Saturday, July 18th, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Olga
— from Lorna Rhodes —
Festivities in Olga begin in front of the Community Club at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 18th.The day will be better than ever this year, with something for everyone. Come for breakfast at the Bake Sale, which will feature fresh maple bars made on the spot, along with lots of other goodies.
Stay for lunch at the Food Pavilion and enjoy pulled pork sandwiches, hotdogs, sausages and berry shortcake. A delicious and varied menu will be available until the end of festivities at 3:00.
Live music will be performed from 10:00 to 3:00 by our talented local musicians: Local Folk, The Fine Company, Crow Valley Family Band, The Orcaleles Ukulele Band, and The Parking Angels!
This year will also feature a beer garden with beer from Island Hoppin Brewery. Kick back with a beer, listen to music, or watch the kids’ activities on the Community Club Lawn. There will be lots of fun for children, including a three-legged race, an egg toss, and a pie-eating contest.
The famous Olga Daze Parade will start at noon sharp. Of course, as always, the parade is for everyone–no spectators, all participants!
Expect a fantastic “Barn Sale” and a Silent Auction, open until 2:30. Contact Steve Emmes at 376-1461 for special arrangements or to donate to the silent auction.
An Olga Daze tradition is the raffle of a beautiful handmade quilt by Betty Marcum and Dorothy Lundquist. Raffle tickets will be available for purchase until 2:30, with the drawing at 3:00. Purchasers need not be present to win.
Special celebrations this year
This year Olga Daze will honor Noel and Pat Jeffery, who have been a very large part of the Olga community for many years. Noel was the financial officer of the Olga Community Club for eighteen years and is currently the secretary of the Olga Water Users Association. This year he will be Grand Marshall and he and Pat will grace the parade in Dave Baxter’s Model T.
The community is also celebrating the return of the Strawberry Barreling Building—also known as the Artworks Building. For the past two years the site has been a sad reminder of the fire that broke out in July, 2013, burning through the west side of the building and damaging the work of many Orcas artists.
Today the Artworks Building is back and more beautiful than ever. Reopened on April 25th, the building housing the Artworks cooperative, the James Hardman Gallery, and the new Catkin Café is a model of thoughtful restoration and good design. This year’s Olga Daze offers a happy opportunity to mark the restoration of this important part of the community.
The first Olga Daze festivities, over 20 years ago, included a parade, a bake sale and hot dogs. Today the event has blossomed into a full day of fun for everyone, made possible by the volunteer labor of many, many Olga residents. Olga Daze is community’s only major fund raiser for the club and its landmark building.
Re musicias: Local Folk (Carl Burger and Marc Cohen) will actually be playing in their alternative band, CCM, (Carl, Marc and the irrepressible Cali Bagby). Come and enjoy all the musicians.