WHILE I HAVE adopted the Olympic Peninsula as my new “hometown,” I actually grew up in Oregon. Both of my parents are native Oregonians, Mom from Portland and Dad from a small logging town near the Coast Range called Sheridan.
Before relocating to Hillsboro, we lived in Sheridan until I was about 3 years old. My grandmother lived her whole life in Sheridan, and when I was old enough to spend time away from home, I had the pleasure of spending parts of my spring and summer vacations with her. When I first visited the Peninsula, I found myself marveling at how much Port Angeles and Forks felt like McMinnville and Sheridan, Ore.
One of my favorite things about Sheridan as a kid was the ability to ride my bike all over town, from the library to the City Park to the diner where Grandma met her friends for coffee every morning.
My second favorite thing was Phil Sheridan Days, a festival held over Father’s Day Weekend, with a parade, a carnival, a rodeo, and a host of family-friendly activities held all over town during the weekend. Families gathered “back home” for the weekend, unofficial class reunions took place at the Green Frog Tavern, and the whole town got involved to create the festivities together.
Now that I have been in the area for almost 18 years and have been involved in Irrigation Festival activities almost as long, I can’t help but see the similarities between what IS in Sequim and what WAS in Sheridan. Because Phil Sheridan Days ended many years ago, as committees fell apart, old leaders left the stage with no one ready to follow them, and funding became harder to find.
But why didn’t “someone do something?” you may find yourself asking, especially seeing how our Irrigation Festival has thrived and grown, even through the pandemic.
Instead of answering, I will pose my own question in reply, “Who is that SOMEONE? Who throws the party?”
Everyone loved Phil Sheridan Days. Kids like me grew up with it as a family tradition, though my tradition was part of the “homecoming” aspect of the festival, not the organization thereof. Why didn’t SOMEONE stop the end from coming?
The happy ending here is that someone is doing something in Sheridan. There is a newly organized Hometown Committee working to rebuild the long-dormant weekend festival. The parade is back, though smaller, and they are working (like we are in Sequim) to find a carnival company. The adjacent events will come as they grow, and the good people of Sheridan are working together to make it happen. They have a long and hard job ahead of them, but they are dedicated to making it work.
We are lucky in Sequim; we have a robust culture of volunteerism and several active service clubs that work to ensure the success of the longest continually running festival in Washington state. There is a team of dedicated volunteers who, without compensation, take on the year-long task of planning and executing the 10 days of Irrigation Festival for us in Sequim.
But what happens if no one steps in as those volunteers move away? Find themselves drawn to other opportunities? Who comes in to fill the roles left behind?
You, dear reader, are the answer. You. Us. All of us.
To ensure that we continue to enjoy things like the Sequim Irrigation Festival, Juan de Fuca Festival, Crab Fest, Winter Ice Village, Lavender Weekend, and so many more events during the year, we all have to do our part.
It takes a board of directors to operate a non-profit organization, it takes all hands on deck to set up and later tear down big events, it takes a team of knowledgeable volunteers to operate the activities we count on.
At the Chamber of Commerce, we get a lot of feedback on events. Sometimes written, sometimes by phone call, other folks just walk in to share ideas.
My answer to all is the same, “You have some good ideas, our next meeting to organize (event) is on (date). Will you join us?”
Sadly, the answer is almost always, “No, I don’t have time. You should share my ideas with them.”
So what do we do about it? We step up. We work together. We find friends to join us, ask our employers to support our attendance at meetings and events in a volunteer capacity. We get creative and make it happen. And we is ALL of us. You, too. Come and join us. I promise you will be glad you did.
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Beth Pratt is the executive director of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce.