Yacolt Rendezvous Days, Bigfoot Fun Run set for June 27

Now in its eighth year, the annual Yacolt Rendezvous Days is a little bit like a teenager heading into her junior year: Old enough to have formed an identity, still young enough to try something new and, mostly, just hoping everyone will have a good time.

As in previous years, the 2015 Yacolt Rendezvous Days will be a family oriented event with a Bigfoot Fun Run, a parade, fireworks and sidewalks covered in chalk art. But, unlike previous years, this year’s Rendezvous will be more compact, spanning the course of one day instead of spaced out over two weekends, and will feature a sand-sculpture contest.

“We used to do this on two separate days, but from a logistics and budget standpoint, it didn’t make sense to that anymore,” said Yacolt Mayor Jeff Carothers. “Instead, we will do everything on the Saturday before the Fourth of July.”

That means that Yacolt residents can plan for an entire day of fun on Sat., June 27. This year’s event begins with an 8 a.m. registration for the Yacolt Bigfoot Fun Run, a 10K run (or 5K run/walk) that winds through the town’s main streets and draws competitive runners from across the state – and even the country.

“We’ve had runners from all over,” Carothers said. “They come with the different running clubs and we’ve had people from Canada and the East Coast come out for the run. The various high school track and cross-country teams will come, wearing their school jerseys. It’s a lot of fun!”

The Big Foot Fun Run kicks off at 9 a.m. at the Yacolt Town Hall, 202 W. Cushman St., Yacolt. The race fee is $30 on the day of the event or $25 if you register online in advance. To register, visit https://runsignup.com/Race/WA/Yacolt/BigfootFunRun. Bill and Judy Mason, owners of the Yacolt Trading Post, have made trophies for this year’s first-place and second-place winners and everyone else will receive medals and t-shirts for their participation.

A parade, led by this year’s Grand Marshalls, Doug and Jan Shaul, follows the Bigfoot Fun Run, and begins at noon, with preregistration for parade participants starting at 10:30 a.m. at the corner of Parcel and Yacolt roads, in the Impact Auto parking lot.

Following the parade, the Rendezvous Days festival – with its array of vendors, a sand-sculpture contest, live bands and fireworks culmination – will begin at the North Clark Little League field, 202 W. Christy St., Yacolt.

As in past years, the 2015 Rendezvous Days will also feature a sidewalk chalk art event, with participants decorating their own sidewalk squares for two days before the event. Look for chalk art registration booths on Thurs. and Fri., June 25 and 26 near the Yacolt Primary School, near the corner of North Amboy Avenue and West Yacolt Road. The chalk event is free and open to all ages and abilities.

New to the Rendezvous Days festival this year is the sand sculpture contest, modeled after the “Sand in the City” events that have become popular in other cities. The contest will go on throughout the day. Sand-sculpture teams may have as many members as they wish, but there is only space for 10 teams. Prizes will be awarded for the best sculptures. Teams must register before June 15 at Yacolt Town Hall, 202 W. Cushman St., Yacolt, (360) 686-3922. Also new is this year’s “Kids’ Village” with an assortment of old-fashioned games like three-legged races and potato sack hops, hosted by the Yacolt Ladies Auxiliary, VFW.

The festival will feature food and craft booths, various vendors and live musical entertainment – including the Blue Light Band, Michael McCormick and Uproar – as well as a fireworks display set to patriotic music at the end of the evening, after sunset.

For more information about this year’s Yacolt Rendezvous Days and Bigfoot Fun Run, visit www.townofyacolt.com and look for a special insert in the Wed., June 24 issue of The Reflector.