The annual Woodland Planters Days festival is set to bring the community together for the 103rd time, promising a weekend filled with fun, tradition and local pride.
This year’s event celebrates Woodland’s rich history and family generations, featuring a vibrant parade and entertainment at Horseshoe Lake Park with a variety of activities for all ages.
“Every town has its history,” Planters Days President Keith Bellisle said. “This being a small town, it’s easy to run into members of families that are sixth generation that have been here since this town started. So that really provides the scope on the legacies that have been left by these families and how the generations having stayed here in Woodland, you know, we kind of can still reach out and touch that, right?”
For families, Planters Days offers a plethora of activities to keep children entertained, but the effort to put on the four-day event isn’t easy.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of an understanding of how it works and how the mechanics of it works, because a lot of people think the city puts it on and it’s actually the Planters Days Celebration Committee, which is a nonprofit organization that does it,” Bellisle said. “But the only way they can do that is by working with the city and being a nonprofit. So, I’m hoping that I would have a line of people wanting to get on board and learn about how it works and maybe sign up to be future officers within the organization.”
Those interested in becoming a part of the organization can email president@planters-days.com.
The festival kicks off on Thursday, June 19, with the opening of the carnival at the Horseshoe Lake Park field at 3 p.m. and continues to 10 p.m. The children have the focus on Thursday as the children’s chalk art fun begins at 4 p.m. on Davidson Avenue in downtown while the children’s parade starts at 5 p.m., followed by the pet parade at 5:30 p.m. The Planters Days Queen Coronation will take place at the Horseshoe Lake gazebo from 8 to 9 p.m. with the fireworks show capping off day one of Planters Days at 10 p.m.
Events on Friday, June 20, begin with the Woodland Library Friends’ Book Sale from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the library at 411 Lakeshore Drive. The carnival starts up again at 3 p.m. and concludes at 10 p.m. A new event last year will continue this year, the Woodland’s Strongest, taking place on Park Street at 5:30 p.m. with bingo taking place at the Woodland High School commons at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday’s big draw is the annual highly-anticipated Planters Days Parade, a colorful procession that winds its way through the heart of Woodland from Fifth Street and Davidson Avenue to Goerig Street and finishes at the Woodland Middle School. The parade takes place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 21.
Saturday will include a lot more for a fun-filled day packed with activities such as the 58th annual frog jump competition at 1:30 p.m. and the 21st annual bed races at 4 p.m.
The Woodland Middle School Running Club Fun Run will take place ahead of the parade on the route beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
A breakfast sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1927 will take place from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. at 434 Davidson Ave. The Woodland Moose Lodge will also host a breakfast buffet that starts at 8 a.m.
The Calvary Kids Zone will open at 9 a.m. and will run until 2 p.m. at Park Street and Davidson Avenue. Four separate events will begin at 10 a.m. They include the Lelooska Tent Art and Display located at Park and Goerig streets and Bozarth Avenue. The Saturday Market will be located at the U.S. Bank parking lot. Kielbasa sausage and corn on the cob will once again be offered at the Woodland Moose Lodge, and the Library Friends book sale will take place again on Saturday, running until 6 p.m.
The carnival at the Horseshoe Lake field will start at 11 a.m. on Saturday and run until 10 p.m.
At noon on Saturday, the firemen’s barbecue will take place at the Horseshoe Lake Park gazebo. That will be followed by a military vehicle collectors show at Horseshoe Lake Park, which runs from 12:30 to 3 p.m. There will also be a beer garden at Horseshoe Lake Park next to the red structure from noon to 7 p.m.
Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue will host a live fire sprinkler demonstration after the parade from 1 to 2 p.m. at the intersection of Davidson Avenue and Second Street.
The Penny Scramble will start at 3 p.m. on Saturday in front of the old fire station across from Hoffman Plaza, which will be followed by the firemen’s muster on Goerig Street at 3:30 p.m.
The 19th annual bed races will begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday. They will take place at the Davidson Avenue sign at the Hoffman Plaza stage.
Downtown, there will be a special interest car cruise-in sponsored by the Columbia River Camaro Club from 7 to 8 p.m. The day will conclude with live music by “Sunflower” from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Hoffman Plaza.
On Sunday, the annual celebration will wind down with an all-day car show downtown and the Saturday market, which starts at 10 a.m. in the U.S. Bank parking lot. At the Woodland Moose Lodge, a breakfast buffet will be served from 8 to 11 a.m. with kielbasa sausage and corn on the cob starting at 10 a.m.
From 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., hamburgers will be served at the VFW Post 1927 at 434 Davidson Ave. From noon to 5 p.m., the carnival will run at the Horseshoe Lake field. A cornhole tournament will commence at 2:30 p.m. at 434 Davidson Ave.
Awards for the car show will be handed out at 2:30 p.m. with a raffle drawing at 3 p.m. on the Hoffman Plaza main stage.
To find out more information, go online to planters-days.com. To check for updates or additional information, go to the Facebook page titled “Woodland Planters Day Celebration.”
