Art and boat festivals will fill the weekend

HOT ENOUGH?--When it's 76 degrees by 10 a.m., here in West Valley, I know it's going to be a warm one. I am sure the heat lovers are rejoicing but I opted to hide in the basement this last Sunday, as I had gotten toasty enough just trying to get the morning water chores accomplished. However, as Monday morning showed up, we awoke to moisture. I could hardly believe it! While other areas were still sunny and dry, we got that marine layer in and it was quite wet, which certainly made my plants and lawn happy, so I'm not complaining. This sudden cool down came before the scheduled cool down on the first of August, and while it won't make everyone happy, it was fine by me!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Aug. 2-8 are Sheran Parker, Robert Meyer Jr, Austin Smith, Brian McClain, Jenny Benfit, John L. McClain, Monte Robinson, Maureen Zacher, Terry Bonny, Fred Johnson,Wendy Blix, Fred Hoven, Betty Huber, Jennifer Norris, Susan Brown, Jason Blain, Jacob W. Fletcher, Jenny Pedersen and 67'ers Nancy Jacobson Brady, Judy Lindwall Bergman, Marnee Ostervold Davis and Martin Ostervold and another one, (L.L)., who wishes to remain anonymous. Belated birthday wishes to Caleb Holtz who celebrated his big day this past Sunday.

Happy Anniversary wishes this week go out to Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Baldwin, Mr. and Mrs. Rick Kuljis, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce McClain, Mr. and Mrs. Don Speranza, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hoven, Doug and Sunny Manary and Steve and Janna Doumit. Here's wishing all of you the very best on your birthdays and anniversaries!

THIS FRIDAY--There are lots of things going on this Friday. You can head to the Elochoman Slough Marina and check out the Farmers Market there, as it takes place from 3 to 6 every Friday. Then the Cathlamet Art Festival begins this Friday evening with a Welcome Reception with food and music at the Tsuga Gallery from 5 to 7 p.m., with more entertainment from 7 to 9 p.m. There is always the free movie happening at the Community Center in town at 7 p.m., and it's an adult drama this week. At any rate, those things should keep your Friday afternoon and evening hours pretty busy.

SKAMOKAWA GRANGE--Beginning Saturday morning, Aug. 4, at 9 a.m., come and shop at the "Skamokawa Bazaar Treasure Room" at the Skamokawa Grange Hall, located at 18 Fairgrounds Road. There are lots of goodies for you to check out, so members of the Skamokawa Grange #425 hope you'll stop by their fund raiser sometime during the day, as you'll have until 3 p.m., that afternoon to find that "treasure" and help out the grange at the same time!

ALSO ON SATURDAY--It's time for all art lovers to gather on Saturday and take advantage of all the artwork, musicians, authors and poets, along with Arts and Craft vendors who will be on Main Street in Cathlamet on Saturday from 9 a.m., to 9 p.m. "A River of Art" is being sponsored by the Tsuga Gallery and while it kicked off on Friday evening, it goes full bore on Saturday. There will even be some art classes and some kids' art activities too, so if you're looking for something to do, check them out!

BOAT FESTIVAL--All boat lovers will want to gather at the Elochoman Slough Marina this weekend, where the Cathlamet Wooden and Classic Boat Festival will take place. Mornings begin with a good breakfast and there will be one served up by the Kiwanis Club from 7 to 10 a.m., so be sure to stop by and help support their cause, while getting your tummy full as well. While the boat festival is scheduled for Aug. 4 and 5, Saturday and Sunday, I see that the breakfast will only take place on Saturday morning, so don't miss out!

4-H SEWS--The 4-H Youth Summer Sewing Workshop is taking place from 1 to 4 p.m., at the Skamokawa Grange Hall at 18 Fairgrounds road, so if you're interested, please call 360-795-3278 to register. There is no cost to attend and you must be between ages 5-19. Spots are limited so call today!

