PORT TOWNSEND — The three-day THING, a music-art-comedy-food festival that debuted in 2019, is coming back to Fort Worden State Park this summer, bringing some 50 performing acts and activities Aug. 26-28.
The Seattle Theatre Group (STG) is the producer of the event, which sold out three summers ago, bringing about 5,000 people per day to the fort campus.
Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday via thingnw.org, stgpresents.org and ticketmaster.com; in-person purchase will be available through Fort Worden Hospitality at the fort’s Commons, 210 Battery Way, in the center of the campus. Three-day passes and single-day tickets will be available along with parking and camping reservations.
While children 12 and younger will get in free, tickets for teens and adults will range from $129.50 for a day pass to $349.50 for a full festival pass. All sales will be final with no refunds or exchanges.
For those who want a three-day pass with on-site parking, seating in a reserved section at the main stages, access to a private bar with free soft drinks and concierge service, there’s a premium package. Price tag: $825.
At the same time, the festival is in a state park open to the public, publicist Joe Cohen noted. So several outdoor THING activities — the food trucks, vendor market and Luminarium — will be accessible to the public without a festival wristband.
Adam Zacks, STG’s chief programming officer, emphasized that THING is a multidisciplinary experience.
“It continues to be an honor,” he said in a press release, “to present a slate of extraordinary talent, rich with new discoveries, in the magnificent setting of Fort Worden.”
The 2022 THING lineup mixes big-name Northwest acts with the lesser-known: The list ranges from Father John Misty, Jungle, Modest Mouse, Goose, Sparks, Freddie Gibbs and José González to Wet Leg, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Please Don’t Destroy, Hiatus Kaiyote, L’Rain, Helado Negro, Faye Webster, Nation of Language, Dry Cleaning and Spellling.
Activities at the festival include The People’s Theatre Talks, Dance with Life, the Elevate project, multiple beer gardens and food vendors and the Architects of Air’s Luminarium.
The thingnw.org website says that indoor masking will be required during the event, whose main venues are McCurdy Pavilion and the Wheeler Theater as well as the Parade Grounds and Littlefield Green. COVID safety measures will be updated in the ensuing months until the THING converges on the fort.
“We aspire to offer something fresh to the festival landscape and create an environment where all are welcomed and represented,” said Zacks, who also founded the Sasquatch! festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre. That festival folded in 2018 after a 17-year run.
“THING will offer the following services: ASL interpretation, special viewing areas, modified interactive sessions [and] sensory + break areas,” allowing people to recharge, STG’s press release added.
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Jefferson County Senior Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
