An irrigation ditch’s headgate is open thanks to Sequim Irrigation Festival royalty from left, queen Taylor Willis and princesses Marissa Haner, Abigail Vidals and Stephanie Laurie. On April 15, they pulled the wheel to open the Highland Irrigation Ditch, allowing water from the Dungeness River to flow into irrigation ditches across the valley. The royalty tradition was reintroduced five years ago after an absence of several years. Irrigation in Sequim usually runs April 15 through September. Sequim Gazette photos by Matthew Nash