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From the Tribune - Wednesday 9, 2008
Parade
Car Show
Salmon BBQ
Baby Crawl
Waterball
Eating Contests
Pit Spitting
Bed Race
Soap Box Derby test form
Festival's favorite tradition -
The Kla Ha Ya Days FROG JUMP
Snohomish's Kla Ha Ya Days Frog Jump championship is
absolutely the perennial favorite among children and adults
alike. This is the largest and longest-running jumping
contest in the Northwest.
The 2008 event takes place on July 19 at the corner of First
St. and Ave. B. The frogs begin jumping at noon at this
extremely
popular event sponsored by Frontier Bank.
Frontier Bank first sponsored this event in 1987, the year
the branch opened in Snohomish. Frontier Bank has reclaimed
the tradition and is sponsoring the Frog Jump for the fifth
year in a row. "We're always excited about sponsoring the
Frog Jump and look forward to sponsoring it again and
again," said Patti Olsen, Manager of Frontier Bank's
Snohomish branch. "I wasn't aware of the Kla Ha Ya Days Frog
Jump Championship when I first came to town five years ago.
One of our customer service representatives, Patti McCallum,
who has worked at the Snohomish branch since it first
opened, is the one who told me about it. Once we all heard,
we were very excited about it and couldn't wait to reclaim
Frontier Bank's sponsorship of the Frog Jump."
"My favorite part of being involved in this event is seeing
the look on the little kids faces," said Patti. "It's just
priceless! If they don't bring their own frog I always ask
them if they want to pick out their frog or if they want me
to pick it out." Spectators have been known to be
entertained by children who have refused to touch their
jumping entry.
Approximately 300 plus participants are drawn to this event
each year. Bullfrogs are provided, thanks to volunteers. "We
have an all-points bulletin out for frogs," said Patti. "We
have family and friends of Frontier Bank who will be out
Thursday and Friday night before the Frog Jump catching
frogs. We go out with flashlights and fishing nets and just
have a great time!"
Patti has many years' experience catching frogs, as she
spent most of her life living on Lake Ky.
"If you know of a frog pond or want to volunteer to hunt the
frogs, I would love to hear from you!" said Patti. "We're
always looking for good frog ponds!" After the contest the
frogs are returned to their ponds.
The first year Patti was out "hunting" frogs for the Frog
Jump she went to Twin Lakes in Smokey Point. "First of all,
I didn't know that it's a state park so it closes at dusk. I
also didn't know you needed to have a license to catch frogs
and that there was a catch limit of two," said Patti. When a
sheriff approached her she tried to explain to him what she
was doing. He finally figured that nobody could make up a
story about something called "KlaHa Ya" and a frog jumping
contest and let her keep the frogs. He did, however, tell
her she had to leave the premise. "Now we only go to ponds
on private property," said Patti. Of course, the ponds Patti
hunts at are 'top secret.'
If you want to participate in the frog jump and like to
catch frogs, feel free to bring one of your own to jump!
"History shows the winners are usually the ones that bring
their own frogs," said Patti. "I am really surprised how
many participants brought their own frogs last year and how
competitive it is."
Prizes will be awarded to the person who can get his or her
frog to jump the farthest. There were several adults (and a
clown) who participated last year, even though the prizes
are geared for the kids. All entries will receive a special
frog hat and kids bicycles will be awarded to the top three
participants. The bicycles are donated to the Kla Ha Ya Days
Festival from McDaniel's Do-it-Center.
Last year's top three winners were: 1st Place: Megan Gordon,
age 7 of Snohomish; 2nd Place: Emma Stewart, age 5 of
Sultan; 3rd Place: Logan Purvis, age 7 of Snohomish.
The Frog Jump is fun for participants and spectators. Each
frog is placed in the center of the circle and given three
jumps. Once the frogs are placed in the circle, competitors
can encourage the frogs to hop by making noise, using a
provided water spray or tickling the jumpers with a feather.
This is truly an event you won't want to miss!
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Don't miss the Top Foods Sunset
Parade!
The Grand Parade, sponsored by Top
Foods, will be held at 6pm on Saturday, July 20.
By popular demand, Snohomish's grand tradition will be
in the evening again this year.
The parade will start on West First Street and head east
to Lincoln Street. By routing the parade from west to
east, it increases the route from 4-1/2 blocks to 8
blocks.
The Kla Ha Ya Days Drill Team competition attracts the
areas finest and is fun for everyone! The parade also
features marching bands, horses, antique cars, floats
and much more.
