Vista Park kite festival was a great success

JUST PERFECT--We couldn't have asked for a better day to hold the First Annual Skamokawa Vista Park Kite Festival this past Saturday, as it was just right I thought! Early in the morning, the winds were pretty calm, but then the afternoon winds showed up on cue and the big, colorful, playful and awesome kites filled the skies to the delight of a park full of kite lovers! The t-shirt weather made the Ship Channel Espresso trailer a big hit, as I saw smoothies and floats and Italian sodas pouring out of the place, and I didn't mind waiting for one of my favorites either, peach smoothies; yum! The Espresso trailer will be open in October on weekends only! Nearby the cooking station for our local chapter of the FFA, led by Mr. Hurley and crew, were whipping up burgers and hot dogs in record fashion; delicious and a worthy cause to boot! It was fun to hear the sound of music coming from the Ice Cream Truck that toodled around the park, as that's not something the kids around here get to see or hear much of, so that was pretty special. The vendor's booths, who were selling clothing, jewelry, cheese and Vista Park items, seemed to garner a lot of attention as well. I was all about the cheese! By the end of the day, everyone seemed to agree that it was just perfect and were looking forward to a repeat of this event next year! By the way, next year's kite festival will be a two day event and it will be held earlier in the year, with June 23 & 24 as the next dates, so mark those on your next year's event calendar!

BURN BAN--The Wahkiakum Public Works Department has announced that the burn ban will be lifted at midnight September 30.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Sept. 28 - Oct. 4 are Stevan Morgain, Stewart Moonen, David Blalock, Ginger Schmitz, Sara Jester, Becky Larsen, Blake Anderson, Cheryl Backman, Evelyn Clark, Mary Wingate, Tony Silva, Ron Leingang, Kevin Weaver, Becky Keithley, Marissa Apperson, Joan Evenson, Robert Blain, Karen Healy and Jesse Ellison. Happy days to all of you! Belated birthday wishes to Janelle Gilligan & Darlene Dobbins Almer.

Those celebrating anniversaries this coming week are Chip and Kathy Perkins, Quin and Connie Bassi, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry DeBraie Jr., Scott and Kelly McClain, Mr. and Mrs. Terry Cleveland and Larry and Linda Spieth. Enjoy those special days everybody!

FRIDAY MOVIE--The Community Center in Cathlamet will be showing another movie this Friday evening, which, as usual, is free, and this time it's an adult comedy. It begins at 7 p.m., and offers free popcorn. You can also just bring in your own snacks.

MULES PLAY--Also going on this Friday night, the Mules football team will be headed to Mossyrock to play their fifth game this month. A hearty congratulations to them for their win at their Homecoming game that took place last Friday night against Raymond. It makes Homecoming activities that much sweeter!

The Lady Mules will be playing volleyball away against Toutle Lake tonight, Sept. 28, before playing Toldeo and Winlock at home on Oct. 3 and 5 respectively. Go Lady Mules; you're doing great!

THIS SATURDAY--If you're out and about on Saturday afternoon, and you're a Pete Seeger fan, you may want to check out the musical duo, "Hank & Claire" that are putting on two acts that day at the Cathlamet Pioneer Center from 2 to 4 p.m. The Pioneer Community Association is sponsoring this event, and they hope you'll come and support it, which also helps them raise money for their needs when it comes to this historic building. Currently, it sounds like a new roof is on their wish list. Tickets are $15 and will be available at the Bank of the Pacific or at the door. You can also contact a couple of folks if you'd like more information: Kay Cochran at 360-560-3342 or April Peterson at 971-404-6184.

My thanks to Patricia Battaglia for giving me a call and getting me up to date about what's going on with the Pioneer Church. Did you know that you can rent this building for your special events? After a lot of work and updating to the building, they are all set up to do just that, so Pat says all you have to do is call the Town of Cathlamet to check and see about the availability and gather the pricing information.

