PORT TOWNSEND — Many people will spend the second-to-last weekend before Christmas fighting traffic on the way to a generic mall, while Port Townsend residents can enjoy large doses of holiday cheer.
“You know the people here. They are your neighbors,” said Cindy Madsen, who is helping to organize the weekend’s events.
“It’s not a mall, where they have Santa Claus and you stand in line for half an hour to sit on his lap for 30 seconds, get your picture taken by an elf and move on.”
A Port Townsend Christmas, Madsen said, is not a “cookie-cutter experience.” This weekend features four unique events that are not available in the big city.
All events take place Saturday.
Yuletide Salon
The main community event is the Victorian Yuletide Salon, which takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Cotton Building, 607 Water St.
The guest of honor is Father Christmas, a Victorian character Madsen characterizes as “the European Santa Claus,” who will pose for pictures and listen to children’s holiday wishes.
This is in an environment that will feature “live music, mummers’ plays, seasonal treats and tomfoolery,” according to the event website.
Madsen said the Cotton Building is an improvement over past salons held in retail stores or the Jefferson Museum of Art & History, due to its spaciousness and central location.
“It will be more open, available and visible to more people than in past years,” Madsen said of the free event.
Kiwanis Choo Choo
Kiwanis Choo Choo rides take place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The ride begins and ends at Pope Marine Park, traveling through downtown and uptown on a route subject to the driver’s whim, according to Mari Mullen, Port Townsend Main Street executive director.
The cost is $5 per person, with proceeds funding art programs in the Port Townsend School District.
Santa Claus, who rode the Choo Choo to last week’s tree lighting, is not scheduled for an appearance, but this could change, according to Mullen.
“Santa may make an appearance, you never know,” she said.
“You never know where he is going to be this time of year. He’s busy and is hard to pin down.”
The jolly elf, Mullen said, “can show up at the drop of a Santa hat.”
Home Tour
The Victorian Holiday Home Tour takes place from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, including two homes that are not normally accessible to the public, Madsen said.
Participants can get up close and personal with the Ann Starrett Mansion, 744 Clay St., built in 1889, and the 1891 O’Rear Home, 1932 Washington St., which was originally built as a carriage house for the adjacent Consulate Inn.
Refreshments, music and discussions with homeowners and docents are included.
Tickets cost $15 per person (cash or check only) and are available from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Vintage Hardware, 2000 W. Sims Way.
Yuletide Ball
The main adult event is the Yuletide Ball, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Fort Worden Chapel, 200 Battery Way, just inside the park’s main gates.
The Brass Screw Confederacy, that steampunkish bunch, is hosting the event, so organizer Kimberly Torres said steampunk and Victorian attire — or anything glamorous — is desirable.
The festivities get underway at 8 p.m. with informal swing-dance lessons on tap along with music provided by the Olympic Express Big Band.
Ball-goers can plan on James Brown’s “I Feel Good,” Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools” and Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” plus big-band numbers such as “In the Mood” and “Mambo Caliente.”
Advance tickets are $15 at www.brass-screw.org and $20 at the door Saturday night. Dessert will be available, as will the no-host bar.
Torres and the rest of the Brass Screw group fully expect a visit from Father Christmas as well as his nemesis, that mischievous Krampus character.
“There will be shenanigans between those two,” Torres predicted. Father Christmas also will make a few naughty-or-nice judgment calls, just for fun.
“We wanted something, amid the dreary December, to make people happy,” she said, adding that Victorian top hats, bowlers, goggles and corsets are some of the accessories appropriate for the ball.
“You can wear whatever you want,” Madsen said.
“Anything that you want to dance in.”
Madsen said the day’s events are fairly intimate, with 40 to 75 people expected at the Yuletide Salon and 50 to 75 people at the Yuletide Ball.
For more information, go to www.ptmainstreet.org or call 360-385-3911.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
