Weekend events roundup: Gear up for Cranksgiving and more holiday fun

It has been a long week for people dealing with the impact of this week’s weather. Let’s look forward to some weekend events full of fun and cool stuff to do.

It’s time for Julefest at the National Nordic Museum in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. The new Friday night market is already sold out but there’s still plenty going on tomorrow and Sunday. Stalls full of handmade gifts, traditional nordic foods, live music, just about everything you need for holiday fun. I even hear a certain someone from the North Pole will be stopping by … Get tickets and details at nordicmuseum.org.

Obviously, you are familiar with Thanksgiving, but what about Cranksgiving? The 15th installment of this annual food drive is this Saturday at the Byrd Barr Place food bank in Seattle at 9 a.m. From there, participants will take off on their bikes, embarking on a scavenger hunt, that also includes picking up some food items and delivering them to other local food banks. So, it’s an opportunity to enjoy a day biking through the city and helping feed people.

A couple of notes from the Cascade Bicycle Club, who put on the event: First, be prepared to ride 12-15 miles. If that is a little out of your range, there will be a 3-5 mile mini version of the trail to check out. There is no registration fee, but be prepared to spend around $20 on groceries that will be donated. You can ride solo or part of a team and there will be a post-ride celebration at the Central Cinema. More details are available at cascade.org/cranksgiving.

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Speaking of charitable events this weekend, in Snohomish The Big Give will take place at The Craven Farm. This event is described as a holiday-themed event with games, crafts and activities from local nonprofit organizations. There will be plenty of decorations, hot cocoa and a raffle. Most of all, this event highlights the work of the nonprofits with raffles that will support those organizations. More details are available at snohomishchamber.org.

For those who want to check out some options for holiday gifts, the Native Art Market will take place the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood this weekend. Local Native artists will be showing off clothing, jewelry, art prints, woodwork, instruments and more. The market runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For those interested, head to unitedindians.org for more information.

At Magnuson Park Hangar 30 in Seattle, the Renegade Craft Fair will have more than 180 artists showing off their work, just in time for the holiday shopping season. This will be a perfect spot to find handmade goods for the people on your shopping list, even if that includes yourself. Food trucks will be on site as well. Get more details at renegadecraft.com.

There will be roller skating at the Tacoma Armory this weekend and all skill levels are welcome. The night will be holiday themed and will have live music from a DJ and some light and laser shows. Holiday sweaters are strongly encouraged. A heads up for those interested: Bring your own skates as they won’t be provided! Learn more at tacomaartslive.org.

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The fun doesn’t end there. There’s plenty of other fun stuff going on as we drive full steam ahead into the holiday season. Make sure you are letting me know about all the cool things in your area.

Paul Holden produces the Seattle weekend events calendar for KIRO Newsradio and a weekly story for MyNorthwest. He also appears regularly on KIRO Newsradio’s “Seattle’s Morning News” and other shows throughout the day. If you know of even more cool things going on in the area, let him know at PaulH@kiroradio.com.