PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles’ Fourth of July celebration involved spending time with family, playing cornhole, eating apple pie and wandering around downtown.
Many of the people celebrating Thursday were from out of town but decided to spend their Fourth of July on the Olympic Peninsula.
Independence Day celebrations were held across the Peninsula with live music, parades and fireworks.
Alex Pinkston traveled to Port Angeles from Boise, Idaho, for a family vacation. She took part in the cornhole competition with her stepdad.
Pinkston said it had “always been a running joke for me and my stepdad to join a cornhole competition.”
While traveling to Port Angeles, Pinkston said she fell asleep in the car. When she woke up, her mom told her she had signed her up for the competition.
“I was like, ‘Wait, you’re joking,’” Pinkston said.
But her mom was serious.
Pinkston’s family decided to visit Port Angeles after her mom was diagnosed with lymphoma. Her mom had always wanted to visit the Olympic Peninsula and then head to the Butchart Gardens in Victoria.
“We made it out here for her,” Pinkston said. “And then we’re just exploring and doing all the things, [cornhole] being one of them.”
Cornhole players Alex Pinkston, left, and Cory Zehr, both of Boise, Idaho, take part in Thursday’s Independence Day Cornhole Tournament in the 100 block of West Front Street in Port Angeles. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
He said he appreciates that he can spend with his family, especially his grandmother.
“I don’t see her very often, just cause she lives up here,” he said.
Akash Thorali, Aadhav Tirukonda and Prathana Durvas came from various parts of Washington to join Port Angeles’ festivities. Thorali and Tirukonda are from Bothell, while Durvas is from Olympia.
Durvas said they’re staying at a campground near Port Angeles because their families wanted to celebrate the Fourth of July together.
“It’s us and like, I believe, 23 other families at the camping ground that are all hanging out,” Durvas said.
She said these families don’t get to spend much time together, but since everyone gets time off for the Fourth of July, they can all meet up.
Thorali and Tirukonda decided to join the cornhole competition as a team. They were walking around downtown, and Thorali said they “stumbled upon this place, and we’re like, ‘Why not just enter?’”
Locals also came out to support of the tournament.
Lorie Fazio, who works for the Clallam County Economic Development Council and lives in Sequim, said it was the fourth one she’s played in.
“I just think it’s really great to support our local community and be out here,” Fazio said.
“We’re just happy to come out, meet new people and try to take a couple wins,” she said.
At the same time, an apple pie competition was taking place at the city pier. The contest awarded three prizes: $250 for first place, $150 for second and $100 for third.
The first-place winner was Xaven McCarty, who said he was “really excited” about the outcome.
“I didn’t expect first place,” he said.
This was the first time McCarty, who is visiting from Seattle, has entered an apple pie contest.
Christina Parker of Port Angeles and her son, Nathan Parker, 8, look over entries in Thursday’s apple pie contest. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
The second-place winner was Elisabeth Pennell.
“I’m very happy. First contest I’ve ever entered,” Pennell said.
“Honestly, I just kind of winged it,” Pennell said about her pie recipe. “I do bake a fair amount of pies, so I was pretty close.”
Pennell said her mom helped her by picking up the pie ingredients, and her husband helped by “always being the best taste tester.”
Pennell decided to participate in the pie contest because she loves to bake and she is very competitive.
The third-place winner was Selena Reach.
There were more than 15 other apple pies that were part of the contest.
Sidney Behr and Nolan Behr, who are from Utah, were representatives for their brother, who baked two separate pies for the contest.
Sydney said their brother decided to enter the contest because he’s a “Midwesterner that likes to bake.”
The Behrs are in Port Angeles visiting the Olympic National Park for a family vacation.
Everyone who took part in the festivities had different things they loved about the Fourth of July.
Nolan Behr said he was mostly excited about the fact that it’s “about 35 less degrees here than it is in Utah, so we can be outside without melting.”
Durvas was excited because she wanted to check out the local markets and shops.
Thorali said he’s excited to “see what it’s like to celebrate Fourth of July here.”
“It looks like people are already very festive,” Thorali said. “I’ve seen people wear all sorts of Fourth of July apparel.”
Fazio loves the Fourth of July because of the stars and stripes “and what it means to America.”
“I believe America is the best country in the world, really,” Fazio said. “I just get really choked up when you hear the Star Spangled Banner.”
Fazio’s husband served in the U.S. Navy, and she said that adds to her appreciation for the holiday.
“It just means a lot,” she said.
Barbara Strote of Shelton was celebrating a family get-together.
Strote said the Fourth of July is important because of the patriotism it represents. She said she appreciates, “getting together and celebrating our country.”
Strote said that’s especially important now, given all the division occurring around politics.
“The main thing [is] we all have to stick together and take care of each other,” Strote said.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
