PORT TOWNSEND — Preparations have already started for the second annual Cake Picnic, one facet of the Rhododendron Festival next month.
For one thing, a team of Port Townsenders is putting on an all-ages dance party Saturday to raise money for the picnic, which will feature some 4,000 slices of free cake served after the May 17 Rhododendron Festival Grand Parade.
The party will get started at 7 p.m. Saturday with DJ Captain Peacock playing funk, reggae, disco and hip-hop to fill the Cotton Building, 607 Water St. Admission will be $10 for adults and $5 for youth age 6 to 18 — and that price includes chocolate cake pops from the kitchen of Cake Picnic bakers Meredith Hotchkiss and Kellen Lynch.
Also Saturday night, singer-songwriter Cyndi Harvell and beat-box juggler Bronkar Lee will do a 20-minute set. The husband-and-wife team are friends of Danny Milholland of Port Townsend, whose Thunderball Productions is coproducing the party and the Cake Picnic.
“This is the second year for the cake picnic and the first time we’ve had the fundraiser,” said Milholland.
He’s working with Jonathan Safir of Safir Images and with Hotchkiss and Lynch, whose businesses are Bread & Honey Bakery and Dalla Notte Baking, respectively.
Hotchkiss, as lead baker, will showcase her recipe for chocolate beet cake at the picnic.
“We are bringing back the ancient tradition of feasting in our community,” Milholland said, noting that local figures such as Chief Chetzemoka, Joe Kuhn and James G. Swan were known for producing community clam bakes that served more than 1,200.
“We’re trying to develop a production that can happen for many years to come,” Milholland said of the Rhody Festival Cake Picnic.
For information, see www.CakePicnic.com or visit the event’s Facebook page.
