102nd Annual Planters Days Festival kicks off in Woodland with parades, frog jumping, and community spirit

Princesses Alexis Alplanalp, Savannah Doughty, and Nora Taylor arrive at the coronation during the opening ceremony for Planters Days in Woodland. Photo by Paul Valencia

Four-day event features a variety of activities, including bed races, fireworks, and the annual parade, celebrating Woodland’s rich history and community unity

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

WOODLAND — Just moments after receiving her crown Thursday night, Nora Taylor, 2024 Miss Woodland, made her first proclamation:

“I, Queen Nora, do hereby proclaim that the 2024 Planters Days activities have officially begun.”

Nora Taylor reacts to being named Miss Woodland as Planters Days opened in Woodland on Thursday. Photo by Paul Valencia

Planters Days is the longest continuously running civic celebration in the state. It started in 1922.

This year’s event kicked off Thursday and runs through Sunday. There are plenty of activities each day, with Saturday being the biggest draw. On Saturday, there will be frog jumping, bed races, and of course, the annual parade.

The carnival, including several rides, opened Thursday. A kids parade and then a pet parade were scheduled, too. Fireworks above Horseshoe Lake were scheduled for later Thursday night.

“It is so uniting to the community,” Taylor said of Planters Days. “It is incredible how close a group of people can become this time of year.”

She loves this year’s motto: All Together Now.

“It just makes me think of Woodland,” Taylor said. “Because that’s what we are. We’re all together.”

Princess Alexis Alplanalp and Princess Savannah Doughty are also on the Woodland royal court for Planters Days.

Alplanalp moved to Woodland from Las Vegas just last year.

“Immediately after I moved here, I felt Woodland was a fit for me,” she said, noting how welcoming the city was to her.

Planters Days signage is up all over Woodland as the city celebrates this 102-year-old festival. Photo by Paul Valencia

Prior to the coronation, Erin Thoeny, the 2023 Citizen of the Year, gave a history lesson on Woodland, with a salute to Adolphus Lee Lewis, who built a home near a river’s mouth. That river is now called Lewis River. Thoeny noted that many people believe the river was named after Meriweather Lewis of Lewis and Clark fame, but instead it is named for Adolphus Lee Lewis.

Woodland Mayor Todd Dinehart also had a proclamation for Planters Days, as well, noting that this event started as a community festival in celebration of the dike being built in 1921 to protect the city from flooding.

There are dozens of events scheduled from Friday through Sunday.

Saturday’s parade will begin at 11 a.m.

The annual frog jump is at 1:30 p.m. This is the 57th year of that event.

And the bed race competition, now in its 20th year, is at 4 p.m.

For a full list, go to the Planters Days website: https://www.planters-days.com/planters-day-events