Lake Sylvia Fall Festival will be hoppin’

Plenty of family-friendly activities will return this year.

By Michael Lang Twin Harbors Newspaper Group • September 10, 2018 7:00 pm
Photo courtesy Helen Hepp, Friends of Schafer and Lake Sylvia BonnysAngels will do the medals again for the races at this year’s Lake Sylvia State Park Fall Festival, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 15, at the park. BonnysAngels will do the medals again for the races at this year’s Lake Sylvia State Park Fall Festival, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018, at the park. Photo courtesy of Helen Hepp. ABOVE: BonnysAngels will provide the hand-painted wood medals again for the races at this year’s Lake Sylvia Fall Festival. BELOW: New and returning artist and food vendors will display their wares this year.
Photo courtesy Helen Hepp, Friends of Schafer and Lake Sylvia BonnysAngels will do the medals again for the races at this year’s Lake Sylvia State Park Fall Festival, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 15, at the park. BonnysAngels will do the medals again for the races at this year’s Lake Sylvia State Park Fall Festival, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018, at the park. Photo courtesy of Helen Hepp. ABOVE: BonnysAngels will provide the hand-painted wood medals again for the races at this year’s Lake Sylvia Fall Festival. BELOW: New and returning artist and food vendors will display their wares this year.

The ninth annual Lake Sylvia Fall Festival takes place on Saturday, hosted by the Friends of Schafer and Lake Sylvia State Parks.

About 600 to 700 people turn out each year for this FOSLS fundraiser.

“It’s a laid-back, wonderful gathering of people,” said Helen Hepp, a former board member. “It’s the old tradition of getting together and enjoying music for people of all ages.”

There will be 14 new artist vendors this year and 12 festival-goers have seen before, said Trina Young, chairwoman of the artists market.

Organizers are aiming for a quality handmade-only art market, attracting artisans from Grays Harbor and nearby counties. Media include textiles, pottery, stained and fused glass, jewelry, iron, soaps and others.

For vendors to be included in the non-artist portion of the market, they have to either be involved in the East County community, forestry, the environment or state parks, organizer Julie Rabey said.

As at past festivals, a garden bench will be raffled.

The “informal and relaxed” guided canoe and kayak tour also returns, Hepp said. A few kayaks will be available at the lake on a first-come, first-served basis. The float starts at 2 p.m.

“The vintage kids games are a highlight,” said organizer Candi Bachtell.

Other events this year include the 5K, 10K and half-marathon trail races. Day-of-event registration will open at 7:30 a.m., with the races starting at 8:30.

“One of the nifty things of the races are the race medals, a piece of wood that’s hand-painted. And they’re just beautiful,” Hepp said.

Elma’s Bonny Hieronymus of BonnysAngels creates the medals. Her business’s Facebook page says she started creating art after her daughter, Kirsten, was diagnosed with cancer in 2006, and has continued after Kirsten’s death in 2008. The BonnysAngels booth also will return for the fall festival.

There also will be food and nonprofit information booths.

Montesano Mayor Vini Samuel is in charge of the Pancake Breakfast this year. It runs from 7 to 11 a.m. and costs $5.

Girl Scouts will conduct an arts and crafts booth for children, and Boy Scouts will conduct a Dutch oven cooking demonstration, if it’s safe to have open fires on that day.

“We weren’t able to do the cooking last year because it was too dry,” Hepp said. “The boys come from all over the Harbor. I had no idea the amount of good things you can do in a Dutch oven.”

Author and historian Gerald Schafer will present a historic talk through his Doc Shores persona at 1 p.m.

Most of the parking space at the lake will be taken up by the fair activities. A shuttle bus will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Simpson Elementary School, 519 W. Simpson Ave. in Montesano. “We borrowed it from (the Montesano Health and Rehab Center), so we can load wheelchairs and walkers with it,” Hepp said.

More information is online at fosls.org or facebook.com/LakeSylviaStateParkFallFestival.

Photos courtesy Helen Hepp, Friends of Schafer and Lake Sylvia There will be plenty of fun activities for kids, like sack races, at this year’s Lake Sylvia State Park Fall Festival, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 15, at the park. There will be plenty of fun activities for kids, like sack races, at this year’s Lake Sylvia State Park Fall Festival, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018, at the park. Photo courtesy of Helen Hepp. Photos courtesy Helen Hepp There will be plenty of fun activities for kids, including sack races, at the Lake Sylvia Fall Festival on Saturday at the state park near Montesano.

Photos courtesy Helen Hepp, Friends of Schafer and Lake Sylvia There will be plenty of fun activities for kids, like sack races, at this year’s Lake Sylvia State Park Fall Festival, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 15, at the park. There will be plenty of fun activities for kids, like sack races, at this year’s Lake Sylvia State Park Fall Festival, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018, at the park. Photo courtesy of Helen Hepp. Photos courtesy Helen Hepp There will be plenty of fun activities for kids, including sack races, at the Lake Sylvia Fall Festival on Saturday at the state park near Montesano.