Sequim Gazette staff

Sequim is gearing up for tourism season with a second visitor center location and a presentation for local businesses.

On Thursday, Sequim business people are invited to attend “Personal Encounters of the Best Kind!” in preparation for the summer tourist season. The presentation, by the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce, starts at 6 p.m. at the Sequim Transit Center, 190 W. Cedar St. RSVP to 683-6197 or info@sequimchamber.com.

Starting June 5, the chamber will have a second visitor center — this one in downtown Sequim.

Chamber Executive Director Shelli Robb-Kahler said the secondary location, at 171 W. Washington St., will support tourism by providing a convenient place for visitors to find out more about the area.

“If we miss people that are coming into town here on Washington Street, if they don’t take the east exit, this is another opportunity to get the information downtown,” she said.

Downtown merchants often are the ones to answer visitors’ questions, so having the chamber nearby to answer questions and support the downtown core by drawing people in makes it a win-win for everyone, Robb-Kahler said.

The space, donated by Brown Maloney for this purpose, will be used in partnership with local nonprofits to feature art by the Blue Hole Gallery in June and the Sequim Arts group for the rest of the summer, she said.

The downtown center will be experimenting with hours based on traffic but for now the hours are set at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, she said.

Last year, the visitor center had about 2,800 visitors in June and about 7,000 in July.