The Latest in PT
November: Start Your Holiday in Port Townsend
November launches the holiday season with its exciting activities and events. Here in Port Townsend, we can’t wait for you to join the fun! Days are shorter. Nights are longer. Storms have been rolling in off the Strait of Juan de Fuca, inspiring us to come inside to a warm shop, a cozy guest room and a welcoming restaurant for comfort food. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and before you know it, Santa will be riding in to light our tree at Haller Fountain!
Top 5 Reasons to Escape to Port Townsend for the Holidays:
1. Shop.
Get a head start on your holiday shopping this year at the Holiday Fair at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, November 7 (9 am – 5 pm) and 8 (10 am – 4 pm). Stocking stuffers, gifts, arts, crafts and hourly raffles start the fun, plus Santa makes an early visit for photo ops with your kiddos. For more information, go to www.jeffcofairgrounds.com or call 360.385.1013.
Galleries around town feature local artists and craftspeople with inspiring art for your home or a gift for that special someone. The first Saturday of every month is Art Walkfrom 5-7:30 pm, falling on November 7. Learn more about our merchants atwww.ptmainstreet.org.
Forget the stressful, crowded malls on Black Friday and meander leisurely through town, discovering treasures for your family and friends. Enjoy the array of unique gifts available at our boutiques and galleries. Many of our shops are run by the owners, so they can help you find exactly the discerning gift you’re looking for…and maybe something special for you too! Small Business Saturday is November 28 and with special in-store treats, carolers on the street and open late for your shopping pleasure.
2. Stay.
Check out our charming B&Bs or accommodations in period Victorian style. We have modern getaways, a variety of vacation rentals, and classic hotels and motels…everything you want for some well-deserved R&R. Decorated with sparkling holiday lights, choose your favorite here: EnjoyPT.com/stay.
3. Sip. Savor. Be entertained.
Treat your senses to local Olympic coastal cuisine and a mouth-watering choice of dining options to match your mood, whether it’s a hearty breakfast, lunch with the family or a romantic dinner, you’ll find what you’re looking for before, during or after your holiday excursions.
Key City Public Theatre will have audiences howling for an evening of dinner theater on November 8 at 6 pm at Alchemy Bistro & Wine Bar, featuring “The Dog Logs.” From a tough Rottweiler with neighbor problems to an aging mongrel who discovers love late in life, this collection of hilarious and heartbreaking monologues examines the lives of dogs from every breed, age and situation. Telling stories of friendship, romance and revenge, “The Dog Logs” is a refreshing take on canine life that is touching and surprisingly human.
Tickets are $48 for the four-course dinner and show (beverages and gratuity not included).
Reserve tickets early as these dinner theaters often sell out and seating is limited. Purchase tickets online at www.keycitypublictheatre.org or call the box office at 360-385-5278.
Fort Worden is serving Thanksgiving dinner (call 360.344.4400 for reservations) as well as several of our local restaurants around town. Please contact the Port Townsend Visitor Information Center at 360.385.2722 or info@jeffcountychamber.org for a list and phone numbers for your holiday reservation.
4. Relax…pamper yourself.
Indulge in one of our many spa experiences with licensed massage therapists, estheticians and yoga instructors. We also have hot salt water tubs for soaking. For more info, contact the Port Townsend Visitor Information Center at 360.385.2722 orinfo@jeffcountychamber.org.
5. Tour.
Need exercise in between all the holiday meals and activities? Join the Turkey Trot 5K and Kids’ Dash on Saturday, November 21 at the boatyard trailhead of the Larry Scott Trail. The Kids’ Dash begins at 9 am and the 5K begins at 9:30 am. Register here:http://peninsulatrailscoalition.org/?p=492 Enjoy cocoa, coffee and treats at the finish. Turkey costumes are encouraged!
Take a Wildlife Viewing Cruise with the Port Townsend Marine Science Center and Puget Sound Express on Saturday, November 28. The trip leaves from Port Townsend’s Point Hudson Marina at 1 pm and returns at 4 pm. Tickets are $55 per person. Book your reservation online at www.ptmsc.org or call 360.385.5582, ext. 104.
Let the festivities begin! Escape to Port Townsend and enjoy the holidays!
The Dog Logs Dinner & Theatre
Dog lovers can enjoy dinner and a peek into the inner worlds of their pets at KCPT’s The Dog Logs at Alchemy Bistro & Wine Bar.
Inspired by a series of life-changing encounters with dogs as a child, award-winning Australian playwright CJ Johnson wrote a series of monologues as an homage to the personalities and cultural expectations of a variety of different breeds. These 15 stories would eventually manifest themselves as “The Dog Logs”, which critic Geoffrey Milne described as “witty, very emotionally engaging at times, almost poetically structured in some cases; sad, tragic, funny: in short a really super show.”
Patricia Earnest directs the performance, in which actors Mahina Rose and Catherine McNabb portray twelve different canine characters. When asked about her choice of The Dog Logs for this season’s dinner theater, Earnest said, “This is such a unique script, with happy and sad moments.”
