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Midcentury Maritime History of the Salish Sea: a Journey with photographer Ken Ollar

BoatShop volunteers and project coordinators Richard Gray and Jan Hein will be speaking about Ken Ollar’s life and work at 6:30pm Wednesday, November 18th in the BoatShop’s Joiner Shop.

As 20th century designers and builders created our area’s maritime history, photographer Ken Ollar was there to record it. For over half a century, he sped through the Salish Sea aboard his motor vessel Shutterbug, capturing the action at Swiftsure, fleet and PIYA races, Opening Day celebrations, unlimited hydroplane races, and yacht club cruises. His collection of over 10,000 negatives, slides, prints and ephemeral, is now part of the Gig Harbor BoatShop’s Northwest Fleet Photography Collection. Using archival protocol, a team of volunteers are digitizing images for a publicly accessible database. As the body of work grows online, the historical importance of it becomes more apparent. Ken Ollar’s stunning work is filling our maritime past with narratives and details never heard before. We will share gems and highlights with you through projected images and stories.

21+ Welcome| Open Seating | Beverages Available for Purchase | Doors Open at 6:00PM

Circe, 1949

Northwest Fleet Photo Collection Studio at Gig Harbor BoatShop

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June 5

A Reading with Author & Captain Richard Bard