PORT TOWNSEND — It’s a decision Northwest Maritime Center Executive Director Jake Beattie knows will be a deterrent for some and an incentive for others: The Wooden Boat Festival will be open only to those who are fully vaccinated or who’ve had a negative COVID test within the past 72 hours.
The festival, which has drawn some 30,000 people to Port Townsend’s waterfront, is less than three weeks off, Sept. 10-12. Already 765 early-bird tickets have been sold, maritime center spokesperson Hallie Glynn said Friday.
Volunteers, presenters, musicians, boat owners and attendees age 12 and older must show proof of full vaccination — at least 14 days after the second Pfizer or Moderna dose or after the single Johnson & Johnson shot — to enter the festival.
“This is the way we can run a large-scale event safely for our community,” Beattie said.
On the advice of public health officials, he added, “we’ve moved everything outside,” including presentations, food, beverages and live music.
Ticket buyers and festival participants who won’t attend in light of the vaccination-or-test protocol can receive refunds if they email covid@nwmaritime.org by this Friday. Alternatively, the ticket price or participation fee can be credited as a donation to the nonprofit center, Beattie noted.
Glynn added that 325 volunteers have signed up to work the festival — while more shifts need filling.
Information about going to and working at the multi-faceted event is found at woodenboat.org.
The Wooden Boat Festival traditionally kicks off the fall season. The fall festival lineup is a varied one, with some cancellations, some outdoor activities added and masking recommended in most settings.
Here’s an itinerary.
• Quilcene Fair and Parade are set for Sept. 18 at and around Quilcene School, 294715 U.S. Highway 101.
A classic car and hot-rod show, vendors, live music, prize drawings, games and children’s activities will take place outdoors during the fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; arts and crafts vendors and Quilcene Brinnon Garden Club activities will fill the Exhibition Hall.
At 11 a.m. the parade will travel north up the highway; free parade entry forms and information are found at quilcenefair.org.
• Quilcene Oyster Races, a half marathon, a 10-kilometer run, a 5K fun walk/run and a free “kids’ sprint,” start and end at the Worthington Mansion on Sept. 19.
Free grilled oysters, locally crafted beer and mansion tours are part of the event. Details: quilraces.com.
• Jefferson County Farm and Fiber Tour opens 11 farms to in-person visits plus a few more places to see online Sept. 18-19. The website for details is getonthefarm.org.
• Port Townsend Film Festival presents free outdoor movies Sept. 24-26 and more than 80 films plus filmmaker interviews online Sept. 23-Oct. 3.
“It’s a shifting landscape,” Executive Director Janette Force said, adding the American Legion Hall events scheduled earlier this summer have been canceled.
The outdoor cinema, however, will light up Taylor Street downtown with “Lily Topples the World,” a documentary, on Sept. 24, “Legally Blonde,” written by Chimacum High School alumna Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith on Sept. 25, and “A League of Their Own” on Sept. 26.
As for the online film festival, it includes comedy, tragedy and inspiration “just like the current world around us,” Force noted. Synopses, trailers and passes await at www.ptfilmfest.com.
• The Great Port Townsend Bay Kinetic Sculpture Race events are coming Oct. 2-3. The Rosehips Ball will be outdoors under a tent Saturday night; Sunday brings the race on land and water.
The ball will most likely follow the Wooden Boat Festival’s lead when it comes to requiring attendees to be fully vaccinated, organizer Marilyn Kurka said Friday.
“We’re very aware of the numbers [of COVID cases],” Kurka said.
“We want to provide some color and gaiety, but we also want to be responsible community partners.”
Information is found at ptkineticrace.org.
• The Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival will be spread out on the Port Angeles City Pier, Gateway Pavilion and Red Lion Hotel parking lot Oct. 8-10.
Seafood directly from local fishermen, 14 restaurants, vendors, the grab-a-crab derby and live music are part of the outdoors-and-tents event.
“The tent will be at 50 percent capacity; the tables will be spaced out,” organizer Scott Nagel said, adding the entire festival has been reconfigured to reduce crowding and long lines.
The expected absence of the MV Coho ferry means no concentrated influx of Canadian festival-goers, he said.
Advance discounted tickets for Dungeness crab dinners are found at www.crabfestival.org; Nagel said Friday that 300 have been sold.
As for COVID safety protocols, the festival will follow county health department regulations — which “we won’t know until we get there,” he said.
________
Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
