Rockin’ Rendezvous for JCHS Collections

Thank you for supporting local storytelling!

Thanks to everyone who helped make our 2022 summer fundraiser for JCHS collections a huge success! Between early gifts, funds raised at our inaugural Rockin’ Rendezvous, and gifts received since, we surpassed our $5,000 goal! With a generous match of $5,000 from the Cooper-Newell Foundation, we raised over $10,000 to help us expand both the contents of, and access to our oral history collection.

We’re grateful to everyone who contributed to this fundraiser and joined us at the Hilltop Tavern in August. We’re still reeling from the enthusiasm this first-year event generated and cannot overstate how special the multigenerational representation in the storytelling was to us. Bringing people together to be inspired by our community’s people, places, and stories is what we’re all about. Thank you for showing your support and celebrating with us.

While our first rendezvous has past, you can always visit our donation page to make a gift in honor of JCHS collections. And don’t worry if you missed out—we’re already looking forward to bringing this event back in 2023. Do you have suggestions for future rendezvous venues, themes, and storytellers around Jefferson County? Let us know!

Why oral history?

Did you know there are over 600 oral histories in our collection? This ever-growing part of our collection is a treasure trove of first-person stories about the people, places, and events of Jefferson County. Oral histories are unlike any other resource in a museum’s collection in that they are where we hear people tell their stories on their own terms. Oral histories often capture the stories of everyday folks in a way that archives and objects cannot.

You can get a taste of some of the depth and dimension that oral histories add to our understanding of experiences and events by checking out the ones we’ve added to our SoundCloud. Funds raised during our 2022 summer fundraiser will help us expand access to even more of our oral histories!

About Our Annual Summer Fundraiser

Our Rockin' Rendezvous is a celebration of local storytelling benefiting JCHS collections. The first-ever iteration of this fundraiser happened at Port Townsend's beloved Hilltop Tavern in August 2022.

The Hilltop was a natural fit for the first Rockin' Rendezvous. The community's love for this storied local haunt spans generations and it has a long tradition of supporting charitable organizations and causes all over east Jefferson County with funds raised through its Wednesday night barstool bingo.

Setting this event at the Hilltop inspired a night of memory-sharing, merriment, music, and a lineup of storytellers headlined by two parent-child pairs—Jim and Joe Daubenberger and Margie and Ann Abraham. We hope to capture similar energy in every Rockin’ Rendezvous going forward. See you in August 2023 for the next one!

Thank you to our 2022 Rockin’ Rendezvous partners and sponsors!

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Media sponsor

Lead sponsor

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