Hospice fundraiser slated for Saturday on Sequim Bay

SEQUIM — The Reach and Row for Hospice, the Sequim Bay Yacht Club’s annual fundraiser for Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County, has added rowing races, more raffle gift baskets and Waterfront Day to the event set Saturday.

Waterfront Day will offer live music and nearly two dozen vendors/booths to this year’s celebration at John Wayne Marina.

Proceeds will go to Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County (VHOCC), a community group providing a variety of in-home, end-of-life care free of charge to its patients. It is funded solely by local grants and donations.

The funds pay for licensed, insured hospice workers to be with those in respite care, freeing up family members to do errands or just get away for an evening.

Last year, the regatta earned more than $27,700 in donations. The club has raised more than $358,000 from the event in the past 25-plus years.

Rowing races are set to start at 9 a.m. and finish by 11 a.m. Salish canoe demonstrations are scheduled from noon to 2 p.m., while sailboat races are scheduled for noon to 4 p.m.

Waterfront Day, a joint venture sponsored by the Port of Port Angeles and the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, will offer multiple vendors, demonstrators and musicians providing food, information and entertainment to attendees.

Vendors/booths include A-1 Auto Parts, Ocean Boatworks, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula, Sequim Lions Club, Dockside Grill, Feiro Marine Life Center, Friday Marine Boatworks, Jamestown Seafood, Sea Scout Ship 1212, sand sculpture artist Kali Bradford, The Artful Sailor, Port Angeles Yacht Club Youth Sailing Program, Sequim Bay Yacht Club, Sequim Museum & Arts, Sequim High School Robotics Club, Sequim Wheelers, painter Skip Kratzer, Strait Baked Foods, The Water Limousine and Olympic Peninsula YMCA, along with Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County.

The day’s entertainment schedule includes Skip Kratzer at 10 a.m., Marino & Myers at 11 a.m., The Crocs at noon, Village Heartbeat Drums at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., Geoffrey Castle at 1:30 p.m. and Black Diamond Junction at 3:30 p.m.

The goal of Waterfront Day, organizers said, is to “expand public awareness of the Port of Port Angeles and the John Wayne Marina” as well as to “generate youth appreciation and awareness regarding the joys of boating and water-based activities.”

Vendor booths will take up the majority of the marina’s north parking lot, so event attendees are encouraged to carpool to the marina.

Raffle baskets include such items as a wine tasting party, local coffees, Italian cooking supplies, Port Angeles Symphony and Olympic Theatre Arts tickets, gardening tools/supplies and various gift certificates from local restaurants.

Raffle tickets, sold for $2 each or six for $10, will be available all day.

Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County provides compassionate care to the terminally ill, their caregivers and families.

The organization does not bill any patient, insurance plan or government agency, and all services are supported by local donations and grants.

The philosophy of Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is to ensure “compassionate care for the terminally ill, their caregivers and their families.”

Those who cannot attend the event but would like to make a contribution to the respite care fund can send their tax-deductible donation to: VHOCC, 540 E. Eighth St., Port Angeles WA 98362, with “Reach and Row for Hospice” in the subject line.

For more about the Reach and Row for Hospice, see waterfrontday.word press.com or tinyurl. com/PDN-Waterfront-Day- Facebook, or contact Sorensen at star lady@olypen.com.

For more about Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County, see www.vhocc.org.