A free Chinese Culture Workshop this weekend offers a brief look at that country's rich traditions.

It's from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, in the downstairs Lecture Room at the Bellingham Public Library, 210 Central Ave. It's put on by the local Mei Hua Chinese School and the Legacy Multicultural and Educational Service Center of Seattle.

Featured activities include a presentation of the Chinese tea ceremony and demonstrations of paper making and writing in Chinese characters, said Bernice Chang, children's library program specialist.

"I think just to have something in the community for people to come and experience Chinese culture is important," Chang said. "It's a good step toward diversity."

Chang said activities will be demonstrated from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and participants can work at their own pace from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Materials will be provided.

Jiasong Yuen, principal at the Mei Hua school of Bellingham, said the event aims to bring Chinese culture to a wider audience.

"(China is) a major power in the world now," Yuen said. "For children to be better prepared, you have to expose them to the language and culture" of another society.

"Learning about another culture, learning about another language, it's imperative for children to know in this new world," Yuen said.

She said participants should expect to see people in traditional Chinese costume, or at least in common dress jackets. She said the tea ceremony would feature a discussion of the different kinds of tea leaves and show the different kids of tea sets and cups, including single-serving pots that Yuen said are favored.

Yuen said she hopes people will enjoy learning more about the symbolic characters that make up the Chinese language.

"Chinese characters are like pictures," she said. "They're not just A to Z. Each character describes something - it's a pictogram."

For more information, call 360-778-7200 or go online to bellinghampubliclibrary.org.

READ THE BOOK, SEE THE MOVIE

Fairhaven Family Movies, a popular free children's program, is continuing this year from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12, and on the second Friday monthly in the Fireplace Room of the historic Fairhaven Library, 1117 12 th St.

All featured movies are made from or inspired by books, and parents are encouraged to read the books to their children or to have their children read the books themselves before watching the movies, said the library's Donna Grasdock.

"It's nice because they can talk about the movie and the book after," Grasdock said.

Copyright law prevents advertising the movie outside the library itself, she said. But she said coyly that the October film "stars Drew Barrymore and it's about whales."

According to the Internet Movie Data Base, that would make it the 2012 drama "Big Miracle," based on Tom Rose's 1989 book "Freeing the Whales," which chronicles the international effort to rescue a pod of gray whales trapped by ice near Point Barrow, Alaska.

Grasdock said other upcoming movies include a sequel to an earlier movie based on a Jules Verne book ("The Mysterious Island") and a film that stars Julia Roberts as an evil queen from folklore ("Mirror, Mirror").

For more information on the programs, call 360-778-7188 or go online to bellinghampubliclibrary.org.

HARVEST FESTIVAL

Ferndale's fourth annual Harvest Festival wraps up the season for the Ferndale Public Market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, at Centennial Riverwalk Park.

Music is featured during the event.

Daylong children's activities include free games and face painting for a fee. A free family photo area is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; visitors are asked to bring a camera. There is pumpkin painting with pumpkins provided from 10 a.m. to noon and chalk drawing and scarecrow coloring with ribbons awarded for participation from noon to 3 p.m.

Activities with prizes awarded include a pumpkin-growing contest at 10:30 a.m., a carved pumpkin contest at 10:30 a.m., a dog costume contest at 11:30 a.m., the Ugly Truck Contest at 12:30 p.m. and the Harvest Baking Contest for pies, breads or other autumn desserts at 1:30 p.m.

ROBERT MITTENDORF is a Herald copy editor and page designer. Suggest your ideas for local family-friendly events or day trips at 360-756-2805 or at robert.mittendorf@bellinghamherald.com.