PORT TOWNSEND — Boomfest, Port Townsend’s annual festival of music and art is returning this weekend at the Dragon’s Nest.
“It’s a fairly eclectic blend of community events and arts,” said Jeff Pang, one of the organizers of the event at 1620 S. Discovery Road and percussionist for Seattle band The High Council.
“It’s a very community-orientated event; we run everything by volunteers.”
Pang called it a “sacred event,” saying it’s where members of The High Council originally met.
“It definitely spawned the band The High Council,” he said. “It’s consumed our very lives.”
The event is set for Thursday through Saturday. The gates open at 3 p.m. Thursday. Day passes are available for $15 for Thursday or $20 for Friday or Saturday.
A weekend pass is $40 and includes tent camping each night.
“We encourage camping because there is a lot of partying that goes on,” he said.
It will be three days and nights of camping, performance art with workshops, morning yoga, children’s activities and informational presentations, Pang said.
Pang said 20-25 food vendors will be on site, along with local artisans.
A beer garden with a Pacific Northwest flavor will be open. Guests are welcome to bring blankets and lawn chairs. The night-time music will also have a light show by Nth Degree Creative.
This year, a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Jumping Mouse Children’s Center in Port Townsend, he said.
Throughout the weekend is planned a variety of musical acts from the region, from as local as Port Townsend to as far away as Eugene, Ore., he said.
Headliners include Jes Raymond and The Blackberry Bushes, bluegrass fun from Seattle; Blue Lotus, an American jam and rock n’ roll band from Eugene, Ore.; and the Seattle band The High Council.
“We’re trying to have something for everybody — except country,” he said.
Throughout the day are a number of free workshops and activities, he said.
“We have a great lineup of daytime activities, including stuff for the kiddies,” Pang said.
Last year more than 400 people attended the festival, a number Kirsten Eikum, volunteer coordinator for the event, said she wouldn’t be surprised to see increase this year.
Organizers asked festival-goers to please leave their dogs at home.
For more information, visit http://thehighcouncilband.com/boomfest-2016/
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5550, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
