PORT TOWNSEND — The Grand Parade is the 81st Port Townsend Rhododendron Festival’s main event during Saturday’s grand finale, but for the fourth year, the picnic will take the cake.
The Grand Parade will commence at 1 p.m. at the Port Townsend Fire Station, 701 Harrison St., and travel down Lawrence Street, then turn right on Monroe Street and right again on Water Street and Quincy Street.
The Cake Picnic will begin at Pope Marine Park immediately after the parade ends, estimated to be at about 2:30 p.m. or 3 p.m. There, 2,000 pieces of double chocolate cake will be served until supplies run out.
The picnic’s float will be at the end of the parade. As it passes, those on the sidelines are invited to join in and walk to the finish line.
“Not very many people participated in the first two years, but last year, about 300 joined in,” organizer Danny Milholland said.
“This year, a ton of people have committed to marching with us.”
In its short lifetime, the picnic has grown popular enough to be a continuing part of the long-running festival, Milholland said.
“The Cake Picnic has been fully embraced by all of the major Rhody organizations and partners,” he said.
“It has caught on as a festival tradition.”
A dance party will take place simultaneously with the Cake Picnic, beginning with a “flash mob” organized by the Madrona Mind Body Institute, followed by more free-form activity.
It is all part of Rhody, Port Townsend’s annual homecoming, a festival for the locals before tourist season kicks in.
Rhody Royalty
This year’s Rhody Royalty consists of Queen Fiona Shaffer, 16; Princesses Kayla Calhoun and Morgan Wilford, both 17; and Princess Eryn Reierson, 16, in the newly created ambassador position.
All the candidates are juniors, an advantage over past royal courts because they will be available for activities during the next school year.
They will be in the parade riding a new float that replaces one that caught fire at a parade in Port Orchard last year.
The float is an engine and a chassis that can be configured to reflect the theme, which this year is “Rockin’ Rhody.”
Rhody week began Monday with the royalty court making handprints in concrete in the Fort Worden State Park Rhododendron Garden.
The Trike Race took place Wednesday afternoon, while the Pet Parade happened Thursday.
The carnival at Memorial Field opened Thursday night and is scheduled to open at 4 p.m. today and at noon Saturday.
The Grand Parade is expected to take about two hours. It had more than 100 entries as of Thursday, but more might show up at the last minute, according to Rhody Past President Rita Hubbard.
Registration for the parade will be from 8 a.m. to noon at the Port Townsend Visitor Center, 2409 Jefferson St.
Running of the Balls
The parade will be immediately preceded by the Sunrise Rotary-sponsored “Running of the Balls,” where golf balls assigned to anyone purchasing a ticket are released on Monroe Street at the intersection of Lawrence Street.
The first few balls to reach Water Street will earn cash prizes.
The service club is raising money to give every third-grade student a new dictionary and is also allocating 10 percent of gross sales to the Rhody Festival.
Events set today are:
■ Kiddies Parade — 3:30 p.m., with registration at 2 p.m. and judging at 3 p.m., both in the Port Townsend Recreation Center, 620 Tyler St.
The parade route will begin at Lawrence Street where it intersects with Quincy Street, turn right on Monroe and right again on Water Street.
■ Hair and Beard Contest, with registration at 5:15 p.m. and judging at 5:30 p.m.
The contest, which awards prizes for the most imaginative facial hair stylings, will be on Water Street between Monroe Street and Madison Street.
■ Bed Race, with registration at 5:30 p.m. and judging at 6 p.m., is in the same location.
The race itself will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Brats & Brew Fest
The inaugural Kiwanis Brats & Brew Fest will be from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. today at the American Legion Hall, 209 Monroe St., replacing the Fish Fry that was part of past festivals.
Brats, baked beans and chips will be offered for $8 until 8 p.m. or until the food runs out.
Both indoor and outdoor beer gardens and eating areas are planned, depending on the weather.
A family eating area will be available inside the Legion Hall, and take-out meals will be an option.
Beer and wine will be offered for $5, as well as sodas and water for $2 and free coffee.
Timberfoot, a Seattle-based alternative rock band, is scheduled to play inside the Legion from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Elks Lodge events
Three events are planned at the Elks Lodge, 555 Otto St.
The annual Elks Rhody Fundraiser Pancake Breakfast will be from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday and from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Sunday.
On Saturday, the lodge will host a spaghetti feed from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The Jim Caldwell Memorial Open Golf Tournament will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday at the Port Townsend Golf Course, 1948 Blaine St.
Registration for the Rhody Run will begin at 9:30 a.m. Sunday at Fort Worden State Park with the race beginning at 11 a.m.
For more information, visit www.rhodyfestival.org.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
