Intimacy with the most passionate members of the jazz community defines Jazz Port Townsend, which swings into fever pitch for the public on Thursday in clubs throughout downtown.

A list of 48 performers includes established veterans like Jeff Hamilton who has recorded with Barbara Streisand and toured with Ella Fitzgerald as well as up-and-coming mavericks such as alto sax-player Grace Kelly of CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

“Problems, and anything distracting falls away and I literally fall into this ‘black space’ where I’m 100 percent in the moment and tapped into another place,” Kelly said, describing how it feels to perform.

Festival goers can bear witness to that kind of transcendence for a $25 wrist band sold online at centrum.org or at club doors during evening performances Thursday, July 28 through Saturday, July 30.

“’Jazz in the Clubs’ is one of the really distinctive things about this festival,” Gregg Miller, Program Manager at Centrum said this week. “Jazz, as an art form, developed in small, intimate clubs. You get to see interactions between musicians, ideas passing between them with just a glance and the way the other musicians just light up when someone plays a really good solo. You feel more like you’re in the middle of a jam session at someone’s house than watching a performance.”

In addition to club music, three mainstage concert performances will occur at the 1,200-seat McCurdy Pavilion at Fort Worden State Park. Ticket prices range from $25-$53. Free workshops including “Saxophone Summit” with Grace Kelly and “An Inside Look at Two of the Great Bands of the Big Band Era” with Jeff Hamilton will happen at various locations throughout the state park on Friday. A complete listing of free events is available at Centrum.org.

FREE: “9^th Annual Friday Workshop Blowout” on Friday, July 29, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Jazz in the Clubs Schedule: Thursday, July 28, 8-11 p.m. at the Old Whiskey Mill, American Legion and Cotton Building; Friday & Saturday, July 29 & 30, 10-12:30 a.m. at the Old Whiskey Mill, American Legion, Cotton Building, Rose Theatre, Key City Public Theatre, and Pope Marine Building.

Jazz at McCurdy Pavilion: Friday July 29, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday July 30, 1:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.

More info: www.centrum.org. To buy tickets by phone, call (800) 746-1982 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., PST, Mon.-Sat., or between 6 a.m. and Noon on Sunday.

The Centrum office at 233 Battery Way in Port Townsend, WA also sells tickets Monday through Friday from noon until 4 p.m., excluding holidays. Performance schedules may limit “same day” sales hours. For more information call (360) 385-3102 x110

Join Centrum for one of the the largest country blues gatherings  in the nation!

The Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival performances feature players and music from regions where pre-war country blues were formed — Piedmont, the Delta, Mississippi Hill Country, New Orleans, Texas and more. Immerse yourself in the African – American history and traditions from which blues has grown.

Mainstage shows at McCurdy Pavilion cap off a week-long workshop for nearly 250 passionate acoustic blues students taught by artists from across the country. Club shows and a massive Saturday mainstage performances transform Port Townsend into the summer blues getaway.

Festival Public Events

Old-Fashioned Blues Dance

Wednesday August 3, 2016, 7:30 p.m. – Fort Worden USO Hall
General Admission $20 limited to 150

• Jerron Paxton
• Frankie Basile
• Chris Berry
• Andy Cohen
• Ari Eisinger
• Aaron Gunn
• Mark Rubin
• Ernie Vega
• Terry Waldo

Gospel Choir “Make a Joyful Noise” with Dr. Raymond Wise

Saturday August 6, 2016, 11 a.m. Fort Worden Chapel
Free

Acoustic Blues Showcase

Saturday August 6, 2016, 1:30pm – McCurdy Pavilion, Fort Worden
Reserved Seating Tickets: $45, $35, $25

• Jerron Paxton, Artistic Director
• The Fairfield Four
• Guy Davis
• Jimmy ‘Duck’ Holmes
• Pat Donohue
• Orville Johnson
• Tim Williams
• Mark Graham
• Clay Swafford
• Phil Wiggins

Blues in the Clubs

Friday August 5 and Saturday August 6, 2016 8pm-midnight
(Various downtown venues)

• Jerron Paxton
• Frankie Basile
• Chris Berry
• Andy Cohen
• Guy Davis
• Rich DelGrosso
• Wendy DeWitt
• Pat Donohue
• Ari Eisinger
• Mark Graham
• Aaron Gunn
• Jimmy ‘Duck’ Holmes
• Steve James
• Orville Johnson
• Washboard Chaz Leary
• Cory Ledet
• Scottie Parker
• Mark Rubin
• Clay Swafford
• Valerie Turner
• Ernie Vega
• Elijah Wald
• Terry Waldo
• Lightnin’ Wells
• Phil Wiggins
• Tim Williams

The Northwest Cider Association (NWCA) announces details for its sixth annual Summer Cider Day taking place Saturday, August 6 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Northwest Maritime Center in Port Townsend.  With more than 70 ciders to try, music, and gourmet gluten-free fare from Sirens Pub, this family friendly event showcases some of the top cideries from Washington and Oregon.

“Cider keeps growing in popularity as the inventiveness and creativity of our local cideries gets better and better,” said Emily Ritchie, executive director of the Northwest Cider Association. “This is one of the largest cider tasting events in Washington State and has helped establish the Northwest as a nationally recognized cider region.”

Summer Cider Day’s participating cideries include: Alpenfire Cider, Eaglemount Cider and Finnriver Farm and Cidery (Port Townsend); Nashi Orchards (Vashon Island); Liberty Ciderworks (Spokane); Seattle Cider and Schilling Cider (Seattle); Snowdrift Cider and Pear UP (East Wenatchee); Spire Mountain Cider and Whitewood Cider (Olympia); Tieton Ciderworks (Tieton) and Locust Cider (Woodinville) from Washington. Wandering Aengus (Salem), 2 Towns Ciderhouse (Corvallis), Bull Run Cider, and, New West, Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider (Portland) will showcase Oregon’s finest.

Summer Cider Day tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door and include admission for one, 8 tasting tickets, and a keepsake Northwest Cider Association glass. Additional taste tickets, fare from Sirens Pub, and bottles of most of the featured ciders will be available for purchase. The Northwest Maritime Center is located at 431 Water Street in Port Townsend. Event tickets and event details are available at www.nwcider.com.