PORT TOWNSEND — The Festival of Hearts will be hosted by the Benji Project on Saturday to benefit Jefferson County youth.
The festival will be from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Northwest Maritime Center, 431 Water St., Port Townsend.
The cost is $65 for people 21 and older. To register, go to https://www.thebenjiproject.org/hearts.
Food will be provided by chef Arran Stark and baker Jenn Tillman. Beverages will be from Finnriver, Marrowstone Vineyards and Soul Cedar Farm.
Participants can create heart-inspired art and try a new approach to Valentine’s cards, organizers said.
The festival is sponsored by Jefferson Healthcare and Short & Sweet Mobile Bakery.
Proceeds go to the Benji Project, started in 2016 after the suicide of 15-year-old Benji Kenworthy of Port Townsend. It aims to connect Jefferson County teens struggling with mental health issues to adults who can teach them coping mechanisms during stressful times in life.
It offers workshops, camps, in-school programs and parenting workshops centered on resilience.
It is based on the Mindful Self-Compassion for Teens developed by Karen Bluth, assistant professor at the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine, and Lorraine Hobbs, director of youth and family programs at the University of California San Diego Center for Mindfulness as well as other mindfulness curriculum.
Many programs are offered free of charge or with extensive scholarship options.
For more information, email info@thebenjiproject.org or call Loren Alexanian at 206-579-6469.
