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“The heart of the festival are these tugboats,” said festival organizer Nancy “Siggy” Sigafoos. “Most of them are privately owned, and these folks come down at their own expense to give a gift to our community.”
The biggest attraction at this year’s festival, which begins today, might be something new: the recently reopened Percival Landing.
Harbor Days is the official debut event for the first phase of the renovated landing, which now has a waterfront path replacing the old damaged boardwalk, a new harbor house, two covered pavilions, native plantings and much more.
“The reconstruction really beautifies the waterfront,” Sigafoos said. “We really want people to come down and experience it.”
Also new this year are the Fisher Poets Festival (from 5-7 tonight), featuring music and poetry celebrating all things nautical, and the Harbor Days Relays (9 a.m. Saturday), a running race that’s joining the traditional tugboat races (1-4 p.m. Sunday). The six-mile foot race circling Capitol Lake can be run solo or by teams of two. (For details, go to ontherunevents.com/harbordaysrelays.)
Sigafoos said 22 tugs were registered to participate in this year’s festival, with more expected. “A lot of these boats are still working,” she said. “So if they don’t have a tow scheduled, they might just zoom to Harbor Days.”
The tugs can be seen all weekend long. One of the highlights of the festival is the opportunity to talk to tugboat owners and crews, and it’s often possible to get informal tours.
Also on the water will be the tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain (www.historicalseaport.org). The ships, which were to arrive Thursday, can be toured from noon- 5 p.m. today, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday and Monday, and from 1-3 p.m. Sunday. A donation of $3 per person is requested for tours.
The ships also offer sails from 5:30-8:30 p.m. today, 2-5 p.m. Saturday and Monday, and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and 4-7 p.m. Sunday. Sails cost $35-$60.
The Washington Dragon Boat Association (www.washingtondragonboat.com) will be on hand with an information booth, free rides from 1-3 p.m. Saturday and demonstrations from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday.
However, one frequent visitor to Harbor Days will be missing this year: the 90-year-old steamship Virginia V. The ship’s planned visit was canceled earlier this week because its second air pump is broken.
“The last thing we want is for such a beautiful historic steamship to come to an unfortunate demise trying to come to Harbor Days,” Sigafoos said. “We’ll give it a pass since it’s not feeling well.”
She said last year’s festival had great attendance even though the landing was closed for renovation. This year, she said, it looks like particularly smooth sailing.
“According to the weather forecasters, it’s supposed to be a hot, beautiful weekend,” she said Monday. “We’re supposed to have zero percent change of precipitation.
“It should really be something.”
Harbor Days
What: The 38th annual celebration of South Sound’s maritime history, with tugboat races, entertainment, crafts, food, shopping and children’s activities, is the debut event on the just-reopened Percival Landing.
When: 5-8 p.m. today, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday
Where: Percival Landing and Port Plaza, downtown Olympia
Cost: Free
More information: 360-556-0498 or harbordays.com
