WSF Weekly Report | Onboard dance party; travel rush underway; WSDOT at Pride Parade

||| FROM STEVE NEVEY for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

A message from Steve

Our monthlong 75th anniversary celebration wrapped up on Tuesday with our fourth and final onboard dance party on our Seattle/Bremerton route. Throughout June, these live DJ events brought music, energy and fun to ferries across our system. They gave our riders another reason to enjoy their journeys with us. Combined with anniversary flags flying on our vessels, live performances, giveaways and community events, it has been a wonderful month of festivities. This milestone belongs to everyone who has been part of our first 75 years. Thank you to all who have joined us along the way. It has been inspiring to see so many people share their excitement and memories. That enthusiasm is a reminder that our ferries are far more than a way to cross the water. They are part of daily life for many, connecting people to work, school, family, friends and the communities they call home. Our boats are also workplaces, gathering spaces and an essential link that helps bring our region together.

Passengers filled the sun deck of Chimacum with dancing and smiles as DJ Kryspin spun a lively mix during Tuesday’s onboard celebration with KNHC-FM C89.5 Public Radio.

The response to our 75th anniversary keepsakes has also been incredible. Because of the overwhelming interest, our onboard food service partner, Sodexo Live!, will begin selling T-shirts and hoodies featuring our 75th anniversary logo in the coming days. Magnets and stickers are also expected to be available by the end of the month. Thank you to everyone who helped make this celebration so special. I look forward to continuing this journey together as we build on our proud history and prepare for the next 75 years.

Our terminal colleague Adam Runestrand designed our 75th anniversary logo and our agency’s graphics team helped fine-tune the final design.

As we turn the page from this milestone celebration, I’ll be taking a planned vacation over the next two weeks. Taking time to rest and recharge is important, and I look forward to returning refreshed. While I’m away, Assistant Secretary John Vezina will serve as our guest author and keep you updated. I look forward to reconnecting with you when I return.

Fourth of July weekend ferry travel

Our Independence Day travel rush is underway. This is one of our busiest travel periods of the year. We expect about 400,000 people to board our ferries today through Monday, July 6. To help navigate the extra traffic, we recommend using the WSDOT mobile app. The app and our website show sailing schedules, live terminal conditions and traffic cameras. You can also check rider alerts, track our ferries on a real-time map and make vehicle reservations for our Anacortes/San Juan Islands or Port Townsend/Coupeville routes. If you are traveling with a vehicle, please plan for significant waits at terminals. You may be able to avoid the longest delays by choosing early-morning or late-night sailings. Walking or biking on is also a good option when possible and can save time. As a reminder, it is against the law to set off or transport illegal fireworks aboard a state ferry. As we celebrate with family and friends, I extend my sincere thanks to our employees working this holiday weekend to keep people moving safely.

The busiest sailings will likely be westbound (or onto an island) today through Saturday, July 4, then eastbound (or off island) Sunday and Monday, July 5-6. On the Fourth of July, all routes will operate on their normal Saturday schedules.

Suquamish Tribe dedicates plaza at Colman Dock, bids farewell to our tribal liaison

Suquamish tribal song and dance drew a crowd in front our flagship ferry terminal on the Seattle waterfront Friday. Suquamish Tribe Chairman Leonard Forsman formally dedicated the new ʔulułali plaza along Alaskan Way/Dzidzilalich. The plaza, whose name means “place of traveling by water,” was built as part of our Colman Dock project. It, along with tribal storyboards in the plaza and art inside the terminal building, honors the Suquamish Tribe’s living history on the Seattle waterfront. His WSF colleagues joined Suquamish Tribe members to celebrate our Tribal Liaison Phillip Narte, who retired on Tuesday. For the past 20 years, Phillip has opened doors for us with local tribes and been a fierce advocate for inclusion of tribal art, storytelling, culture and language at our agency and our terminals.

Our employees, many in terminal engineering, gather around the pole that holds the sign with the plaza’s formal name – ʔulułali – as they bid farewell to our Tribal Liaison Phillip Narte (in blue shirt and wearing traditional hat).

Suquamish Tribe Cultural Resources Director Kate Ahvakana (left) and Suquamish Tribe Chairman Leonard Forsman (right) drape Tribal Liaison Phillip Narte in a tribal blanket as a farewell gift on his retirement.

WSDOT at Seattle Pride Parade

For the third year, WSDOT employees and their guests proudly took part in the Seattle Pride Parade on Sunday. The parade celebrates the LGBTQ+ community and promotes respect, equal opportunity and human rights for everyone. It was great to see our agency, including many from our WSF workforce, welcomed by the cheers of tens of thousands of people along the route. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels safe, respected and supported. When people know they belong, they can do their best work. I’m proud to be part of an agency that values inclusion and works every day to make sure everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

Our agency’s parade contingent, including Senate Transportation Chair Sen. Marko Liias, paused for a group photo before heading down Fourth Avenue on Sunday.

Sailing stats for week of June 22-28

For the week of June 22-28, our systemwide on-time performance (sailings that left within 10 minutes of their scheduled departure) was 85%. By comparison, it was 73.1% during a similar week last year (June 23-29, 2025). To view our on-time performance by month going back to 2017, visit our on-time performance reports page.

Customer kudos

“I wish to affirm Art (Bell, ticket taker) one of the holding area attendants at the Port Townsend Terminal. Art has worked for the ferry system for 19 years and today, May 30, 2026 he went out of his way to make my wife comfortable. When I wheeled her in to the passenger waiting area he was right there to open the bypass gate and significantly noticed that she was cold. He immediately offered to get a blanket which he obtained from his personal vehicle and brought it in for her to wrap up in while we waited for the ferry to arrive. Thank you and Kudos to someone who goes above and beyond to create a welcoming and comfortable environment.”

-Port Townsend/Coupeville route customer