Anacortes, Washington

Anacortes / is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is an adaptation of the name of Anne Curtis Bowman, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman. Anacortes' population was 15,778 at the time of the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Anacortes is known for the Washington State Ferries dock and terminal serving Lopez Island, Shaw Island, Orcas Island, and San Juan Island, as well as Victoria, British Columbia on Vancouver Island. There is also a Skagit County-operated ferry that serves Guemes Island, a residential island located across Guemes Channel, north of Anacortes.

Festivals and celebrations

"Shipwreck Day" is a popular single-day, flea market/town garage sale event held annually on the 3rd Saturday in July. City management accommodates the occasion by blocking off several downtown streets.
What the Heck Fest was an annual festival coinciding with Shipwreck Day. It began in 2001 and held its last festival in 2011. The festival took place at various locations all Anacortes in a week in the middle of July. Performers presented music, movies, literature, and art. The thematic center of the festival is the dinner show that includes a full meal along with the concert, an actual community event.
The first weekend of August hosts the Anacortes Arts Festival. Started in 1962 as the result of the efforts of a group of dedicated community arts patrons, the festival is held in the midst of blocked-off downtown main street areas. Vendors, merchants, and artisans present their wares in covered booths while jazz and blues musicians are showcased on four different stages.
The Oyster Run is an annual one day biker-friendly motorcycle rally held on the fourth Sunday of September. Beginning in 1981, the event has grown into the largest rally in the Pacific Northwest, with an estimated motorcycle count of 15000 bikes, and growing in numbers each year.

Notable people

Jake Anderson - Fisherman, television personality featured on Deadliest Catch.
Michael Arrington (born March 13, 1970) Entrepreneur, blogger, dog lover. Founder of TechCrunch and uncrunched.com.
Richard Bach (born June 23, 1936) American writer, widely known as the author of the hugely popular 1970s best-sellers Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, among others.
Duane Berentson - educator, businessman, politician
Craig Bartlett – animator, creator of syndicated cartoons Hey Arnold! and Dinosaur Train.
Karl Blau – indie rock and folk musician.
Phil Elverum – independent musician.
Harry Smith - American music anthologist, experimental film maker
Donald Hume – Olympic rower, gold medalist at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Burl Ives – folk singer, author, and actor, well known for his role in the animated holiday television program, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Rien Long – former NFL defensive lineman for the Tennessee Titans, 2002 Outland Trophy winner
The band The Lonely Forest originates from Anacortes
William Cameron McCool – (September 23, 1961 – February 1, 2003) was a United States Navy Commander, NASA astronaut and the Space Shuttle pilot of Columbia mission STS-107. He was killed when the craft disintegrated during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.
Kathi McDonald - (September 25, 1948 - October 3, 2012) blues and rock singer
James K. Okubo - (May 30, 1920 – January 29, 1967) posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor, for service in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team
Charley Schanz – former Major League Baseball pitcher
Lowell Wakefield - founder of Wakefield Seafoods Inc

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All content originates from the English Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0