National Heritage Areas are based on partnerships: bringing together a range of Tribes, organizations, businesses, and governments around heritage resources and stories. One of our partners is Olympia Harbor Days. If you are interested in becoming a partner, learn more on our become a partner page.
Carol Riley oversees Olympia Harbor Days, a local festival that is a cornerstone of Olympia’s maritime experience. With a focus on tugboats, this festival offers the community a chance to connect with a unique part of Olympia’s water-based history and experience maritime traditions firsthand.
Olympia’s port has changed much over the years, making it even more important to recognize its history. “It was a much different port than it is today,” Carol explained. “Lots of sailing ships came in to get oysters, to get wood—that’s how tugboat racing started. The tall ships would come into the entry of Budd Inlet, and [the tugboats] would have spotters on the land…they would race out, and the first tugboat to get to the tall ship got the job to bring them into the harbor.”
These historic races are still reenacted each year at the festival. But instead of competing for a job, the tugs race for bragging rights. Attendees watch from other vessels docked on the bay or vantage points on land to see which tugboat will cross the finish line first. One of Carol’s goals in her final year as Executive Director is to ensure that even as some tugboats fall into disrepair, people still feel connected to this important part of Olympia’s maritime story.
As a 51-year-old festival centered around century-old tugboats, Olympia Harbor Days faces significant challenges today and into its future. Maintaining these historic vessels is becoming increasingly costly for vessel owners, while income from their operations is dwindling. Despite these challenges, Carol remains steadfast in her dedication to preserving Olympia’s maritime history.
Changing Plans and Times
Olympia Harbor Days is held annually on Labor Day Weekend. The timing is an artifact of its origins on the water as a celebration and rest day held by tugboat workers. “In 1973, [the festival] was informal. Then in 1974, it became formalized,” Carol said. However, it would be a few more years until the celebration moved ashore. By 1978, local merchants had noticed the celebration and, recognizing the opportunity, launched Harbor Fair at the same time on land. In 1983, the two festivals combined, creating the experience we know today.
In the 50 years since the festival’s inception, Olympia Harbor Days has weathered many changes. With the festival’s growth comes an increased need for planning, which has become a 14-month process, said Carol. In her nine years of organizing the festival, Carol has worked to both honor its origins as a gathering of salty tugboat crews and develop it into a festival that celebrates the maritime heritage of Olympia amid the city’s growth.
To that end, she has worked to include more diverse perspectives at Olympia Harbor Days by incorporating Tribal participation, adding numerous art vendors and musicians to attract new participants, and documenting the history of the festival itself.
“When I started nine years ago, there was no [recorded] history [of Olympia Harbor Days], and I spent my first two years trying to pull it all back together,” Carol recalls. The festival’s logo—featuring a tugboat illustration—is central to her efforts. Each year, the logo features a different historic tugboat. Despite more than 50 years of festivals and over 40 years of logo iterations, there have been no repeats.
Continuing Growth
Even if the number of historic tugboats is decreasing, Olympia’s interest in the festival certainly isn’t. Under Carol’s leadership, the budget of the festival has increased two and a half times. Last year’s festival had more than 60,000 attendees.
When the 2020 festival was canceled due to the pandemic, Carol shifted her focus to installing interpretive signage along Olympia’s waterfront, ensuring the community still had opportunities to engage with maritime heritage. The 2021 festival, though smaller with around 2,000 attendees, was a welcome return. Carol was encouraged by people joining the festival, even amidst the challenges presented by the pandemic and postponed her plans to retire to stay on through the 50th anniversary in 2023. The 51st annual Olympia Harbor Days in 2024 will be her last.
To Carol, the festival rebounding from the pandemic is a sign that people want it to stay, but she isn’t sure it will be the same festival in the future because of the decreasing number of tugboats. She doesn’t see that as a drastic change, but rather a reflection of how people are using the waterfront today. Local kayak, sailing, rowing, and Dragon Boat clubs will participate, with some offering opportunities for attendees to try out their boats.
Fun at the Festival
While the festival remains focused on celebrating tugboats and maritime heritage, Carol’s favorite aspect is the incredible array of food. “When I started, the festival was all fair food, it was elephant ears and hot dogs. I love all that food. But…this is a maritime festival! So now it has a lot more seafood, salmon by the [Chehalis] Tribe, we have a guy that does crab cakes, we have shrimp tacos,” Carol enthusiastically shared.
This year’s festival will also showcase sand sculptors, the art and heritage of the Squaxin Island Tribe, and cruises aboard historic ships like the Virginia V and Lady Washington. Kids will also have the chance to build tugboats out of LEGOs and test if they float! The first day’s grand opening will feature a maritime-themed drone show with twice as many drones as 2023, creating images of tugboats sailing through water and anchors swinging in the sea.
All the activities, food, vendors, and activities at Olympia Harbor Days allow people to better connect with their maritime heritage. “These festivals are things that need to be shared. And I love promoting them,” said Carol.