Photo courtesy of the MOHAI

Because we love giving things away, we’re offering another chance for you to experience Seattle’s waterways.  You could win a chance to join us this Saturday, May 19th, on the Taste of Seattle History Lunch Cruise!

It’s our favorite new tour, we can’t get enough of the menu and stories.  We could eat the fresh-churned butter and sourdough like Klondike gold-miners all day.  And then eat shortcake from Fisher Mills and reminisce about Bainbridge strawberries all night.  Here’s a little more about this new tour.

Each day this week we are giving away two tickets for this Saturday’s departure of the Taste of Seattle History Cruise.  That is five chances for you and a friend to be onboard this weekend!

Check back each day to see how to enter each day. We’ll post the previous day’s winner and how to enter for that day’s drawing!

Monday: The winner is Jenn @MissFlipFlop007!

Congrats! Entered by tweeting her favorite sunny Seattle activity.

 Tuesday: The winner is Jenni S!

(By telling us your favorite item on the Taste of History Menu menu)

Wednesday: The winner is Julie K!

Entered the drawing by a guess on what year the photo of water skiers behind our Goodtime II appeared in the Seattle Times.  The answer is 1977!

Thursday: Winners are @jdnorthwest and @Gerald212

The winner of A Taste of Seattle History Lunch Cruise (May 19th, 12pm)  is @jdnorthwest!  AND  The winner of the Salsa Dance Dinner Cruise (Friday, May 18th, 7pm) is @Gerald212!!

Friday: Congrats to Katherine B!

Congratulations to all of our winners!   Have a great time cruising on Saturday!

1977 Seattle Times front page of Argosy employees having a good time behind the Goodtime II

Here’s the Fine Print: Eligible winners must be 18 years of age or older and must Follow @ArgosyCruises on Twitter through the duration of the contest and until the winner is announced. One valid entry will be accepted per day of the contest starting 5/14/2012 and ending 5/18/2012. The prize will include two adult tickets on the May 19th Taste of Seattle History Lunch Cruise.

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We’re running a sweepstakes for a family four-pack of tickets out to Tillicum Village on Mother’s Day.

We’ve come to love special occasions out on Blake Island.  It’s fun to step outside the ordinary and give Mom an adventure with a meal and scenery all built in.

After enjoying a cruise across Elliot Bay to the island, you go up to the long house in just enough time to see them finish cooking the salmon over the open fire pits. Then it’s time to eat the salmon dripping in butter and Juniper Berry Seasoning. Yum!  The rest is a delicious buffet including the unique experience of bison and venison stew and the always popular fresh fruit with Chef Ron’s Strawberry Sherry Honey Sauce.

We always throw in something additional on these special days, and Mother’s Day is no exception.   Mothers will all be given a gift to take home.

But you want to know the important stuff…like how to win those four tickets [Two adults and two kids (5-12yrs)].

Go to either the Tillicum Village Facebook page, or the Argosy Cruises Facebook page.  Look for the Mother’s Day Tillicum Village Sweepstakes tab.  It’s running until May 6th, and you can enter every day to increase your chances of winning.

Good luck!

UPDATE:  @fordjeremiah is our winner!  He’ll be having some fun times this summer!

We are  giving a Seattle Tour Saver book away to one lucky winner!

Seattle has many coupon books and combo deals to wade through, and one of the best is the Seattle Tour Saver.  It contains over 60 pages of 2 for 1 deals!

Check out their website  to see which attractions are included all over the region. There is everything from activities to transportation to dining deals.  And since most of the coupons are valid for all of 2012, it’s great for our fellow Seattlites.

This is a Twitter contest. Here’s how it works:

Step 1: In order to win, entrants must Follow Argosy Cruises on Twitter.

Step 2: Tweet @ArgosyCruises with which attraction you are most excited about.

Example: @ArgosyCruises Can’t wait for a sunset Kayak Tour!

You can enter the contest up to one time per day between now and  Wednesday, May 2nd at noon. We will select a random winner from our list of entrants and announce the lucky family on Thursday, May 3rd on Twitter.

Here’s the Fine Print: Eligible winners must be 18 years of age or older and must Follow @ArgosyCruises on Twitter through the duration of the contest and until the winner is announced. One valid entry will be accepted per day of the contest starting 4/27/2012 and ending 5/2/2012 at 12:00pm PST. The prize will include the 2012 Tour Saver Book.

Tillicum Village:   Celebrating 50 years of Heritage and Tradition

From any Seattle history buff, you’d know all about the much anticipated and immensely popular World’s Fair Exhibition held here back in 1962. Incredible new structures, such as the 605 foot Space Needle and still operating Monorail along with many other attractions were revealed with the hopes of showing off our fair city to the world. With a major theme being the industries of science, space and the future, the fair was a commercial success with almost 10 million in attendance.

One of the totem poles at Tillicum Village

Another aspect of Seattle that was to be showcased wasn’t something new, but something very old indeed.  That is the majestic landscape that lies just across the harbor known as Blake Island. It was on this island that for thousands of years, the Coast Salish tribes called home as their ancestral summer camp.

The Coast Salish tribes were imaginative artists ingrained with an ancient woodworking tradition. The unique and ornately carved animal figures were fixtures on (literally a part of) their large communal houses. Later, the familiar free standing totem poles made an appearance, and mostly represented the commissioning home’s wealth and prosperity.

Other expressions of their art came in the form of intricate masks, rattles, and blankets to name but a few.

“Art is a reflection of the environment in materials.”

One commonly depicted figure was the Raven, which myth holds to have been a trickster who (among his many attributes) stole the daylight, and on a skyward chase by Eagle, released pieces that become the sun, moon and stars.

Among these creative people came a great leader, Chief Seeahth (Or Sealth). Sealth was born on Blake Island, and is in fact who Seattle is named in honor of. Blake Island eventually became a State park and is where in 1962, the attraction of Tillicum Village was first opened and featured as an unforgettable island experience.

There have been many changes over the years as Tillicum Village has undergone new management, now being owned and operated by Argosy Cruises.   From the still traditionally prepared salmon bake to the energetic and updated dance show, it is obvious the rich and creative spirit of the Coast Salish people is proudly celebrated.

While exploring the grounds, you’ll see amongst the natural beauty of the island, many totems carved by various artists who share in the unique vision that continues to define the tradition and heritage of the Northwest.

For a limited time to commemorate this 50^th anniversary, the Tillicum Village salmon bake adventure is now just $50.00 (regularly almost $80). Come enjoy the delicious food and show, and see if you just might find the totem of a certain Raven spreading the light.  This special rate ends the end of April, so call now for details and booking.

By: Pamela Mohn

Easter in Seattle this year was everything we love about holidays and our city.  The weather was perfect and Mt Rainier even came out of the clouds!

The winner of our sweepstakes for Easter at Tillicum Village took a friend and enjoyed her day!  She has wanted to go out to Tillicum Village for years.  But, as we can all agree, every minute and every dollar have so many claims on it.   She finally got the chance to grab the camera and come share the water with us!

Here’s Alita and friend about to board the boat.

With the Easter bunny on the sunny cruise back to Seattle!!

Speaking of the Easter Bunny, kids loved hunting for Easter eggs on the lawn in front of the longhouse.

After having so much fun all weekend, we can’t wait for the next big events, like Mother’s Day and Father’s day.  We’re already planning!  Check them out here.