Skamokawa place to be on Saturday

GORGEOUS WEEKEND--What a difference a week makes, as last weekend had lots of sunshine. It was great! I hope you were able to enjoy some of this nice weather as it's been so spotty that we have to take advantage of it whenever it shows up!

THIS IS IT....DUAL EVENTS--Let's hope we get the same kind of weather for this weekend, as this is the 30th anniversary celebration of Skamokawa Vista Park, complete with a Vendor Market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. That's 30 vendors including food and live music at times. You can buy tickets for a cord of wood, a beautiful table, or a dinner for six, and the fair princesses should be on hand to sell fair passes as well. The Skamokawa Resort has been gracious enough to give us 100 coupons for a free fountain pop so stop by the Skamokawa Grange Booth/tent and pick up one of those. Don't forget to bring a nice big bag to hold all those goodies in....pies, breads, jams and jellies, jewelry, t-shirts, cards, fishing poles, walking canes and more; great items of all kinds!

It's also the grand opening celebration of the Inn at Skamokawa Landing, owned by Arnold Andersen. According to his daughter Chris you may enjoy food and music from noon to 3 p.m. Catch the trolley at the Elochoman Marina and ride to Skamokawa. The new Inn is fabulous and you'll be amazed how the old Lurline Auditorium is now three unique and spacious rentals. You can also see them online.

We hope you'll check these two events out, as there's plenty to see and do this Saturday.

COLUMBIA RIVER KAYAKING--Also this Saturday, the Flat Earth Kayak Sails Release Party will take place at the Skamokawa Vista Park celebration with free demos from noon to 4 p.m. Mark Whitaker, co-owner, has posted some awesome pictures about this latest craze, so if you're on the web, you can check them out.

Also, CRK will hold a Kayak Foundations Class August 5-7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with Coach Ginni Callahan teaching intermediate paddlers about safety, boat control and having some fun as they enjoy all the local scenery. Call the Skamokawa Paddle Center at 360-747-1044 for more information.

FOS..NEW DISPLAY--Head to Redmen Hall and check out the Native American yew wedge that will have its debut showing July 28-31. Keith Hoofnagle has put this display together and is excited to see this treasure revealed to the public after being found in this area years ago. There will be a book nearby about all the uses of cedar, and Irene Martin's book, Beach of Heaven, also mentions the yew wedge. For more information call 795-3007.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from July 28-August 3 are Kyler McKinley, Natasha Montgomery, Levi Helms, Noreen Holten, Jacob Nelson, Ebby Blouin, Robert Fritzie, David Black, Betty Huber, Jennifer Norris, Sheran Parker, Ben Webb, Robbie Meyer, Steve Havens, Jae Stewart, Jeff Lundborg, Mike Anderson, Arnold Good, Jenny Blain Cochran, Hannah Davison, Paula Monroe Olson and me, Kay Chamberlain, along with another 67'er who shall go nameless upon request!

Happy Anniversary wishes this week to Mr. and Mrs. Gary Havens, the Karl Johnsons, the Bill Behrens, the Tim Schmitzs and the Bill Chamberlains.

Correction from last week--Sunrise and Jessica's anniversary listing was in error, it's not until the Fall, have no idea how it got bumped up to July. Sorry about that!

LIONS CLUB--Carol McClain wishes to remind everyone that the Lions Club will have marionberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries for sale. These are all fresh, never frozen berries in buckets. They'll be taking orders until August 20 and pickup will be August 27. Call Renee Roberts at 849-4003 to place your order, and of course, there will be order forms in this paper as well. You can also call Carol if need be at 795-3337.

BUSY AUGUST--It's been a very busy June and July and our area will be hopping in August as there are several events going on. There is no reason to be bored around here. You can come and help out one of them or you can kick back and take part in them, but either way, the weekends are getting full of activities.

If you want to blow off a little steam then you should head to the Elochoman Slough Marina August 12-14 and check out the NW Steam Society's annual Steam Meet. They'll be showcasing everything run by steam, so if you want to see some steamy races or parade between trains and cars and whatever else they have, you'll have to check out the marina during those three days. More info on that later on but you can check with the Wahkiakum Chamber or online in the meantime. It should be a fun time.

The next week is our Wahkiakum County Fair, August 18-20, and I must say, the grounds are looking awesome. We're all set to see the new mini-stage go up and you'll be pleased to see the added paint job that perked things up as well. Fair books are out and are in lots of businesses around town. Please check the deadlines and make an effort to enter something. Who knows, you might win a nice big ribbon and a few bucks to go with it! From garden and flower entries, to baked goods and collections, there is a spot for everything, so bring it on down!

I am very pleased that Janet Souvenir Bryan has taken over the huge job of the food booth. I'm sure she and her new menu and fellow workers will provide you with great service and good food, so stop by and grab a burger or a nice crispy chicken salad!

The following weekend, August 26 - 28, Cathlamet will be abuzz with the longboard races for the third year in a row. The Downhill Corral Skateboard Festival already has 70 skateboards set up and so this is getting to be a really popular event for these daredevils who love to race down our town hill! They are great fun to watch and it will be a very fun event. There are several stages of this competition, from push races on Puget Island on Friday, to the things in town, so be prepared to have a detour here and there that weekend. More on their full schedule at a later time, but this fully sanctioned race is just one more way to bring folks to our area, and so it's up to us to show it off and welcome them here.

BUSY LADY--Theresa Carroll-Kuljis has been a very busy lady lately as she's been holding mini-camps for cheerleaders and other fund raising events so the girls can go to cheerleading camp and they've done very well. This weekend, they'll be in Longview in front of the Fashion Bug where they'll be having a car wash, complete with a climbing wall and more, so that sounds like fun. Theresa and family have also returned recently from a nice vacation in Hawaii, Oahu to be exact, where they spent a wonderful week long adventure in the sun. After coming home, son Seth got to zip to California for a bit of a summer break, so they've been a busy family lately.

BBQ--Last weekend Lori Pedersen Finkas held a huge family BBQ and really knocked herself out providing everything you can imagine! Being told not to bring anything did not deter anyone from bringing something, so there was food galore and we ate like kings. No leftovers for Lori as we all took something home. That part was great as I didn't have to worry about what to make for dinner for the next two days! I hope Lori and Steve got to take a nice rest after all the work they did, as the following day was their 29th anniversary. We all got to see their son Ty, as he is home from college for awhile. It was good to see him, along with his fiancee Kendra.

TRAVELERS--Pete Sechler made a dash to Dallas, Texas where he got to experience the blistering heat they're having first hand. Dallas didn't impress him much with it's scorching high temps and even higher humidity. As he was there on business and not fun, it didn't help that he was having to be in a suit and tie and not shorts and flip-flops! Then it was time to hit the heat of Las Vegas where the AAU basketball competition was held, which he helps coach, and daughter Tessa plays point guard. While the girls did pretty well, they lost out in the end and got to kick back in the pool the last day they were there and headed back to the cooler temperatures of the northwest on Tuesday.

OUT OF THE HOSPITAL--It was good to hear that boss Rick Nelson was home from the hospital, as was Carmoreau Hattier this week, so we hope the guys stay healthy and out of that place for awhile. Also, grandson Blake Sechler suffered a broken hand during football camp and had to have surgery on it, complete with five screws and pins to put it back together, so we're glad he's out of the hospital as well. As he's a tough kid, I'm sure he'll be ready to go full bore soon!