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- © John Blakemore Photography
Port Townsend, WA
Rhododendron Parade
May 16, 2015
60 images by John Blakemore
<— click to view photos
A Brief History
The Port Townsend Rhododendron Festival is a hometown tradition since 1936. In 1935, the Hearst Metrotone News organization came to Port Townsend to make a short film on the subject of rhododendrons in bloom. In preparation of that event, the town brass thought it would be grand to do something special so they created a \”Queen\” competition wherein young women would be photographed along with the rhododendrons, and votes would be tallied by visiting local merchants. The idea took off and thus the Rhododendron Festival was born. Today the festival has evolved into a week-long celebration with events for people of all ages to enjoy, including a kids and dog parade, full carnival, classic car show and Queen\’s Ball.
The Rhododendron Festival is a non-profit event supported by community endeavors. To learn more, visit Rhododendron.org.