Festival Events, Presentations & Uptown Tours
TICKETS
Festival Events, Presentations & Uptown Tours
TICKETS
Welcome to an Evening in Our Sumptuous Parlor
Festival Pass Required ~ Friday only 4:00 to 6:00 pm
SOLD OUT
The Festival Pass is your invitation to join us at the "Evening in Our Parlor" event located in the Cotton Building. Bring your calling cards, fans and conversation. Enjoy parlor games hosted by lovely young ladies of the Bainbridge Island Girls Scout Troop. Relax to recorded music with tea and refreshments.
Where's Israel Katz? A free activity open to anyone!
One of the biggest mysteries in Port Townsend history is what happened to Israel Katz? There have been sightings of Mr. Katz in Port Townsend businesses and buildings. Join in the fun for kids, young and old, as you hunt for Israel Katz inside the many participating establishments in town! It's Port Townsend's version of "Where's Waldo".
Pick up a game sheet at participating locations around town or at Festival Headquarters in the Cotton building on Water Street. Browse the merchants and establishments Downtown and Uptown listed on your game sheet to collect stickers from 10 different establishments. Bring your completed game sheet back to the Cotton Building and exchange it for a prize! See game sheet for details. This is a free activity and open to anyone, no purchase or Festival pass/ticket necessary to play.
Festival Victorian Parlor ~ Festival Pass Required
Festival Headquarters Tickets & Information
The Cotton Building at 607 Water Street is the Festival Headquarters where you pick up or purchase Festival Passes and tickets, get information on Festival events and activities, Partner events, activities, and general information on Port Townsend. Exchange your Ticket Tailor confirmation for your Pass or tickets. Meet other enthusiasts of Victoriana.
Completed "Where's Israel Katz game sheet are turned in here for a prize.
The Sumptuous Victorian Parlor will be located in the Cotton Building, which also serves as Festival Headquarters. Those with Festival Passes may enter the Parlor and use it throughout the weekend as a resting place or to meet up with friends, new and old.
Enjoy period music and songs playing in the background whilst you write a "Missive" to a kindred spirit. Festival staff will have them hand cancelled and mailed from the historic Port Townsend Post Office.
Left is a youthful Israel Katz with his young bride, Adele, before the scandalous end to their marrage.
Right: is the mature Israel Katz you are looking for. He was 67 years old when he disapeared in January of 1917.
Artwork by: Leanne Wirta
Festival Headquarters ~ Cotton Building 607 Water Street
Where you can get Tickets & Information ~ Friday, Saturday & Sunday
No ticket or pass required
SOLD OUT: Hours: Friday 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am to 3:30 pm
and Saturday 5:30 to 7:00 pm
Sunday 9:00 am - 1:30 pm
Hours: Friday 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm ~ Saturday 9:00 am to 3:30 pm
and Saturday 5:30 to 7:00 pm ~ Sunday 9:00 am to 1:30 pm
PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES
DOWNTOWN:
1851 – 840 Water Street
About Time – 830 Water Street
Abracadabra – 936 Water Street
Bottle Shop – 1001 Water Street
The Clothes Horse – 910 Water Street
Conservatory Coastal Home - 639 Water St.
Deja vu – 909 Water Street
District Fabric – 634 Water Street
Elevated Ica Cream - 627/631 Water Street
Frameworks – 211 Taylor Street
Getables – 810 Water Street
Greeneye Shade - 720 Water Street
JCHS Museum – 540 Water Street
Lively Olive – 929 Water Street
Mad Hatter & Company – 926 Water Street
PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES
DOWNTOWN:
Magpie Alley - 835 Water Street
Marine Science Center Shop – 1001 Water St. The Northwest Man – 835 Water Street
Pacific Traditions - 637 Water Street
PT Antique Mall - 802 Washington Street
PT Shirt Company - 940 Water Street
The Spice & Tea Exchange - 929 Water Street
Summer House Design - 917 Water Street What’s Cookin – 844 Water Street
World’s End - 1020 Water Street
Wynwoods Gallery & Bead - 940 Water Street
UPTOWN:
Aldrich’s – 940 Lawrence Street
Manresa Castle - 651 Cleveland Street
Rust & Relics - Vintage - 1030 Lawrence Street
FUN FACT:
Take our Uptown Walking Tour, Chetzemoka Route, on Saturday or Sunday at 11:00 am
and you will see Israel and Adele's house and walk the paths they walked!
