The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About122925 Reimagined Soundcheck Festival Returns to Port TownsendREIMAGINED SOUNDCHECK FESTIVAL RETURNS TO PORT TOWNSEND Highlighting Port Townsend's creative spirit with a weekend of participatory, artist -driven events and experiences PORT TOWNSEND —In February 2026, the City will celebrate the people and experiences that bring creativity to life in our community during the Soundcheck Art and Music Festival. From Friday, February 27 through Sunday, March 1, arts -centered workshops, projects, and performances will happen across Port Townsend. Soundcheck is a free, all -ages event sponsored by the City's Creative District and organized in partnership with dozens of local artists and organizations. Reimagined as a festival for a darker and slower time of year, Soundcheck will foster a mix of excitement and reflection, hands-on making, and appreciation for human creativity. With a focus on connecting the community through the arts, it highlights youth artists, and emphasizes hands-on engagement, offering participants the chance to make something together. The multidisciplinary weekend will feature music, poetry, visual art, conceptual art, dance, tech, film, theatre, culinary arts, literary events, and photography. "What I'm most excited about is how Soundcheck is focused on celebrating the act of making and all that it does and can entail," says artist Michelle Hagewood, who is organizing a Pop-up Maker Fair for Sunday, March 1, and has been helping shape the event's greater ethos. "This is a festival where the attendees can become the featured artists themselves and experience the magic of creativity alongside one another." Taking place over three days, the festival will kick off on Friday, February 27 at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds with the Port Townsend Art Commission's Art Awards, followed by a community pasta feed ($10 suggested donation per adult; no one turned away) and DJ dance party. On Saturday, February 28, events will take place in Downtown Port Townsend, including performances in the historic City Council Chambers, an artist salon and cafe, and hands-on making in the "Creation Station." Saturday night will host a lineup of local bands at the American Legion Hall. On Sunday, March 1, the festival moves to Fort Worden for a pancake breakfast and walking tour to launch the Port Townsend Public Library's 2026 Community Read, along with drop -in artist -hosted workshops including dance, tech, film, poetry, and zine making. In addition to the weekend's scheduled events, participants from the Youth Reporting Project, a program of local news outlet The Beacon, in partnership with the arts and education non-profit C,tY f �}�;� 25i li Nudison Street, Suite 2 �� (Port Fownsend, A � 8168 J 60 29 51047 �� www utyof t us 11M; 0 Tolwnsend ADMINISTRATION Centrum, will be documenting and reporting on the festival through reviews, interviews, news stories, and photojournalism. Soundcheck was launched in 2019 as a showcase for local musicians in conjunction with the inaugural THING festival in Port Townsend. After being shepherded by many community volunteers and the Port Townsend Main Street program, its management moved under the City in spring of 2025. With THING no longer taking place in Port Townsend, a small steering committee of local artists have helped reimagine the event as a distinct celebration of the arts that built on Soundcheck's past success while thinking about what a wintertime festival could look and feel like. Artist Rose Burt designed the 2026 Soundcheck illustration with this time of year in mind. "It's been amazing thinking about what Soundcheck means now with artists from the community," says Katy Goodman, the City's Arts and Culture Coordinator. "I am so inspired by everyone's ideas and thoughtfulness about what would make the event special for both audiences and participating artists. We heard clearly that we needed to create something fun and authentic that included youth and families while recognizing how it feels to be an artist at the end of the long, dark winter. I hope everyone will come be a part of it and access that creative, generative voice inside themselves." r r „�.._ A Wit k" �l� Image Credit: Rose Burt City "art 0 Townsend ADMINISTRATION 2.510 [VIadiison Street, ',Smite 2 � (Port "Fownsend, WA 98368 IJ 360.379.51047 � www.cutyofpt,us Soundcheck Schedule of Events (Event times and locations are subject to change) Friday, February 27th Location: Jefferson County Fairgrounds 5:00-11:OOpm Port Townsend Art Awards - 5:OOpm-6:30pm with Port Townsend Arts Commission Community Pasta Feed - 6:30-10:00 with The Kitchen ($10 suggested donation per adult, no one turned away) Mystery Box Dessert Cook -off - 6:30-10:00 with the Food Coop Bonfires - 6:30-11:00 - with The Production Alliance DJ Dance Party - 7:00-11:00 with Salish Sound Saturday, February 28th Location: Downtown PT 1:00-11:OOpm Creation Station at the Cotton Building 1:00- 5:OOpm Community Mural with Park Avenue Studios Photobooth Community Collage with PT High School A/V Club Button Making Party with Danielle Fodor Beats by the Raptor Rhythm Brigade Performances for the People at City Council Chambers, 1:00-5:OOpm Leila Block: Jazz, Blues and NPR News PT Poet Laureate Rufina C. Garay PT Youth Theatre Ensemble Tex Armstrong house musicians Boiler Room String Band Artist Salon at Velocity Coffee - 1:00-5:OOpm with Alexandra Anagnostopoulos and Drea DiPretePT High School Culinary Cruiser Soundcheck Specials (Various Restaurants) Saturday, February 28th Location: American Legion Hall 5:00-11:OOpm All Original, All Local Music Concert with Port Townsend Original Music Society featuring Wizard, Brother Townsend, Lowire, and the Chloroform Rags Sunday, March 1st Location: Fort Worden 9:OOam-3:OOpm 2026 Community Read Pancake Breakfast Kick Off - 9:00-11:OOam with Planted and Friends of the PT Public Library Self -Guided 2026 Community Read Kick Off Walkine Tour - 10:30-11:30 Artist -Hosted Workshops and Demos in Fort Worden Buildings 305, 306, and 310, 11:OOam-3:OOpm Free Flow Dance Funk with Mary Purdy Pop-up Maker Fair & Demo with Michelle Hagewood Generative Poetry with PT Poet Laureate Rufina C. Garay Collage/Zine Time with North wind Art **1-2 Other Workshops TBD All Weekend Youth Reporting Proiect Event Coverage with The Beacon & Centrum To learn more visit: Dtcreatiivediistriict.om/soundcheck