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October in Port Townsend: From Street to Stage & Back Again
When the leaves start turning russet and gold, you feel a chill in the air, and it’s dark by 7 pm, Port Townsend starts to get a little “krazy” and “kwirky.” The month of October starts off with something kompletely different: the 34th Great Port Townsend Bay Kinetic SkulPTure Race, October 1-2. The theme this year is “In Search of the Holy Gear.” There will be thrills, there will be chills, songs, and, of course, there will be Glory!
Photo by Steve Mullensky
A kinetic skulpture is a human powered, artistically enhanced vehicle that must go through sand (Kwick Sand), mud (The Dismal Bog), float on water (The Great Bay), and transverse hilly, silly neighborhoods. Some skulptures are engineering marvels while most are a mixture of bicycle parts, styrofoam, duct tape, imagination and prayers. Awards are given to each racer whether they want it or not, but the most highly prized award is the “Mediocrity Award,” the skulpture that finishes in the middle of the pack. Kinetic racers as well as Glorious Spectators must be kapable of having fun without taking the event too seriously. Are you ready?!
Photo by Steve Mullensky
Saturday’s festivities start at Low Noon beginning with the Glorious Parade downtown, full of Glorious Spectators, followed by safety tests, and then the Water Kourse. At 8 pm there will be a Koronation Ball where a new Rose Hips Kween will be chosen, an unbelievable display of talent, jokes and recipes will help the crowd choose the winning kontestant! Live music will be played by a live band to keep everyone dancing and shake it down.
Sunday the race continues, but first, in front of City Hall, the racers will be required to kroon their way into the hearts of the krowd, and perform a sobriety test to prove that the Ball libations did not dull their senses. The racers begin pedaling at Low Noon, Kinetic Kops will issue citations, kontrolling khaos and konfusion at the event, while the glorious judges look on to find their favorites. Bribes given freely may help to keep the judges marking you high and help persuade the kops to ignore felonious indiscretions, and bribing the Kinetic Konsortium is always wise. Racers complete the route around 5 pm if they are lucky, and arrive at the awards ceremony muddy, sore, and yet brimming with well-earned Glory! For more info and to buy tickets, go to www.ptkineticrace.org.
At Key City Public Theatre, 4,000 Miles opens October 6 and runs through October 23. Generational gaps create tension in relationships in the theatre’s October production of Amy Herzog’s Pulitzer finalist drama, 4,000 Miles. Leo has ridden his bike across the country, to arrive on the doorstep of his grandmother Vera, only for Vera to be unable to hear the doorbell. Likewise, when Vera finally makes it to the door, Leo cannot understand her, because she is not wearing her dentures. These failures of communication are the perfect introduction to the relationships that Herzog explores in her play. 4,000 Miles looks at people who are flawed, but so desperate to be vulnerable in the most painfully human ways possible. The struggles of coming to terms with their losses, and each other, is treated with a deft touch that lends levity, and lets their humanity shine through, in all the right moments. For more info and to buy tickets, go towww.keycitypublictheatre.org.
Photo by Deja View Photography
Connect the Dots at Girls’ Night Out, Thursday, October 6 from 11 am to 8 pm. Wear Polka Dots!” Start the fun with an early morning FREE Fun Run/Walk called “The Polka Dot Tiara Trot.” Meet at the Cotton Building (Water/Madison Streets) to register for this 1.47 mile walk/jog/run which starts at 7 am. Jump start your day! The first 100 participants get a free fun run t-shirt from Jefferson Healthcare. Treats after the fun run are provided by Arran Stark of Jefferson Healthcare.
New this year, the PT eRider will circulate customers downtown from 5-8 pm. Ride in style for free! Dozens of Girls’ Night Out participating businesses will offer special events, in-store discount promotions and refreshments. Proceeds benefit Jefferson Healthcare Foundation to help provide breast and cervical cancer screenings, care and treatment for low income Jefferson County residents and the Port Townsend Main Street Program. For more info, go to www.ptmainstreet.org.
