Carol Riley, the Wizard of Olympia Harbor Days

Shirley Stirling portrait

Have you ever noticed how some things seem to unfold effortlessly, like magic? Well, that’s how Olympia Harbor Days in our historic downtown seems to have operated in recent years. This free event, in three days, offers over 300 things to see and do, and they just seem to effortlessly “happen.”

Our Wizard of Olympia

Now renamed Olympia Harbor Days Maritime and Tugboat Festival (OHD), it’s bigger, there’s more to it, and apparently a LOT more people attending, yet it does not seem hectic – the three days flow like magic! But, wait a minute, there IS someone running the show behind the scenes, reminding me of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. As proclaimed, “Pay no attention to that (hu)man behind the curtain!” (Actually, in the book, he’s behind a screen, but in the movie, he’s behind a curtain so that Toto can dramatically yank it and expose the wizard.)

Carol Riley portrait, 2023.

Anyhow, Carol Johnson Riley is our proverbial wizard behind the curtain at Harbor Days, only, unlike Frank Baum’s kindly but bumbling wizard who was a self-admitted “humbug,” she actually IS a miracle worker and, with her organized approach, accomplished it all in nine short years.

Once a faltering non-profit

In 2015, Carol was recruited to refresh and reorganize the faltering non-profit fundraising event Harbor Days Vintage Tugboat Races in Olympia, WA. Under her direction as Executive Director, she grew the festival and its measurable economic impact from an annual budget of $65,000 to $230,000, a growth rate of 254%, not including over $45,000 in-kind donations, and a value of over 1,000 hours of volunteer time. Over the years, she has served two terms as a Washington Festivals and Events Association (WFEA) Board Member and became a WFEA Certified Live Event Planner (CLEP).

Background

Her background is varied, and she was rightly deemed well-suited for the job. With a 1976 Bachelor of Science in Design and Merchandising from Drexel University, her work experience started with a career as a Macy’s fashion buyer and then as an apparel merchandiser, both jobs in New York. She then worked with professional art groups in Pennsylvania as a grant writer.

Arriving in Olympia with her family in 1992, Carol became treasurer of the Westside Coop Preschool in Olympia for 5 years; created the first gift shop at the Hands on Children’s Museum (at the venue now occupied by Old School Pizza); a long-term Board Member, Costume Chair and dancer of Samba Olywa; a (former) rower and Board Member of Olympia Area Rowing. She also offers assistance for whatever is needed to create and produce the annual Procession of the Species.

In terms of event management, Carol started that specialty by opening Reunions Unlimited, and organized over 750 high school reunions in 20 years from 1996 – 2015. During that time, she was also president of the National Association of Reunion Managers for five years.

Carol Riley's portrait was taken at the 2024 award dinner in Bellevue, where she was admitted to the WFEA Hall of Fame in 2024.

State of the festival

The well-known and beloved iconic festival now attracts an estimated 60,000 visitors -- local, regional, and out-of-state, covering seven blocks along the downtown Olympia boardwalk, from historic Percival Landing to the Port of Olympia Plaza. Four docks host 20 to 40 vintage tugboats, workboats, historic steamships, tall ships, schooners, and small watercraft.

On land, there are multiple maritime and art sculpture demonstrations, over 200 arts & crafts, commercial and non-profit booth vendors, three stages offering over 32 local bands and musical acts, two seafood and international food G’Alleys with 23 vendors, and of course the last of the World’s Vintage Tugboat Races. OHD and the historic vintage tugboat races were also featured stories on Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Oregon Field Guide 2024 in a 10-minute video.

How did she do it?

Success was accomplished by analyzing festival history, investing in short and long-term planning, and highlighting and reinventing the traditional elements of the festival while adding new maritime and marine-focused family-friendly features, activities, art, and experiences. She rebranded the festival's name from Harbor Days (which locals still use) to Olympia Harbor Days Maritime and Tugboat Festival (OHD) and developed an aggressive multilevel marketing plan.

To pay for this growth, she increased community partnerships and sponsorships, created space for tribal participation, secured multiple grants, including LTAC tourism grants, grew vendor booth sales and participation rates, and made expense cuts without changing the location or footprint of the event. OHD also engages over 22 local/regional nonprofits as paid activity/service providers or with low-cost/complimentary booth space.

Carol also secured grants from the National Endowment of the Arts through ArtsWA (the Washington State Arts Commission) and a grant for SSMHA from Inspire Olympia. She also worked on the development team for the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area, of which OHD is a featured event.

During her time, Carol created the annual Cruise to Olympia aboard the historic steamship Virgina V in 2016 and coordinated Maritime Drone Shows, the only public drone shows flown in Thurston County, in 2023 and 2024 and added a one-and-a-half-hour night market to the event. She also organized Olympia’s Maritime and Tugboat Heritage Walk along the waterfront boardwalk and produced an outdoor 48-panel exhibit of the logo history.

As you may know, the logo changes annually to include the oldest tug boat from the previous festival out of those not yet honored. You can see the exhibit in the windows of the historic City Hall and Fire Station in downtown Olympia. Additionally, she contributed a food article (she says, "I LOVE food!”) to the recently published The Start to Finish Playbook on How to Fund and Produce an Event.

Goal and method

Her goal for the festival has always been to create live experiences around every corner. Her motto is “Start with the end in mind.” She works alone, managing all aspects of the festival with help from a few subcontractors and volunteers.

Carol Riley portrait taken at the 2024 award dinner in Tacoma where she was admitted to the WFEA Hall of Fame, 2024.

Retiring or rewiring

On Labor Day weekend, 2024, Carol completed her final OHD festival as executive director. She retired but commented that she is actually “rewiring, rather than retiring,” planning to clear her head after working many years and perhaps open herself more to creativity in terms of textile art for Samba costumes and open herself up in general.

She has adult kids: here locally, in Missoula (with three grandchildren), and California (one grandson). She also wants to continue to “listen and help,” assisting other groups, especially Samba OlyWA, Procession of the Species, and other art, cultural, and heritage-related causes.

WFEA Hall of Fame and other awards

On October 30, at the Annual WFEA Statewide Conference in Bellevue at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. she was added to the coveted Hall of Fame by WFEA. According to the organizers, the purpose of the Hall of Fame is to recognize individuals who have made a profound difference in the communities they serve through their work in the events industry. Carol said, “I was SO surprised to receive the award! It was unexpected, and I am very honored to be in the company of the other great Hall of Fame awardees, most of whom have many more years of experience in the festival industry and produce multiple and/or bigger events annually”.

Additionally, Carol and the OHD festival organization have won numerous awards both locally and statewide, including the 2023 Best Event Organizer in the State of Washington by the WFEA, which followed the 2023 Patrick Knutson Tourism Legend Award from Experience Olympia and Beyond, Thurston County’s visitor and convention bureau. Under her leadership, Olympia Harbor Days Maritime and Tugboat Festival has won multiple Best Festival of the Year awards and numerous WFEA awards for marketing, publicity, photography, and inclusion over the years. Also, notably, in 2024, it won Best Heritage Event.

Thank you

Thank you, Carol, for your contributions to Olympia and Thurston County with your work to enrich our unique annual, Olympia Harbor Days Maritime and Tugboat Festival.

Shirley Stirling, of Lacey, writes about good things people in Thurston County are doing. I you'd like to nominate someone to be profiled, contact her at shirley@theJOLTnews.com or comment below.