Summer Fun:
Plenty to do and see in every Valley community this year
It’s here! Summer, and all the outdoor activities that go with it, are in full swing. That means the big town celebrations, like Sultan’s Shindig, 25 years old this year and Gold Bar’s newly revived Gold Dust Days. Monroe will not have a Summerfest this year, but will instead have the annual three-on-three basketball tournament, which will return to the downtown. Here is your summer schedule of Sky Valley Events.
Fireworks Show, Skykomish • July 4
This Skykomish fireworks show will include a BBQ.
Index Arts Festival, Index • July 12The arts community of Index continues a successful series of arts festivals with crafts, arts, music and poetry.
Gold Dust Days, Gold Bar • July 25, 26 and 27
The first Gold Dust Days was held in 1978, and although the Gold Bar summer festival was planned as an annual event, the second one didn’t occur until 2007. However, the second one was so popular the town is eager to hold the third, which will be the last weekend of July.
The festival opens Friday at 3 p.m. with gold panning, kids’ activities and artisan and food booths. Music lessons will be available in Native American flute and blues harmonica, and there will be a bicycle parade and a pageant.
Saturday begins with a parade, and continues with car and motorcycle shows. It will also be a day of dancing, with demonstrations of belly dancing, square dancing and swing dancing. Sunday begins with a motorcycle poker run, continues with gold panning and other activities, and there will be karaoke for most of the afternoon.
Three-on-Three Basketball Tournament, Monroe • Saturday, Aug. 2
This ever-growing summer event is run by the Monroe Boys and Girls Club, and features three-person teams of all ages who compete for trophies. This year the event returns to Main Street in Downtown Monroe, after spending two years folded into the larger Monroe Summerfest, held at Lake Tye Park, and this year discontinued.
National Night Out Against Crime
Gold Bar, Sultan, Monroe • Tuesday, Aug. 5
This national event against crime celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and each town will offer related activities, including police dog demonstrations, flashlight parades, cook-outs, block parties and much more.
Schedules of events for each town are not entirely complete, but this event is emerging as one of the largest of the season, especially in Gold Bar, where it is one of the town’s two major summer activities.
In Monroe, the event will take place at Lake Tye Park from 6-9 p.m., and will include bouncy toys for kids, free food, drink, arts and crafts and educational and activity booths.
Antique Tractor Show and Threshing Bee, Monroe
Aug. 8, 9 and 10
Another event that celebrates the economic heritage of the Sky Valley is the Sky Valley Antique Tractor Show and Threshing Bee. Held the second weekend of August each year at the Frohning Farm, 1524 Tualco Loop Rd. in Monroe, the event focuses on the history of farming. On display are many early models of tractors and other farm machinery, and a lot of it is in working order.
There are many events and activities during the three day show, including stationary engine demonstrations, animal petting area, hay rides, tractor rides, tractor parade, and much more. While in the Tualco Valley, be sure to stop by the fresh fruit stands along the roads, many of which have been there for a generation or more.
Fronderosa Frolic, Gold Bar, August 9
A festival of rare plants, garden art and artifacts.
Fair Days Parade, Monroe, Saturday, Aug. 23
Monroe’s annual Parade marking the kick-off to the Evergreen State Fair takes place along Main Street and will feature more than 100 entries, including music, drill teams, marching bands, floats, clowns, classic cars and much more.
Evergreen State Fair, Monroe, Aug. 21-Sept. 1
This year the Evergreen State Fair turns 100, and will host hundreds of thousands of visitors for almost two weeks.
In addition to competitive displays of all quilts, crafts, art, livestock and produce will be a carnival, midway, lots and lots of food and activities and live entertainment. Headliners this year include Creedence Clearwater Revisited, Weird Al Yankovich, Jars of Clay, Gary Allen and comedian Bill Engvall, as well as up-and-coming local youth Blaine Larsen.
Skykomish Show-N-Shine, Skykomish, Aug. 23
Food, music and lots of cars.
Ongoing:
Farmer’s Markets
The Sky Valley is home to two weekly farmers markets this year, one in Monroe and the other in Sultan. Monroe’s farmers markets take place each Tuesday afternoon at the north end of Main Street near the railroad tracks, beginning at 2 p.m. Fresh, locally grown fruits, flowers and vegetables are for sale, as are local arts and crafts and other products.
The market closes at 7 p.m. Sultan’s farmers market, the Sky Valley Farmer’s Market, takes place from 3 to 8 p.m. on Fridays at Sky River Park, just off U.S. 2. Featuring produce from Washington farms as well as arts and crafts, there may be music perfomances as well.
