Area rich with car shows, festivals, art fairs

Summer is here at last, and the longer, hotter days usher in the season of fairs and festivals all over Snohomish County.

There's no better example than the town of Snohomish in July, which does the summer festival season in spades with its Kla Ha Ya Days, from July 19-22.

Showcasing more than 15 large events, Kla Ha Ya Days runs like a combination of the county's smaller fairs. With events practically piled atop one another all weekend, there's abundant choice for every taste at any time of day.

This year, the festival celebrates the 40th anniversary of Tad, its mascot. Tad, a green frog, represents Kla Ha Ya Days' frog-jumping contest, a yearly favorite that draws about 250 participants — and frogs — every year.

The festival itself, now in its 74th year, will be kicked off by two events for children Thursday — a bike rodeo at 1 p.m. and a Kid's Parade in the evening. A carnival at Harvey Field will also open for the duration of the festival.

Friday afternoon, those who can slip out of work early for a friendly afternoon on the green can join a golf tournament at 1 p.m. On Saturday, early birds can join a 5-mile river run at 8:30 a.m.

Then the festival zooms into high gear, with a 9 a.m. parade announcing the start of the festival's Civil War re-enactment.

All day on Saturday and Sunday, hundreds of actors outfitted in soldiers' costumes perform battle scenes, camp scenarios and hospital dramas. To the rattle of musketry and the galloping of hooves, battles will occur at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday.

Meanwhile, all weekend, a classic street fair and arts and crafts festival on Union Street offers more than 50 commercial booths.

And kooky contests abound.

First and foremost, the frog-jumping competition takes place on Saturday. Contestants can bring their own frog, or borrow one from the event organizers.

But there's also the bed race, where teams pit a variety of weirdly outfitted rolling beds against each other in an effort to be first to the finish line. One "sleeper" must lie in each bed, while four of his or her teammates push the bed down the street.

Like an elementary-school field day gone — wild pie-eating contests, baby crawls, cherry-pit spitting, a chili cook-off — the competitions alone should keep the crankiest festival-goer amused.

Saturday evening, about 15,000 spectators show up each year for the Sunset Parade. This year, bring your picnic to the route along First Street between Maple Avenue and Avenue D, and on Maple between First Street and Sixth Street at the Freshman Campus. The parade will begin at 6 p.m.

Sunday's events include the popular Rod, Custom and Classic Car Show of more than 250 cars. The show sets the stage for car shows later in the summer in other towns, such as Mill Creek's Car Show and Concert in the Park on Aug. 9, and the Edmonds Hot Autumn Nites car show, straddling the border between summer and fall on Sept. 8.

Those eager for the festival season to begin needn't wait for Kla Ha Ya Days. Dozens of fairs and festivals in almost every Snohomish County city and town will tempt the fun-lover this summer.

The Darrington Rodeo comes up soonest, with bulls, broncos and other rodeo events at the Darrington Rodeo Grounds on June 23 and 24.

And almost every town has its own version of an Independence Day celebration. Check out your hometown or nearest town center or browse our list of fairs and festivals in this issue, including big July 4 celebrations in Everett, Arlington, Bothell, Edmonds and other cities.

Arts fairs showcasing local artists, flower festivals with blooming lavenders and fuchsias, salmon bakes, triathlons and antique shows — it's all just about to begin.

Finally, the Evergreen State Fair — the county's largest, celebrating its 99th year of existence — roars in near summer's end. Last year, the fair attracted more than 900,000 people.

Each year, exhibitors come from all over Washington, as well as Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, California and Nevada and other states.

The fair will present the best of local and regional farming, 4-H, arts and crafts, and entertainment at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe over 11 packed days, from Aug. 23 to Sept. 3.

The fair's grandstand hosts concerts and live music. Horse shows, pig races, farm-animal judging and showing, petting farms and horse rides allow fairgoers to enjoy the area's livestock.

The list of events and displays over the four days seems nearly endless. Produce, flowers, Native American carving, magicians, circus acts, lumberjack competitions and a monster truck show.

Children love the rides at the carnival, from scream-inducing roller-coasters to the more sedate merry-go-rounds and Ferris wheels. Kids and adults also can take part in contests, including bubble-gum-blowing, pie-eating and this year's Evergreen Country Idol singing competition.

Crowning the festivities, the rodeo runs over the last four days, Aug. 31-Sept. 3.

The fair's final schedule will be available at the fair's Web site, www.evergreenfair.org.

Naila Moreira: 425-745-7845