farm tours, fair & races

Everyone loves a three-ring circus! On the weekend of September 16-18, 2022, three great events are converging – the 10th Annual Quilcene Oyster Races, the historic Quilcene Fair and Parade, and the 20th Annual Jefferson County Farm Tour. All three are coordinating this year to create a continuous weekend celebration that spans Jefferson County. This “Big Top” will not disappoint.

JEFFERSON COUNTY FARM TOUR

The Farm Tour returns September 16-18. The weekend kicks off with an outdoor movie Friday night. Local farms open their gates 10 AM to 4 PM on Saturday and Sunday, and welcome the community to celebrate locally grown food, fiber, and farm-made products. Visitors have the opportunity to learn from and engage with their local farmers, explore the history and heritage of regional farming, and support economic opportunities for farms in Jefferson County. Farm Tours are self-guided and free. Participants can procure a map of participating farms beginning in August online at GetOnTheFarm.org or the Chimacum Corner Farmstand, The Food Coop, and Jefferson County Farmers Markets. Stay up to date with the Farm Tour on facebook.com/jeffcofarmtour. QUILCENE FAIR & PARADE

Who doesn’t love a parade! The Quilcene Festival Weekend leads off on Saturday at 11 AM with the parade that runs up Highway 101 from the post office to US Bank. Local folks as well as visitors line the highway to see dignitaries, floats, classic cars, logging trucks, and whatever else happens to show up. For local residents – you are either in the Parade or watching it! It is a wonderful and quintessential, smalltown procession – a rare treasure in a time of vanishing small towns.

The Parade and Fair celebrate the Quilcene and Brinnon communities and each year attracts a variety of vendors including unique crafts, handmade soaps, jewelry, clothing, home decor, artwork, and treats. The Exhibit Hall will be located this year outside under a tent. Crafters and artists young and old are invited to bring their creations to be judged and displayed. In addition to arts and crafts, there is a Lego creations competition.

The Quilcene Garden Club will be in the tent again this year with a flower arrangement contest and vegetable contest.

The Fair and Parade Association will be hosting this year’s Annual Car Show at the Fair from 10 AM to 3 PM. The Fair welcomes any and all car enthusiasts to enter their vehicle into this year’s car show, for an entry fee of $10. Three (3) trophies will be awarded based on public judging. The award categories will be: Best in Show, Best Hot Rod, and Best Classic Car. Learn more about these events at QuilceneFair.org.The Fair and Parade Association in conjunction with the South County Classic Cruisers Car Club (SCCC) will be hosting this year’s Annual Car Show at the Fair from 10 AM to 3 PM. The SCCC welcomes any and all car enthusiasts to enter their vehicle into this year’s car show, for an entry fee of $10. Three (3) trophies will be awarded based on public judging. The award categories will be: Best in Show, Best Hot Rod, and Best Classic Car. Learn more about these events at QuilceneFair.org.

OYSTER RACES

Next up, the 10th Annual Oyster Races. Quilcene is home to the largest oyster hatchery in the world! The Oyster Races attract more participants every year but retain a welcoming smalltown feel. The races start and end at beautiful Worthington Park, home of the newly restored Victorian mansion, at the foot of the Olympic Mountains. The Half Marathon is a USATF certified and sanctioned event. The course features views overlooking Hood Canal and

Quilcene Bay, and the Olympics. It is hilly and challenging, but totally worth it!

The Quilcene Oyster 10K is also a USATF certified and sanctioned Event. The course has hilly portions and features beautiful views of Quilcene Bay, farms and forests.

Both courses support members of Ainsley’s Angels, an organization that pairs runners with riders in jogging pushchairs to enable them to experience the joy of the course.

The Quilcene Oyster 5K Race is an “out and back” course along Quilcene Bay. Perfect for a fun run or walk! Count on beautiful views and fresh breezes. Baby strollers welcome! Lastly, the increasingly popular free Kids’ Sprint is a short-distance race held on the field at Worthington Park. The race may be divided into multiple heats based on the number and ages of participants.

This year the races will offer a one-ofa-kind 10th anniversary shirt, and each participant will receive a specially minted medal, a serving of local oysters from the new event presenting sponsor, Pacific Seafood, and a craft beer (21 years and older). Proceeds from the Oyster Races support Quilcene Brinnon Dollars For Scholars. This organization provides scholarships to graduating high school seniors and recent graduates to help them pursue post-secondary education, and to teachers for continuing education. Race guests and spectators alike are welcome to join in this day of fun and stay for refreshments in Worthington Park, Quilcene. Learn more at WorthingtonParkQuilcene.org or QuilRaces.com.

Driving down the Hood Canal in early summer you are not only greeted by views of the sparkling fjord and glimpses of the blue hills of the Kitsap Peninsula and the receding snow on the Olympics, , but the luscious greens and pops of white and pinks of the native and non-native vegetation that flourishes along the highway is a feast for the eyes.

OCEAN SPRAY – HOLODISCUS DISCOLOR Ocean Spray or Ironwood is a medium to large (on average 3 to 10 feet high) shrub of the Rosaceae (rose) family characterized by its white, drooping chained flowers (or sprays). These flower sprays resemble the foam churned up by an angry sea –hence the name Ocean Spray. It blooms typically from July to August. The leaves are also distinctively lobbed oval to angular in shape with deep toothed edges. These are often covered in a fine fuzz of hairs.

It has a large range from California to Alaska, in both inland and coastal areas, but it prefers to have its feet wet and lots of Southern sun exposure. It is very hardy, able to propagate from root, seeds, and cuttings. Roots buried under rock fragments and particles ejected by the 1980 Mount St. Helen’s eruption still managed to push up growth, allowing Ocean Spray to be a successful colonizing plant of the ravaged landscape.

The wood of Ocean Spray is very hard and is prized by Native Americans for a multitude of uses: such as arrow shafts, bows, spears, harpoons, digging sticks, fishhooks, needles, and canoe paddles. Since it increases in strength when exposed to heat, it was useful for fire tongs in early days. Before iron nails were readily available, pegs of Ocean Spray were used. The leaves, flowers and bark were used medically by Native Americans to treat diarrhea, smallpox, chickenpox and as a blood tonic.