Dirty Dan Harris Festival in Fairhaven
Dear Bellingham, It is time once again for the annual Dirty Dan Harris Festival in Bellingham’s beautiful Fairhaven district. Come celebrate Fairhaven’s “unscrubbed” community founder with a day full of live music and exciting and silly events for the whole family.
This year’s festival will be held on Sunday, April 24th from 10am until 5pm and will be jam packed with glorious activities for the whole family. There will be a fish toss for both kids and adults, a donut eating contest, a high-noon uphill piano race and of course the legendary Dirty Dan look-a-like & 1800’s dress contests. As always it is highly encouraged to dress up in your finest old-timey duds whether you plan to take part in the costume contest or not.
The Dan Harris Challenge Rowing Race will be held the morning of the festival, nearby at Boulevard Park. The race is open to rowers and paddlers of all types, inspired by Dan Harris’s cross-border rum-rowing adventures.
Tickets to the Chuckanut Chili Cook-Off are only $5 and include a taste of every chili in the competition being prepared and served up by participating local restaurant chefs, as well as a bowl of your favorite chili! Your ticket also allows for an opportunity to vote in the People’s Choice contest.
A bit of history: In 1854, Dan Harris arrived on the shore of Bellingham Bay as a 21-year-old adventurer. He became a legend as a homesteader, land owner, smuggler, hotel owner, and seaman, who founded Fairhaven in 1883. He also picked up the colorful nickname “Dirty Dan” due to his infrequent bathing. Dan’s amazing feats include traveling by rowboat between Fairhaven and Victoria, B.C. A shrewd business man, he once rolled his piano out of the Fairhaven Hotel in 1890 and straight down Harris Avenue into the bay after the hotel’s new owner wouldn’t pay for it.
The Dirty Dan Harris Festival is produced by the Historic Fairhaven Association, a non-profit organization that promotes and preserves the historical character of Fairhaven and also puts on the district festivals.
