Artifacts: Pleasure and profit, drone quilts, hiking Monterey Downs

• Monterey Public Library rewards reading. I mean, reading is its own reward, but for teens in middle or high school, the library is running a contest for them to read a novel or graphic novel and blog about it to become eligible for prizes. Go to www.Monterey.org/library/teens/teen-clubs for more.

• Here is an unsparing example of the power of art. The Monterey Peace and Justice Center in Seaside is showing on its walls the Drones Quilt Project. If you remember The Names Project’s AIDS Memorial Quilt of the 1980s, you’ll get the idea. Here, the names of people killed by a drone are stitched into quilts to humanize them, a concept that began with a group of women in the U.K. to serve up as a “visual petition” to Parliament. That sparked this U.S. effort, which has now traveled to various states since 2013. It’s up through November. 899-7322.

• Have you noticed that Barmel is crushing it on the live music front? In the last two months they’ve brought in Dragondeer (“psyche blues from Colorado”), Clearwings(“indie alt-folk duo from Denver”) and locally-raised Wild Boy (“Native American pentecostal trance revival”). This Friday at 7pm they’re bringing in a trio of Barry Prior andCorey Morgan Strange led by Hannah Jane Kile, a gifted 20-year-old who’s got a ghostly sweet voice, a plaintive guitar, two albums and an impressive grasp of songwriting: “There’s a ghost in my pea coat who screams alcoholic anecdotes at me.” 626-3400.

• Bill Weigle and Kay Cline invite you on a two-hour Fort Ord hike to “learn about the proposed location of Monterey Downs.” The walk is notable for two reasons: because it is beautiful country, and because it may one day not be. It starts 1pm this Saturday, at Gigling and 8th, and will scope out the site of the proposed 1-mile-long track and 6,500-seat arena, as well as the attendant housing and commercial development. 899-7934.

• More than 200 injured veterans and their supporters embark on a 7-day bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles on a Ride to Recovery. On Monday they pass through Carmel. www.Ride2Recovery.com.

• The Carmel Foundation brings professional ornithologist Dr. Jeffrey Froke to present on “The Birds in Our Lives” 2:30pm Wednesday. His career has focused on the protection of birds through field research, teaching and preserve management. All are welcome to this free presentation. 620-8705.