Kingston Heritage Day

Schedule of events Sept. 30

(All events are free.)

8-10 a.m. Loggers’ Breakfast, Kingston Christian Church (located on Highway 104 across from Kola Kole Park), free but donations for local food banks is requested

9 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Kingston Farmers’ Market at Port of Kingston Mike Wallace Park

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Covered wagon shuttle from Kingston’s Old Town to the Lindvog commercial district

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Historical displays and conversations sponsored by the Kingston Historical Society at the Kingston Community Center and participating merchants

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Antique car, tractor and steam boat shows at Port of Kingston, Cash Advance and other locations in town

2-5 p.m. Kids’ Old-Fashioned Play Day at Port of Kingston Mike Wallace Park and Kola Kole Schoolhouse.

4-5 p.m. Home Town Band performs old-time music at Port of Kingston Mike Wallace Park

6-9 p.m. Old-fashioned “Saturday Night in Town” at Kingston Community Center featuring food from local vendors, a potluck table of desserts and snacks (bring something to share) and traditional dance music by The White Potato Band.

Pull on your pantaloons or hitch up your britches; the first ever Kingston Heritage Day is on the way.

On Saturday, Sept. 30 the Kingston Chamber of Commerce invites the town to step back into the past with events at the Kingston Community Center, Mike Wallace Park at the Port of Kingston and other local venues. Tractor and covered wagon rides will be available to shuttle participants between Old Town and Lindvog Road past the shopping center. Everyone is encouraged to recapture the spirit of yesteryear by dressing in old-fashioned attire.

Why Heritage Day? Kingston Chamber member Betty Mathers explained: “Heritage Day reaches back into our history as a tribute to the people who have been here from the beginning and as an opportunity for newcomers to have an understanding and appreciation for how it all began.”

“Kingston has such a rich heritage from logging to fishing to farming to wherever it’s headed now,” added Kingston Historical Society member, Harriet Muhrlein. “It’s very interesting to look back to see what it used to be. This area was unique: back then, with the Japanese families and the S’Klallam tribe, it was actually more ethnically diverse than it is now.”

The Heritage Day festivities commence with a hearty loggers’ pancake breakfast from 8 to 10 a.m. at Kingston Christian Church. The flapjacks are free and attendees are asked to bring donations for local food banks. The fun extends to the Kingston Farmers’ Market from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and continues at the marina park from 4 to 5 p.m. where The Home Town Band provides the leitmotif for old-fashioned children’s fun and games.

Meanwhile, the upstairs meeting room of the community center will be filled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with exhibits by the Kingston Historical Society, Kingston Christian Church and other historically-based organizations. The historical society will display scores of vintage photos, maps, ledgers and phone books, and society members will be on hand to answer questions. Copies of Harold Osborne’s history of Kingston, “Little City by the Sea” will be on sale.

Kingston Christian Church, with roots extending back to 1889, will make available church records and photos dating back to the turn of the 20th century, as well as its centennial scrapbook. In addition, the church expects to present a choral performance.

The nostalgic spirit will extend throughout Kingston with photo displays at many local businesses. In addition, Bobby Johnson’s antique tractors will be parked in various locations around town, the Old Schoolhouse at Kola Kola Park will be open and an antique car and boat show is planned at the Port of Kingston Marina, in the Cash Advance parking lot and other locations throughout town. The S’Klallam tribal dancers will perform at a venue to be announced.

From 6 to 9 p.m. the event kicks up its heels at the community center with a free night of timeless tunes by The White Potato Band. This “Saturday Night in Town” includes food and beverage vendors and a potluck table of desserts and snacks. Neighbors are invited to drop by with their dancing shoes and a favorite, old-fashioned (or new-fangled) dessert.

Heritage Day joins Earth Day, Fourth of July and Kingston Country Christmas as the latest community event to be sponsored by the Kingston chamber. Karen Ross, chair of the chamber’s Kingston Revitalization Association, believes that keeping an eye on the past helps a community to chart its future.

“Ours is a historical community that’s growing fast,” Ross observed. “We don’t want to forget our roots.”

Organizers are searching for costumes, volunteers and old photos or artifacts such as vintage farming or logging implements. Contact Betty Mathers at (360) 297-7107 or Debbie Anderson at (360) 297-1711.