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LOCAL EVENTS |
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LOCAL EVENTS |
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Noteworthy Area Happenings We’ll add correct event dates when announced! January 1/1 Polar Bear Swim—Long Lake, Lacey
1/24-2/2 Seattle Boat Show-Qwest Field Event Center, Seattle—West Coast’s Largest Boat Show—over 1200 boats on display and much more!
February
March
April 4/? Olympia Farmer’s Market opens—great Farmer’s Market + lots of cafes!
4/25-26 Spring Art Walk—Downtown Olympia-local artist’s work exhibited all over Downtown
4/26 Procession of the Species—Downtown Olympia An incredible, wacky parade if you’re into nature, animals and parades, this was the original Procession and is a terrific event!
May 5/3 Opening Day of Boating Season—Seattle Olympia Opening Day—Olympia Yacht Club operates our parade of usually 35-50 yachts around Budd Inlet Seattle Opening Day— the granddaddy of NW Opening Days with hundreds of boats parading through the Montlake Cut with thousands of spectator boats tied up to log booms!
5/10-11 Wooden Boat Fair——Percival Landing--Olympia—Mother’s Day Weekend If you like wood boats, you’ll see 30-40 from rowboats to tugs & lots of classics!
5/17 Port of Olympia Swantown Boat Swap & Chowder Challenge—lots of boats and boat gear at good prices plus at noon, taste up to 12 local restaurants’ clam chowders & pick a favorite!
5/17-18 Lacey Fun Fair—Lacey—Spring Fair & games-great for families/kids
June 6/? Duck Dash, Deschutes River, Tumwater—neat event with thousands of rubber duckies racing down the river to bring glory and prizes to their sponsors!
6/14-15 10th Annual Olympia Air Show & Gathering of Warbirds, Olympic Flight Museum, Tumwater—largest warbird airshow on West Coast + WWII & Vietnam camps, USO Show & static aircraft displays!
6/26-29 America’s Dixieland Jazz Festival, St. Martin’s University, Lacey—very popular small jazz fest!
July 7/3-7 Tacoma Tall Ships—more than 30 classic sailing vessels on the Thea Foss Waterway, magnificent Parade of Sails, tours of selected vessels and opportunities to sail aboard a Tall Ship.
7/4 Tumwater 4th of July Parade—the biggest, best & only major 4th Parade in the area!
7/16-20 Capital Lakefair Festival, Olympia—we still have Lakefair Princesses, parade, lots of food & even a midway!
7/19-20 McChord Air Force Base Air Show—Lakewood—big air show featuring the Air Force Thunderbirds and many static displays
August 8/16 79th Annual Olympia Pet Parade—many kids in the area bring their pets from birds to horses and everything in between! Probably oldest event in the area—79 years—lots of fun!
8/22-24 Sand in the City—Port Plaza, Olympia—4th weekend—super event where you can watch both professionals and amateurs build huge and amazing sand sculptures + food and crafts booths for kids—benefit for Hands On Children’s Museum—small donations requested
8/? Thurston County Fair, Lacey—super Country Fair with lots of animal displays, agriculture, food & rides
8/29-31—Olympia Harbor Days & Tugboat Races—Percival Landing/Budd Inlet—Labor Day weekend—Ya gotta see this! Tugboat races in heats by their HP ratings—out on the water, the wakes from 45-100+’ tugs moving full bore are awesome! Before the races, most of the tugs have open house to see the pilothouse, engine room and talk to the crew! Lots of other events & craft booths!
8/? Seattle Seafair—Navy Blue Angels & Hydroplane Races—a huge month long event featuring parades, the Blue Angels performance and Hydroplane Races on Lake Washington
September 9/5-7 Wooden Boat Festival—Port Townsend—the grand daddy of all wooden boat festivals!
October 10/3 Fall Art Walk—Downtown Olympia—local artist’s works exhibited all over Downtown Olympia
10/? Olympia Film Festival—check Olympian newspaper for schedule of film showings & where to buy passes
November 11/29 Downtown for the Holidays—Olympia Santa Claus Parade, choir performances
December Early Dec. Parade of Lighted Ships, Olympia Yacht Club/Percival Landing/Budd Inlet—Olympia Yacht Club organizes this event; usually 2 nights starting at Percival Landing in Downtown Olympia with 20-40 decorated yachts—many quite spectacular—sailing from Downtown completely around Budd Inlet and returning. Lots of caroling and Santa! Kids and adults love this fun winter event!
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