Pro-Guard Self Storage has donated the free use of two units at its Poulsbo, Wash., facility as prizes during the 45th annual Viking Fest, a three-day festival celebrating the Scandinavian heritage of Poulsbo and Kitsap County. The festival will be held on May 17-19 and features music, a carnival, food and craft booths, and several events.

The free, three-month rentals provided by Pro-Guard will be given away as prizes after the Message in a Bottle race on May 19. The race is similar in concept to the duck races that use yellow plastic ducks, except sports drink bottles will be used to carry participants ticket stubs. The bottles will float down a course defined by parallel rows of floats, extending north from the Port of Poulsbos Dinghy Dock alongside Waterfront Park. At the north end of the course, a V-shaped trap will collect the bottles, funneling them to the finish chute to determine the winners.

First prize is $1,000, second prize $500 and third prize $250. The three-month use of a Pro-Guard 10- by 10-foot unit is the fourth-place prize, and three-month use of a 5- by 5-foot unit will go to the fifth-place finisher. Sixth place will receive a hanging flower basket.

Other events held during the festival will include a cupcake baking contest, stand-up paddleboard racing, a lutefisk (dried fish with lye)-eating contest, and a murder mystery.

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