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Schedule of Festival Events |
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Volunteer at the Festival - Shift Schedule |
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Be Part of Our Quick & Daring Fleet |
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Festival Sponsors |
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How to get to the Festival and Parking Suggestions |
(Photos by Anita Nowacka - www.anitanowacka.com)
31st
Annual
Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival
June 30 - July 4, 2007
(Saturday - Wednesday)
10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Daily
Cost: $5 suggested donation, $10 for a family
The Center for Wooden Boats holds a Fourth of July festival on Lake Union each year that attracts some 10,000 participants.
The theme is heritage wooden boats. The ambiance is that of an old-fashioned, down-home waterfront festival where everything is fun, almost everything is free and nothing much is fancy. It's as authentically grassroots American as you can get and has been for the last 30 years.
If it's at the festival, you can probably touch it, try it or do it. Experience maritime culture first hand. It's a hands-on festival right in the center of the city, in the summer, on a bustling lake.
Families come down in droves because everything can be done by young and old together - toy boat building, sailing model boats on the pond, boat rides and races, picnicking, clambering over boats big and small, festive food and music, and general joy.
Over the last 30 years, the festival has developed into a gem of the Seattle Summer. We hope you'll join us.
Click here to view a t.v. spot about the Festival prepared by Comcast.
Highlights of This Year's Festival
More neighbors!
The South Lake Union neighborhood is changing rapidly and everyone's invited.
More family
activities!
Lots of exhibits where families and individuals can go for a boat ride or "experience the craft" of boatbuilding and maritime skills.
Presented in partnership with the Antique and Classic Boat Society
More than 40 classic runabouts and speedboats will be on display each day of the festival. Click here for more information on the Antique and Classic Boat Society.
New partnership with the Northwest Yacht Brokers Association
In conjunction with NYBA, we're adding a Water Safety Education segment to the festival this year. There will also be free sailing and kayak clinics, and free vessel inspections at the festival, plus a Washington State Boaters Education Card class taught by the US Coast Guard Auxiliary at nearby Chandlers Cove during the festival.
A "Float-In" Movie
What's better than a Drive-In? A Float-In, of course! As part of Sea Film Fest, Sidewalk Cinema will show the film "Captain Kid" at 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 30.
In this unhistorical account, Capt. William Kidd is already a clever, ruthless pirate when, in 1699, he tricks the king into commissioning him as escort for a treasure ship from India. He enlists a crew of pardoned cutthroats... and Orange Povey, whom Kidd once abandoned on a reef and hoped never to see again. Of course, Kidd's intentions are treacherous. But there's more to gunner Adam Mercy than meets the eye!
More opportunities to get out on the water!
On the water kayak and rowing shell demos, historic longboat rides.
Celebrating Working Vessels
Celebrate the working history of wooden boats! Past festivals have included working vessels such as the historic NOAA research vessel Harold W. Streeter, a 1944 Coast Guard Cutter, 1926 Forest Service Ranger 7, a 1944 Army Air Force crash boat and the 1950 Navy 50' Admiral's Barge Old Man IV. And of course, beloved South Lake Union icons, the 1889 tug Arthur Foss and the Fireboat Duwamish.
Experience Maritime Culture Firsthand
Free Boat Rides - Ride in a steam launch, row or go for a sail.
Captain Kid's Corner - Kids and their parents and grandparents and friends work together to build toy boats.
Model Boat Pond - Watch vintage model pond boats sail (Northwest designed) or launch one yourself.
Family Boatbuilding - Build a boat with your family, or just sit back and watch the boats come together. Our Festival Boat Building Class is already full but you can add your name for a future class.
Maritime Products Mart - Looking for a unique tool? Shopping for a tender? Wood for your next boatbuilding project? Handmade hats from Australia? A particular book? You'll find a unique range of products at the festival. Click here for a list of our vendors.
Carving Cultural Connections - CWB Artist-in-Residence Saaduuts (Robert Peele) is a Haida carver who enjoys sharing the canoe building journey with people of all ages. On the first day of the Festival, The Stephen Philipp, the recently completed canoe will be launched.
Walk the Docks - Some 150 classic wooden boats, ranging from schooners to rowboats to elegant sedan cruisers converge once a year for the Festival. View them, talk to their owners - you may be invited aboard!
See the Pirate - Re-launched in April, 2005, visit the 1926 R-boat Pirate, designed by Ted Geary. Impeccably restored here at CWB, this vessel is on the registry of historic landmarks.
Experience the Craft - Learn from others. Talk with experienced boat builders, view their wares, or try your hand at caulking a seam or steaming a plank.
NW Seaport - Tour the 1889 tugboat Arthur Foss and 1933 salmon troller Twilight. The schooner Wawona is closed for boarding, but can be viewed from shore, with an interpretive display of photos. In the Seaport Yard, the giftshop has maritime music CDs, t-shirts and more!
Let Us Know What You Think - we're always looking for ways to make our Festival better. Complete one of our evaluations and we'll enter you in a drawing for cool CWB stuff and gift certificates from many local restaurants.
Sea Stories - Special presentations and tales of the sea. Hear first-hand stories of Northwest classic boats being brought back to life with recent restorations. Or sit down, put up your feet and enjoy a favorite movie of the sea.
Quick and Daring - The Quick & Daring contestents have one day in which to build a boat at the festival... and then they have to race it, sailing on one leg of the race, paddling on another, and anything goes on the final leg. If you're a closet naval architect, come join us for the Q&D event and build your dream boat! Check here for the rules.
Foc'sle Music Stage, Crew's Mess and the Pewter Pig Pub - Naturally, we offer folksy music, festive food and a beer garden!
Boat Races - Watch elegant wooden boats race against the backdrop of a summer day and the Seattle skyline.
Hall of Northwest Maritime Culture - View original small craft from the Northwest and a whole range of exhibits from many Northwest historical organizations.