On Friday, October 28 at 7 pm, MadronaMindBody, located at Fort Worden, will be featuring Jami Sieber in concert with Nancy Rumbel. Electric cellist, vocalist & composer, Jami Sieber together with Grammy Award-winning woodwind player and multi-instrumentalist, Nancy Rumbel, join in melodic richness to entrance the audience with their music.
Jami Sieber is a celebrated pioneer of her instrument with an inspiring and fearless style of performance that has been recognized internationally. Sieber creates her own kind of world music, boasting immediate emotional impact and conveying a visionary presence that goes beyond the gorgeous melodies and tribal rhythms. Reaching inside the soul with compositions that are lush and powerfully evocative, her music transforms from the deepest stillness to moving melodies and rhythms that light the heart on fire. For more info and to buy tickets, go to www.madronamindbody.com.
And for the kiddos, don’t miss the Port Townsend Main Street’s 22nd Annual Downtown Trick or Treat, October 31 beginning at 4 pm with a parade down Water Street. Our merchants will be offering treats for the kids…and, you never know, maybe some tricks too!
Visit us in October and enjoy everything Port Townsend!
2016 Port Townsend Film Festival: Sept 23-25
Attend the 17th Port Townsend Film Festival to see nearly 100 films in venues throughout Downtown PT.
The Festival will host six well-known names from the world of film as special guests. Among those attending will be actress Karen Allen, actor and director Andrew Perez, director and composer Alexander Janko and director Charlie Soap.
Also in attendance will be Pixar animator David Tart, who worked on such films as “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Finding Nemo” and “Monsters Inc.”
Emmy-winning producer Bill Borden will return to Port Townsend after 35 years. He was last in town as the location manager for the movie “An Officer and a Gentlemen,” which was filmed at Fort Worden State Park and in downtown Port Townsend.
This is the 17th year for the Port Townsend Film Festival, which will screen 97 films throughout three days in venues throughout Port Townsend.
Allen — named one of the world’s most beautiful women in the 1980s — is returning to the festival after attending in 2013.
Screenings of Allen’s new film “Year by the Sea,” based on a memoir by Joan Anderson, are planned, and joining her will be Janko, who wrote the screenplay for “Year by the Sea,” as well as directed it and composed its music. Janko has composed and orchestrated the scores for more than 65 films and won BMI’s Film Music award for his original score of the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”
Soap will return to the North Olympic Peninsula for a screening of “The Cherokee Word for Water,” a film he directed. During his last visit in January, there was standing-room-only in the theaters screening his film. “The Cherokee Word for Water” will screen twice during the festival. Soap is full-blood Cherokee, speaks the Cherokee language fluently and is married to the Cherokee leader Wilma Mankiller, officials said.
Actor and director Perez will attend screenings of his film “Bastards y Diablos,” a film he both wrote and stars in, which was filmed in Colombia in South America. Allen and Perez will conduct a session with Port Townsend High School students the afternoon of Sept. 23.
The festival will begin at 9 a.m. Sept. 23 with the first screenings at the Starlight Room and Cotton Building and end after 9:30 p.m. Sunday with screenings of the jury prize-winning films.
Movies will range from outdoor films to documentaries, narratives and shorts. During the festival, each of the theaters in downtown Port Townsend will screen more than 42 feature films each day.
Passes can be purchased at www.ptfilmfest.com.
2016 Jefferson County Farm Tour Sept. 17-18
Experience our area’s working farms 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. Included in the weekend of events are fourteen farms which highlight food, fiber, cider, oysters and more.
The Honky Tonkin’ Pie Party Kick-off will be September 16th from 6 pm – 10 pm at the Chimacum Grange featuring Three Chords and the Truth and some of our county’s best pies from Farm’s Reach Café, Crust Pies, the Chimacum Café and more! To watch our locally made promotional video and for a full listing of events go to http://extension.wsu.edu/jefferson/agriculture/farm-tour/.
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