Irrigation Festival sets first weekend of events

By Matthew Nash • May 4, 2022 1:30 am
Sequim Gazette file photo by Michael Dashiell Sequim High School band members march through the Kids Parade in 2019. The event returns to downtown Sequim with participants encouraged to gather at 8:45 a.m. Saturday, May 7, near the bank lot at Sequim Avenue and Washington Street intersection.
Sequim Gazette file photo by Michael Dashiell Sequim High School band members march through the Kids Parade in 2019. The event returns to downtown Sequim with participants encouraged to gather at 8:45 a.m. Saturday, May 7, near the bank lot at Sequim Avenue and Washington Street intersection.

After two years away from most in-person events, Sequim Irrigation Festival organizers have a large list of activities for locals in its 127th year.

Popular events are split over two weekends — Crazy Callen Weekend May 6-8, and Grand Finale Weekend, May 12-15 — with sign-ups still ongoing for some events, such as the Fun Run (May 14).

Read more about scheduling and sign-ups at irrigationfestival.com.

Activities up first with the Crazy Callen Weekend on May 6-8 include:

• Crazy Daze Breakfast for Dinner, 6-8 p.m. Friday, May 6, across from Sequim Civic Center, 157 W. Cedar St. Locals are invited to eat downtown from local eateries or food trucks and watch skits from 6-7 p.m. and listen to Sarah Shea sing from 7-8 p.m.

• First Friday Art Walk Sequim, 5-8 p.m. Friday, May 6, various downtown locations.

• Sequim High School operetta “Emma: A Pop Musical,” 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 6 (opening nigh), with shows continuing at 2 p.m. Saturdays, May 7, 14 and 21; and 7 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, May 13-14, 20-21. Tickets are $15 adults and $10 children at the door.

• Kids Parade, meet at 8:45 a.m. for 9 a.m. parade on Saturday, May 7, at the WaFd parking lot on the corner of Second Avenue and Washington Street. Prizes are awarded for the best storybook character, pet entry, mini-float, festival theme, and overall grand prize.

• Family Fun Day, opens 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, May 7, along Washington Street between Sequim and Second Avenues. booths on Washington Street will provide an activity/event for kids and/or families. Events include: 10 a.m. float pull; 10:30 a.m. storytime with queen Isabella Williams; 11 a.m. Harmonica Pocket; noon The Dance Center by Erica Edwards performance; 1 p.m. cupcake walk by That Takes the Cake; 2 p.m. Sarah Shea with Kelbi Folkerson; 2:30 p.m. crown making; and 3 p.m. photos with royalty.

• Innovative Arts and Crafts Fair, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, May 7, and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, May 8, at the Sequim Civic Center, features dozens of vendors and live music. Saturday schedule: 10 a.m. Sequim Acrobatics; 11 a.m. Brian Douglas; noon Hot Llamas; 1 p.m. Jack Dryer; 2 p.m. The Loves; 3 p.m. Kevin Magner; 4 p.m. Cool Jam. Sunday schedule: 11 a.m. Buttercup Lane; noon Rick Goudzwaard; 1 p.m. Just in Tyme; 2 p.m. Sarah Shea; 3 p.m., The Lost (Mike Pace).

Festival organizers said they’ve invested in masks and sanitation stations for event-goers to help with their comfort levels in regards to COVID-19.

The big finish

The Grand Finale Weekend, May 12-15, features the Past Royalty Luncheon (invite only); Historic Walking Tour, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Thursday, Sequim Civic Center; golf tournament, noon Friday, Sunland Golf & County Club; Firework show, dusk on Friday, at Blake property just south of Carrie Blake Community Park, 202 N. Blake Ave.; Logging Show, noon-dusk Friday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, Blake property; Fun Run, 11 a.m. Saturday, starting at Sequim Village Center, 651 W. Washington St.; SHS operetta, and the Grand Parade, noon on Saturday, through downtown Sequim.

• The Sequim Pioneer Dinner, Friday, May 13, at the Sequim Prairie Grange, 290 Macleay Road, is open to descendants of pioneer families that lived in the Sequim School District prior to 1950. Spouses may attend with a qualified pioneer descendant. Tickets, $20, are available Wednesdays-Fridays from noon-2:30 p.m. at the Sequim Museum and Arts, 544 N. Sequim Ave.

• All essential workers are invited to walk in Saturday’s Grand Parade as part of the Sequim Citizen of the Year honor bestowed on them in 2020. Meet at KeyBank, 120 N. Dunlap Ave., or take a shuttle from the Sequim Village Center, courtesy of Rocket Transportation, between 9:30-11:30 a.m. Participants are asked to wear something associated with the company they work for.

For more information about the full festival, see irrigationfestival.com.

Sequim Gazette file photo by Michael Dashiell The cake walk provided by That Takes the Cake, seen here in 2017, and much more returns to downtown Sequim for Family Fun Day on May 7 as part of the first weekend of the Sequim Irrigation Festival.

Sequim Gazette file photo by Michael Dashiell The cake walk provided by That Takes the Cake, seen here in 2017, and much more returns to downtown Sequim for Family Fun Day on May 7 as part of the first weekend of the Sequim Irrigation Festival.