The Rhododendron Festival for 2019 is facing an all-too-familiar dilemma.

“Here we are again, in the same boat as last year,” said Brandi Hamon, president of the Rhody Fest. “We have no location for the Funtastic Carnival within Jefferson County.”

Hamon is continuing to discuss the situation with Jefferson County Commissioner Kate Dean, whom she praised repeatedly for “her willingness to work with me.”

But with Memorial Athletic Field in Port Townsend and the Jefferson County Fairgrounds both apparently off the table, Hamon is at a loss for other potential carnival locations.

“We need the public’s help to find a location that will suit everyone, and be cost effective and safe,” Hamon said.

Hamon explained the Rhody Fest has paid a deposit of $2,200 for use of the athletic field each year, while Funtastic paid a portion of the repair costs for the damage to the field in 2017, which cost the county more than $10,000 to repair, and agreed to pay as much as $10,000 to repair any damage incurred in 2018.

“We just rent the field,” Hamon said. “When the field has been damaged, Funtastic has never not paid to repair it.”

Without the carnival, Hamon estimated Rhody Fest would lose between $10,000 to $15,000 in funds, which make it possible for the Rhody Fest Royalty and float to travel around the state.

“It’s our largest fundraiser of the year,” Hamon said.

Sue McIntire, manager of the Jefferson County Fair, confirmed they’d turned down the Rhody Fest’s Funtastic Carnival, “mainly” due to security concerns, but also because “Our neighbors don’t like it when we get too loud.”

Although the Jefferson County Fairgrounds hosts the fair and a number of other events, McIntire said those tend to make less noise than the carnival, which she worried would be audible well past 10 p.m.

“Even during the day, it’d be an issue for many of our neighbors,” said McIntire, who remembered a call she’d received just recently complaining about noise at the fairgrounds.

While Hamon reported the Rhody Fest has discussed with Fort Worden the possibility of their parade grounds hosting the carnival, she noted even the best-case scenario wouldn’t see the parade grounds available for the carnival for another three years.

“We’ve been asked by members of the public why we don’t put the rides in the city streets,” Hamon said. “Our current city streets can’t handle the size of the rides. They used to be able to, but the sidewalks have changed.”

If possible, Hamon would still like the carnival to be as close to downtown Port Townsend as possible, so those merchants can benefit from the event.

In the meantime, Hamon noted the festival’s 2019 high school royalty applications are available online at rhodyfestival.org, are due Oct. 25, and have expanded this year to include 10th-grade students for the first time.