Almost every West Sound community has at least one scheduled opportunity each year to put its best foot forward and celebrate. Our community festivals range from large and choreographed (Bremerton’s Armed Forces Day Festival celebrates the city’s military heritage with what is billed as the largest Armed Forces Day parade in the U.S.) to the unique and quaint (Crosby Days invites nearly everyone in that small community to march in a parade behind the local fire truck). Events like Poulsbo’s Viking Fest draw thousands of visitors; others, like Shelton’s Oyster Fest are fundraisers for a variety of local organizations. It’s either the rainy season in West Sound, or it’s the festival season. The community festivals start in mid-May and extent through mid-October, celebrating everything from whales to seagull calling, rhododendrons to fishing trawlers, gardens in bloom to lavender to salmon, the era of chivalry to the heritage of local tribes.