114th Annual Sequim Irrigation Festival

It's that time of year again, time for one of Sequim's biggest annual celebrations: the 114th Annual Irrigation Festival, May 2nd - 9th, 2009.

The theme remains: Where Water is Wealth, and is a celebration of the visionaries that brought the irrigation ditches to Sequim, which essentially transformed prairie lands into the lovely farmlands and town we have today.

Yes, Sequim takes the Irrigation Festival seriously, so if you'd like to get in on the fun, here's the link for the schedule of events: Irrigation Festival website.

Maybe I'll see you there! :)

Olympic Peninsula Wine & Cheese Event

Last weekend was the Olympic Peninsula Wine & Cheese Event, and it featured 7 local wineries with paired locally made cheese and other goodies.

Fred, Amanda, Lee and I made it to 3 of them on Saturday, and Amanda and I finished up with 3 more on Sunday.

Here's pics of a few of them:

First up is Harbinger Winery on Hwy 101 on the far side of Port Angeles. Good wines, fun atmosphere, good people. Sarah is the wine maker and she's usually there, happy to talk wine.

This is the tasting room at Cameraderie Cellars, off Benson Road in Port Angeles. Good wines, great outdoor sitting areas to enjoy a snack with your wine. They also have a large outdoor fire pit to keep you warm on chilly days.

Below is Olympic Cellars, home of the 'Working Girl' wines, a women-owned winery, on Hwy 101 between Port Angeles and Sequim. Good wines, great atmosphere with a covered outdoor seating area for summer concerts and events. They also have a nice selection of gifts and goodies in the barn.

Sequim Real Estate Market Update for Q1 2009

Congratulations potential Sequim real estate buyers... you now have one of the largest selections and some of the lowest home prices in years! It's a great time to buy in Sequim, so get on it!

According to OLS - our local MLS - based on current 2009 YTD sales volume, we now have a whopping 27.54 months worth of site-built homes in inventory to choose from!

Sales of site-built homes so far this year are closing at a blistering speed of 11 per month.

The average sales price for site-built homes is now $299,420 vs $329,203 for 2008. That's a 9% drop, and again, wow! Your dream home in Sequim is now even more affordable.

OK, Sequim homeowners and potential sellers, stop the sob fest... it's just me trying to put a positive spin on our less than stellar sales numbers.

It's all relative anyway... the market goes up, the market goes down, and isn't that just part of the fun of owning a home?