There are numerous events held yearly on the Kitsap and Olympic
Peninsula.
Yearly activities in May include the annual two week long
Armed Forces Festival, including the nations largest and longest running Armed
Forces Parade; the Port Townsend Rhododendron Festival; the Poulsbo Viking Fest;
the Hood Canal Shrimp Fest in Brinnon; and the Forest Heritage Festival in
Shelton. In June, the Medieval Fair and Midsommarfest are held in Poulsbo and
the Little Britches Rodeo is at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds (East Bremerton)
and the Boomerfest at the Naval Base Kitsap - Bangor. The month of July usually
starts with the Summerfest and Wetlands Festival in Belfair, followed by the
annual Independence Day celebrations observed with the Red, White and Boom 4th
of July on the Rooftop on NBK-Bremerton, the Bainbridge Island "Island Days",
the Port Orchard "Fathoms O' Fun", and the "Fireworks on the Fjord" in Poulsbo.
July isn't complete without the annual "Whaling Days" festival in Silverdale and
the Mason County Fair down the road in Shelton. August brings the "Kitsap County
Indian Center Pow Pow" in Chico, "The Cruz Custom Car Show" in Port Orchard, the
Chief Seattle Days" in Kingston and "Arts by the Bay" on the Poulsbo waterfront.
The yearly county fair celebrations start with the Jefferson County Fair up in
Port Townsend. The Kitsap County Fair and Rodeo in East Bremerton has six days
packed PRCA rodeo competition, a night of Demolition Derby, a amusement Midway,
in addition to the many musical and dancing acts, and 4-H competition. The Labor
Day weekend brings the annual Bremerton Blackberry Days Festival takes place
downtown along the waterfront area over the Labor Day weekend of each September
and the hostoric Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend. September ends with the
annual Oktober Fest celebrations in Poulsbo and on Bainbridge Island. October
brings the annual Washington State Seafood Festival and West Coast
Oystershucking Championship in Shelton. The end of the area festivities comes
along in December with the traditional Yulefest in Poulsbo.
The City of
Bremerton provides the annual summer Concerts on the Boardwalk every Friday
night in July and August. Farmers Markets are popular every weekend from May to
October along the waterfront areas in Port Orchard, Bremerton, Silverdale,
Poulsbo and Kingston.In the Kitsap Peninsula region, there are seven Washington
State Parks, all of which have waterfront boundaries. There are also fourteen
city and county parks and recreational facilities within the area. There are
eight museums locally displaying the history of the Navy's influence and growth
in the Bremerton/Kitsap County area, the Native American culture, and
also the growth and history of the county from log cabins, paper mills, and
fruit farming to modern building designs and our various shopping
centers.
There have eight area golf courses always available for usage,
two of which are nationally rated and PGA accredited. The new Gold Mountain
Olympic Course has been rated by the PGA as one of the top 10 new public courses
in the country.
The Kitsap County area is always involved in some kind of
sports activities regardless of the season. Youth (5-18) sports programs in
football, soccer, baseball, basketball, football, gymnastics, lacrosse, rugby,
and softball (fast & slow pitch), swimming and tennis are available in each
community of the peninsula, at all separate age and competitive levels. Adult
recreational sports are available at all city community centers, throught the
Central Kitsap School District Community Program and the Kitsap Family YMCA in
most sports and activities.
Several times yearly are salmon fishing
derbys which are highly contested for prizes. Hiking, fishing and camping in the
nearby mountain ranges (Olympic and Cascades) have made for many splendid
weekends. Pre-planned trips south to Portland, Oregon, or north to Vancouver or
Victoria, British Columbia are usually available several times annually through
local agencies and the local base MWR departments.
Across the Puget Sound
(1-1/2 hour ferry ride or driving around via freeways) is the Seattle downtown
area. Always visible in the downtown area is the Space Needle located in the
Seattle Center, home of the 1962 Worlds Fair. Located adjacent is the Seattle
Memorial Stadium (home of the outdoor soccer champions Seattle Sounders), the
Key Arena (home of the NBA Seattle Sonics and the junior hockey Seattle
Thunderbirds teams) and the laser-equipped IMAX theater at the world famous
Pacific Science Center. Also available close to the ferry dock is the world
renowned Seattle Art Muesum and the Pike Place Market (home to freshly caught
ocean seafood, Western Washington area produce and locally grown beautiful
seasonal flowers). Safeco Field, the nations newest state-of-the-art
professional baseball stadium, for the Mariners to play under open skies or
under a rolling covered roof sits on the south side of the downtown
area. The Seattle waterfront has always been a popular place to walk,
eat, walk some more and visit the Seattle Aquarium and OmniDome complex. Seattle
is a place for everyone to enjoy. Down the I-5 freeway 35 miles to the south in
Tacoma are many separate activities. The Tacoma Dome, the largest wood built
structure north of San Francisco, hosts many different events such as:
professional ice hockey games; music concerts; annual RV shows; and state high
school sporting championships. Minor league baseball (AAA Tacoma Rainiers) is
played in the open air ("Nothing Artificial") Cheney Stadium. The Puyallup Fair
is the sixth largest fair in North America and is held every September for two
weeks, hosting many major stars in concert plus the PRCA Rodeo. Majestic Mount
Rainier National Park offers excellent camping, snow skiing and lots of hiking
opportunities (book ahead for summer vacations). The Point Defiance Zoo and
Aquarium offers a excellent variety of species to enchant your entire family and
every Christmas time brings out the thousands of lights that turns the Zoo
facility into a spectacular Holiday Light show every year in November and
Decmeber.
One of the Navy's best kept secret getaways is at the Pacific
Beach Resort and Conference Center located on the ocean, a 2-1/2 hour car drive
from Bremerton. Family housing units, hotel-style rooms, campgrounds or RV
spaces are available by advance reservations at (888)INFOMWR.MWR PUGET SOUND
AREA HOTLINE: (888) INFO-MWR (463-6697) This provides information on MWR
facilities at all Northwest Navy installations (Naval Base Kitsap - Bremerton,
Naval Base Kitsap - Bangor, Naval Station Everett/ Smokey Point, Naval Air
Station Whidbey Island, NRTF Jim Creek Recreation Area and the Pacific Beach
Recreation and Conference Center). Access provides cabin and
campground information, leisure travel services, fitness programs, catering
services, facility/rental equipment and more.Refer to Local Community
Section.Refer to Support Services Section.Refer to Support Services
Section.Refer to Local Community Section.