The four-day celebration will highlight Woodland’s history alongside the nation’s milestone, bringing back familiar events such as the parade, carnival, fireworks, frog jump, bed races, car show and the Planters Days Queen coronation

The Reflector Newspaper

Woodland’s longest-running tradition returns Thursday, June 18, through Sunday, June 21, as the community marks the 104th annual Planters Days. This year’s theme is “Woodland Washington – A Legendary Spirit. America 250.”

The four-day celebration will highlight Woodland’s history alongside the nation’s milestone, bringing back familiar events such as the parade, carnival, fireworks, frog jump, bed races, car show and the Planters Days Queen coronation.

Planters Days President Keith Bellisle said the celebration remains a point of pride for the community more than a century after it began in 1922. The event traces its roots to the successful diking of the Lewis and Columbia rivers and remains among the longest continuously held celebrations in Washington state.

“The community coming together, seeing so many people together, feels amazing to me,” Bellisle said. “To be able to help make that happen feels amazing.”

Festivities begin Thursday, June 18, with the carnival at Horseshoe Lake Park, open from 3 to 10 p.m. The carnival continues at the park throughout the four-day event, with hours from 3 to 10 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The Children’s Parade starts at 5 p.m. on Thursday, followed by the Pet Parade at 5:30 p.m. Both start on Davidson Avenue.

This year, Beau & Lola’s Dream, a local nonprofit working to establish a community dog park, will coordinate the pet parade for the first time.

Thursday’s attractions also include face painting, live music and a strawberry shortcake fundraiser for the Woodland Senior Enrichment group. Shortcake will be available for $5 at the Horseshoe Lake Park gazebo beginning at 5 p.m.

The Planters Days Queen Coronation starts at 8 p.m. at the Horseshoe Lake Park gazebo, followed by a fireworks display at 10 p.m. at the park. The annual coronation is one of Bellisle’s favorite events.

“I cry at weddings, but I also cry at coronations every year because to see this community event happen, it touches my heart,” he said.

Friday, June 19, features a lighter schedule, highlighted by Planters Days Bingo at the Woodland High School Commons at 6:30 p.m. Bellisle said the event routinely attracts hundreds of participants.

“Usually we have it filled up with about 600 people, so you’ll need to get there early,” Bellisle said. “There are hundreds of prizes, and It’s a good time. It definitely shows the community spirit with so many people being there.”

Saturday brings more signature events, starting with breakfasts served by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1927 and the Woodland Moose Lodge. The VFW Post 1927 breakfast will be held 7 a.m. at 434 Davidson Avenue, while the lodge’s starts 8 a.m. at 133 Davidson Avenue.

The annual parade, which draws the largest crowd every year, begins at 11 a.m. and follows a route from Fifth Street and Davidson Avenue to Goerig Street to Woodland Middle School.

Saturday’s highlights include the Fireman’s Bar-B-Que at noon at Horseshoe Lake Park held by Clark-Cowlitz Fire & Rescue, the 59th annual Frog Jump from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the park gazebo, the 22nd annual Bed Races at 4 p.m. on Davidson Avenue, and the Cruise-In from 7 to 8 p.m. at Goerig Street and Davidson Avenue.

The Woodland Rotary Club’s market will take place in the U.S. Bank parking lot at Bozarth and Goerig on Saturday and Sunday, starting at 10 a.m. each day and featuring local vendors and businesses.

Sunday, June 21, concludes the celebration with the Northwest Corvette Association Car Show in downtown Woodland. Awards will be presented at 1:30 p.m. on the Hoffmann Plaza Main Stage, followed by the Planters Days raffle drawing at 3 p.m.
Additional activities are planned throughout the weekend. A full schedule is available at planters-days.com.

An event reliant on community involvement
While many events remain familiar, Bellisle said he is encouraged by the involvement of newer community organizations such as Beau & Lola’s Dream and the Woodland Senior Enrichment group.

At the same time, he hopes more residents will consider joining local organizations that make events like Planters Days possible. For the first time in four years, the beer garden will not be held at Horseshoe Lake Park due to a shortage of volunteers. The Chamber of Commerce organized the beer garden over the past two years, but there aren’t enough volunteers this year. Regulations require a nonprofit to organize the beer garden.

“The biggest challenge with Planters Days for me is having to do just what we can when I know that we could do a little more if we had a little more people involved,” Bellisle said.

The nonprofit Planters Days Committee is led by a small executive board and relies on volunteers, partner organizations, and year-round support.

“I would like to see all of our organizations have the resources to act to their potential because (when) they don’t have those people, then one person is doing 10 jobs,” Bellisle said.

Greater participation, Bellisle said, would help local groups expand their missions and better serve the community.

“When they put their minds together and do it, if this town collectively wanted change and they all got on the same page, we could do anything in this town,” Bellisle said.

Residents interested in becoming involved with the Woodland Planters Days Committee can contact the organization at president@planters-days.com.

This report was first published by The Reflector Newspaper.