It seems like there is always something happening in Port Townsend.

This constant hum of activity is a reflection of the creative, energetic spirit of residents around these parts, and it means that there is plenty of fun activities to plan your trip around. Read on for a snapshot of some of the more popular events and festivals held in Port Townsend each year.

• View the full 2019 calendar of events.

APRIL

Opening of Port Townsend Farmers Market

A goat parade, some fiddlers, farmers, some food and craft and bunch of new vendors launch this year’s Farmers Market. The annual Goat Parade will start promptly at 9 am with kids cloven, and not, making their way down a Tyler Street filled with over 50 vendors. The market will be open every Saturday (same hours) through December, with the Wednesday market opening July 2, from 2-6 pm and running through the fall.

Jefferson County Farmers Market, 360.379.9098, http://jcfmarkets.org/

MAY

Rhododendron Festival

Enjoy the Pet Parade, Bed Races, Grand Parade on Saturday, downtown carnival and the Rhody Run. Rhododendron Festival, 360.301.0783, www.RhodyFestival.org

JUNE

Brass Screw Confederacy and Steampunk Hootenanny

An action-packed weekend bringing together a body of steampunks, Neo-Victorians, and sympathizers set in the Victorian seaport of Port Townsend to celebrate humanity’s progress towards a more convivial world. Witness artists, actors, and the aesthetically odd that embrace esoteric apparel, exotic experiments, and fantastical imaginations unfettered by trifles like physics and decorum.  Olympic Peninsula Steam, 360.385.6753, www.brass-screw.org

Port Townsend Orca Festival

Celebrate Orca Awareness Month in the finest location in the continental US to view orcas, humpbacks, gray whales, fin whales, and minke whale. Public events throughout the month will bring together whale experts, educators, tribal representatives and artists, for educational and fun-filled days of exploration around the area’s orca population and the broader whale ecosystem in the Salish Sea. ptorcafest.com

R2AK – Race to Alaska

It’s in the spirit of tradition, exploration, and the lawless self-reliance of the gold rush that Race to Alaska was born. R2AK is the first of its kind and North America’s longest human and wind powered race, and currently the largest cash prize for a race of its kind.  You, a boat, a starting gun. $10,000 if you finish first, a set of steak knives if you’re second. Cathartic elation if you can simply complete the course. R2AK is a self-supported race with no supply drops and no safety net. Any boat without an engine can enter. r2ak.com

Classic Mariners’ Regatta

More than just a race, this regatta is a celebration of traditional seamanship and maritime heritage. It’s a rendezvous to enjoy the camaraderie of fellow sailors who have met one another over the years. The regatta is sponsored by the Northwest Maritime Center/Wooden Boat Foundation and the Port Townsend Sailing Association. Wooden Boat Foundation, 360.385.3628 ext 103, www.woodenboat.org

Centrum’s Voice Works

Workshops and public performances for for singers from across the nation and beyond. Held annually at Fort Worden State Park, and produced by Centrum. 360.385.3102, www.centrum.org

JULY

Centrum’s Festival of American Fiddle Tunes

One of America’s grandest celebrations of traditional music. A weeklong gathering featuring hundreds of musicians living and learning with the masters of fiddle traditions. Centrum, 360.385.3102, www.centrum.org

Centrum’s Port Townsend Writers’ Conference

Enjoy an astonishing array of small-group workshops, craft lectures, guided freewrites, readings and more, with some of the leading voices in fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Centrum, 360.385.3102, www.centrum.org

Concerts on the Dock

Local bands perform a wide array of dance music downtown on the corner of Water Street and Madison Street. It’s a great way to celebrate summer in Port Townsend! Port Townsend Main Street Program, 360.385.7911, www.ptmainstreet.org

Centrum’s Jazz Port Townsend

Washington’s longest-running summer jazz festival, Centrum assembles a truly outstanding collection of the jazz world’s great artists to offer memorable performances and workshops. Don’t miss Jazz in the Clubs in downtown and uptown Port Townsend! Centrum, 360.385.3102, www.centrum.org

Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival

This is a week-long, total-immersion experience that passes down the skills, sounds, stories, laughter, and heartache of the authentic bearers of the blues tradition. For many, it’s a pilgrimage. For others, it’s an intensive week of deeply satisfying music-making. For all, it’s a chance to learn new tunes and styles, and to take playing and performing to a new level. Don’t miss Blues in the Clubs in downtown and uptown Port Townsend! Centrum, 360.385.3102, www.centrum.org

The Olympic Music Festival

The Olympic Music Festival presents a summer season of concerts in partnership with Centrum at Fort Worden State Park. World class chamber music performances take place at the Wheeler Theater, Saturdays and Sundays at 2 PM, with dates in July, August, and September. Highlights include the Olympic Chamber Music Fellowship and annual children’s concert. Please visit our website for information and tickets: www.olympicmusicfestival.org

