I got the word yesterday that the Tacoma Oceanfest that had been scheduled for the first weekend in June has now been postponed until September. Understandable, and I look forward to the new date, but there are a couple of other things that are slowly becoming more clear, the longer this situation continues.

The first is that we’re now seeing events taken off the calendar that might have seemed outside the cancellation window just weeks ago. June is now within the time frame that we collectively see unfolding, and other events that are currently still on the calendar during the month don’t seem as likely anymore. We are not going anywhere at the moment, and we have no clue how long the moment is going to last. Longer than we thought, though.

There is one spot to watch, however, during these days of wine and Netflix: the 3rd annual Seventy48 race, a human-powered (kayak, canoe, SUP, outrigger, etc.) distance and endurance race from Tacoma to Port Townsend, is still on. It starts on June 5th, and goes for 48 hours, with finishers ringing the bell in Port Townsend at all hours, day and night. The Northwest Maritime Center, the organization responsible for the race, has maintained its commitment to seeing the event happen on schedule.

Obviously, there would be changes. It cannot be the social event that it would normally be. But the race itself, minus the trappings and celebrations, is the very definition of social distancing and is already geared toward an on-line audience, which is all of us now. It may seem unlikely, with the legion of other cancellations going on, but that there is hope of it happening at all is a bit of excitement, with the craving for something normal and some good news at an all-time high.

More to come. Obviously. Stay safe.