PORT TOWNSEND — They plan to raise the dead at the ninth annual Victorian Festival.
Well, sort of.
Among the 15 events planned for this year’s festival March 17-19 is a “Port Townsend Cemetery Tour: A Living History Experience.”
The new event will bring to life some pioneers six feet under at Laurel Grove Cemetery, with volunteers playing a little historical character acting, said Tim Snover, owner of Ravencroft Inn.
Snover joined Pat Durbin, Jefferson County Historical Society trustee and Victorian Festival director, at the Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce luncheon Monday at Fort Worden Commons, where they kicked off promotion of the popular event.
“Historic characters will speak from their gravesites of their lives in our city,” states a festival leaflet.
Historical society benefit
Proceeds from the event, which Durbin said generated $10,000 last year from a $200 initial budget, go toward the current renovation of the landmark 1891 Port Townsend City Hall building.
The old building was home to the Jefferson County Historical Society Museum until last month, when it was moved to temporary quarters to allow for the City Hall renovation and annex project.
As always, Victorian Days brings out the mid-1800s in many who dress in the attire of the era.
The Museum Shop opens March 1 at the Kuhn Building on Water and Polk streets to provide “Victorian Attire for the Ladies and Gents.”
That includes “hats, fans, shawls, gloves, parasols, jewelry, aprons, reticules, top hats, derby hats, walking sticks, pasterns, books and inspiration,” a flier states.