Tickets: 10.00 per person
Children under 13 yrs
free with ticket.
Festival Events and Presentations, Friday & Saturday
click on the event images for details
Tales of Two Houses Sponsored by: Carl's Building Supply
10733 Rhody Drive Port Hadlock-Irondale, WA 98339
www.carlsbuildingsupply.com
10733 Rhody Drive Port Hadlock-Irondale, WA 98339
www.carlsbuildingsupply.com
MORE: Festival Events and Presentations, Saturday & Sunday
click on the event images for details
The highlight of the opening of the social season in Port Townsend is the Victorian Fashion Show.
Included in your Festival Pass or with a Fashion Show ticket.
Buy your tickets early as there is often standing room only by show time. The American Legion Hall is the ideal venue for an up-close and personal view of amazing Victorian fashions, old and new. Models saunter the runway while the narrator describes the defining elements of each garment and when it was the height of fashion. This year's show will have models, young and not so young, men and women, from as near as Port Townsend and as far as Seattle and California!
Authentic garments will be on display. Models will dazzle you with finery from bygone eras.
Our 2022 Fashion Show directors are historic fashion authorities: Val LaBore and Agnes Gawne.
No tickets at the door. The American Legion Hall on Water Street downtown Port Townsend.
No tickets at the door. The American Legion Hall on Water Street downtown Port Townsend.
Hundreds of volunteer hours have gone into planning and organizing the festival events, with hundreds more before you walk through the doors! That brings me to one of the highlights of the weekend; The Fashion Show. This year there are more authentic period garments than ever before, including a drop dead gorgeous display of authentic Victorian gowns from 1850 to 1907 courtesy of local collectors, Julie Ann and Terry Cheetham.
Another first in many, many years is that the majority of our models are from Port Townsend and range in age from 7 1/4 to 70 years old, with a lovely contingent of teens! Without giving too much away, enjoy these photos with a small peek at what is in store for
you at the Fashion Show Saturday April 30. We have more than 30 models this year! Seating is limited.
April 22: SOLD OUT ~ Victorian Fashion Show: From Boom to Bust!
American Legion Hall ~ Saturday April 30 - 3:00 ~ 5:00 pm
Model: Francis Classe Photo Robert Bergstrom
Included in the Festival Pass or as an Individual Fashion Show ticket. Tickets will be available online and at
festival headquarters during the festival. Limited seating. No tickets at the door.
Fashion Show only Ticket: $15.00 ~ 13 years and older
Under 13 years Free, Must have a ticket to enter venue ~ reserve these
tickets online or at Festival Headquarters.
A FAMILIAR EVENT WITH A 2022 TWIST:
The Grand Ball has become the PTVF Community Contra Dance.
We went back and forth, but finally decided the festival just wouldn't be the same without it's Saturday Evening Ball.
We have changed the name to the Port Townsend Victorian Festival Community Contra Dance to reflect
our more inclusive approach to this familiar event.
This will be a Contra Dance with maybe a waltz tossed in for nostalgia.
The Port Townsend Victorian Festival
Community Contra Dance
American Legion Hall
Saturday April 30 - 7:00 ~ 9:00 pm
Photo Robert Bergstrom
Photo: Cynthia Conoboy
We questioned if it would be safe to gather to dance at the end of April and the answer was, yes.
Check out the Youtube video below of a Contra Dance in November 2021.
WHAT'S NEW:
We have a local Contra Dance Caller - PT's own Dena Odell ~ The music this year will be recorded from Dena's collection
NO DANCE EXPERIENCE NEEDED - No Partners needed
Learn as we go. Dances will be taught on the spot. Learn a dance, dance it and repeat. Don't hesitate to attend just because you haven't danced like this before. We will all be in the same boat. Learning something new that's a heck of a lot of fun.
Family friendly - The dance will begin at 7:00 and end at 9:00 pm.
Gloves are encouraged.
Dressing up is encouraged, but not required. Pick your era, dress to the nines and dance away!
There will be full Victorian and Edwardian Ball gowns and Tuxedos.
Lakewood Costumes will have attire for rent in the Pope Marine Building starting Friday April 29.
WHAT IS CONTRA DANCING??
Here’s how the dance works: Each dance starts when you find a partner. You can come to a night of
contra dancing alone or with a friend, but you can expect to dance with many new people over the
course of a night. Couples form parallel lines and move up and down the dance floor, interacting with
every other couple in their line. There is no fancy footwork involved – anyone can do it!
