Visitors brave weather for Sequim Irrigation Festival

By Matthew Nash

Olympic Peninsula News Group

SEQUIM — While the Irrigation Festival’s tagline “122 Skies of Blue” might not have held up last weekend, the wet weather didn’t dampen Sequim’s good times.

Organizers report all events continued as usual and turnouts were mostly packed for the festival’s grand finale weekend.

“It shows we’re true Washingtonians,” said the festival’s executive director, Deon Kapetan.

The Crazy Callen weekend started the festival, which remains the longest running festival in the state, on May 5-7 with events such as the Crazy Daze Breakfast, Kids Parade and the Innovative Arts &Crafts Fair.

Stormy weather shook Sequim on May 5, too, but eventually cleared. Locals and visitors saw the gamut of the Pacific Northwest’s poor weather with downpours, hail and some thunder and lightning mixed in briefly.

But Kapetan said the festival’s tagline remains relevant 122 years later — “Where water is wealth, right?”

All events proceeded as usual and attendance was high especially for the Grand Parade and Logging Show on Saturday, she said.

The carnival ran May 11 through Sunday and made similar revenues as last year despite the poor conditions, Kapetan said.

Randy Perry, organizer of the Hot Rods &Harleys Show ’n’ Cruzz, which drove cars the parade route to park at Walmart, said that while nearly 200 vehicles participated last year, the weather kept the total this year to 120.

“This weekend is supposed to be in the 70s. If we had that, we’d have over 200 [vehicles] for sure,” he said.

The Grand Parade saw thousands of spectators keep tradition going by lining up from the staging area at North Dunlap Avenue to Seventh Avenue to see more than 100 entries including the Sequim Irrigation Royalty.

This year’s royalty — Queen Karla Najera and Princesses Alison Cobb, Abby Norman and Emily Straling — and their aero-inspired float are only getting started as they have 14 more parades to go including the Rhody Festival’s Grand Parade this Saturday and the Victoria Day Parade on Monday.

Volunteers will join the royalty at each event, and Kapetan said more than 200 volunteers help the festival continue each year.

“People seem to be taking more pride in the festival each year,” she said.

“Hats off to the volunteers. It is so rare to have something this big that is all volunteer. Many of those other festivals are really struggling. The only thing we’re struggling with is getting bigger.”

Festival board members meet again in June to discuss this year and next with the 123rd Sequim Irrigation Festival running May 4-13, 2018.

Sequim High School’s Operetta “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” running in conjunction with the festival, finishes its three-week run with three showings this week at 7 tonight through Saturday in the Sequim High School auditorium, 601 N. Sequim Ave.

For ticket information, visit shsoperetta.org. For more information on the Irrigation Festival, visit www.irrigationfestival.com.

At the festival’s Grand Parade, fellow festivals took home the big prizes.

The Tacoma Daffodil Festival won the Grand Sweepstakes and the Marysville Strawberry Festival won the President’s Award while the Port Townsend Rhododendron Festival took home the Governor’s Award.

Soroptimist International of Sequim won the Mayor’s Award and festivals Fathoms of Fun and Forks’ Old Fashioned Fourth of July won the Chairman’s Award and Best Patriotic Award, respectively.

Chimacum High School took home best band honors followed by Sequim High School and Port Angeles High School. Olympic View Middle School earned best middle school band, too.

More than 70 people ran in the Irrigation Festival Fun Run 5K. Gretchen Sotebeer won the women’s race with a time of 22 minutes, 6.22 seconds. Nathan Despain won the men’s race at 18:59.37.

Taking second and third for the men were Dallin Despain at 19:38.38 and Thomas Winfield at 21:50.31, and for the women’s race, Angela Busby took second at 22.32.96 and Pauline Geraci took third at 23.21.10. See full results at facebook.com/5kfunrun sequim.

At the Hot Rods &Harleys Show ’n’ Cruzz, Ken and Colleen Bitter of Sequim won People’s Choice with their 1956 Chevy Bel Air. Look for results at facebook.com/Sequim Irrigationfestivalcarshow.

Results for other events are still forthcoming, so look for more information at the Sequim Irrigation Festival’s Facebook page at facebook.com/Sequim Irrigation Festival.

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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.