work, will have on display and for sale about 15 landscapes and still life paintings including new and old oils and pastels.

“I’m hoping to have a brand new still life that I’ve been working on for several years called ‘Still Life in Blue.’ I’m almost there,” Catotti said. “I’m painting peacock feathers today.”

The Valley of the Eagles Golf Course will open for putting practice from 5 to 7 p.m. The golf course will have putters and balls available and the driving range will be open pending dry weather.

At the Alaska Arts Confluence, photographer Evan Haynes will display both color and black and white images of landscapes and wildlife from Haines and Northern Lynn Canal.

The Port Chilkoot Distillery will feature Brian Staurseth’s Wildlife Photography.

The Old Field Kitchen will include new paintings by Merrick Bochart with live music by Hannah Bochart and Nora Zimmerly.

Alaska Rod’s will have work by artist Tina Ghan who creates crocheted rocks and jars.

The Haines Sheldon Museum will continue its six-week spotlight series featuring “Tlingit miniatures,” carvings by various local artists, and will have on display the 2021-2022 Student Art Show.

The Hammer Museum is offering a $500 prize to anyone who can guess the use of an assortment of 30 hammers and gadgets—a group of tools known as the “whatsit” collection. Free beer and snacks will be available along with free season pass cards for locals.

The Bear in the Blueberry author to sign new book at The Bookstore

Linda Buckley, Juneau-based author of “The Bear in the Blueberry” will be at The Bookstore to sign copies of her newest children’s book, “The Humpback and the Herring.”

The book is the second of a planned trilogy, she said, which is inspired by Buddhist writer and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh.

Buckley’s books focus on the interdependent nature of seemingly separate entities. “It’s the circle of life,” Buckley said. “Everything is in everything.”

That includes poop. In “The Bear in the Blueberry,” she writes about bear scat nourishing a blueberry bush. In “The Humpback in the Herring,” the theme continues.

“I thought, ‘How am I going to get a humpback into a tiny little herring,” Buckley said. “It’s all about poop. When the humpback whales bubble feed and eat all the herring, after a while they release this yellow cloud of feces that’s full of nitrogen. The herring swim through that and the humpback is in the herring. The nitrogen in whale poop is absolutely essential for life.”

Her books include ecological facts at the end that parents can use to explain the science behind the stories to their children.

The books are illustrated by Seattle-based artist Robin Robbins.

Buckley will be at The Bookstore from 4 to 7 p.m.