Enjoy comedy, storytelling, podcasts and more at THING 2022

By Alison Ward, STG PR & Communications Intern 

Adam Zacks and STG's unique three-day event, THING, builds off the legacy of the Sasquatch! Music Festival—but with plenty of arts and culture activities so that everyone can find their "thing"! Festival goers can enjoy everything from comedy shows and talks, to visual arts and dance workshops. At THING, there is truly something for everyone.

Read more below to find out about the eclectic offerings at THING, which takes place August 26–28, 2022 at historic Fort Worden in Port Townsend. For the full lineup and schedule, go to thingnw.org/.

Comedy

Laugh till you cry with comedians Jerrod Carmichael (Saturday) and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (Friday). Comedian, actor, writer, producer and director Jerrod Carmichael from Winston-Salem, North Carolina is coming to THING with a phone-free experience. You can catch Carmichael's new special Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel on HBO. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog became an overnight sensation after appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 1997. He has famously pooped on the Westminster dog show, Hollywood squares, Bon Jovi, Star Wars fans, the VMAs, Eminem, comic con, the Michael Jackson trial, American Idol, political content and more! He also earned a Grammy nomination for his album, "Come Poop with me." At THING, the infamous canine plans to show clips, sing classics, moderate his fabulous game show/podcast "Let's Make a Poop," discuss his recent foibles in DC and hurt your heart. 

Unique performance

The Future is 0 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) is a live satirical game show where artist-contestants from the THING lineup compete in an array of mental, physical and psychological challenges. Host Clay Buff and her counterpart producer Kat O'Hara, use original music, unique animations, video segments and quirky games to give viewers an experience they won't forget.

Storytelling

Elaine Grinnell (Friday and Saturday) serves on the Jamestown S'Klallam Culture Committee, the Native Elders Committee of the University of Washington, Northwest Native American Storytellers Association board, and is a certified Klallam language teacher. Delbert Miller (Sunday) is a singer, carver, drummer and keeper of the Skokomish tribal ancestral history. He has taken on the role and responsibility of carrying on the traditional legacies of his elders. The tribal storytellers appear in partnership with SAMA: Seattle Sacred Music & Art.

Podcast

Your Last Meal (Friday) with Seattle's award-winning KIRO radio journalist Rachel Belle is coming to THING! In each episode, Rachel asks celebrities what they would choose to eat for their last meal and then dives into the history, culture, or science of that dish with experts around the world. She's spoken to everyone from the designer who created Lady Gaga's meat dress to the magicians who invented flavors for Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

Visual art

STG's Re:Definition includes yearly rotating exhibits that showcase visual artists highlighting issues of equity in our community. At THING, Alaskan Tlingit Native, Margie Morris will create two murals that invite community members and festival goers to contribute to a live painting experience (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Participants will add their brush strokes and flair to this traditional Indigenous artform using acrylic colors of black and red. Morris has created various Tlingit art for more than 40 years: dance robes, tunics, beading, carving and more. 

Sculptures

The "Kinetic Skulptures" art installation (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) is a human-powered kinetic sculpture and an artistically enhanced vehicle that must go through sand and mud, float on water and traverse hills. Some skulptures are engineering marvels, while most are a mixture of bicycle parts, styrofoam, duct tape, imagination and prayers.

Collaborative Painting Sessions

Local and recognized artist Jesse Higman will host three-hour, collaborative painting sessions open to all (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Participants will pour watercolors onto a 16-foot, horizontal canvas. The sessions will be held from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. each afternoon. Everyone is welcome to show up and take part. Higman's work has been presented at Lollapalooza, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Experience Music Project, The Smithsonian Museum, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and on MTV.

Talks

Insightful and engaging talks will be offered at THING. On Saturday, music journalist and author Marcus J. Moore will be interviewing Jazz is Dead—a record label created by Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest). Moore also wrote The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America and is currently working on his next book High and Rising, which is a cultural biography of rap trio De La Soul. Additionally, composer, musician and software entrepreneur Scott Freiman will lead a conversation titled Deconstructing the Beatles Revolver—a series of multimedia presentations about the composition and production techniques of the fab four (Friday).

Dance

The Dance This Showcase offers a variety of amazing performances from different dance styles and cultures. Shaking up the stage for this showcase are Northwest Tap Connection (NTC), Grupo Folklorico Herencias Mexicanas and Afro Beats with Niyafath and Michel. 

Activities

Aside from the performances, there are plenty of things to do! THING attendees are free to enter a world of color at Luminarium: Timisien (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). The luminarium consists of 20 domes that attendees can walk through and enjoy the colors and shapes around them that are lit up by skylights. Speaking of color — attendees can get their craft on by decorating paper lanterns! Those who wish to can additionally participate in a lantern parade accompanied by the Unexpected Brass Band each night at 10 p.m. Also, every day at 10 p.m. there will be THING After Dark—a time to listen to up-and-coming hip-hop artists in the PNW, DJ El Mizzel and DJ Derek Mazzone, Global Music Host/DJ on Kexp and Co-Founder of SAMA Seattle. The festival will also offer a variety of food and market vendors, including the THING market.

Education and Community Engagement Workshops

STG's Education Programs provide opportunities for adults and children to develop their skills in the arts while learning more about dance, music and more. At THING guests can choose from a variety of workshops — from learning how to breakdance at the Friday "Breaking" workshop from instructor Robert Eyerman to exploring the world of musical theater at the Sunday Musical Theatre Adventures with Brad Walker and Gabi Shutt. Each ECE workshop strives to empower, enrich, and celebrate participants' quality of life using the arts.

Thing food vendors

Vendors include: Paella House, Kokopelli Grill, The Bob, Barbarian Fine Cuisine, Dumpling Tzar, La Cocina, Auntie Dolly's West African Cuisine, Sugar Hill, Nadine's Kitchen, Fiddlehead Creamery, High Country Doughnuts, Sweet As Keto, Island Creamery, Lava Love Cakes, NW Cold Treats, Better Living Through Coffee, Gypsy Coffeehouse, BluJay Kombucha and Fort Worden Hospitality. Gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan and keto options will be available at THING.

Market vendors

Thunderpants USA, Hellner Arts, Lichenology, 3sevens Pottery, The Port Townsend Record Show, Dynamo Dye Company, Lazy Eye Supply/Local Knits, Raising the Bar (barware sets), Claire Mack Fine Arts, Joy Winfrey's Felted Wool, Port Townsend School of Massage, Wurm Wares, Wheat Stalk Boutique, Camp N Car, Sumac El Sol Handcrafted Textile Arts, Big Saw Productions, Sativa Valley, artist Mike Biskup, HEARTH (pottery), PNW Axe Throwing Company, B. Fuller's Mortar and Pestle, Gianna Andrews Art, Max.1nk (pop surreal art).

STG's THING, a 3-day festival of music and arts, takes place August 26–28, 2022 at historic Fort Worden in Port Townsend, WA. For tickets and more information, go to thingnw.org/.