PORT ANGELES — Free camping, Dave Bunker’s touch guitar and all-ages entertainment will bring a “tumble” of fun to the future site of Olympic Timber Town this weekend.
The 57-acre property, which members have been clearing since the end of the past year, will allow trailers and tents to pitch a spot for “primitive camping” Saturday and Sunday.
Olympic Timber Town Tumble starts at noon Saturday and ends at 3 p.m. Sunday at 237979 U.S. Highway 101.
“We hope it will put us back on the map, so to speak,” Olympic Timber Town President Jeff McReynolds said.
Timber Town was the brainchild of late World War II photographer and Port Angeles resident Lee Embree, who died in 2008, and his wife, Vi, who died in April. The final payment on the property was made in 2011.
Entry Sunday will be free, but McReynolds said organizers hope the event will attract donations, more members and volunteers to maintain the recently cleared areas of the site.
Currently, the nonprofit has $20,000 saved for the construction of a replica timber town, logging museum and heritage site — a figure “not near enough” to consider building, he said.
During the tumble, Dave Bunker, the inventor of the electric “touch” guitar, will perform a concert. Attendees can also take the stage to share songs and stories of their own throughout the weekend.
Along with the decibel of crowd applause, a 50/50 drawing will assess the talents and “let the largest donation do the voting.”
McReynolds hopes this will become an annual all-ages campout and fundraiser for Olympic Timber Town.
“I want to see people from every age, from just walking to wondering if they’re going to be here tomorrow,” he said. “I want everyone to bring themselves and their families and have fun.”
For more information about Olympic Timber Town, visit olympictimbertown.org.
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Reporter Sarah Sharp can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or at ssharp@peninsuladailynews.com.
