I attended THING festival for the first time. Because I was working as a food vendor (with Paella House), I didn’t have much time to hear music, but overall, I was really impressed.

THING is multi-generational: I saw toddlers and 80-year-old folks enjoying themselves. THING tickets are free for kids, which helps out parents economically and encourages families to participate in a special event together. THING is well organized with multiple unique offerings, like the Luminarium, large-scale group painting, and painting lanterns, to name a few. THING offers space, too — it was not hard to find a patch of grass to stretch out on, and it was easy to move around on foot.

THING is a huge boon to this town. I know there will be naysayers, and people will complain about the noise. Having lived in a city neighborhood that was impacted at least twice a year by large festivals, we chose to leave for the weekend when it was too much for us. We recognized that our hope for a quiet weekend might at times have to be balanced against the common good.

THING is a huge benefit to the common good of Port Townsend. Kudos to everyone from STG to all the local folks who had a hand in pulling it off.

Debbie McLaughlin
PORT TOWNSEND