Festival to celebrate author’s life

GIVEN THE WAY he chose to shuffle off this mortal coil, gunplay might seem like an odd choice.

On the other hand, Ernest Hemingway loved to shoot things – ducks, squirrels, lions, what have you.

So, even though he died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, maybe there’s no better way to celebrate Papa than with The Sun Valley Indian Summer Shootout Trap and Skeet Competition.

It’s just one event in the first annual Ernest Hemingway Festival, a celebration of the writer’s life in Idaho’s Wood River Valley, Sept. 22 through 25.

The Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau rallied a crew of enthusiasts to help organize the fun.

“It’s something we felt would be an obvious celebration or event for the area,” says Carrie Westergard, marketing director for the chamber. “He had a love for the area, and we wanted to showcase that.”

Hemingway’s family even gave the effort their blessing.

His former daughter-in-law gets the ball rolling with a keynote address on Thursday night. According to Kirkus Reviews, Valerie Hemingway’s 2004 book, “Running with the Bulls: My Years with the Hemingways” (Ballantine) “looks back more than 40 years to record frankly and without axes to grind the antics of a larger-than-life and truly bizarre clan.”

Come on. They were just another all-American family, if you ask me.

The next morning, grab a triple espresso and head for “Why Hemingway Matters.”

Susan F. Beegel brings her Ph.D. in English from Yale to the task, along with the bushel full of knowledge she’s gathered as editor of The Hemingway Review, an award-winning international journal, and as author of books, articles, reviews, grocery lists and post-it notes about Hemingway.

Panel discussions titled “Idaho/Cuba Collection” and “My Favorite Hemingway Story” follow. Panelists include Hemingway scholars and University of Idaho faculty members.

Gotten your fill of Hemingway yet? You haven’t even had lunch.

There’s still a tour of the writer’s favorite hangouts, a slide presentation about his time in the Gem State and a theatrical presentation of “PAPA: A Sun Valley Story.”

A screening of documentary filmmaker DeWitt Sage’s “Ernest Hemingway … Rivers to the Sea” qualifies as Friday’s big event. Created for PBS’ “American Masters” series, the film follows in the footsteps of Sage’s Peabody-award winning production about F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The two-day shootout starts up on Saturday at the Sun Valley Gun Club; the competition is open to all. You’ll find entry forms on the festival’s Web site ( www.ernesthemingwayfestival.org).

If you prefer not to spend the day with your finger on the trigger, there’s still plenty for you to do, including a look at Hemingway’s love for Idaho’s outdoors.

Saturday also offers a dinner at Trail Creek Cabin, and Sunday morning adds “Progressive Literary Talks” to a couple of repeat events from the days before.

There’s more information on the Web or by calling (208) 726-3423.

Homes port

If poking around in other people’s business is your idea of a good time, mark your calendar for the 38th Annual Port Townsend Fall Homes Tour on Sept. 17 and 18.

Port Townsend holds a spot on the National Registry of Victorian Seaports, so that era figures prominently in the eight homes on the self-guided tour.

You’ll drop by the Frank W. Hastings House, intended to impress Sen. Hastings’ fiancée. The $10,000 price tag might have done the trick, but Hastings went broke in the depression of 1891 and abandoned the unfinished project to someone more fortunate.

The route also takes you to the former parish hall for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, now a wedding chapel thought to be one of Port Townsend’s oldest buildings, and an Edwardian houseboat originally constructed in 1909 for Maurice McMicken, legal counsel to the Washington legislature.

Rest your dogs along the way at the Victorian Tea House in the Masonic Center. Attendants all decked out Victorian-style will fetch you the tea, coffee and sweets included in the tour’s $16 ticket price.

Advance tickets can be had for $13, and you’ll find purchase instructions together with information about the other stops on the tour at www.ptguide.com/homestour. Or call (888) ENJOY-PT.

Float your boat

According to organizers, it’s big. And it’s one of a kind.

This year’s Lake Union Boats Afloat Show promises to outdo every previous version with more than 450 power and sail boats on display.

And it’s the only on-the-water boat show in the Northwest this summer.

Here’s what’s in store for you from Sept. 14 to 18: sailing seminars, free sailboat rides, a buoy race and 100 exhibitors on the shore.

Adults get in for $10, kids for $5. You can order tickets online at www.boatsafloatshow.com. The phone number is (206) 748-0012.

Regional events

•Country Village Fall Car Show, Sept. 4, Bothell, Wash. Spend an afternoon with vintage cars and live music. ( www.bothellchamber.biz, 425-483-2250)

•Thirteenth Annual Hills Garlic Festival, Sept. 11, New Denver, B.C. Stock up on organic garlic, produce, preserves and crafts. (250-358-2303)

•Pear Party, Sept. 17 and 18, Hood River, Ore. Rasmussen Farms does it up with 18 kinds of pears, live music, pear pie, pear wine and more. ( www.rasmussenfarms.com, 800-548-2243)