Submitted by Experience Olympia & Beyond
For over half a century, Olympia Harbor Days has been a cherished tradition, drawing thousands to downtown Olympia and the Olympia waterfront for a unique, free, three-day celebration of maritime history. Established in 1974, the festival marks its 51st consecutive year in 2024, and continues to offer a vibrant array of activities to attendees.
Olympia Harbor Days was started by the Olympia South Sound Chapter of the State Capital Museum Association, now the South Sound Marine Heritage Association (SSMHA).
“As a founding organization of this heritage event, we are pleased to be able to continue sharing the history of Olympia’s working waterfront and the vintage tugs of the Puget Sound and keeping it a free event for over 50 years,” says South Sound Maritime Heritage Association President Dave Peeler.
Over the years, Olympia Harbor Days has continued to evolve, and what began as a small, one-day gathering, is now a tradition for locals and tourists from around the state. The Olympia Harbor Days of 1975 marked the start of organized tugboat racing, with six tugboats that were 25 years old or more; the next year bringing in ten more for a total of 16. Tugboat races, which continue to happen at the festival, began in busy port cities where skippers would race to “win” being able to bring tall ships to dock. The first tug to reach the tall ship usually won, thus, the start of tugboat racing.
In 1978 HarborFair, a landside music and art festival organized by local Olympia downtown merchants, combined with Harbor Days to create one big festival expanding from two days to three days.
In 2016, Native Coast Salish Tribal culture and heritage became part of the features. That same year, a plan to add maritime-themed sculpting to the event was developed bringing professional sand carving and Lego boat building for the kids to the festival. The programing, supported last year by a grant from ArtsWA and the National Endowment of the Arts, also allowed for the addition of chainsaw carving and sandstone etching, all with a maritime theme.
Music, once focused on sea shanty and Celtic genres on one stage, now includes bands featuring blues, rock, Latin, bluegrass, samba, country, calypso, marimba, folk, and more.
“Olympia Harbor Days is well loved and supported by all who attend. Locals and tourists alike look forward to the traditional offerings including the vintage tugboat show races, and also look forward to finding new things to do, see and experience each year as they travel the seven blocks of the event, attending multiple times over the three days of the event,” says Executive Director of Olympia Harbor Days, Carol Riley.
For those who want to learn more about the history of the Olympia Maritime, the South Sound Maritime Heritage Association created the “Olympia Maritime & Tugboat Heritage Walk,” a self-guided, eight-stop tour with informational panels and kiosks along the way.
Olympia Harbor Days will be held Aug. 30 – Sept. 1, 2024, with support from the City of Olympia, Port of Olympia, and Inspire Olympia. For the second year in a row, a maritime-themed drone show will kick off the event Friday evening.
For more details on the festival lineup and activities, visit the Olympia Harbor Days website and for additional information on what to do and see in Thurston County, visit the Experience Olympia & Beyond website.
