Western Washington University's Fall Family Open House takes place this weekend, from Friday, Oct. 26, to Sunday, Oct. 28, and all activities are open to the public.

Activities include:

- An opening reception in the new Miller Hall Collaborative Learning Space.

- "Election 2012: A Divided America Prepares to Vote," with Jeffrey Brown, PBS NewsHour senior correspondent.

- Theater and music performances including the Liz Gerring Dance Company.

- Departmental open houses.

- Wine and cheese reception featuring a WWU student jazz ensemble.

- "ColorMad" exhibit at the Western Gallery.

- Dead Parrots Society student improv group.

- Planetarium shows.

The popular planetarium shows are on Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $3 for students or $5 for general admission and are available at tickets.wwu.edu.

Tickets for Jeffrey Brown's talk at 8 p.m. Saturday on WWU's Performing Arts Center's Mainstage are available at the WWU PAC Box Office, 360-650-6146, tickets.wwu.edu; Village Books and the Community Food Co-op. Tickets are $20 for students or $25 for general admission.

Details: nssfo.wwu.edu, 360-650-3846.

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR TALKS AT WWU

Noémi Ban called me about her upcoming talk from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, at Western Washington University's Arntzen Hall 100. The award-winning teacher and Auschwitz survivor has spoken many times at Western, as well as at many public and private schools in Whatcom County, and most the time, she says, it's standing room only.

This is Noémi's first presentation for the 2012-2013 school year. Personally, I can attest that Noémi's talks are frank, quite detailed and perhaps unsettling.

Here's what her friend and colleague, Ray Wolpow, director of Woodring College's Northwester Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Ethnocide Education, says:

"The days during which Holocaust survivors will inspire us with their wisdom are passing; therefore, it is with excitement and honor that the Northwest Center for Holocaust, Genocide and Ethnocide Education once more welcomes Noémi Ban to Western Washington University's campus."

Noémi's story is one of loss, tragedy, resiliency, hope and inspiration. A survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, she lost her mother, grandmother, and younger sister and brother to the horrors of the death camps, and worked at the slave labor camp at Buchenwald. After the Holocaust, she was witness to the 1956 Soviet repression of the anti-communist uprising in Hungary. And, later in life, Noémi experienced her husband Earnest's attenuated struggle with aphasia, dementia and Parkinson's disease.

"Her belief that sharing is healing has brought her once more to Western's campus, where she will speak of her experiences," says Wolpow.

Her talk takes place on the 74th anniversary of the Kristallnacht, an event considered by most historians to be the beginning of the Holocaust.

About 1,400 synagogues and prayer rooms were burned or destroyed, windows of apartments, offices, stores, schools, and institutions owned by Jews were shattered on Nov. 9, 1938. More than 30,000 Jewish men were rounded up and placed in concentration camps, more than 300 Jews were murdered, and countless more were wounded.

A retired teacher, Noémi regularly visits dozens of classrooms each year to speak with children about the Holocaust.

Among her many awards is the 2003 Washington Education Association Human and Civil Rights Award in the category of International Peace and Understanding.

Noémi is also author of "Sharing is Healing." Her experiences were made into a documentary film, "My Name is Noémi," in 2007.

She will be available for a question-and-answer session and book signing after her talk.

Admission is free: however, seating is limited, and registration is required.

Details: wce.wwu.edu/NWCHGE, nwche@wwu.edu, 360-650-4529.

NW FOLKLIFE LOOKING FOR MUSICIANS

Seattle's Northwest Folklife, where many Whatcom County residents actively perform or attend on Memorial Day weekend, is looking for musicians, dancers, community groups, artists, storytellers and instructors to participate in the 42nd annual Northwest Folklife Festival, which will take place May 24-27, 2013, at Seattle Center. Online or mail-in applications are how the festival is able to present such a wide variety of talent each year.

Individuals and groups across the Northwest region, including Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and western Montana, are encouraged to apply now.

The annual festival is presented by Northwest Folklife, a year-round nonprofit organization dedicated to creating opportunities for all people to appreciate, share and participate in the evolving cultural traditions of the Pacific Northwest.

Last year Northwest Folklife presented more than 6,000 performers in 65 genres of music, from Hawaiian to hip-hop and dance performances representing cultures from Ireland to India.

Folklife organizers say they are especially eager to expand the workshops in music, dance and the visual arts in 2013.

Applications are due Nov. 30.

Details: nwfolklife.org.

ABOUT BEHIND THE SCENES

Behind the Scenes focuses on the people who make the arts and entertainment world of Whatcom County happen. It appears in Take Five, The Bellingham Herald's entertainment section, each Thursday. Margaret Bikman is the Entertainment News Coordinator at The Bellingham Herald.

Reach MARGARET BIKMAN at margaret.bikman@bellinghamherald.com or 715-2273.