The Grand Marshal will be Dallas Van Dyke who is
retiring as President of the Kla Ha Ya Days
Organization. Visit www.klahayadays.corn for additional
information.
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Classic Rod and Custom at
Show and Shine Sunday, July 20
Classic Rod and Custom
Show and Shine will feature over 250 cars from around
Puget Sound. The beautiful cars will
be on display on First Street in Historic Downtown
Snohomish on Sunday, July 20.
Over $5 million worth of cars, antiques shops, music and
entertainment attracts approximately 15,000 spectators
to this annual event.
This year's Show and Shine will feature the Best of Show
winner of the 2007 show. Rusty Rise of Plain
(Leavenworth area) will be displaying his 1955 Chevrolet
Model 150. Rusty grew up in Everett and graduated from
Cascade High. He bought his
55 "gasser" in December of 2005. He was driving truck
and didn't find driving across Wyoming in the snow and
ice as adventuresome as he did when he was younger. He
decided he needed to find a hobby to keep him busy
during the winter
months. "I didn't want to sit around watching Oprah and
C-Span all winter," Rusty said. "I've always been a car
guy so I thought a project car would be a good hobby."
Rusty found the 1955
Chevrolet sitting on blocks and there began his new
hobby. Most 55 and 56 Chevys sit real low, however, the
car Rusty bought is called a gasser. These cars sit up
higher and have a straight axle. Rusty had to actually
cut the frame off to begin his restoration/modification.
"I sat there with the sawsall in my hand wondering how I
was going to do it," said Rusty. Then I just did it and
hoped it was the right place!"
Rusty's trucking buddy, Jim, introduced him to car
shows. "I never even thought about it but Jim built a
car hauler and talked me into going to the Chelan Car
Show," continued Rusty. "I had never met so many people
with grey hair in one day my whole life!" laughed Rusty.
He ended up entering seven car shows in one year and won
five of them. "My car's not perfect so
Jim was surprised I won, said Rusty. "I guess the cool
and unique outshines perfection."
Rusty's entry number last
year at Kla HaYa Days just happened to be 55 and he
couldn't believe it when they announced him as Best of
Show"! had looked at the trophy thinking it'd be great
to win something like that," said Rusty "When Powder
Coating called my number I almost started crying! It's
an honor to be picked Best of Show or even best in your
class."
There will be over 90 trophies awarded at the 2008 Kla
Ha Ya Days Car Show with too many categories to possibly
list. Participants and spectators can visit the
sponsor's booths to pick up items such as ballots,
raffle tickets, dash plaques, T-shirts, etc...
"I really like Kla Ha Ya
Days, and the car show is part of it," said Debbie
McGeehan of Powder Coating. "It's great to see the
community of Snohomish enjoying themselves at the
festival and having a great time at the car show."
The title sponsor of the
car show this year is L & B Auto Repair in Snohomish.
Associate sponsors are: Brian Taylor Studios, Powder
Coating, Inc., Jamies Transmission, Bickford Motors,
CarQuest, Alternate Blasters, Dreamers Rod-Custom &
Classic Builders, Kompact Kar Korner, JB's Custom Auto,
Magruders Upholstery and Jim Green Performance. The
presenting car club is Boeing Everett Strato Cruisers
and the co-sponsor is the Washington Quarter Midget
Association.
Broad participation from
the Boeing Everett Stratocruiser Car club volunteers
makes this show possible. "We couldn't do this show
without the Stratocruisers," said McGeehan. "They
provide all the bodies to operate this show and are just
wonderful people to work with! This year they really
stepped up and are helping us even more!"
Mike and Janet Burks of
the Stratocruisers appear at the Kla Ha Ya Car Show at
4:30 a.m. only do it because it's for charity
said Mike. "My wife, Jan runs the entrance booth and we
have a bunch of volunteers." The Stratocruisers is a
family club and has about 80 members. "We also get help
from Puget Limiteds Truck Club," said Mike. You can
download the entry form at
www.klahayadays.com
or register the day of the show. Pre-registered
participants can take their parking places at 7 a.m.
Those participants registering the day of the show can
park at at 8 a.m. Registration fee is $20 with all of
the proceeds to be donated to the Snohomish community
charity organizations.
