Best bets for the weekend

That said, is there anything to do this weekend? Hiking? Eating? Getting a new coif — you know, hair, gel, mousse? (Oh heck, choose all three.)

Lest you think outdoor living ends with the departure of the Blue Angels and those boats and moves indoors with the start of the Olympics, think again.

It's the 40th anniversary of North Cascades Park — go for a hike. It's J.P. Patches' unveiling in Fremont — reminisce. And Monday starts the weeklong Washington State International Kite Festival — go fly one.

And many of you truly believed summer was over.

And that just gives us an excuse to relate to you things that happen, for the most part, only in the Northwest:

For example, there is Cool City Pets. You have a chance to meet small animals — gerbils, rats and mice, etc. Potential companions. At the Seattle Animal Shelter. Perfect for that very, very tiny downtown Seattle or Bellevue condo or apartment.

Oh look! The Seattle Faerie Festival at Volunteer Park! All sorts of wizardry. Dress in faerie garb, it says. (Do you ever wonder if people do that?).

Um. The Seattle Hempfest. (Do you ever wonder if people really ... ?). Well, we'll say this — we'd never smoke our shoes.

The Snoqualmie Pass Music Festival. Yes, Glenn Miller in the mountains.

Of course, the Theosophical Society has a lecture at the Bellevue Regional Library titled "Ancient Monuments and Mysteries." We're assuming they're from somewhere else. No fossils here.

Let's see — we have the 73rd running of a thoroughbred horse race named after a racetrack that doesn't exist any more at a racetrack that does — the Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs.

Or you can bring old paint (not the horse, but the can) to Duvall where they're going to let you paint their sidewalks. Now, that's fun!

Happy weekend.