Thousands of people will descend upon Old Town Silverdale next weekend for the 36th annual Whaling Days.
With thousands of people comes the need for extra security. That’s where the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) comes in.
KCSO spokesman Deputy Scott Wilson said there will be extra deputies on duty throughout Whaling Days weekend. They will be present at all Whaling Days functions from the Silverdale Dandy Lions parade to the street fair.
“There will be an increased presence of deputies in the Old Town Silverdale area,” Wilson said.
He said they primarily look for inappropriate conduct during the family oriented festival. He said alcohol also is not allowed outside of the beer garden in Old Town Silverdale.
“We’re always going to have one or two people, for whatever reason, acting totally inappropriate for the event,” Wilson said. “It’s a family event.”
Wilson said KCSO hasn’t dealt with any major incidents at Whaling Days in a number of years.
“As years go by, the unruliness factor seems to diminish,” he said.
Members of the Whaling Days Board of Directors said no wheels are allowed inside festival grounds at Whaling Days, including skateboards, bikes and skates.
They also said there is no rafting allowed on the pier at Silverdale Waterfront Park during Whaling Days weekend and no alcohol is permitted on the dock.
“Everybody just behave themselves and we’ll get along just fine,” Wilson said.
All of Old Town Silverdale will be closed, which includes no parking on the streets that run through the area. There also will be no public parking at the Silverdale Library or Central Kitsap School District administration office.
Kitsap Transit will run a shuttle service from the south end of the Silverdale Safeway and the west side of Kitsap Mall near the main doors. Whaling Days-goers can hitch a ride to Whaling Days festivities with Kitsap Transit from 1 to 7 p.m. Saturday, July 26 and from noon to 6:30 p.m. Sunday, July 27. The drop-off and pick-up location in Old Town Silverdale is at Pacific and Byron streets.