TICK TOCK--Beings it's August already, we all know that this means it's Wahkiakum County Fair time! It's hard to believe that in just two weeks, it will be time to head to Skamokawa and enjoy our county fair. It's not a flashy fair, with a ton of outsiders coming in and taking your money from you with those slick booths and rides, but it's a wholesome, happy, good-time fair where firends and neighbors do a little "showing off" with their prized quilts, flowers, photos and livestock. It's a time that people gather for family reunions and classes meet for class reunions and girls and boys in 4-H can take part and show all of their hard work in various categories over the past year. There will be an array of activities involving the folks with horses and those kids would love to walk away as the Silver Buckle champ I'm sure! It's also time to show how well these kids can spell, as once again, the Grays River Grange will sponsor the annual Spelling Bee, to be held in the Skamokawa Grange Hall, and that will be a nice spot to get out of the heat, or heaven forbid, rain! There are two age groups, so we hope your child will take part in this event that awards cash prizes.

MUSIC--Also at the fair this year, there will be a couple of different music acts. One of them includes a fellow musician friend of local recording artist, Kerrie McNally, and an old friend of mine as well, Ron Baldwin. I knew Ron from back in the early 60s so I was pretty surprised when I found some folks here in Skamokawa who were acquainted with him as well. Ron is involved in a couple of bands and one of them will perform Thursday, "New West" and then he has a blues band called, "Rockfish" and Kerrie will be joining them for a few tunes as well, so I'm anxious to hear them.

SKAMOKAWA KIDS--During the three day fair, there are also a few other things going on. One of them is the gathering of those who went to school at the Skamokawa school. Last year, a nice plaque and site memorial was put in place to commemorize its former location inside the Skamokawa Vista Park. It is located just west of the current Ship Channel Coffee trailer and Gillnet Boat that are currently there. As years go by, fewer and fewer "kids" are able to attend this gathering, but it is hoped that all those in our area will really make an effort to come together at this time before the numbers are even less. So, if you ever went to school in Skamokawa, then please join others in the upper covered area in the park, bring a snack to share, and get ready to gab on Friday, Aug. 17 at 2 p.m., in Vista Park.

MORE HAPPENINGS--Speaking of Vista Park, it's a real hot spot for family gatherings during fair time, and one of our WHS 67ers, Enid Martin Fountain, will be there with her family members, so hopefully you'll run into some of them and say "Hi"!

Also going on at the park, will be the annual return of the Hoby Cats, who always thrill us with their races on the river and brighten the beaches and the Columbia with their colorful sails, so we hope their return this month finds favorable sun and wind conditions for the group. You can contact Vista Park for more info: 360-795-8650.

BULLS RETURNING--The Wahkiakum Fair Foundation is happy to announce that beings the bull riding event was such a big hit a couple of weeks ago at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds, that the "Challenge of Champions Bull Riding" event will return to Skamokawa next year on July 19. If you love that sort of thing, and obviously a lot of people do, as there were 100's of people there, then mark this date on your calendars and spread the word so that you and your friends can welcome those cowboys back to town! With a little luck, the new bleachers will be already set up so that attendees will have a better place to sit and watch them. With a "heads up" a year in advance, there's no doubt that next year's event/crowd will be even bigger.

LOSS--We want to offer our sincerest sympathies to the family of my cousin, David (Ulana) Pedersen of Seattle, who just lost his dear Aunt, Bonnie "Pansy" Peterson, earlier this week. As Dave was visiting the new Nordic Museum in Seattle, he saw a statue called, "Singing with Angels" and he said it reminded him of his dear, sweet aunt, as she was now amongst those angels in the sky. Our condolences to Bonnie's entire family and all who were close to her.

WATER OUTAGE--Speaking of outages, the Wahkiakum PUD has announced a 9 a.m., to 5 p.m., water outage for Puget Island, this Friday, Aug. 4, so that repairs can be made. Letters were sent out to customers, so hopefully you got yours and can get yourself prepared for this event. There is also a boil water notice after the water comes back on, and this is all explained in the letter. If you didn't get one, please contact the PUD at 360-795-3266 for answers. There are websites and notification programs available as well, but we all know that not everybody is linked in to computers and websites and such, nor do they all have cell phones, so while the information is out there, it may not be accessible to all that will be affected, so just call the PUD if you need more information.