Annalisa Barelli envisions all kinds of uses for a blue-and-black bandanna she designed for the 2016 All County Picnic.

It could be use as a burp rag for a baby. It could be used as a handkerchief to wipe your brow while tending the garden or mowing the lawn. It could decorate your guitar or your vehicle's rearview mirror.

Or, it could even be used as a fun wrap for a jar of homemade jam and given to a neighbor to educate that person about what's happening locally with emergency preparedness.

In all seriousness, the fun bandanna is laden with facts and serves as an educational tool.

“I'm an artist and I love any opportunity to make art in the community,” said Barelli, who has been involved in Local 20/20, one of the organizations that is presenting the upcoming All County Picnic Sunday, Aug. 21. The event's opening ceremony is at 11 a.m., and the day's last event, a dance party, starts at 3 p.m.

“It's a fun way to get people thinking about emergency preparedness. It's not a very fun topic,” acknowledged the graphic artist, who is pulling double duty this year as volunteer coordinator for the picnic.

Danny Milholland of Thunderbull Productions came up the idea of using bandannas instead of T-shirts to promote community events like the All County Picnic.

“It's a way to make the event community owned,” said Milholland of creating what he calls a token that allows everyone to buy into and support the picnic. There's a suggested donation of $10 for the bandannas, but there are ways to earn them as well. (See related story.)

THOUGHTFUL ART

A lot of thought has gone into designing the bandanna, which has a theme of how to survive for 21 days on your own in an emergency, such as an earthquake or storm that takes out the power.

Barelli said there was input from people associated with the picnic and a number of meetings before all the messages were fine-tuned.

Everyone agreed on the color blue, representative of the blue sky.

Look closely and note that the word “Resilience” is front and center in a sea of abstract swirls all shown tied – with nautical-looking rope – to the four edges of the bandanna. There are messages about what Barelli explains are the four corners of resilience: food, water, communication and community.

“Know your neighbors, skills, resources. Have a plan. Shelter in place or evacuate if located in a tsunami inundation zone. Establish a meeting place if separated” appears on one edge, below an inner border featuring corn and a cityscape.

That inner border represents community. Corn is featured because it's something everyone is to share in shucking on Sunday and in eating for free during the event.

On the opposite side of community on the bandanna is a section that features communication. “Who is your HAM? Do you Nixle? Have walkie-talkie radios in home or vehicle. Tune to KPTZ 91.9 FM or KRON 91.1 FM and visit

jeffcoeoc.com.” That side relates to communicating the need to stay informed through ham radio operators and Nixle alerts. Above it, there's a depiction of KPTZ’s radio tower.

Barelli acknowledged she'll be looking to find out who her local ham operator is when she meets up with emergency responders at the picnic.

PHASES OF THE MOON

When studying the bandanna, note the moon in several places and phases.

“There are different phases of the moon because we need to know how to prepare for 21 days,” said Barelli, reminding people that they should plan to shelter in place during an emergency and to realize they may be on their own for that long, or longer.

So the third side of the bandanna gives information about the need to store 21 days' worth of nonperishable food. If there's an emergency, remember to first eat the food in the refrigerator, then the food in the freezer and then the pantry. For more information, check out

L2020.org. And yes, that's all on the bandanna.

The fourth side of the square cloth represents water and features a drawing of a tall sailing ship – reminiscent of the Adventuress – riding on waves. It reminds people to have a gallon of water on hand per person per day for 21 days.

NOT NEW TO EMERGENCY

Barelli's interest in emergency preparedness is not new.

Back in high school, Barelli volunteered with a church group to spend time in New York City after 9/11 to support first responders in that national emergency. She passed out socks and supplies and got a glimpse of how first responders work.

That was a man-made tragedy, but growing up in Kansas, Barelli said, tornadoes and big storms left lasting impressions on her.

Barelli, 32, moved to Port Townsend five years ago with husband Nate Malmgren, a Web designer. She became interested in Local 20/20, a nonprofit organization that promotes self-reliance, sustainability and resiliency through committees that act to work on community projects – everything from energy issues to food issues to climate action to waste and emergency preparedness.

Barelli's artwork can be seen at the CoLab in Port Townsend. She also has taught art at Jefferson Community School and has donated artwork to a number of nonprofit groups.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Milholland of Thunderbull Productions, which is partnering with Local 20/20 and the Jefferson County Emergency Management to stage the event, has been big on bandannas of late. Thunderbull put on the Old School Fourth of July at Fort Worden State Park, which also featured a colorful bandanna.

There are 400 bandannas for the 2016 All County Picnic, made with the help of screen printing from the Sign Station in Port Hadlock. Barelli would like to see the bandannas sell out so that more can be made to support the picnic in continuing next year.

Regarding the subject of the event, Milholland said emergency planning is a not a subject that is politically charged.

“I think it's a great step that we need to take now more than ever if we want to grow and maintain our community,” Milholland said of emergency planning.

As for the bandanna, he said, “I think fun connects and transcends relationships and barriers. There's cosmic wisdom in fun.

And as for the way Milholland likes to use the bandanna: “I like to rock it with resilience on my forehead,” he said, proceeding to demonstrate how it's done.