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Top 5 Reasons to Escape to Port Townsend for the Holidays
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 and it inspires 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.
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 29 and with special in-store treats and open late for your shopping pleasure.
Galleries feature local artists and craftspeople with inspiring art for home or office. The first Saturday of every month is Gallery Walk from 5-7:30 pm and the upcoming one on December 6 will follow immediately after Santa’s arrival in town. Learn more about our merchants at www.ptmainstreet.org.
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 is proud to present an evening of dinner theater on November 9 at 6 pm at Alchemy Bistro & Wine Bar, featuring “Rounding Third,” the acclaimed comedy by Richard Dresser, the special guest at the 2014 Playwrights’ Festival. 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.
Several of our local restaurants are offering Thanksgiving dinner. Please contact the Port Townsend Visitor Information Center at 360.385.2722 or info@jeffcountychamber.org for a list and phone numbers for reservations.
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 or info@jeffcountychamber.org.
5. Tour.
Need exercise in between all the holiday meals and activities? Join the Turkey Trot 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, November 22 at the Larry Scott Trail. The kids’ 1-mile run begins at 9 am and the 5K begins at 9:30 am. Register here: http://peninsulatrailscoalition.org/?p=492
Take a Wildlife Viewing Cruise with the Port Townsend Marine Science Center and Puget Sound Express on Saturday, November 29. The trip leaves from Port Townsend’s Point Hudson Marina at 1 p.m. and returns at 4 p.m. 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!
KCPT Dinner Theater: Rounding Third
Enjoy an amazing Dinner Theatre presentation, Sunday November 9 at 6pm, at the Alchemy Bistro & Wine Bar, with “Rounding Third” and a 4-course dinner.
In Rounding Third, a comedy by Richard Dresser, two Little League coaches try to reconcile their very different approaches to baseball and to life. Rounding Third is the tumultuous journey of two Little League coaches through an entire season, from their first tentative meeting to the climactic championship game. The audience is the stand-in for the team, so the coaches speak directly to the audience about competition, character, punctuality, and the importance of wearing the right equipment.
Rounding Third features Kenn Mann and Scott Nollette, and is directed by Patricia Earnest.
The menu for the evening:
1st course
Spring Rain Farm Salad — Yellow roma tomatoes, grilled scallions, candy cane beets, crispy sunchokes, and Spring Rain greens tossed in picholine vinaigrette.
2nd course
Seafood Cakes — An assortment of local seafood made into delicate cakes and served with a shallot-tomato aioli.
3rd course
Artichoke and fresh Marjoram stuffed King Salmon — Served with roasted garlic and butternut squash cakes as well as sautéed romanesco with shallots
4th course
Fresh Cherries, Orange Zest and Mascarpone Crepes — with house-made almond praline
A Krazy October in Port Townsend!
Port Townsend gets a little “krazy” and “kwirky” in October, beginning with the GREAT Port Townsend Bay Kinetic Sculpture Race, October 3-5 (http://www.ptkineticrace.org/). The theme this year is “A Kinetic Mythos: Goddesses and Gods.” We hope you’ll enjoy the theme, and for the first time ever, it comes complete with its own Kourse Story line that will be portrayed throughout the race.
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.
Saturday’s festivities start at Low Noon beginning with a parade downtown, followed by a break test, and then the water portion of the race! At 8pm 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 well into the night.
Sunday the race continues, but first, in front of City Hall, the racers will be required to sing 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 kaos 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 5pm if they are lucky, and arrive at the awards ceremony muddy, sore, and yet brimming with well earned Glory!
At Key City Public Theatre (http://www.keycitypublictheatre.org/), “Returning the Bones,” opens October 1 and runs through October 26, written and performed by Helen Hayes Award-Winning actress Gin Hammond and directed by Jane Jones. Based on the life of Hammond’s aunt, Dr. Caroline Beatrice Montier (aka “Bebe”), this extraordinary performance transports audiences back to Jim Crow-era Texas where Bebe, after being invited to finish her medical degree in Europe shortly after WWII, has to choose whether to stay in the South to continue risking her life in the fight for Civil Rights in America or to escape to Paris to live the life that she had always dreamed of.
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 (http://hauntedbordello.com/), October 24 and 25, from 7-10:30pm. This is a guided tour and participants must be 17 years or older (ID may be required) and no, this is not a real bordello. They’re actors.
And for the kiddos, don’t miss the Port Townsend Main Street’s Downtown Trick or Treat, October 31 beginning at 4pm with a parade down Water Street. Our merchants will be offering treats…and, you never know, maybe some tricks too! Water Street is closed to traffic from 3:15-5:30pm for the event. The event is geared for K-6th graders and is coordinated by the Port Townsend Main Street Promotion Committee.
Visit us in October and enjoy everything Port Townsend!
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