PORT TOWNSEND — The third annual Orca & Salmon Festival will kick off the summer at Fort Worden on Saturday.
The festival will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fort Worden beaches at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center. Admission is free; those who are parking near the area will need a Discover Pass.
The festival “celebrates our relationship to the iconic species of the Salish Sea, orca and salmon,” said Danny Milholland of the Production Alliance.
Among the attractions will be Fin the Salmon, which was created as a collaborative art project more than 30 years ago, Milholland said.
Children can climb inside the fiberglass salmon and see artwork inside, he said.
“It’s a cool interactive thing you can do,” Milholland said.
The marine science center will offer free admission from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with tours of Hope, a fully-articulated orca skeleton at noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Tide pool touch tanks and an aquarium will be on the pier.
Live music is planned.
Free ice cream sandwiches will be provided by Jefferson Healthcare hospital at 2 p.m.
The Canteen beach-side restaurant and grocery will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Here is the schedule:
• 11 a.m. — Opening ceremony with Jamestown S’Klallam singers and drummer.
• 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. — DJ Captain Peacock.
• 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Sea Level Rise Community Art Project, an interactive project in which participants make art using trash.
• 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Salmon hat making, a tradition of the North Olympic Salmon Coalition.
• 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Fin the Salmon on display.
Event partners are the The Port Townsend Marine Science Center, North Olympic Salmon Coalition, The Port Townsend High School Maritime Discovery Initiative, Puget Sound Express, Swan School, Sunfield School, SR3, the Jefferson County YMCA & The Production Alliance.
