Comfort and Crawfish at the Tokeland Hotel

This past Saturday, the Tokeland Hotel hosted its 5th Annual Crawfish Festival outdoors on the hotel grounds. Employees welcomed walk-in guests, and with each ticket, attendees had the opportunity to enjoy fresh crawfish, potatoes, corn, cornbread, and andouille sausages, along with extra crawfish for $25 per pound.

Zydeco/Cajun music from the Folichon Cajun Band was played live on the porch adding ambiance and charm as they performed through guitar, fiddle, and accordion. The day was marked by rich history, southern cooking, and the peaceful setting of the peninsula that surrounded it.

Many people sat at benches and tables with their children and pets on a lightly misty first day of summer. However, no one let the gloomy sky ruin their day as people played cornhole, sat in their own spaces under coverings, relaxed around fire pits, and gazed out at the water. Everyone was engaged in the food and music, chatting with loved ones and new people alike. This gathering had a serene and uplifting quality and did not disappoint.

The owners of Tokeland Hotel, one of whom is a well-renowned chef from Seattle with roots in New Orleans and North Carolina, and staff prepared the crawfish and fixings in front of the guests, which created a delicious aroma in the air, as well as created an interactive experience for hungry diners. The Wandering Goose now resides in the hotel, and its menu is consistently impressive, featuring all organic, fresh ingredients sourced from farmers, humane butchers, and local fishermen, ensuring a high level of quality.

Heather Earnheardt, owner of Tokeland Hotel and chef, said she enjoys the traditions of events like this.

“I think having this brings a lot of the community, many locals out. They like having something to do out here without having to go to Seattle. I love tradition, doing something that people enjoy and we enjoy doing. It gives the staff something different, And I don’t think we’ll just do crawfish. I think we’re going to do a big clam bake next,” said Earnheardt. “There’s no other crawfish festival in Washington State; we’re the only ones doing it. There’s a lot of transplants out here from the south that grew up going to crawfish boils, and I just wanted to bring a little bit of where I’m from in the south out here.”

When exploring the hotel, a sense of serenity is ever present. Stunning decor adorns the rooms, with fireplaces, colorful carpets, furs, and dark, rich wood featured throughout the lower level. Even the rooms have artful wallpaper and details that stimulate your senses.

Zac Young is an owner and long-term partner in running the hotel. He had a vision when buying the property, one that would preserve its history while making it their own.

“It’s the oldest hotel in Washington State. It was built in 1885. The original settlers were here in the 1850s, so they probably had some type of structure and were taking in guests even before they opened this hotel. Then, it was first called the Kindred Inn until it changed to Tokeland Hotel in the early 1900s,” Young said. “The food is probably the highlight, but also the atmosphere. A lot of older hotels and places you go to they’ve been remodeled to where it doesn’t look old. They put up drywall, and there’s not a piece of drywall in this hotel; it’s mostly all wood. We took off some of the drywall, and there’s just beautiful wood underneath that they covered up. So the atmosphere, the food, the good vibes. We also support a lot of local artists. A lot of that stuff on the wall is, we have a lot of antiques, but also a lot of local artists, like the Camelius family and Jeffro, who lives out here, and a bunch of other people, like John and Robin Gamiliases.”