Alvin M. Keeling 
PORT TOWNSEND – The New Old Time Chautauqua will celebrate its 40th anniversary from Friday to Sunday during the Port Townsend Rhododendron Festival finale.
Chautauqua events begin Friday with an opening ceremony, dance party and film; merge with the Rhody Festival by taking part in the Grand Parade and Cake Picnic on Saturday afternoon; host The Big Show on Saturday night and continue on Sunday with workshops and a Chautauqua community convention.
Hosting Chautauqua Weekend on the same weekend as the Port Townsend Rhododendron Festival is “a strong community event,” said Megan Claflin, director of development for The Production Alliance, which co-sponsors Chautauqua Weekend with the New Old Time Chautauqua. .
Tickets are $25 for adults and $12 for children ages 6-12. Those who choose to do so can also support Chautauqua Weekend with $50, $100, or $250 tickets. All tickets give access to all events scheduled on the weekend. They are available on theproductionalliance.org/events/chautauquaweekat The Food Co-op or Littlefield Green in Fort Worden.
The original Chautauqua 100 years ago marked the start of a week-long gathering in Port Townsend, according to the Chautauqua Week website.
“Communities across the Olympic Peninsula traveled to ‘The City of Dreams’ to participate in civic actions and enjoy a myriad of artistic performances,” the website reads.
“On the weekend of the Rhododendron Festival, the New Old Time Chautauqua – an anachronistic troupe with a 40-year history in the North West – returns to Port Townsend to bring those traditions to life and reconnect across generations and cultures. ”
Chautauqua’s weekend highlight, The Big Show, will feature acrobatic, comedy, musical and vaudeville-style performances from more than 20 acts.
Among them are the Flying Karamazov Brothers, who have been based in Port Townsend since 1986.
Paul Magi, aka Dmitrti Karamazov, co-founded New Old Time Chautauqua in 1981.
The troupe has performed on and off Broadway, in films – such as The Jewel of the Nile – and in television shows such as the Late Show with David Letterman, Seinfeld and Ellen.
Also included will be Tom Noddy, who presented Bubble Magic on TV and at conferences, theaters and nightclubs; Artis the Spoonman, which transforms spoons into avant-garde percussion; Joey Pipia, Magician of Port Townsend; Unexpected Brass Band, the New Orleans-style band from Port Townsend — also performing Friday night — and many other artists: Jim Page, Amy Engelhardt, Alex Stein, Henrik, Mud Bay Jugglers, Ty Vennewitz and Maureen Monroe, Jason Webley, Shawn and Sadie, Dusty Rhodes, Jason Serinus, Godfrey Daniels, Fiona Rose, Pom Collins, Kym Trippsmith, Fighting Instruments of Karma Chamber Band and Orchestra.
Here is the schedule of events:
Friday
Events take place at Littlefield Green, Fort Worden State Park.
• 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. — Weekend registration and community picnic.
• 7 p.m. — Opening ceremony by the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe.
• 7:30 p.m. — Kosmopolis offering European folk, Parisian swing, Americana, Celtic music and jazz.
• 8 p.m. — Dance party with unexpected fanfare.
• 9 p.m. — Outdoor Movie “PT Shorts”, which will feature the work of Port Townsend filmmakers Andrea Love, Tomoki Sage, Thea O’Dell and Michael McCurdy.
After 30 minutes of experimental animation viewings, comedy sketches and the in-person premiere of “Tulip” in Port Townsend, an animated adaptation of Thumbelina will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.
Saturday
Events are in multiple locations.
• 1 p.m. – Grand Rhododendron Festival Parade from Uptown to Downtown. Registration for the Grand Parade will take place from 8 a.m. to noon at the Port Townsend Visitor Center.
The Production Alliance and New Old Time Chautauqua will be the last entries in the parade and all are invited to jump and walk behind the band’s 1978 Cadillac set for Cake Picnic’s 10th anniversary.
• 3 p.m. — 10th Annual Cake Picnic at Pope Marine Plaza.
Thousands of slices of locally made artisan cakes will be served for free. Live music, dancing and performances by the New Old Time Chautauqua are planned.
• 7 p.m. – The Big Show at McCurdy Pavilion, Fort Worden State Park. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.
Sunday
Events take place at Littlefield Green, Fort Worden State Park.
• 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. – New Old Time Chautauqua workshops in Littlefield Green and Building 204.
The 45-minute workshops will include juggling; hula hoops; An overview of the Pop-Up Movement circus including balance, acrobatics, working in partnership, manipulation of objects and games; Ukulele; making puzzles; Magic; Quilting: playing spoons; Song Swap; Kumihimo; spontaneous storytelling; Picking and planting fruit trees; Portraits of words; Found Collage Art, Playing with Planet Earth; Fundamentals of storytelling; “Always Here” – An Indigenous Perspective; The Doctrine of Discovery: Christian Legal Justification for Native American Land Seizure and Genocide: “Why I Am Here” – personal origin stories of how you and your ancestors came to the United States and in other.
Wearing a mask will be compulsory for all indoor workshops.
• 4 p.m. – PT raffle tickets will be sold in advance for $5 each to benefit the traveling performances of the New Old Time Chautauqua. Tickets will be $10 each at Littlefield Green and Cake Picnic during Chautauqua week, with sales ending at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Everybody wins, organizers said, adding that the prizes will be mostly experiential, with the competition loosely based on a short story by Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges, “The Babylon Lottery”.
• 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. — The Chautauqua Community Congress will feature presentations and dialogue from tribal leaders and local and state elected officials, followed by community discussion.
As the Chautauqua rolls out events, the Rhody Festival, which kicked off Wednesday with trike races, continues today with a Pet Parade at 4:30 p.m. on Lawrence Street, Harrison Streets in Quincy. Registration begins at 3:30 p.m., with registration and assembly at Van Buren and Lawrence streets. No judgment.
On Friday, Rhody Fest will feature a Kiddies Parade at 3:30 p.m. starting on Lawrence Street from approximately Quincy Streets in Jackson, then left on Jackson to Chetzemoka Park.
Registration for the hair and beard contest is at 5:15 p.m. with judging at 5:30 p.m. on Water Street at the American Legion Hall. And the Bed Races will start at 6:30 p.m. on Water Street, from Monroe to Madison.
On Saturday, the Rhody Grand Parade is at 1 p.m., the Jim Caldwell Memorial Rhody Open starts at 8 a.m. at Port Townsend Golf Course, 1948 Blaine St.
The Sunrise Rotary Running of the Balls is at 12:30 p.m. on Monroe Street; Registration for Rhody Run is 3-7 p.m. at the Arts Building at Jefferson County Fairgrounds, 4907 Landes St.; and a spaghetti meal is from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Port Townsend Elks Lodge, 555 Otto St.
On Sunday, the Jim Caldwell Memorial Rhody Open at Rhody Fest begins at 9 a.m., the Rhody Run begins at 9 a.m. at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, and Sather Park on Morgan Hill will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to view Pacific rhododendrons. .
