Grace Love (she/they) never meant to run a music festival. But like many things in her life, Jubilee Love Festival emerged from instinct, community, and a little bit of what she calls delusional action. “I just wanted something that feels safe, open to all, and genuine. It feels like home,” she says.

Now in its second year, Jubilee Love Festival returns to Port Townsend on Saturday, Aug. 23, bringing together BIPOC and queer musicians, artists, families, and friends for an all-day celebration rooted in joy, equity, and soul food. The one-day event will take place at Shy Acre, an open, wooded property on Discovery Road, where Love has curated performances, vendors, a kid zone, and family-style dining. “I want people to feel like they’re in my backyard having a good time,” she says.

Love, who was raised in Tacoma and now lives in Port Townsend, has been a fixture in the Northwest music scene for two decades. Known for her powerful vocals and dinner-and-a-show performances, she’s also a community organizer, chef, and educator currently pursuing her doctorate in educational leadership. Jubilee is her latest endeavor — a grassroots music and arts festival run entirely by her. “This is a one-woman machine,” she says. “I’m doing all the things.”

The idea for the festival started years ago. Originally planned for 2019, it was postponed when Love found out she was pregnant, and then again due to the pandemic. She officially launched last summer, cooking all the food herself and relying on volunteers and friends to pull it off. “I didn’t have the right resources, but I did it anyway,” she says. “It means a lot to me.”

What makes Jubilee different, Love says, is who it centers. “I want us to be a part of it — not just on the bill, but on the administrative side too,” she says, referring to BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists and organizers. “We get overlooked a lot.”

This year’s lineup includes artists from Los Angeles, Portland, and Washington: Folk artist Destinie Lynn, singer Jo Nagle, trumpet player Carrie Jennings, funk-rock-soul group Jay Si Proof, and DJ Electric Teel will keep the music flowing throughout the day.

Clockwise from top left: Destinie Lynn, Jo Nagle, Carrie Jennings, and Jay Si Proof — among the artists performing at the Jubilee Love Festival.

Photo courtesy of Jubilee Love Festival

There will also be a bounce house, art tables, and face-painting supplies in the kid zone, plus a small vendor fair. Love will cook for attendees herself, serving a “Soul Bowl” with macaroni and cheese, collard greens, and fried chicken drizzled in honey hot sauce. The festival builds on her Soul Pantry food pop-up, which ran this summer at Concerts on the Dock in Port Townsend and continues to host dinner-and-a-show nights throughout the year.

Despite its ambition, Jubilee is deeply personal for Love. “I get to be the person who chooses people that deserve to be on a stage,” she says. “People who need to be seen and heard. That feels powerful.” She also hopes to build something more sustainable. “I operated at a loss last year,” she says. “I’m hustling. I don’t have a real job. I’m just trying to keep this going.”

To ensure the festival is accessible, tickets include both admission and food, and an equity pass program offers free-low cost tickets to anyone who needs one. “Nobody’s going to be turned away,” Love says. “The form is a couple questions. That’s it. Because when you’re poor, all those hoops are demeaning. It doesn’t feel good.”

For Love, the festival is about community and love. “Self-care is one thing. But this is self-maintenance,” she says. “When that check engine light comes on and you keep forgetting to go? This is that. We’re not ignoring how powerful art is. We need to be putting money back into what makes us happy. No matter what, we’re not gonna give up.”

And in a world where so much feels uncertain, Love says, “There is peace somewhere. This is it.”

Jubilee Love Festival is Saturday, Aug. 23, with music from 3-9 p.m. at Shy Acre, 363 Discovery Rd., Port Townsend. Get your ticket here and sign up to volunteer here.