Tillicum Village was a

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

area

visitor attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

located on

Blake Island Blake Island () is a Puget Sound island in Kitsap County, Washington, United States, that is preserved as Blake Island Marine State Park. The island lies north of Vashon Island, south of Bainbridge Island, and east of Manchester. On the nort ...

, a

Washington State Park Washington State Park is a public recreation area covering in Washington County in the central eastern part of the state of Missouri. It is located on Highway 21 about northeast of Potosi or southwest of De Soto on the eastern edge of t ...

accessible only by boat, which is off the shore of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington, United States. Founded in 1962 by Bill Hewitt, control of Tillicum Village was sold to

Argosy Cruises Argosy or The Argosy may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Argosy'' (magazine), an American pulp magazine 1882–1978 and revived 1990–1994, 2004–2006 * ''Argosy'' (UK magazine), three British magazines * Argosy spaceship in ''Escap ...

in 2009. Argosy Cruises operated the Tillicum Excursion, a four-hour cruise from Pier 55 in central Seattle to Tillicum Village and back, from 2009 to 2021.

Facilities and tourism

Salmon-fire-long-house-Tillicum-Village-Blake-Island-State-Park-Washington-state

Tillicum Village occupies approximately 5 acres (2 ha) of leased land within Blake Island State Park. The Tillicum Excursion includes a greeting from Tillicum village employees costumed in Northwest Coastal Native tribal costume. Outside the

longhouse A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America. Many were built from lumber, timber and ...

, visitors are given a cup of clams and broth (clam nectar). Inside, the longhouse is decorated in art by members of Northwest Coastal Natives and a cooking display shows whole

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

being cooked on cedar stakes over an alder wood fire in a traditional style. Guests eat a buffet meal featuring the just-cooked salmon, after which a 25-minute performance is provided including filmed storytelling by Roger Fernandes of the

Klallam The Klallam (; also known as the S'Klallam or Clallam) are a Coast Salish people Indigenous to the northern Olympic Peninsula. The language of the Klallam is the Klallam language (), a language closely related to the North Straits Salish lang ...

tribe illustrated by the Tillicum Village dancers, who wear traditional masks. After the performance, visitors can interact with the performers and walk along the beaches and trails of the island. Visitors can also camp on Blake Island and visit the Tillicum Village longhouse independently.

History

Bill Hewitt, a local restaurant owner, founded Tillicum Village in 1962, the year of the

Seattle World's Fair The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) was a world's fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962, in Seattle, Washington, United States.British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

tribes and provided by Thompson's, a locally based theatrical production company. There were 100,000 visitors in 1978. The facilities and show were updated in 2011. In 1993,

President Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the att ...

hosted the first

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy , economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Following the success of Association of Southeast Asia ...

forum in the Tillicum Village longhouse. In 2021, Argosy Cruises ended its Tillicum Excursion due to revenue losses attributed to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic.

References

External links

"Neighbors want ballot box in Tillicum Village"
September 1, 2016.

KING-TV KING-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Seattle, Washington, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Everett-licensed KONG (channel 16), an independent station. The two stations share studios at the Hom ...

. {{Coord, 47, 32, 30, N, 122, 28, 57, W, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-WA Culture of Seattle History of Seattle Tourist attractions in Seattle Buildings and structures in Seattle 1962 establishments in Washington (state)

Facilities and tourism

History

See also

References

External links