Want to help downtown Washington and have fun at the same time? If so, buy tickets for and attend the Downtown Motown and Pamlico Seafood Festival events at Festival Park on Saturday.

With The Monitors and the Ginger Thompson Band providing music, there’s no doubt there will be plenty of tapping feet and dancing. Add the element of the Pamlico Seafood Festival to Downtown Motown and watch the fun part of the equation multiply.

The Pamlico Seafood Festival and Downtown Motown replace Pickin’ on the Pamlico, which occurred in late August.

“This would have been the eighth year. We’re not retiring that forever, but we thought we might give it a break. What we’ve tried to do is incorporate some of those features into the Downtown Motown concert,” Beth Byrd, WHDA director, said during a City Council meeting in June.

Downtown Motown and the Pamlico Seafood Festival are being presented by the Washington Harbor District Alliance. The organization, which has a role with economic development in downtown Washington and its adjacent waterfront, will use money raised by the events to help fund its efforts to improve downtown and the waterfront.

WHDA’s maritime committee provides the City of Washington advice concerning the best ways to utilize the city-owned docks and how to best protect the city’s harbor. WHDA operates Saturday Market at the west end of Stewart Parkway. It supports the quarterly ArtWalk in downtown Washington, showcasing local art galleries and area artists. WHDA organizes and presents Music in the Streets.

These WHDA services, events and other programs help enhance the quality of life in Washington and attract visitors, many of whom spend money at local shops, restaurants and lodging establishments.

Buying tickets to Downtown Motown and the Pamlico Seafood is an investment in the Washington Harbor District Alliance, which in turns makes investments in Washington. So, do yourself, WHDA and Washington a favor by dancing to Motown tunes and eating great seafood Saturday.

For ticket information, call the Washington Harbor District Alliance at 946-3969, by visiting www.whda.org or visiting the Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce.