The Coupeville Wharf provides a historic link to the town’s seafaring past, and local business owners will celebrate this past by kicking off a new festival this summer.
The Coupeville Wharf Fest takes place June 23 and 24. It is sponsored by the Coupeville Historic Waterfront Association.
The new festival will feature steam-powered vessels that will moor at the wharf throughout the duration of the celebration.
Mary Alice Sterling, a member of the association, said the group is still sorting out the details for the new summer festival.
Six vintage steam-powered boats will arrive at the Coupeville Wharf for the two-day festival and Sterling is negotiating for a seventh boat to arrive. Those vessels will provide a snapshot of 19th century seafaring life.
She hopes to get downtown shopkeepers and local service groups involved with the new celebration.
Sterling said the Coupeville Wharf is one of the area’s last remaining historical ties to the sea.
“That’s a tie to our seafaring past and we wanted to find a way to celebrate that,” Sterling said.
As it would attract more people to downtown Coupeville and benefit the economy, the commissioners for the Port of Coupeville approved waiving the moorage fee for the steamships.
“It certainly seems like a festival or celebration that will draw a lot of people into town,” Commissioner Bruce Bryson said during Wednesday’s meeting.
The commissioners limited the waiver to the six ships that are confirmed for the festival and the seventh one that could arrive.
Sterling said Wharf Fest should be a small event this year. Planners are working on developing a festival that also offers the boats as the main attraction with other activities to attract people to the festival.
The Coupeville Historic Waterfront Association is a group of business owners, building owners and homeowners around downtown Coupeville. It formed in November 2006 to allow members to partner and capitalize on the town’s uniqueness, Sterling said.
In addition to the Wharf Fest, association members are also organizing the Penn Cove Mussel Festival, which takes place the first weekend in March.
