Planning pays off

“With the immense amount of time and effort that goes into planning something like this, it’s exciting to see it finally come together in such a cohesive way.””

Adam Zacks, STG’s Chief Programming Officer

With five stages to choose from, and plenty of non-musical shenanigans to enjoy, it was a sure bet the thousands of festival goers at the inaugural THING fest wouldn’t be bored.

“It is kind of nice to have more than one stage and not have to stay in the same area the whole weekend,” said festivalgoer Sara Kenville, of Everett.

Over the two days, a combination of music, comedy, film, dance, podcasts and visual arts performances unfolded all over the Fort Worden campus.

Headlining acts included Violent Femmes, hip-hop pioneers De La Soul, and a joint appearance by Calexico and Iron & Wine.

When the musicians weren’t on stage, some decided to join in the fun too.

“The thing about THING is there is so much other fun stuff,” said ings, who fronts a lullaby rock trio of the same name. “There is music and then they have the Napoleon Dynamite live read and an amazing inflatable maze. I am definitely going to hit up the whale skeleton building activity. There are so many things I just love. It is probably the coolest festival I have ever played.”

Ings had the honor of being the first band to perform at THING, taking the stage at 1 p.m. at the Parade Grounds.

“I feel really lucky,” ings said.

Ings was joined on stage by Kirsten Ourada on drums and Port Townsend’s own Aba “Abakis” Kiser on bass.

Kiser said it was “pretty dope” to be in the band kicking off the inaugural event.

“All the practice we put into it paid off and we felt really confident. We did new stuff on stage that was somewhat improvised. But that is what is all about, getting to that point where you can have fun with it. That felt great.”

Next up at the Parade Grounds Stage was Junius Meyvant, a band from Iceland who just put an EP out earlier this month. After the entrancing music of ings, Junius Meyvant brought a rocking show to hype up the steadily growing crowd.

“It is really nice,” said Meyvant, a towering and good-natured redhead. “The festival is not too big. It is really intimate. I would like to take my children. I feel safe.”

Orn Elgjrari, the band’s bassist, said they had a great time on stage.

“Everyone is so happy and ready for it. Peace and love.”

Before taking the stage, Jesse Trbovich, guitarist and bassist for Kurt Vile and the Violators based in Philadelphia, was chilling in the craft services tent behind the stage.

“I love playing, so it is a thrill to be here,” Trbovich said. “I like to get lost in the music, so I don’t obsess over the size of the crowd. It doesn’t matter if it is ten or thousands of people. It is all about making the best music you can at that moment and hopefully giving people a good time in the process. You always have to be in the moment.”

planning pays off

THING has been billed as a “multi-disciplinary event” by Adam Zacks, who founded the Sasquatch! Festival at the Gorge Amphitheater, which concluded its 16-year run in 2018.

As Saturday drew to a close, Zacks, Seattle Theatre Group’s Chief Programming Officer, was pleased with how smoothly the festival had gone so far.

Fort Worden Public Development Authority and STG have been working together for the past several months to get the festival off the ground, Zacks said. Additionally, STG staffers coordinated with area law enforcement agencies and emergency medical services to coordinate a safe event.

“I feel the event is going really well,” Zacks said. “With the immense amount of time and effort that goes into planning something like this, it’s exciting to see it finally come together in such a cohesive way.”

Ultimately, STG wanted to ensure people were having fun celebrating their shared love of music, art and community, Zacks said.

“The energy throughout today made me feel like we’re accomplishing that. We’ll be doing a full evaluation after this weekend, but for now, I’m stoked to see what day two brings.”

In many ways, the planning phase for both festivals has been similar, although Sasquatch! was much larger, Zacks said.

While Sasquatch! drew about 30,000 people to the Gorge in Central Washington, many of whom camped out in the wildlands nearby, THING was planned to be smaller and less stressful on the community, Zacks said.

Many attendees camped out at the Jefferson County fairgrounds, which worked in partnership with STG for the event.

“The camping is great,” said Kenville. “We are over at the fairgrounds and it has been great. We got there early and picked out a primo spot.”

The campgrounds were split into an adult-oriented party zone and a more family-friendly area, Kenville said.

“We are right in the middle so it is perfect. There was definitely a pregame.”

On Friday, Kenville and and her best friend Leah Scates, also of Everett, explored downtown Port Townsend.

“We ended up walking around and getting a little bit lost, which is the best thing that can happen,” Kenville said. “We spent most of our time down in Port Townsend on the water. It was a ton of fun. We came back and there were a couple of people still pretty rowdy, but we were in bed pretty early.”

Matt Demilner, of Seattle, rode his bicycle all the way to Port Townsend from Bainbridge Island, and planned to return home the same way on Sunday. He decided to camp out at Fort Townsend.

“I wanted to see Kurt Vile, but I also came because I like this area of the state and I am a cyclist, so I rode here,” Demilner said. “It took about three hours. I love Port Townsend itself too, so any excuse to come out here and hang out is good.”

Kiser said the arrival of so many visitors is great for the area’s arts and artists.

“We are used to that kind of influx with the Wooden Boat Fest and other festivals that we have. This is kind of an identity crisis in a way for the town, but there are other things inspired from it that involve art and music and expressing creative energy. I am all for it.”

Michael Pittman, of Port Townsend, who produces the Kinetic Sculpture Race in October, set up a booth at the festival to show off local talent to the visitors.

“Luckily we are right here so I was able to hear the first set,” Pittman said. “I enjoyed that. I am on a little break so I am going to check this one out. We have a pass for both days so we are going to see a lot of good music.”

Pittman agreed the festival is a boon for the local economy.

“I just drove by the fairgrounds and it is packed with campers,” he said. “Since a lot of people are doing the whole weekend thing, I can see a lot of them going into town and checking out a lot of restaurants and pubs. I think this is great.”