Battle Ground’s signature summer celebration will return Friday, July 17, through Sunday, July 19, with several new attractions, expanded activities and a full schedule of community events, but organizers say the festival’s future depends on attracting more volunteers.
Hosted by the Battle Ground Festivals Association, Harvest Days has been a community tradition since 1957. It will coincide this year with the city’s 75th anniversary and the nation’s 250th anniversary. The three-day festival features a carnival, parade, classic car cruise, fireworks, live entertainment and new attractions.
Among the additions this year are the Battle Ground Education Foundation Fun Run, a Sunday car show hosted by True Impressions Car Club and a kids market featuring young entrepreneurs ages 5-17 years old.
“We’ve been looking for something for Sunday to happen for a while. So, we’re pretty excited about that,” Kendra Laratta said of the True Impressions Car Show.
The weekend’s automotive events will offer something different each day.
The Sunday car show on July 19 begins with vehicle roll-in at 9:30 a.m., entering Main Street near McDonald’s. All cars and motorcycles are welcome, in contrast to the Harvest Nights Cruise on Friday, July 17, with vehicles 1995 and older welcome. The car show will begin at 11 a.m. and last until 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 19.
The Harvest Nights Cruise is $30 cash only with no pre-registration. Staging begins at 3 p.m. at Battle Ground High School. The cruise will begin at 6 p.m. and last until 9:30 p.m. on Friday, July 17, on Main Street entering from Parkway Avenue, continuing east to Grace Avenue and west to Northwest Fifth Avenue.
Between the classic car-centric events is the return of the 4x4 show. The Harvest Days 4x4 Show will take place on Saturday, July 18, from 2 to 6 p.m. at Battle Ground High School and will include an RTI ramp and obstacle course, Shane Bowman said.
The kids market has also drawn strong interest from community members.
“We have 23 kid vendors so far for the fair,” Laratta said, adding that the event is in lieu of the traditional vendor fair on Saturday, July 18.
The Harvest Days Parade has also exceeded expectations. The parade is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 18.
“We’re over capacity,” John Idsinga said of the parade. “Right now, we’re at 104, maybe 105 (entries). We try to limit (entrants) to mid-90s.”
Organizers said the parade will feature more floats, community groups and businesses than in previous years.
The carnival is also slated to begin early, Laratta said, with rides available at Battle Ground High School on Thursday, July 16.
The main celebration on Saturday, July 17, will conclude with a professional fireworks show beginning at 10 p.m. Visit Battle Ground Harvest Days on Facebook to view a map of viewing areas.
Beyond the new attractions, organizers said Harvest Days continues to offer activities for all ages.
“I feel like we bring a lot of different things throughout the weekend, so there’s a little bit of something for everyone,” Laratta said. “Which is kind of our goal.”
Despite the festival’s continued popularity, like many events since 2020, organizers say recruiting volunteers has become increasingly difficult.
“It takes a lot of effort and right now that is being spread out through very few people,” Laratta said. “And it’s important to keep it going, and we need help from our community in keeping the activities going and to continue to build on what we’re doing. We’d love to add more stuff but we are really at the limit of what we can do with what we have now. So community support would be fantastic.”
Organizers emphasized there is still time to help before the festival begins.
Those interested in volunteering or viewing the full slate of activities can find more information through the Battle Ground Festivals Association website at battlegroundfestivals.com.
