KINGSTON — The timeless Kingston celebration is blasting off again this year to celebrate Independence Day the only way North Enders know how. Boasting the state’s longest running parade, Tiny Town, a special Kingston Farmers Market and enough fireworks to light up the Kingston Marina, residents and visitors are ready to party for America’s birthday.
The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe has again agreed to donate $11,500 to spark the fireworks fund, and event organizer Pete DeBoer said everything appears ready for the big bash.
“It’s getting there,” he said. “We’re in pretty good shape financially. John L. Scott is funding JP Patches, and the Rotary is funding the sound and production in the park.”
Kevin Southerland was elected the grand marshal of the parade this year after heading up the production crew for the last 17 years or so, DeBoer said. Dan and Nancy Martin were picked for the Person of the Year award because of their work in the community and with the Kingston Chamber of Commerce.
“We’re ready to have fun,” DeBoer said. The parade is gearing up for fun as well, said parade organizer Bev Pierce, noting piles of applications have poured in the last couple of days, requesting spots in the popular event. The parade will begin around noon, working around the ferry schedule, as always.
“We do have a couple of new things this year,” she said. “We’ll have a contingent from the new (Kingston) high school. From what I understand it will be a large group… There’s a float entry I’m particularly excited about. It’s a group of kids all dressed up in fairy tale costumes.”
Children of all ages will be able to start celebrating a day early at the popular Tiny Town attraction, which will open the morning of July 3 at Kola Kole Park. New this year is a community dance at 6 p.m. that evening, with the band “Been There, Done That,” which is ready to rock the baseball field.
“Debbie Anderson at American Marine Bank has become a really great partner,” DeBoer said, referring to Tiny Town coordinator. She said the miniature Kingston just needs to be put up, and all the volunteers have been found for the task.
The fireworks will start booming around dusk over Kingston Marina July 4 and are happening this year because of an $11,500 donation given by the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe and The Point Casino. The tradition started last year, and tribal leaders were happy with the connection it helped forge between them and Kingston.
“The elders will have a spot for watching the fireworks, and we’ll be walking in the parade again,” said The Point Casino marketing representative Dawn Purser. “We’re just building a relationship between the tribe and Kingston.”
