Saturday Kirsten Ingbretsen (right), owner of the Acorn Gallery, held a open house and reception for the stone sculptor Duane Dammeyer. They are standing behind “Mind Meld,” one of Dammeyer’s beautiful sculptures made of golden calcite and granite.

An exhibit featuring the work of young artists participating in the smARTS program opened at the Parks Exhibition Center at Idyllwild Arts on Friday evening. The show runs through March 16.

Amy Ephron, yes, that Ephron family, is the next author to speak at Eduardo Santiago’s Idyllwild Authors Series. She is the author of bestsellers “One Sunday Morning,” and “A Cup of Tea” that spent 37 weeks on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller list. Santiago will interview Ephron about her new collection of stories, “Loose Diamonds,…