Each canine character has its own distinct voice and story. A Greyhound is determined to catch that mechanical rabbit once and for all; a Beagle sniffs out contraband at the airport, but not the kind you’d expect; a Kelpie has to think (and smell) like a sheep to bring his herd back to safety; a Belgian Shepherd police dog corrals a group of men practicing illegal dogfighting; a Mutt experiences love, loss and friendship on the dusty back roads of a small town. Funny, tragic, and insightful, The Dog Logs delivers comedic and poignant perspectives on both the canine and human world.
Tickets are $48 for the four-course dinner and show (beverages and gratuity not included). 6:00 p.m.
Reserve tickets early as dinner theater performances frequently sell out and seating is limited. Check out the menu and purchase tickets online at www.keycitypublictheatre.org or by calling the box office at 360-385-5278.
October in PT: From Street to Stage (and BOO!)
Port Townsend gets a little “krazy” and “kwirky” in October, beginning with the 33rd GREAT Port Townsend Bay Kinetic Sculpture Race, October 3-4 (http://www.ptkineticrace.org/). The theme this year is “It’s a Bug’s World After All.” Whether you crawl on all fours, or all eights. Or you slither, slide or roll. Whether you glide or flutter. Come join the fun for an all Bug race! The Kourse is split into two days: Saturday is the Glorious Parade and Water Kourse, while Sunday includes the Road, Sand and Mud Kourse.
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.
At 8 pm on Saturday, at the American Legion Hall, there will be a Koronation Ball where a new Rose Hips Kween will be chosen. An unbelievable display of talent and jokes will help the crowd choose the winning kontestant!
At Key City Public Theatre (http://www.keycitypublictheatre.org/), “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” opens October 1 and runs through October 25. KCPT Artistic Director Denise Winter comments, “The theme of this musical, which centers on diverse individuals finding success in their own quirky ways, seems particularly relevant to Port Townsend, a place where talent abounds and ‘weirdness’ is welcome. In recent years we have focused on small cast cabaret musicals, a genre in which we excel. It’s now time to return to a larger ensemble musical that showcases KCPT ‘song and dance’ performers on a grander scale.”
Called “irresistible, riotously funny and remarkably ingenious” by the New York Timeswhen it opened on Broadway in 2005, “Spelling Bee” is a Tony Award-winning musical comedy that follows six middle-school overachievers as they navigate the chaos of their local spelling bee competition. Overseen by a group of adults, who have barely escaped adolescence themselves, this group of misfits overcome a series of increasingly outlandish trials before revealing the true lesson of the play: winning isn’t everything and losing doesn’t always make you a loser.
Centrum presents An Evening of Music and Poetry with Wayne Horvitz on Wednesday, October 7, at 7:30 pm at the Wheeler Theater at Fort Worden State Park (tickets). Known for his multipfacted musical prowess, composer/performer Wayne Horvitz ventures into progressive acoustic jazz and modern classicism in his latest project, Some Places Are Forever Afternoon. Written in honor of the iconic Northwest poet Richard Hugo (1923-82), the complete work is a suite of 11 compositions based Hugo’s poetry. Pacific Northwest literary luminaries will read Hugo’s poems prior to each song. Not to be missed!
Rock out and help the trails! Freddy Pink has joined forces with the Peninsula Trails Coalition, Jefferson Health, Henery Hardware, Port Townsend Paper, and Fort Worden, for an all-ages benefit concert at the McCurdy Pavilion on October 17, from 5-10 pm, at McCurdy Pavilion at Fort Worden State Park. Enjoy great music, food, and drink, plus a silent auction with donations from local merchants.
Proceeds from this concert will benefit the connection of the Larry Scott Trail (LST) to the Olympic Discovery Trail (ODT) in Discovery Bay. When the connection between these two segments of the trail is complete, Port Townsend will become the gateway to the ODT spanning 130 miles of scenic beauty, beginning at the Larry Scott Trailhead at the Port Townsend Boat Haven, around Discovery Bay, through Sequim and Port Angeles, around Lake Crescent, and on to La Push on the Pacific Coast.
Halloween brings so much fun to Port Townsend!
…for the kiddos, don’t miss the Port Townsend Main Street’s Downtown Trick or Treat, October 31 beginning at 4 pm with a parade down Water Street. Our merchants will be offering treats…and, you never know, maybe some tricks too!
…and for the adults, there’s an eerie light shining from the old red Victorian on the hill. Many years ago, on a dark October evening, something bad happened in Port Townsend’s finest pleasure palace. An evening of tantalizing fright you’ll never forget will be at the Haunted Bordello, 313 Walker St., October 30 and 31, from 7-10:30 pm.
Port Townsend’s Haunted Bordello is a guided tour running 7-10:30 pm, offering titillating and terrifying entertainment. One intimate group of three to five guests will be admitted to the house at at time. Preferred-entry tickets and more information are available atwww.hauntedbordello.com. Participants must at 17 or older (ID may be required).
Visit us in October and enjoy everything Port Townsend!
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