Thousands celebrate the life of Chris Wedes, the loveable clown known as J.P. Patches

SEATTLE — Many gathered Saturday morning to celebrate the life and legacy of Chris Wedes and his beloved iconic TV clown character J.P. Patches.

A public celebration for Wedes was held at McCaw Hall at Seattle Center where thousands attended.

Wedes died in July at the age of 84 after a long illness.

Pat Cashman, Wedes’ good friend, emceed the event.

Along with Cashman, family members and other notable Patches Pals joined Cashman on stage.

At 8 p.m. Saturday, KIRO 7 will air a special encore presentation of the memorial.

The first broadcast of The J.P. Patches show was in black and white on KIRO-TV in 1958, live from the “city dump” where he served as mayor.

The last broadcast of the show was in 1981, and it was the longest running locally produced children’s program in the country.

Wedes’ favorite charity was Seattle Children’s Hospital, and donation at the event supported the charity.

If you would like to make a donation to Seattle Children's hospital in his honor, go to giveto.seattlechildrens.org.

Cox Media Group