PORT TOWNSEND — There isn’t a lot of difference between next week’s 80th anniversary Port Townsend Rhododendron Festival and the 79 that preceded it, and that’s a good thing.
“It brings everybody back to town,” said Brandi Hamon, secretary of the Rhododendron Festival board.
“It’s like one big family reunion,” she said.
“People get to see all of their former classmates and all their friends, and it’s all about the community.”
The Rhody Fest will peak with the Grand Parade on May 16, but a series of events beginning this weekend, make it a week worth remembering and doing over again.
Eighty times.
This year’s Rhody Royalty members are Queen Sam Smith and Princesses Lillian Kelly, Morgan Chaffee and Deidra Morris.
Most years have had a three-person court, but this year, six candidates began the competition, two dropped out and the festival declined to eliminate one.
As a result, the money needed for scholarships has increased. The queen receives $1,500 toward college, while the princesses each get $1,000.
All four will participate in the royalty handprint ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Monday at the Rhody Gardens in Fort Worden.
The four women will place their handprints and signatures in cement for posterity, although few have seen the last 10 years’ imprints are stored in a garage our of view.
This will change, as the Rhody Festival and the Fort Worden Public Development Authority are now working together to find a permanent home for the handprints in the park, according to Christie Spencer, a member of the Rhody board.
“It was really sad that we haven’t had a place for these, it’s a piece of history,” Spencer said, noting that the older imprints are viewable along Water Street in downtown Port Townsend.
“Once they are finally on display the royalty who have moved on with their lives can come back and share the moment with their families and their children.”
Two warmup events for Rhody take place this weekend.
The Port Townsend Arts Guild will host its 39th annual Rhododendron Arts and Crafts Fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on Madison Street in front of Port Townsend City Hall.
Local artists will have juried arts and crafts along with artists from Eastern Washington and Oregon.
The fair will feature oil and watercolor paintings, fine gold and silver jewelry set with precious jewels, handmade knives and art creations in wood, steel glass, leather, pottery, fibers, enamel and pine needles.
From 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday, the sixth annual “Dude Looks Like a Lady” fundraiser will take place at the American Legion Hall at 209 Monroe St.
The event, which has a $5 admission, will feature 14 men dressed in drag performing provocative dances as the spectators stuff tips in their garter belts and gaudy almost-clothes.
The show is one of the main fundraisers for the royal court scholarships.
It has raised several thousand dollars for that purpose in past years, Spencer said.
Next weekend, the culminating event, the Grand Parade, will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 16, on Lawrence Street. It will turn right on Monroe Street and right again on Water Street, ending at Quincy Street.
It will be followed by the third annual Cake Picnic, where an expected 7,000 slices of artisan cake will be distributed to attendees.
Other events leading up to the Grand Parade are:
■ Trike Race — Beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday on Water Street in front of City Hall.
■ Pet Parade — Beginning at 4:30 p.m. Thursday on Lawrence Street.
■ Kiddie Parade — Beginning at 3:30 p.m. Friday, May 15, at the corner of Monroe and Water streets, followed by the Hair and Beard Contest at 5:30 p.m. and the Bed Race at 6:30 p.m. in the same location.
This year’s hair and beard contest has a children’s category, which doesn’t include the beard part.
■ Rhody Carnival — Thursday and Friday from 4 p.m. to close and Saturday from noon to close at Memorial Field, 550 Washington St.
■ Running of the Balls — 12:30 p.m. May 16 preceding the Grand Parade. Several thousand golf balls purchased for $5 will be released on Monroe Street. The first three to cross the finish line will earn prizes for the sponsor.
Tickets are available at the farmers market, at Safeway from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. May 15 and 16 and at the event itself.
■ 37th annual Rhody Run — A mini-marathon of 12 kilometers, or 7.45 miles, beginning at 11 a.m. Sunday, May 17, at Fort Worden State Park. Preregistration is $30 for adults and $12 for those younger than 15. Race-day registration is $45 for adults and $15 for those younger than 15. For information, see www.rhodyrun.com.
For more on the festival, see www.rhodyfestival.org.
________
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