AUGUST

Jefferson County Fair

Enjoy a good ol’-fashioned fair where county residents and guests alike gather to recognize the talents and accomplishments of individuals and families in livestock, agriculture, home and fine arts, crafts, and industry. Jefferson County Fair, 360.385.1013, www.jeffcofairgrounds.com

Uptown Street Fair/Parade/Crafts Fair

Port Townsend Main Street Program, 360.385.7911, www.ptmainstreet.org

The Olympic Music Festival

Performances by world-class artists feature masterworks of classical chamber music and occasionally other styles. The 2016 season includes the Opening Celebration July 16th & 17th, and continues with weekend concerts from August 13th through September 11th. Concerts are presented Saturdays and Sundays at 2PM at the Wheeler Theater at Fort Worden State Park, offering a different program each weekend. www.olympicmusicfestival.org

SEPTEMBER

Wooden Boat Festival

This festival is the most education-packed and inspiring wooden boat event in the world. Featuring more than 300 wooden vessels, dozens of indoor and outdoor presentations and demonstrations, a who’s who of wooden boat experts and thousands of wooden boat enthusiasts, there’s something to do, someone to meet, or a boat to board at every turn. Wooden Boat Foundation, 360.385.3628, www.woodenboat.org

Port Townsend Film Festival

Choose from over 90 independent, foreign, narrative and documentary films, while mingling with new friends and a celebrity or two. Films screen continuously for three days–all in Port Townsend’s walkable National Historic District, Sept. 21-23, 2018. Eight theatres include the dazzling Starlight Room (crystal chandeliers, food and bar), restored 1907 Rose and Rosebud Theatres. Come meet the filmmakers and strike up a conversation. See a free classic movie, with seating on straw bales, on the giant inflatable screen each night under the stars on Taylor Street. Try signature cocktails, local wine, hard ciders at the Festival Bar on the Dock, toasted cheese sandwiches on Pane d’Amore artisan bread. Festival Pass includes Friday’s wild salmon dinner with wine and dessert on Taylor Street. Film panels, events, parties. Films announced late July. Port Townsend Film Festival, 211 Taylor St., Suite 401-A, Port Townsend, WA 98368. Box office: 360-379-1333, www.ptfilmfest.com

Jefferson County Farm Tour

Experience a working farm and connect with local farmers. With over a dozen Jefferson County farms participating in the tour you’ll meet many of the people that are part of our county’s thriving food and fiber systems. Experience farm tours, live music, educational demonstrations and kid’s activities. http://extension.wsu.edu/jefferson/agriculture/farm-tour/

OCTOBER

Kinetic Skulpture Race

Attempts to marry art and transportation produce hilarious results as kooky, ingenious contraptions try to race the course and strive for mediocrity. Kinetic Skulpture Race, 360.379.4972 or 360.385.7306, www.PTKineticRace.org

Port Townsend Ukulele Festival at Fort Worden State Park

Expect intense fun, ukulele instruction, and merry music making with some of the finest ukulele instructors and players working today. Workshop offerings will feature a wide variety of styles – jazz, blues, swing, Hawaiian, pop, novelty, and jugband ukulele. Classes include chords, melody, improvisation, performing tips. For beginners and more advanced musicians alike. Centrum, 360.385.3102, www.centrum.org

The Economics of Happiness Conference

Be part of a world-changing conversation. Join with leading thinkers and activists from locally and around the world. The wide range of inter-connected topics will include: the New Economy movement, income inequality, local food and regenerative agriculture, public policy, local business, cooperatives, Transition Town initiatives, community-sourced finance, connection to nature, education, intentional communities, climate and environmental justice, and the impact of the economy on our psychological well-being. www.economicsofhappiness-pt.com

Downtown Trick-or-Treat, Oct. 31

Port Townsend Main Street Program, 360.385.7911, www.ptmainstreet.org

NOVEMBER

Jefferson County Holiday Craft Fair

Jefferson County Fair, 360.385.1013, www.jeffcofairgrounds.com

DECEMBER

Community Tree Lighting and Visit from Santa

Carolers saunter the streets of Port Townsend framed by festival window displays and fabulous holiday shopping with unique gift items culminating with the lighting of the community tree and a visit from Santa. A perfect way to launch the holiday season. Port Townsend Main Street Program, 360.385.7911, www.ptmainstreet.org

First Night Celebration

First Night is an alcohol-free New Year’s Eve community celebration focusing on art, culture and heritage with a maritime theme tying it all together. Good for all ages. Jefferson County Historical Society, 360.385.1003, www.jchsmuseum.org