POULSBO — Little Norway’s Front Street took on a movie quality kind of charm. Pink, green and orange lit lanterns hung high across the road Saturday, beneath which some strolled and others sat at tables, elbows propped on red, checkered tablecloths while slurping happily at ice cream cones about to drip.
Shops stayed open late and live music filled the air to help ring in a uniquely Poulsbo centennial celebration: The Dance of the Decades. Closed to vehicles, the intersection of Front Street and Jensen Way served as a dance floor. And with a crowd favorite cover of the Beatles’ “Come Together,” that’s exactly what nearly 2,000 people did — come together over a city reveling in 100 years of existence.
Poulsbo teens Ana Yee and Gabbi Wilke hit the streets, and said the shindig was the perfect wrap-up to summer, one at which they could catch up with friends after a few months spent apart.
Plus, “we live for dancing,” Yee said.
And for a century-old city, they thought Poulsbo was looking pretty sharp.
“It’s not showing its wrinkles yet,” Wilke added.
A cowboy hat-clad Mayor Kathryn Quade hailed the unveiling of Poulsbo’s newest landmark: Little Sven. The new, maroon-colored clock tower near Marina Market commemorates Poulsbo’s centennial status, and is named in comparison to London’s Big Ben.
Carly Michelson, one of the event organizers, said the night proved even better than the Centennial Committee had hoped.
“I thought it was a great success,” Michelson said. “It exceeded our expectations.”
The picturesque weather, families picnicking and shops full of customers made for a party she’s hearing is an annually welcome one, though planning to make it a recurring event hasn’t begun.
“Every person that we talk to, we hear ‘do it again, do it again,’ ” she said. “I loved seeing the crowds of people in the middle of the street dancing under the lanterns … . It just really felt like a community event.”
The Poulsbo Historical Society set up displays detailing the town’s past, and event sponsor Kitsap Bank handed out plenty of treats, including tattoos worn by kids and adults alike and red and black frisbees commonly seen doubling in use as fans.
Kitsap’s first family-friendly beer garden proved a hit, and Centennial Committee member Donna Etchey said plenty of locals used Kitsap Transit’s free shuttle services, leaving no traffic troubles in downtown to be had.
“People were dancing, kids were dancing in the streets,” said Etchey, also the publisher of the North Kitsap Herald. “It was just incredible.”
Police Chief Dennis Swiney said from the law enforcement end, the first-time festivities were dilemma-free. “We were real thrilled with it,” he said. “It came off without a glitch.”