Movies Under the Moon and Shakespeare in the Park
Every Friday night beginning July 18, there is free entertainment in Monroe at Lake Tye Park. Either live theater or a showing of a movie, the events are free and make a fine opportunity to grab the kids, some blankets and a picnic basket and get out of the house for the evening.
Shakespeare in the Park is long-standing tradition for Monroe, in which Last Leaf Productions, a local theater group, presents Shakespeare plays in local parks.
This year, Last Leaf teamed up with the Monroe Arts Council, which has been presenting Movies Under the Moon, free showings of fun, family-friendly movies, for several summers. The two, working with the City of Monroe’s Parks Department, will present in turns this year, giving Monroe a seamless summer schedule of free, family friendly entertainment.
Friday, July 18, 7 p.m. Shakespeare in the Park
Last Leaf Productions each year presents Shakespeare plays free in Monroe, and this year will kick off the season with “Measure for Measure,” a multi-layered romantic comedy.
The event will take place at Lake Tye Park in Monroe, 14964 Fryelands Blvd.
Friday, July 25, 9 p.m., Movies Under the Moon
The Movies Under the Moon series starts this summer with children’s favorite “Madagascar,” an animated movie in which zoo animals wind up in a real jungle.
Friday, Aug. 1, 7 p.m. Shakespeare in the Park
This week Last Leaf Productions will present Shakespeare’s “All’s Well that Ends Well,” the second of the two plays they will perform this summer. This comedy involves a young couple, love, courtship, marriage, and treachery.
Friday, Aug. 8, 9 p.m., Movies Under the Moon
Movies Under the Moon continues with “Dreamer,” a feel-good movie about a little girl who believes her Dad, a discouraged horse trainer, can nurse an injured horse back to sufficient health to win the Breeder’s Cup.
Friday, Aug. 15, 9 p.m., Movies Under the Moon
Kids and parents alike will enjoy this blast from the past, when the Monroe Arts Council presents “Superman,” starring Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent, the mild-mannered reporter who becomes a superhero in times of peril.
Friday, Aug. 22, 9 p.m. Movies Under the Moon
The Movies Under the Moon series will conclude this week with a showing of “Enchanted,” a modern version of a classic fairy tale, in which a story-book princess is cast by a wicked queen into today’s New York City.
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Sultan Summer Shindig and Logging Show, July 11, 12 and 13
This is the 25th anniversary of the Sultan town festival, and each year it has grown larger. The festival started as a summer barbecue, then folded in the logging contest that had previously been held in Gold Bar.
Now the festival includes a car show, a parade, live music, a carnival, food and merchandise booths, and of course, the logging contest that celebrates the economic heritage of Sultan and the whole Sky Valley.
Festivities begin on Thursday, July 10, with the opening of the Carnival. On Friday, the Street Fair opens at 4 p.m. On the Gazebo Main Stage it will be “All Blues Night,” with performances by Rhythm Wheel, 5-6:30 p.m.; Little Bill and the Blue Notes, 7-9 p.m.; and Polly O’Keary and the Rhythm Method, 9-11 p.m.
On Saturday the Junior Parade will begin at 10 a.m. Kids 12 and under are welcome to come any way they want. The Grand Parade begins at 10:30 a.m. Parade grand marshals are Shindig founders, Verline Swanson, Caroline and Don Eslick, Fred and Lola Weisenberger and Susan Greene.
Also on Saturday, the Car Show-n-Shine will be held. The logging contest begins at 1:30 p.m. and runs all day. Logging show grand marshall is Don Mercer.
Saturday’s Gazebo Main Stage entertainment, “The Big Saturday Mix,” will include Big.Luv, 2-3 p.m.; Paul Wright, 3-5 p.m.; Bucking Horse, 5-7 p.m.; Best of Lip Sync, 7-8 p.m; and Joe Slick and the Joe Slick Band, 8-11 p.m. A fireworks display will be featured beginning around 10 p.m.|
On Sunday, July 13, a worship service will be held at the Pavilion, 10:30-11:30 a.m. The logging contest begins at 1:30 p.m. and continues throughout the day. The street fair and carnival will be open and it will be “Easy Listening Day” at the Gazebo Main Stage: Broken Chains, 11:30a.m.-1:30 p.m.; Dakota Neuman, 1:30-2 p.m.; Michael Clune and the Sleep till Noon Band, 2-4 p.m