Summer is in full swing and promises to heat up even more with blazing hot events and activities throughout the month. We have performances that will get your blood pumping, your heart thumping and your feet stomping. Oh, yeah, and you’ll probably get caught laughing a lot too. Enjoy Port Townsend this summer!
Celebrate America’s birthday at Fort Worden and get ready for the biggest and best party of the year at the “Old School” 4th of July. Don’t miss an epic lineup throughout the day of live entertainment, food vendors, a beer garden, a hot air balloon, field games, free root beer floats, miniature golf and a tug-of-war, all culminating in a glorious display of fireworks once it’s dark. The festivities begin at 4 pm on the parade grounds at Fort Worden. The event is sponsored by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce and Thunderbull Productions, along with many local businesses.
An ”Old School” 4th overlaps with Centrum’s Fiddle Tunes Festival, a week-long immersion workshop presenting fiddle styles from specific regions of the world. Two performances will honor this American holiday: Fiddles on the Fourth is at 1:30 pm in the McCurdy Pavilion including a BBQ on the Green, and at 7 pm, Fiddles and Fireworks will showcase artists from Mexico, Missouri, Virginia and Alberta, also at the McCurdy Pavilion. For tickets, go to www.centrum.org.
Following the success of last year’s teen initiative production, Distracted, Key City Public Theatre is launching their 2017 teen initiative, a play written, directed, produced, and acted entirely by Port Townsend youth, Promposal, with performances July 7 – July 15, Wednesday – Sunday at 7:30 pm, with 2:30 pm matinees on July 8 and 9. Tickets are $12, with Pay-What-You-Wish performances on July 9 and 13.
True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country, Kurt Vonnegut wrote in his book Man Without a Country. Ian Coates’ new play Promposal blurs the line between the daily grind of high school and contemporary American politics. Despite the grim topical backdrop, this teen production is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud with its dark humor. For more info, go to www.keycitypublictheatre.org.
Rock the dock this summer at the free, all-ages, outdoor Concerts on the Dock, in downtown Port Townsend on the waterfront. The series, sponsored by the Port Townsend Main Street Program, runs every Thursday, July 13 through August 31, at the Pope Marine Park/City Dock Civic Plaza. Come to dance, see friends, enjoy a drink and have a bite. Local vendors and a beer, wine and cider garden will contribute to the festive atmosphere. Seating opens at 4:30 pm, show starts at 5 pm and ends at 7:30 pm. Bring a chair or a blanket and settle in for some great tunes. For more into and details about the bands that are playing, go to www.ptmainstreet.org.
Centurm offers the Free Fridays at the Fort concert series June 30 through August 4, showcasing fiddle tunes, jazz and blues on the lawn of the Commons at Fort Worden and is free to the public. Performances begin at noon and go until 1 pm. Bring a lawn chair or blanket, a picnic lunch or grab something to go at Reveille in the Commons. In the rare event of inclement weather, alternative plans will be posted on www.centrum.org.
The wildly popular Olympic Music Festival will be offering their stellar performances in partnership with Centrum with concerts held at the Wheeler Theater at Fort Worden.
Olympic Music Festival Artistic Director Julio Elizalde is joined by Andrew Wan, concertmaster of L’Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, and longtime OMF cellist Jennifer Culp, in a program of beloved trio masterworks by Beethoven, Brahms and Mendelssohn on July 15 and 16. For tickets, go to www.olympicmusicfestival.org
Artistic Director John Clayton has worked with Centrum to assemble a truly outstanding collection of jazz artists from around the country for this year’s Jazz Port Townsend. Enjoy “Jazz in the Clubs,” a movable feast of great music featuring intimate performances in venues in downtown Port Townsend. Your wristband is an all-night access pass, allowing you to move around to the various venues throughout the evening beginning Thursday, July 27 at 8 pm, Friday and Saturday, July 28 and 29, at 10pm. For more information, go to www.centrum.org.
Pack up your dancin’ shoes, favorite shorts, best hat, music-loving friends and family and head to Port Townsend for some epic fun and blazing hot summer events this month. We can’t wait to see you!
A Few Upcoming Events later this Summer—Save the Dates!
Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival, July 30-August 6
Olympic Music Festival at Fort Worden, August 11, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27 and Sept. 2, 3, 9 & 10
Key City Public Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park, Henry IV—Part 1, August 4-27
Jefferson County Fair, August 11-13
Uptown Street Fair, August 19
Concerts on the Dock, every Thursday in August