SEQUIM — The 117th Sequim Irrigation Festival’s final weekend features men with big saws and axes, brawny trucks and tractors pulling heavy objects, and a grand parade with more than 100 entries proceeding down West Washington Street.
The Logging Show opens today and ends with a colorful blast of fireworks.
The Irrigation Festival celebrates more than 100 years of Dungeness Valley irrigation ditches, much of them piped underground during the past 15 years to conserve valuable water that has long given life to the valley’s rich farmlands.
It is the longest continuing festival in the state.
The weekend starts this morning with the Crazy Days breakfast at 7 a.m. at the SunLand Golf & Country Club clubhouse, 109 Hilltop Drive.
Later today, festival-goers can check out the Strong Man Showdown and Loggers Ball.
Fireworks will light up the sky at dusk tonight. The popular attraction is funded by logging show sponsors at a cost of $5,000, said Deon Davis-Kapetan, festival director.
The event thus far has gone off without a hitch, Davis-Kapetan said.
“I’m almost scared to say anything because it’s been going so well,” she said.
The second annual River Center 5K Run on Saturday will raise funds for the Dungeness River Audubon Center.
For the first time, it will be scheduled with three other mainstay events Saturday morning — High Octane Car Cruzz, Kids Parade and the noon Grand Parade.
The city will close the parade route on Washington Street between Third and Fifth avenues to traffic, starting at 9:45 a.m. Saturday.
As a festival never short on food, the Sequim Valley Lions loggers breakfast runs from 6:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday at the Guy Cole Convention Center at Carrie Blake Park, 202 N. Sequim Ave.
The menu includes all-you-can-eat pancakes, ham, scrambled eggs and orange juice, milk or coffee.
Cost is $10 per person and free for children 5 and younger.
Other special events include the Sound Community Bank peanut butter drive with the Sequim Irrigation Festival to benefit the Sequim Food Bank.
To donate, either bring a jar of peanut butter to the Sequim branch of Sound Community Bank, 541 N. Fifth Ave., or to the Irrigation Festival Grand Parade on Saturday.
Employees will wear green and march with the bank truck, and will collect donations from the public.
The festival reaches its peak Saturday with the Grand Parade, Kids Parade and Car Show ’n’ Shine Car Parade.
Davis-Kapetan said there are 130 entries in this year’s parade, comparable with years past, which should keep it rolling for about two hours.
The crowd-pleasing Seafair Pirates will return to give the crowd a hardy “Arrrrr” with honorary parade pioneer Kevin Kennedy, who will be with the pirates.
Festival royalty will be in the parade along with other dignitaries.
Kennedy coordinates the festival’s Logging Show, Davis-Kapetan said.
The carnival — at the Sequim High School playfields north of West Fir Street — which began Thursday and where moms can ride for free on Mother’s Day on Sunday, is not the only event there.
Performances of the Sequim High School operetta “The Music Man” continue today and Saturday during the festival.
Wrist bands for the carnival are $25 for each day.
Event times and locations are subject to change as conditions require. For updates, visit www.irrigationfestival.com or www.facebook.com/SequimIrrigationFestival.
For more information about each event, visit www.irrigationfestival.com or phone Davis-Kapetan at 360-461-6511.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2390 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
