In brief: Shelters offer free cat adoptions today

SPOKANE – SCRAPS, the Spokane Humane Society and SpokAnimal will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with “St. Catrick’s Day” today.

The three shelters will waive fees for cat adoptions. People wanting to adopt cats today would pay only the price of a cat license. All cats will be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, licensed, microchipped and given a free veterinary exam.

Locations and hours include SCRAPS, 2521 N. Flora Road in Spokane Valley, noon to 5:30 p.m.; SpokAnimal, 710 N. Napa St., 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; and the Spokane Humane Society, 6607 N. Havana St., 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information, call Nancy Hill at (509) 477-1967 or Jackie Bell at (509) 477-2984.

Theater offers ‘Hansel and Gretel’

WEST HILLS – The Spokane Children’s Theatre will perform the children’s classic “Hansel and Gretel,” beginning Saturday at 1 p.m. at Spokane Falls Community College, 3410 W. Fort George Wright Drive, in the Spartan Auditorium.

Other performances will be Sunday at 1 p.m.; March 26 and 27 and April 2 at 1 and 4 p.m.; and April 3 at 1 p.m. The March 26 performances will be signed for the hearing impaired.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for children, and may be purchased at (800) 325-SEAT www.tickets west.com or at the door.

For more information, call (509) 328-4886 or visit www.spokanechildrens theatre.org.

Peace, justice conference Friday

WEST HILLS – The Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane, 4340 W. Fort George Wright Drive, will host the Peace and Economic Justice Action Conference on Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. A reception will be Friday, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m..

The conference will feature keynote speaker Derrick Crowe from Rethink Afghanistan, who will speak on the theme: “Bring Our Billions Home: The Cost of War and Our Communities’ Needs.” To register and for more information, visit www.pjals.org.

‘Lure of the Drums’ will be Saturday

CLIFF/CANNON – The second annual “Lure of the Drums” will be at the Spokane Woman’s Club, 1428 W. Ninth Ave., on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Attendees can enjoy Suzako Taiko Japanese-style and African-style drumming along with the Ashe Drum and Dance Ensemble.

For tickets – $10 for adults and $5 for children – call (509) 953-5731.