Centrum, located in

Fort Worden State Park Fort Worden Historical State Park is located in Port Townsend, Washington, on originally known as Fort Worden, a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps base constructed to protect Puget Sound from invasion by sea. Fort Worden was named after U. ...

near

Port Townsend, Washington Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition ...

, in

Jefferson County Jefferson County may refer to one of several counties or parishes in the United States, all of which are named directly or indirectly after Thomas Jefferson: *Jefferson County, Alabama *Jefferson County, Arkansas *Jefferson County, Colorado **Jeffe ...

is a multidisciplinary nonprofit arts organization that presents workshops and performances in a wide variety of artistic disciplines.

Origin

Centrum was founded as a partnership between the Washington State Arts Commission, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. The first executive director was Joseph F. Wheeler. Early program directors included Bill Ransom and Sam Hamill.

Activities

While most programming is intergenerational, Centrum also provides a series of residential learning experiences that serve youth only. About one-third of Centrum workshop participants are 18 years old or younger. Centrum presents such programs as the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Jazz Port Townsend, the Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival, and the

Port Townsend Writers' Conference The Port Townsend Writers' Conference was founded in 1974 by novelist Bill Ransom. It is held every summer at Fort Worden State Park, within the city limits of Port Townsend, on the inner tip of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. The confere ...

External links

Centrum web siteFort Worden State Park web site
Arts organizations based in Washington (state) Port Townsend, Washington Tourist attractions in Jefferson County, Washington