SEQUIM — During this riverside celebration today through Sunday visitors can do much more than watch the river flow.
“This year, expanded Dungeness River Festival activities will give families and outdoor-enthusiasts even more ways to enjoy and experience this amazing area,” festival co-chair Gretha Davis said.
The 11th Dungeness River Festival will begin at 10 a.m. today — which is a special “kids’ day” — in Railroad Bridge Park, 2151 W. Hendrickson Road, Sequim.
Festival hours will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day through Sunday, with two exceptions: A bird walk at 9 a.m. Sunday in the park, and a live-bird presentation by the Northwest Raptor Center, “Birds of Prey,” at 7 tonight in the Sequim High School cafeteria, 601 N. Sequim Ave.
Admission to the festival is free, but donations to support the center are accepted.
“The Dungeness River is one of the Olympic Peninsula’s vital resources,” said Bob Boekelheide, director of the Dungeness River Audubon Center.
Enjoy the river
The festival aims to allow people enjoy the river while gaining understanding of its importance.
“The main thing is to celebrate the river and to show off Railroad Bridge Park,” Boekelheide said.
The festival lured at least 3,000 to the park last year, he said.
The land on which Railroad Bridge Park sits is owned by the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe, which Boekelheide said has made many improvements to the park, including adding the amphitheater and picnic areas.
Volunteers and donations help keep the park maintained, he said.
This weekend’s festival is one way that volunteers can work during National Public Lands Day on Saturday.
Activities all three days
Costumed “salmon greeters,” lively music, clowns and tasty foods set the tone for the Dungeness River Festival.
New this year are clown-face-painting, a community drumming circle and presentations on cougars and bears — all on Saturday — and on Sunday, nature art activities.
Back by popular demand are stories of the Jamestown S’Klallam people, told by master story teller Elaine Grinnell from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. today, and the second anniversary Olympic Driftwood Sculptors driftwood art show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, which will feature more than 60 works of art.
Both today and Saturday, the festival will feature such food as salmon burgers, fry bread, sweet corn, hot dogs, sausages and blackberries.
Sunday, visitors can eat breakfast rolls, sweet corn, hot dogs, sausages and blackberries.
Lots to choose from
Students and adults will enjoy some 25 hands-on nature activities and exhibits including fish printing, bird identification and animal pelts to touch, in addition to expert-guided walks and lively presentations.
Railroad Bridge Park offers public access to the lower Dungeness River, and the park provides access to the popular Olympic Discovery Trail, which runs across the railroad bridge,
The first official Dungeness River Festival occurred in 1998, and ran every other year until 2009, when it became an annual celebration.
Before 1998, the festival occurred in 1996 and 1997 as “River Day,” a one-day event at Railroad Bridge Park.
Another one-day event, “Down by the River Day,” happened in 2003.
Proceeds from the River Festival support the Dungeness River Audubon Center and Railroad Bridge Park.
For the River Festival program schedule, see www.DungenessRiverCenter.org or phone 360-683-1355.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