Calling all of the dances from the stage, the dance caller teaches each dance before the music starts.
Included in the Festival Pass or as an Individual Contra Dance ticket.
Tickets will be avilable online and at festival headquarters during the festival.
Limited seating. No tickets at the door.
Elias Devoe
House
Built 1888
CHETZEMOKA UPTOWN WALKING TOUR
Start/Return: Chetzemoka Park Main Gate - 1000 Jackson Street - Portions of this tour are not ADA accessible due to stairs & uneven surfaces. Parking available at and near Chetzemoka Park - These tours do not enter houses - Distance: just over 1 mile - mostly level
High above the entrance to Admiralty Inlet, with views of Mount Baker, Whidbey Island and the Cascades, lies the Port Townsend neighborhood known as Morgan Hill. It was named for one of Port Townsend’s earliest property developers, Captain Henry E. Morgan.
Captain Morgan arrived in the Puget Sound area in 1858. He lived on Whidbey Island before coming to Port Townsend where, in 1864, he bought the tract which now bears his name. He began selling lots in 1885. Interestingly, the Captain’s own home was not built on this property, but on Tyler Street in Uptown.
Beginning at Chetzemoka Park, this tour winds through Uptown side streets, past stately
High above the entrance to Admiralty Inlet, with views of Mount Baker, Whidbey Island and the Cascades, lies the Port Townsend neighborhood known as Morgan Hill. It was named for one of Port Townsend’s earliest property developers, Captain Henry E. Morgan.
Captain Morgan arrived in the Puget Sound area in 1858. He lived on Whidbey Island before coming to Port Townsend where, in 1864, he bought the tract which now bears his name. He began selling lots in 1885. Interestingly, the Captain’s own home was not built on this property, but on Tyler Street in Uptown.
Beginning at Chetzemoka Park, this tour winds through Uptown side streets, past stately
late-period homes towards the commercial district of Lawrence Street, then back to the park.
TOUR MEETING PLACE: MAIN GATE ~ CHETZEMOKA PARK
Albert C. Adams House ~ Built 1889
James W. Stockand House ~ Built 1887
Meet Your Chetzemoka Neighborhood Guide:
Barb McColgan Pastore has lived in Port Townsend since 1995. She’s best known around town as the human escort for her Bernese Mountain Dogs. Together with her canine companions she walks daily throughout our historic town and invites you to join her on a promenade through Port Townsend's serene "Uptown". A former Air Force officer and pilot, her degrees include a M.A. degree in History from the University of Alabama.
Barb McColgan Pastore ~ Chetzemoka Guide in a Lakewood Costume Victorian gown and hat!
Chetzemoka Uptown
Walking Tour Route
Saturday
Sunday
11:00 am to 12:00 pm
Tickets: $10.00 13 years and older
Children under 13 years Free
Advanced ticket purchase required
Limited to 16 people per tour
Advanced ticket purchase required
Limited to 16 people per tour
Portions of this tour are not ADA accessible due to stairs, hilly terrain & uneven surfaces. Short gravel trail included.
Historic Uptown Walking Tours! ~ Two Routes
Take a walk with local "Uptown" residents, Kathy Knoblock and Barb McColgan as they guide you through two areas of the "Uptown" Historic District where High Victoriana resided above the "Downtown" below. Uptown walking tours haven't been presented in a very long time. This is a great activity for visitors and Port Townsend residents new and old!
These tours are priced separately ~ Not included in the Festival Pass ~ Advanced ticket sales online
Tickets will be avilable online and at festival headquarters during the festival.
Limited to 16 guests per tour. No ticket purchases at the tour location.
These tours are priced separately ~ Not included in the Festival Pass ~ Advanced ticket sales online
Tickets will be avilable online and at festival headquarters during the festival.
Limited to 16 guests per tour. No ticket purchases at the tour location.
THE COURTHOUSE UPTOWN TOUR
Start/Return: County Courthouse - 1820 Jefferson Street - Portions of this tour are not ADA accessible due to stairs & uneven surfaces.
Parking available at and near the Courthouse - These tours do not enter houses - Distance: just over 1 mile - mostly level
Port Townsend’s founders settled and developed the Uptown neighborhood as a respectable alternative to the wild waterfront commercial downtown that would ultimately become Water Street. Here they could build stately homes and shops literally above the fray of bustling docks, ships, bars and brothels.
