Touch of Lavender, originally uploaded by EL@Seattle.
As summer draws to a close, the sun is still shining in Sequim and there is still lavender in bloom. Take time to stop by one of the many lavender farms in and around Sequim while you are visiting the Olympic Peninsula in Northwest Washington.
Here in Sequim, it’s once again time for movies and music in the park. On Tuesday, July 28th, bring your lawn chair, sofa or pick-up to the James Center for the Performing Arts and settle down for an evening of live music by Westerly, followed by an outdoor screening of Fly Me to the Moon. See what happens to three adventurous houseflies that stow away on the Apollo 11 flight to the moon. Your kids will love it.
This is the type of event that is happening all over the Olympic Peninsula this summer. There is live music on the docks in Port Angeles Wednesday evenings. There is live music in downtown Port Townsend Thursday evenings. There are drive-ins, and music festivals and celebrations happening up and down the coast. Summer is truly spectacular in the Pacific Northwest. Days are warm and sunny, nights are cool, and mosquitos are few. Folks are drawn out-of-doors to walk along miles of coast or sit and quietly stargaze. In Sequim, the Olympic Mountains seem larger and closer and more inviting than ever. “Come on up” they seem to say, and so we head to Hurricane Ridge or Deer Park or out to Lake Crescent. We bring hiking boots, or fishing poles or picnics, or all of the above. And we love every minute of summer in the Pacific Northwest.
Sequim Lavender, originally uploaded by ePut.
This is one of the most popular Sequim-tagged photos on Flickr and you can see why, as it captures the wide-open spaces, towering mountains, and gorgeous lavender fields of Sequim and the surrounding Dungeness Valley. You can almost smell the lavender, but to actually smell it, you need to make it out to Sequim this weekend, July 17-19, for the annual Sequim Lavender Festival.
Sequim has garnered quite a reputation for its abundant lavender, and with good reason. Our warm, dry and sunny summers are reminiscent of Provence, France, where lavender flourishes. The Olympic Peninsula also produces several excellent wines. It was only a matter of time before someone thought to put the two together, in Lavender Wine.
Saturday and Sunday, July 11 and 12, join Olympic Cellars and Angel Farm in a celebration of their Mueller Thurgau Lavender Wine. From 11 – 6, there will be music, wine specials and tastings of the following new releases: 2008 Mueller Thurgau Lavender Wine, 2007 Dungeness Red (Gold Medal Winner), and 2006 Cabernet Franc, Handyman Red.
Come on out to sunny Sequim WA this weekend and be among the first to try this creative combination of lavender and wine.
Summer means warm nights (well, warmer, anyway) and when nights are warm, music and movies head out of doors. This summer, as in past years, there is live music weekly and an outdoor film once a month at the James Center for the Performing Arts, at Carrie Blake Park, 202 North Blake Ave. Live music starts at 6pm every Tuesday evening through September 8, 2009. The last Tuesday of each month adds a movie at dusk.
Hotel for Dogs plays on June 30. Fly Me to the Moon plays July 28, and August 25 presents The Final Season. Bring your blankets, chairs, sofas and snacks, and watch the sky darken overhead as the screen lights up in front of you.
The music line-up is as follows:
June 30: Soul Shakers
July 7: Testify
July 14: Dixi-Blu Jazz Band
July 21: Late Bloomers
July 28: Westerly
August 4: Holden Young Trio
August 11: Keven Magner and M’Elange
August 18: Deadwood Revival
August 25: African All Stars
September 1: Stardust Big Band
September 8: Big Fine Daddies
Sequim’s Open Aire Market is in full swing these days. If you happen to be in Sequim on a Saturday between 9 am and 3 pm, be sure to stop by Cedar Street, in the heart of the town. There you will find a market that has been slowly and steadily growing over the years, and now offers a respectable selection of locally grown produce and locally made crafts. Sequim has long been home to delicious berry grower Graysmarsh, and Nash’s, a certified organic farm; products from both of these businesses can be found in Coop Markets from Sequim to Port Townsend to Seattle. They are now joined at the Sequim Market by certified organic farm, Lazy J. We are just thrilled. With land so fertile and an abundance of sunshine, it is a crime not to grow organic fruits and vegetables here. Don’t forget that Sequim is on the Olympic Peninsula, and the peninsula is surrounded by water. Water means seafood, and the Sequim Market is a good place to find it. Tuna Dan provides local fish, while QuillBay offers live oysters and clams. It is easy to eat your way through the Sequim Market as you shop for a picnic or a week’s worth of groceries. While you do so, you will be serenaded by a variety of excellent and diverse musicians. No matter what else you do in Sequim, be sure to visit the Sequim Open Aire Market.
Sequim, Washington, originally uploaded by SarahO44.
Downtown Sequim is pleasantly walkable, with cafes, restaurants and quirky shops linked by wide sidewalks and pedestrian walkways.
Seagull Reflection, originally uploaded by donmarcyp.
A calm Sequim Bay acts as a nearly perfect mirror for a reflection of this gliding seagull.
Marina in Sequim, originally uploaded by glass_identities.
Glassy water of Sequim Bay reflecting boats and clouds.
Lighthouse, originally uploaded by VCasal.
The historic lighthouse at Dungeness Spit, just north of Sequim on the strait of Juan de Fuca