PORT ANGELES — It was just going to be a little brewfest — a day in the sun, with cold ones and mountain scenery.
But as Justin Tognoni and Morgan Colonel got to talking — this was last winter — they couldn’t help but envision a full-on summertime celebration complete with live music, swimming, games and camping.
And so it will come: The inaugural Liquid Mountain Music Festival will pour into Olympic Raft & Kayak, 123 Lake Aldwell Road, from noon to midnight Saturday.
That’s Colonel’s spread, which has been the setting for plenty of summer parties — though not official ones like this festival.
Colonel, who moved here from Jackson Hole, Wyo., and bought Olympic Raft & Kayak last year, worked with Tognoni, co-owner of Port Angeles’ Next Door Gastropub, to plan this Saturday’s festivities.
“We have an awesome outdoor atmosphere,” Colonel said.
“Indian Creek runs through the property; there are forests, a backyard grassy area and a covered stage” on a 4-acre site.
On that stage will be local and nationally known bands — “all fun dance music,” promised Tognoni — along with DJ O.B.1, who will supply music between acts.
Music lineup
The lineup goes like this.
■ Noon to 1:30 p.m.: A Cedar Suede, a Latin funk orchestra from Seattle.
■ 2:15 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.: Eggplant, a rock and funk band from Port Angeles.
■ 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.: Roots rock duo Scott Sullivan and Casey Northern of Port Angeles.
■ 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.: Rock with the Fourth Street Cats of Port Angeles.
■ 9 p.m. to midnight: Moksha, a rock jam band from Las Vegas.
“They are fantastic,” Tognoni said of Moksha.
“I’ve been trying to get them since February,” so when Moksha was booked into this weekend’s Summer Meltdown Festival in Darrington, Snohomish County, he was able to bring them over here for an additional gig.
The Liquid Mountain Music Festival is a family-friendly event, with games and a swimming pool set up, Tognoni added.
Children 12 and younger will be admitted free, while teens and adults pay $20 in advance or $25 the day of the festival.
For those who want to camp out Saturday night, a one-tent site is $10; two tents costs $15 and four tents $30.
Camping passes are available through one outlet only: www.BrownPaperTickets.com, with a service charge. Festival passes can be ordered there too, as well as at Next Door Gastropub, 113 W. First St.
Free shuttle
A free shuttle bus will run between Next Door and the festival from 11:30 a.m. Saturday until everyone has been transported, Tognoni added.
Along with all of the music and frolic, Liquid Mountain is still a bit of a brewfest: The Deschutes Brewery of Bend, Ore., Fathom & League Hop Yard Brewery of Carlsborg and Pike Brewing Co. of Seattle will be pouring, while Next Door sells street tacos, wine and spirits.
Festival-goers age 21 and older will receive two beer tickets with their passes, while non-drinkers can choose lemonade, Tognoni said.
Benefit for nonprofit
All proceeds from beer sales, meanwhile, will go to Survivor’s Outdoor Experience, (www.SurvivorsOutdoorExperience.org), a Port Angeles-based nonprofit organizer of recreational activities for cancer survivors.
Both Colonel and Tognoni are fans of the organization and its executive director, Jack Ganster.
“Jack is a [cancer] survivor. There are a lot of them in the area,” said Tognoni. “He does great things for the community.”
On Saturday, tickets will be available at Olympic Raft & Kayak. Parking is permitted at the pullout just west of the Elwha River Bridge on U.S. Highway 101, and a free shuttle will be provided to and from that lot. Festival-goers are urged, however, to use the shuttle from Next Door in downtown Port Angeles.
For more details, phone Olympic Raft & Kayak at 360-452-1443 or Next Door at 360-504-2613, or visit the Liquid Mountain Music Festival page on Facebook.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
