The decision to cancel was made today, Friday, Sept. 10, due to the unexpected surge of Delta Variant Covid infections in Clallam and Jefferson counties.

The event included illuminated papier mache animal figures to be displayed in the dark throughout Railroad Bridge Park and the bridge to be illuminated with white fairy light. A 45-minute puppet show, presented by String & Shadow Puppet Theater, was scheduled for a 7 pm performance. The evening event, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., would have been offered to Sequim and surrounding community residents free of charge.

“It was a perfect fit for us,” said Vanessa Fuller, River Center administrator and event planner.

Organizer Janine Miller, a Sequim resident, had planned and coordinated the event with the River Center and numerous artists from around the Salish Sea area over the past three months. Teams of artists were building special luminaries for the River Center event. A truck was rented to transport props from warehouses belonging to Olympia’s “Procession of the Species,” posters were printed, and hotel rooms were reserved for performers and set builders by 7 Cedars Resort.

The River Center, which is nearing completion, is not open to the public, but had planned to give the public a sneak peak of the building’s interior with a walk from the new parking lot through the atrium and out into Railroad Bridge Park. The puppet show would have taken place in the park’s 100-seat amphitheater, which raised concerns about close seating.

“We expected that this event would draw hundreds of people, old and young, through the main gate, on the bridge, and by way of the Olympic Discovery Trail.  But we must err on the side of safety for the public and for our volunteers, who would have had to monitor the event in the dark,” said Powell Jones, River Center director and park manager.

Sponsors for “A Wild Night Out,” included The City of Sequim, Sequim Art Walk, 7Cedars, Olympic Nature Experience, and String & Shadow Puppet Theater.