With the backdrop of a Juan de Fuca morning marine layer, the fellowship of PNW wooden boat fanatics flooded Port Townsend on Friday. Come join the fun this weekend!
Hosted by the Northwest Maritime Center (48° North’s publisher), the continent’s largest wooden boat festival got underway this morning in Port Townsend, celebrating its 46th annual event. More than 10,000 people will attend over the next three days, and today’s crowds signal that it will be a big festival year. Seminars and education sessions have been
standing room only, bands are already bumping in “Bar Harbor”, docks creak under the weight of the masses, and smiles extend across the faces of everyone from genuine experts to the wooden-boat-curious.
Throughout Thursday, the several hundred wooden boats on display found their places (you can watch all 11 hours of the boat tetris here…) in the harbor and on the plaza. They now total about 300 and, along with more than 80 engaging presentations, are the main event. To say Point Hudson Marina is jam-packed with beautiful vessels is an understatement — each of them an exercise in art, function, and astounding commitment by their stewards.
A number of our previous posts have given you many other details and discussed other attractions. This is really just a quick update about Festival’s kickoff and a few early sights, and to invite you to come join the fun this weekend in Port Townsend. Hats off to our colleagues who work all year long to put make the Wooden Boat Festival happen. It’s a joy every year, and this year is certainly no exception! And as we’ve written this, the fog has burned off, the sun is out, and the rest of the day is looking even brighter in every way.
The Festival runs today (September 8) through Sunday September 10, Friday and Saturday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM with music and dancing until midnight, and Sunday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
Tickets are available here. Find out more at www.woodenboat.org, on Facebook @WoodenBoatFoundation, and on Instagram @WoodenBoatFestival. A full schedule is available online.
Photos by Joe Cline.