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Catch the Tillicum Kiwanis Salmon Barbecue
The annual Tillicum Kiwanis Salmon Barbecue will be from
:noon to 8:00 p.m. at Hill Park on July 19 and 20. Stop by
and have a wonderful all you can eat meal consisting of
delicious salmon, salad, baked beans, garlic bread and
beverages.
The recipe used for the salmon is from an old Kiwanis member
who went back four generations to get this mysterious secret
recipe from Scandinavia. You'll have to agree that this is
one of the best tasting salmon you've ever had.
Noreen Dana of the Hub Restaurant in Snohomish makes the
tartar sauce for the Salmon Barbecue. "It's the best I've
ever tasted," said Wally Walsh of the Kiwanis. "It's an icon
of culinary achievement!" The Danas are very
community-minded and volunteer often. "The Dana family has a
history of service in the community. Their father is the
originator of the Snohomish Food Bank," said Walsh. "We
wouldn't have a food bank without him." Steve Dana also
helps the Kiwanis and volunteered in the kitchen last year for the Salmon
Barbecue.
Over 1,000 people were served last year and the Kiwanis are
preparing to serve over 1,200 this year. That's about 1,000
pounds of salmon! The Kiwanis always use the same local
salmon supplier. "For years the salmon was donated by the
owner, then he passed away," said Walsh. You can count on
the fish being extremely fresh and never frozen. They
receive the salmon straight from the ocean within 24 hours.
At that point, the Kiwanis use the large refrigerator at the
Snohomish Food Bank to marinate the salmon with their top
secret recipe.
"The salmon is absolutely fabulous and everyone is so
pleased with the meal that they come back year after year,"
said Walsh. "It just keeps growing every year as the word
gets out."
The cost is only $10 per person, $8 for seniors, youth age
6-10 are $5 and children five and under eat for free!
Pre-sale tickets are available from John Diel at Sun Song,
located at 1122 First Street in Snohomish.
There will also be a silent auction on both days of the
event from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. There is a large variety
of great items to bid on. Bids can be made on Saturday and
Sunday and the highest bidders will be notified on Sunday
after the dinner is over.
The Tillicum Kiwanis Club members are "very mature senior
citizens. "There are about 35 members and they will all be
participating in this event, as well as several volunteers.
The Kiwanis support the community in many ways, including
the young Children Priority One Program, the Senior Citizens
Center, youth scholarships. Junior Achievement, Camp Casey,
a camp for children with disabilities and of course, they
are quite active at the Snohomish Food Bank by donating time
and money.
The Kiwanis have started a new project, "The Backpack
Program, "that helps fight hunger in our community. There
are approximately 2,300 children in the Snohomish School
District that are nutritionally challenged. Breakfast and
lunch is served to to the kids during school, however, the
Kiwanis Club wondered just what these kids were eating
during the weekend. They came up with The Backpack Program
to supply food to kids so that they could take it home with
them from school. "We're still trying to figure out what we
can do, to help these kids during the summer," said Walsh.
Their motto is "Changing the world one child and one
community at a time."
The Kiwanis' Young Children Priority One Program provides
dictionaries to all third grade children in the Snohomish
School District. They have expanded on this program and
distributed 7,000 dictionaries to children in the Everett
School District with the help of three different
organizations. Every pre-schooler attending the Salmon
Barbecue during Kla Ha Ya Days will receive a packet of
books, courtesy of the Kiwanis Club.
If you would like to become a member of this wonderful
organization, please contact Wally Walsh at (360) 568-5936.
The Kiwanis Club is open to men and women of all ages.
Be sure to stop by Hill Park for this event and help support
the Kiwanis Club!
Hill Park is located at 1610 Park Avenue on the east side of
Blackman's Lake. Drive east 13th Street to Park Street and
take a left, the park is 2-3 blocks on the left.
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Baby Crawl is for all!
Kla Ha Ya Days offers fun for everyone, even the littlest of
children!
The annual Baby Crawl contest, which takes place at noon
July 19 on First St. between Ave. A and B, attracts parents
and crawling competitors from throughout the region.
It is this dedicated base of proud parents eager to show off
the athletic aptitude of their little ones that have made
this crawl so popular for more than ten years.
The thrill of the event is not lost on spectators, either,
who usually stand four to five people deep straining to
catch an eyeful of the excitement. If you've ever watched
the Baby Crawl, you know that sometimes the parents provide
just as much entertainment as the actual contestants do!
The parents get involved at the start of the race, getting
the baby moving. The other parent has the task of luring the
child to the finish line, which is where some real
creativity and strategy comes in.
