QUILCENE — The 2011 Quilcene Fair offers residents a chance to celebrate where they live — and probably see all their neighbors in one place this weekend.
It is also an opportunity for former residents to return home for a visit — and for visitors to check out Quilcene, population 650.
“Enjoy a Day in Paradise” is the theme of the fair.
It has a carnival — which continues today through Sunday in downtown Quilcene — plus a parade, car show, antler show, arts and crafts exhibit, games and music.
Most events are on Saturday, with some continuing through Sunday.
Admission to the fair, which is on the grounds of the Quilcene School, 294715 U.S. Highway 101, is free.
“People come back to town twice a year,” said Larry McKeehan, a fair spokesman, who has taught in Quilcene for more than 30 years.
“They come back for graduation and for the fair and parade, so they can see everybody.”
High school centennial
This year, the fair also is celebrating graduation, marking the Quilcene High School’s centennial, with alumni in Saturday’s parade.
The parade begins at 11 a.m.
While a school has operated in the town since the 1800s, the first graduating class was in 1911.
That class had four students.
Twenty-four will graduate in 2011.
McKeehan did not know how many alumni will show up for the parade — but said that “it has gone onto Facebook, and there could be quite a few.”
All the alumni will march in the parade, but they will be toward the front, “so they can sit down and watch the rest of it,” McKeehan said.
“If we put the alumni at the end, there would be fewer spectators.”
Antler Show
Right after the parade, one of the highlights of the fair, the Antler Show, will open at noon in the Quilcene High School gym.
Antlers and wildlife displays will be exhibited until 6 p.m.
The show will continue Sunday, opening at 8:30 a.m. and closing at 5 p.m.
River guide and humorist Pat Neal, a columnist for the Peninsula Daily News, will speak at 2 p.m.
Vendors featuring wildlife or outdoor items, children’s games and Antler Cafe food also will be featured.
Also at about noon, residents and visitors can pose for the Quilcene Community Portrait.
Everyone attending is invited to stand on U.S. Highway 101 in downtown Quilcene, where the photo will be taken.
Parade details
Saturday’s parade participants should check in between 9 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. at the intersection of Washington Street and Rose Street in the vacant lot across from the community center tennis courts.
The parade will enter U.S. Highway 101 at Roberts Street, proceed north through town, pass the school and turn onto Center Road.
Entries include dignitaries and honorees, floats, vehicles, horses, marching groups, election candidates, animals and logging and farm equipment.
This year’s dignitaries are Tom Morris, grand marshal; Mohammed Alazani, citizen; Ralph and June Pope, king and queen; Janet Reeves and Charlotte Reeves, pioneer citizens; and Lee Gilmore, most missed.
Gilmore moved to Quilcene in 1956 from Bremerton to become the owner of the Whistling Oyster Tavern and lived in Quilcene for 42 years before moving to Port Ludlow.
Also participating in the parade will be “Tourist of the Day.”
“We go to all the hotels and campgrounds on Friday night and ask someone who is staying there to be the Tourist of the Day,” McKeehan said.
“If they say yes, we buy them breakfast, and they march in the parade.”
Musical entertainment — everything from country to show tunes and folk to pop — is planned at four venues all day Saturday.
Performers are scheduled from noon to 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. in front of the school, behind the gym, inside the school cafeteria and in the courtyard between the high school and elementary school.
Other activities
Also taking place at the fair:
• A $5 pancake breakfast will start off the day Saturday at 8 a.m. in the school cafeteria.
• A carnival, which began Thursday, will continue today in downtown Quilcene.
Hours are from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. today, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
• A Classic Car Show and Burn-Out Exhibit, presented by the South County Classic Cruisers of Quilcene, will exhibit more than 50 vehicles.
A “burn-out” exhibition will be at 3 p.m. Saturday in the staging area behind the Quilcene School.
Vendors, music and food also are planned.
• The Quilcene Ranger Run will start at 9 a.m. Saturday with a 7:30 a.m. check-in.
The flat, scenic, 4-mile or 2-mile run/walk will begin on Rogers Street and follow Linger Longer to turn-around points before doubling back.
All proceeds will benefit Quilcene-Brinnon Dollars for Scholars and Jefferson County Friends of Parks and Recreation.
• A Fine Arts Fibre Arts and Crafts Exhibit, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the School Learning Center, will include china painting, pastels, pen and ink, charcoal, acrylic paintings, various needlework, garment construction, scrapbooking, collages, miniature collections, glass and iron work, crochet, knitting, needlepoint, cross-stitch, embroidery items and other crafts.
• A fair board raffle will give away more than 100 prizes.
Tickets are $1. Drawings will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Proceeds will go to Dollars for Scholars, other community projects and to help pay the expenses of the fair.
• Games and activities will begin at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, for all ages at various booths throughout the fairgrounds.
• A photo contest exhibit will display images of the Quilcene area in black and white or color.
Prizes will be given to five winners and greeting cards of winning photos will be made to sell.
• The Garden Delights Display will exhibit vegetables, flowers, fruits, preserves and any other gardening ideas or creations.
Entries should be brought to the school cafeteria/multipurpose room before 11 a.m. Saturday.
Visitors are also invited to see the new Quilcene School Community Garden and local farm vendors by the school greenhouse.
For more information, visit www.quilcenefair.com/.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
