PORT TOWNSEND — Port Townsend will display bustles and introduce brawn at the annual Victorian Heritage Festival this coming weekend.
The three-day annual festival, set Friday through Sunday, will include many new events, organizers said.
These include a 19th-century prize fight, a fencing demonstration, an antique gun exhibition, an antique bicycle presentation and a Gatling gun demonstration at Memorial Field in downtown Port Townsend — all of which are covered by the general pass.
Other new events are multiple historical presentations and performances, a presentation of Victorian naturalist information and vintage steamboats .
Returning again are many favorite events.
They include Victorian high teas and a fashion show; uptown and downtown walking tours; guided bus tours; vintage building open houses; and the Victorian Ball.
This year’s schedule includes a lecture on Port Townsend’s maritime past.
Many events will take place at the Northwest Maritime Center, 431 Water St., which will host a beer garden, with separate seating for those who prefer a temperance atmosphere.
Ticket prices
General passes — which provide admission to a range of events — are $20 if paid in advance before Friday and on the days of the festival will be $25, payable by cash or check only.
Pre-purchased tickets can picked up at “Will Call” at the Sims Way Ticketing Office, 2400 E. Sims Way.
The Victorian Ball, set from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday at the JFK Building at Fort Worden State Park, will include light refreshments and nonalcoholic drinks with live music by Airstream Traveler.
Advance tickets are $15; tickets at the door will be $20.
Free events will include a Poker Parlor at the Palace Hotel, a small-craft display and open boathouse at the maritime center, an open house at two historic churches, a Victorian quilting demonstration and a vintage steamboat exhibition at the dock beside the maritime center’s art deco museum.
Events by donation at the door will include “Shaping Up: The Victorian Corset,” “Temperance Meeting,” “Victorian Bicycle Race,” “Victorian Fashion Show,” “Victorian Ladies Dressing” and an antique bicycle race at Fort Worden.
The Victorian Festival is sponsored by the nonprofit Victorian Society in America-Northwest Chapter.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.victorianfestival.org.
