PORT TOWNSEND — The cookie bazaar alone would be a sweet enough reason to visit the second annual Festival of Lights.
More than 2,000 homemade cookies will be sold by the dozen at the festival from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Masonic Lodge at Jefferson and Van Buren streets.
But the baked goods will be only the beginning of this fundraiser to benefit the Port Townsend Winter Shelter and the Unity Center of Port Townsend.
In addition to vendors, David Winters Cottage collectibles, artwork, pet treats and accessories, children’s activities and food, the festival, to which admission is free, will offer a raffle with prizes greatly expanded from last year’s event, said Dianne Diamond, festival co-chairwoman.
The top raffle prize will be a Victoria Getaway Package with two nights at the Hotel Grand Pacific, round-trip walk-on ferry passage and passes to both Butchart Gardens and the Victoria Butterfly Gardens.
The raffle’s second prize will feature a one-night’s stay in a suite at the Royal Scot Hotel in Victoria.
The raffle will cost $5 per ticket or six tickets for $25.
Benefit shelter, Unity
Half of the proceeds of the raffle, and 10 percent of everything else, will go to the Port Townsend Winter Shelter, while the remainder will support Unity, Diamond said.
Last year, Unity gave 10 percent of all proceeds to the shelter; it has increased the amount this year because the shelter has lost a source of funding, Diamond said.
The shelter, which opened Sunday in the basement of the Marvin G. Shields Memorial American Legion Post 26 Hall at 209 Monroe St. in Port Townsend, is funded primarily by private donations, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency has in the past provided $3,500 annually.
That money has been cut this year to $600, said Carl Hanson, co-chairman of the Community Outreach Association Shelter Team, or COAST.
COAST, Olympic Community Action Programs and the American Legion Post operate the temporary shelter from the end of November to mid-March, offering a free meal and a warm place to sleep to those who need it.
“When we learned that the shelter’s funds from FEMA had been cut, the festival committee went all out to find special prizes for our raffle,” Diamond said.
“We want the community to come out and experience the full Festival of Lights and hope they will participate in the raffle to help offset the serious shortage in our winter shelter’s funding.”
The festival organized by Unity has grown from one day to two.
Festival attractions
Vendors will sell handcrafted hats, scarves, jewelry and other crafts.
Sixty-five classic David Winters Cottage collectibles — contributed by a Port Townsend couple, Dennis McDaniel and True Heart — will be on sale, with the hand-painted miniatures priced below eBay, Diamond said.
A new pet treats and accessories section will include pet collars, bandanas, scarves, pet beds, doggie winter wraps and catnip toys.
Home-baked doggie treats, made from recipes found in Soul Food: Heavenly Recipes for Home Made Meals & Treats will be on sale, as will a limited number of this collection of recipes for pets created by Donna English of Port Townsend.
A home-and-garden gift section will be open.
The art section will include several prints by local writer-artist-calligrapher Sandy Diamond.
A silent auction will feature such diverse items as salmon fishing in Admiralty Inlet, a facial, an ukelele with music lesson and a tour of the Discovery Bay Shellfish Farm, followed by oysters and beer or wine-tasting on the beach.
Santa and photographer JJ Jenkins will be on hand to take photos with Santa for pets, children and adults, and photos will be processed for same-day pickup, ready to be included in holiday cards or for framing.
Hearty soup, hot cider, coffee, tea and hot chocolate will be available for a modest price.
A supervised activity room will be available for younger children.
For more information, phone 360-385-2341 or visit www.unitypt.org.
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Managing Editor/News Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or leah.leach@peninsuladailynews.com.
