28th Bald Eagle festival featuresparade, fireworks

Cathlamet's 28th annual Bald Eagle Festival offers a parade, fireworks, street fair, golf tournament and wooden boat show for this weekend.

Action starts Friday with a sidewalk art contest for children. It will be held 2:30-5:30 p.m. along Main Street by Bank of Pacific and Ace Hardware. Prizes will be provided by the Wahkiakum Historical Society and will include free rides on the museum's miniature train, parents included, and root beer floats.

Saturday starts with the 2nd Annual Kiwanis Club Pancake Breakfast, 7-10:30 a.m., at the covered area at the Elochoman Slough Marina.

Open registration begins at 8:15 a.m. for the 13th annual Bald Eagle Day scramble golf tournament at Skyline Golf Course.

At 9:30 a.m., there will be a fun run sponsored by the Wahkiakum High School cross country and track and field programs. Registration and start are at the Cathlamet end of the Puget Island bridge. There are two mile, 5K and 10K races.

Participants in the Bald Eagle Day Parade, sponsored by the Cathlamet Woman's Club, will gather at the WHS parking lot by 9:30 a.m. to form the parade, which will wind through town starting at 11 a.m.

People who park cars along Columbia and Main streets are asked to park them somewhere else to clear the streets for the Saturday events.

Main Street will be closed Saturday morning for the annual street fair. An arts and crafts show featuring artists from the lower Columbia River region will be presented in the former site of Trillium Bookstore, 65 Main Street.

Owners of Model T's will participate in the parade and set up a display in the parking lot of Wahkiakum PUD on River Street after the parade.

Chamber of Commerce event coordinators Richard Erickson and Sandi Benbrook-Rieder said Tuesday they are still working to schedule live entertainment for the street fair. They had scheduled an African band, but visa problems prevented them from performing, Benbrook-Rieder said.

The historical society will have a variety of children's events 2-5 p.m. Activities will include miniature train rides and root beer floats.

At 3 p.m., firemen from departments around the county will compete in their annual waterball tournament.

In the evening, action moves to the marina. The Lost Creek Band, featuring Neal Harris, will perform from 7-10 p.m., and the fireworks show will end the evening.

On Sunday, action continues at the marina with the Wooden Boat Show, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be arts and crafts vendors, a barbecue, and the annual helicopter rescue demonstration by the US Coast Guard.

The Chamber of Commerce has selected Cathlamet resident and former Eagle Business Manager Lois Nelson as grand marshal of the parade.

Nelson is the widow of the late Eagle publisher Bob Nelson. They moved to Cathlamet in 1963 and bought The Eagle in 1966. She worked as business manager until 1979, when she became clerk of the Wahkiakum School District. She retired from that job in the 1990's and resumed business manager duties in 2006 and retired again this past April.

She has been active in the United Church of Christ, the Cathlamet Library board and other community organizations.

"We chose her because of her service to the community and because of her presence," said Benbrook-Rieder.