The tour starts in front of the County Courthouse, and returns there after just over one mile of mostly level walking. You will walk the neighborhood bounded by the bay to one side and Lawrence Street to the other. Imagine the ships entering the bay to unload as manifests were reported at the Customs House. You will see early modest homes of shop owners and ship carpenters from the 1860's and 1870's as well as grand homes built in the 1880's when real estate speculation was rampant. The Women’s Hospital, Fire Department Bell Tower and churches from 1865 and 1890 can be seen on this tour as well.
Start/Return: County Courthouse - 1820 Jefferson Street - Portions of this tour are not ADA accessible due to stairs & uneven surfaces.
Parking available at and near the Courthouse - These tours do not enter houses - Distance: just over 1 mile - mostly level
Port Townsend’s founders settled and developed the Uptown neighborhood as a respectable alternative to the wild waterfront commercial downtown that would ultimately become Water Street. Here they could build stately homes and shops literally above the fray of bustling docks, ships, bars and brothels.
The tour starts in front of the County Courthouse, and returns there after just over one mile of mostly level walking. You will walk the neighborhood bounded by the bay to one side and Lawrence Street to the other. Imagine the ships entering the bay to unload as manifests were reported at the Customs House. You will see early modest homes of shop owners and ship carpenters from the 1860's and 1870's as well as grand homes built in the 1880's when real estate speculation was rampant. The Women’s Hospital, Fire Department Bell Tower and churches from 1865 and 1890 can be seen on this tour as well.
Take a walk with local "Uptown" residents, Kathy Knoblock and Barb McColgan as they guide you through two areas of the "Uptown" Historic District where High Victoriana resided above the "Downtown" below. Uptown walking tours haven't been presented in a very long time. This is a great activity for visitors and Port Townsend residents new and old!
These tours are priced separately - Not included in Festival Passes
Advanced tour tickets are reqired and are limited to 16 people per tour, rain or shine. Tickets will be avilable online in advance and at festival headquarters during the festival. No ticket purchases at the tour location.
Portions of these tours are not ADA accessible due to hilly terrain and stairs.
Please read the tour descriptions for details.
Customs House/Post Office
Built 1893
Built 1893
George Downs House
Built 1886
Built 1886
The Starrett House
Built 1889
Built 1889
Meet Your Courthouse Neighborhood Guide:
Kathleen Knoblock and her husband came to Port Townsend in 2003 because of their love of old wooden boats and old houses. They had made day trips to Port Townsend on numerous occasions previously; for the annual Wooden Boat Festival and, subsequently, for the tours of Victorian homes. They were especially interested in seeing the ones being restored. Originally both from the East Coast, they missed the character and craft of historic neighborhoods. Port Townsend presented a community where they could sail their 1937 design sloop and fix up a Victorian home that needed attention. The sailing was easy. Their Victorian home took fifteen years.
Kathleen worked as a public school teacher in the Port Townsend School District weekdays, and assisted in Victorian house restoration on weekends and during the summer. She and her husband vowed to do the most authentic restoration work they could on their 1879 home. She honed her painting, sanding and varnishing skills and added plastering, faux graining, double-hung window repair and masonry to her resume. In 2018, Kathleen and her husband were presented the Mary Johnson Award by the Jefferson County Historical Society for the restoration work achieved on their home. Kathy enjoys stitching reproduction antique needlework samplers, singing in two local choirs and working with her giant black Newfoundland dog, Baxter.
Kathleen worked as a public school teacher in the Port Townsend School District weekdays, and assisted in Victorian house restoration on weekends and during the summer. She and her husband vowed to do the most authentic restoration work they could on their 1879 home. She honed her painting, sanding and varnishing skills and added plastering, faux graining, double-hung window repair and masonry to her resume. In 2018, Kathleen and her husband were presented the Mary Johnson Award by the Jefferson County Historical Society for the restoration work achieved on their home. Kathy enjoys stitching reproduction antique needlework samplers, singing in two local choirs and working with her giant black Newfoundland dog, Baxter.
Kathleen Knoblock
Your Uptown Guide
Sunday only 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
Tickets: $10.00 13 years and older
Children under 13 years Free
Advanced ticket purchase required
Limited to 16 people per tour
Tickets: $10.00 13 years and older
Children under 13 years Free
Advanced ticket purchase required
Limited to 16 people per tour
Courthouse Uptown Walking Tour Route