PORT ANGELES — Welcome to the new Port Angeles.
City organizers will dedicate the new-look downtown corridor with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Front Street between Lincoln and Laurel at 1 p.m. today (Saturday).
It’s a celebration of the ongoing volunteer painting project that has so far spruced up 15 buildings and storefronts, with another 20 in the works.
The project will continue throughout the summer.
Some 3,000 volunteer-hours have been invested into the “Our Community at Work: Painting Downtown” campaign since it began on May 1.
‘Yes we can’ spirit
“This project is powered by an outpouring of ‘Yes we can’ community spirit and volunteerism that would make even Barack Obama proud,” said Edna Petersen, owner of the Necessities & Temptations gift shop, co-chairwoman of Our Community at Work and a candidate for Port Angeles City Council.
“It’s amazing what can be accomplished with community involvement at all levels, a little innovation and a lot of determination.”
Saturday’s citywide celebration will showcase the results of the civic campaign so far.
Charlie Smith, the architect who designed the paint schemes, will offer free tours of the spruced-up buildings every hour.
Music and an All-American Picnic will be at The Gateway Pavilion with free hot dogs and lemonade provided by the Port Angeles Food Bank and the Dawg Cart.
Volunteer work
The project, which was begun to coincide with the closure of the Hood Canal Bridge, already has generated $54,000 worth of volunteer work, organizers say.
A virtual visitors center is being established in storefront windows of vacant buildings in the downtown core.
The storefront at 123 E. First St. will contain 10 “Barrels of Art” featuring work by local artists.
The oak barrels are donated by six local wineries.
This fall, the barrels will be donated to the newly formed Port Angeles Arts Council, said Kathy Charlton, co-owner of Olympic Cellars and the co-chairwoman of Our Community at Work.
Dubbed the “Welcome to the new Port Angeles” celebration, Saturday’s event features art, local cuisine and music as a tribute to the volunteers.
Here’s a rundown of the activities:
• Ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1 p.m. on Front Street between Lincoln and Laurel streets in downtown Port Angeles.
• Second weekend art event at downtown art galleries. Walking maps will be available at restaurants and the galleries themselves.
• Wine on the Waterfront first anniversary celebration. The wine bar is in The Landing mall, 115 E. Railroad Ave., Port Angeles.
• Music and picnic at the Gateway pavilion, 125 E. Front St. Free hot dogs and lemonade. Music will be provided by D.J. Duo Double.
• Art on the town unveiling and guided art walks on Front Street between Lincoln and Laurel streets. Four new exhibits will be unveiled. They are the “Flying Fish Woman,” a painted steel sculpture, “The Long Journey,” a salvaged steel sculpture, “The Vernal One,” a stone and steel display, and “Vertebrae,” a whale made of polished and buffed concrete.
• Guided tours with architect Charlie Smith. Tours begin on Front Street between Lincoln and Laurel streets. They leave at 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
• A cooking demonstration from chef Shawn Royaltey of Michael’s Divine Dining. Royaltey will prepare Dungeness crab cakes between 2 and 4 p.m. at the Showcase, 833 E. Front St.
• During the Twilight Storefront Vignette, prom dresses will be displayed in the former Gottchalks Building at 200 W. First St. as a tribute to a scene from Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series of books where heroine Bella Swan takes a trip from Forks to Port Angeles to shop for prom dresses.
• The Port Angeles Red Lion Hotel at 221 N. Lincoln St. will host a wine and beer garden Saturday evening.
• Various downtown restaurants will offer fresh, locally-grown, caught or harvested food and an evening feature called “Experience Olympic Coastal Cuisine.”
• The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center will present “Envision Cascadia! Artists as visionaries towards a sustainable homeland” from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1203 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
• Olympic Cellars is hosting its red, white and new wine released party from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m on Saturday and Sunday at the Cellars, 255410 Highway 101, east of Port Angeles.
• Lavender Celebration Tour of Wineries. Self-guided tours at the North Olympic Peninsula’s six wineries from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Saturday to July 19. Tickets are $25.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