NEXT WEEK--It's hard to believe that it's here already, but the Wahkiakum County Extension and 4-H programs are once again putting on one of the big events of the year, and that's the Grays River Covered Bridge Dinner on Oct. 7. This is their 10th year of doing this, and come rain or shine, they have always had a great turn out. The "Columbia River Country Days" encompasses both Friday & Saturday, Oct. 6 & 7, with special things going on at the Puget Island Farmers Market that Friday. You can get your tickets at the Bank of the Pacific in both Cathlamet and Naselle and also at the WSU Extension Office, which is located below the Charlotte House, next to the PUD. There is also a special pricing for veterans and seniors over 72, so instead of the usual $35 ticket, the cost would be $25. You can contact the Extension office at 360-795-3278 for more information.

FLEA MARKET--The next Flea Market at the Wahkiakum County Fair will be held on Oct. 14 from 9 to 3, and you are welcome to come and buy a table for $10 and set up your own things to sell. This is taking place inside the T-building as work is being done in the Youth Building. If it were to be nice, you could set up outside like Marietta Montgomery did this past Saturday, but with fall coming on, the chances for sunny, warm days will be diminishing.

ROADKILL SALOON--While you're checking things out at the Flea Market, you might want to stop by the Roadkill Saloon on that same day as they'll be holding a Harvest Time Tractor/Truck Cruz-In. The Saloon is open Thursdays through Sundays.

FOS--On October 14, at 7 p.m., the Friends of Skamokawa will present Robert Michael Pyle. The author will read and sign his book, "Where Bigfoot, Walks; Crossing the Dark Divide." For your convenience, this event will take place at the Skamokawa Resort Conference Center, which is located behind the Skamokawa General Store, and features easy handicapped access. This book is a re-issue, which many people have long been waiting for and with this local author having written some 18 books, his works are always in demand. For more information about the Friends of Skamokawa or what's going on at the hall, call 360-795-3007 or email them at fos1894@gmail.com.

BUSY DAY/EVENING--Oct. 14 is a super busy day it seems, as if you're not into checking out the deals at our local Flea Market during the day, or don't want to attend a book signing in the evening, you can head over to the Norse Hall on Puget Island, and play bingo! This is put on by the Sons of Norway and the lower level doors open at 5:30 with games beginning at 6 p.m. So, with multiple things going on that day, there should be something that will be to your liking and they're all being put on by great local groups and organizations.

ALREADY WORKING/HELP?--Do you have any Halloween decorations that you can spare and are willing to donate to this year's Haunted House at the Wahkiakum County Fair? Jason Rainey is already working away at getting this huge project underway, and not only could he use more decorations, but he could use some help as well. If you have some time to spare, please give him a call at 360-795-0641, or get ahold of him or his wife, Jamie, on Facebook. This is a huge undertaking, so kudos to the Raineys and their helpers in planning and putting this all up for all of us to enjoy. This will be happening on the last weekend of October, so look for more advertising and information on this event as the weeks go by.

SKAMOKAWA GRANGE--The Skamokawa Grange #425 will hold their first meeting of the month on Oct. 3, and their second on Oct. 17. They are always held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month and everyone is welcome to join them at the grange hall located at 18 Fairgrounds Road.

DONATIONS?--The annual Thanksgiving Bingo put on to benefit the Wahkiakum County Fair will be taking place before you know it, and as always, they are looking for folks to donate things for their bingo prizes, or major prize table or even the turkeys and hams, so if you can help them out, please get ahold of Cheryl Backman or anyone else you might know on the Fair Foundation board. I'll have more info on this event later on but just wanted to toss this out there now so as you do your shopping, you might be able to catch a sale and stock up on a few things to either make a basket or donate some food come November.

WELL WISHES--Former resident and WA-KI-HI alumni, Laurie Miller has been having a difficult time lately, as she woke up one morning and found that she was completely deaf in one ear. Imagine how that would affect you, as you often lose your balance or feel ill, and of course, there's the doctor visits for answers and treatments and the unknown. For Laurie, who was blessed with a wonderful voice, the thought of losing her hearing was a frightful thought indeed, so she was thrilled when a little bit of it began to come back. Naturally, we want to send her some get well wishes and we hope she completely recovers real soon.