With more than 1,000 participating E Jefferson County residents and visitors
MAKE MUSIC DAY on SUNDAY JUNE 21, 2026 was a great success.
Over 100 performing and teaching musicians brought our communities together to sing, play and enjoy
a wide range of music styles at 15 venues from Port Townsend to Quilcene, Chimacum to Port Ludlow,
We’re celebrating that we were able to bring this community tradition back to our rural region after an 8 year pause.
IF YOU WERE PART of THE FESTIVAL in any way — please share your experiences, photos, and stories!
Watch this space and our social media channels throughout July
as we share what took place on Make Music Day from many points of view.
⭐️⭐️⭐️WE ARE ACTIVELY INVITING donations to cover our 2026 costs as well as plan for 2027.⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you can support with a contribution of funds or volunteer time, we thank you.
It takes a village to put on a county-wide festival like this one. And we are one musical village indeed! ♥️
With love, gratitude, and song,
The Make Music Day East Jefferson County 2026 Team
A project of Songwriting Works Educational Foundation (501c3), based in Port Townsend, WA
Winners of the 2026 Make Music Day Photo+Video contest
will be announced on or before Aug 1st, 2026.
WITH GRATITUDE TO OUR SPONSORS:
We hope to produce the Festival again in 2027 and are grateful for your support. By joining us now you help ensure we can make this all ages music-making festival free and accessible for all again next year!
Interested in hosting or sponsoring?
Contact us at songwritingworks at gmail dot com or 360.385.1160
We’d love to talk with you about ways to get involved that make your heart sing!
WE BELIEVE EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO MAKING MUSIC and LEARNING MUSIC.
You help us make this magic happen with your support.
VOLUNTEER opportunities Summer/Fall 2026:
• Harvest stories and share on social media
• Support grantwriting and fundraising
• Join the 2027 Steering Committee or Event Crew as we plan ahead.
MAKE MUSIC DAY is a project of Songwriting Works Educational Foundation,
a 501c3 charitable organization based in Port Townsend.
WHAT IS MAKE MUSIC DAY?
MAKE MUSIC DAY is a free, multi-site, spontaneous day of music participation. Musical artists and music lovers of all ages, skill levels, and styles of sound will come together to play, sing, teach, learn, receive free instruments and celebrate the first day of summer with music. In 2026 more than 5,000 communities celebrated this holiday world wide.
Close to home, 15 venues in Port Townsend, Quilcene, Chimacum and Port Ludlow hosted concerts, workshops, sing-a-longs, jam sessions, and more, indoors and out.
All featured East Jefferson County festival venues are ADA accessible.
MAKE MUSIC DAY HISTORY
It all started 43 years ago in France. Jack Lang and the French Ministry of Culture imagined a new kind of musical holiday: Free music everywhere—in streets, parks, gardens, on rooftops, at storefronts—open to anyone wanting to play or host. NamedFête de la Musique,(“festival of music” and “make music,”) the festival took place on Summer Solstice, June 21st. It became a national tradition that now spans the globe with 5,000+ cities and towns worldwide!
18 years ago MAKE MUSIC DAY New York picked up the baton. From these grassroots, Make Music Day has blossomed into a nationwide movement with events held on the first days of summer - and on the winter solstice - across the U.S.
MAKE MUSIC DAY first came to PORT TOWNSEND in 2016 spontaneously just days before summer solstice, with 15 people holding a roving jam session throughout Port Townsend. The Festival expanded to E. Jefferson County in 2017 and in 2018 more than 800 people took parts at 27 venues county-wide.
After a “pandemic pause” Make Music Day returned to E. Jefferson County on June 21, 2026. More than 1,000 country residents and visitors attended as listeners, learners, players and singers, with more than 100 performing and facilitating musicians leading the way!
Join us now to keep the festival going and we’ll see you in 2027!