But whatever the method used, the crawl always results in
spontaneous fun and laughs from the parents and appreciative
audience.
This event is sponsored by First Heritage Bank. "We are
honored to continue our commitment to community involvement
by sponsoring the Kla Ha Ya Days Baby Crawl," said Cathy
Reines, President and CEO of First Heritage Bank.
And, of course, great prizes are awarded to the winners.
First Heritage Bank will be awarding big savings bonds to
the racing
babies! "This year we will be awarding savings bonds at
First Heritage Bank.We will give $ 100 to the first place
winner, $75 to the second place winner and $50 to the third
place winner," said Cathy.
So not only is the Baby Crawl Contest fun, there's a huge
incentive for you to bring your little one down and
creatively lure them over the finish line first!
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Learn to play Waterball
Snohomish Fire Dist. #4 Silver Dollar Club will be
hosting the Waterball competition on Saturday July 19
during the Kla Ha Ya Days Festival.
The Silver Dollar Club is the association of
volunteers who work at the Fire Department. Snohomish
Fire District #4 is a combination department with career
firefighters and volunteer firelighters.
The organizers of this competition describe Waterball
as one big water fight - using fire hoses. A ball is
suspended on a wire above First Street, and teams of
"firefighters" compete against each other, trying to
push the ball over to the other team's side using blasts
of water from a fire hose. This competition is open to
firefighters and anyone else with teams of three. The
entry fee is only $15 per team and prizes will be
awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.
The money the Silver Dollar Club raises stays in the
community. The money goes to needy families during
Thanksgiving and Christmas for food and gifts and a
yearly donation to the NW Burn Foundation.
The Silver Dollar Club is encouraging public
participation. They will have equipment available for
any and all citizens to wear whether or not they have a
team of three. It's always more fun when the spectators
become participants!
"All of the firefighters, both career and volunteer,
are excited to be involved in community events such as
Kla Ha Ya Days," said Marybeth 0'Leary. "It's nice to
meet community members during fun events rather than
when bad things happen."
So stop by and meet your firefighters during Kla Ha
Ya Days!
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Look out brain, here it comes!
What could be more enjoyable than a cool bowl of ice creamon
a July afternoon? How about sticking your face in it? That's
exactly what happens at the Kla Ha Ya Days Ice Cream Eating
Contest!
Top Foods of Snohomish has graciously volunteered to donate
the ice cream for the contest, and with toppings and whipped
cream it will be a great challenge.
The competition will be divided into appropriate age groups:
children to 11 years of age (Youth), 12-14 years of age
(Teen) and 15 years of age and older (Adult).
The contest will be Saturday, July 19 from 1:30 to 2:10 p.m.
on First St. between Ave. A and B. Then the tables will be
cleared and the Pie Eating Contest will begin!
Key Bank is the proud sponsor of this event for the third
consecutive year. "The first year we sponsored this contest
it was 94 degrees!" said Cindy Rydell of Key Bank. "And then
last year we were lucky it didn't rain during the event!"
Having volunteered for the event during both ends of the
weather spectrum, Cindy prefers the overcast days rather
than the scorching heat and humidity. It's also a lot easier
to keep the ice cream from melting!
The entire staff of Key Bank in Snohomish has volunteered to
run the Ice Cream Eating Contest and also the Pie Eating
Contest.
The cost for a delicious brain-freeze is only $1. So come on
down to First Street on July 19 and gorge yourself on ice
cream! If you're really hungry and fast, you might even win!
If you like pie, this is the contest for
you!
The Kla HaYa Days Pie Eating Contest is fun for participants
and spectators alike. The selected pie will be Dutch Apple
Crumb, donated from the wonderful people at the Snohomish
Pie Company. They have created 20 very large pies to make
sure they'll have enough pie for all of the contestants.
Cindy Rydell of Key Bank is helping to coordinate the event
for the third year in a row. "We have really great
participation in this event," said Cindy "We serve about 60
people in just 40 minutes. It's a timed event, so whoever
can eat their large piece of pie the quickest wins."
Snohomish Pie Company's Dutch Apple Crumb Pie has been
served at the 2007 and 2006 Pie Eating Contest. "Their Apple
Crumb Pie has gone over big with the participants every
year!" Cindy said. Cindy will be helping with the event
along with the complete staff at the Snohomish Branch of Key
Bank.
There will be three categories: children to 11 years of age
(Youth), 12-14 years of age (Teen), and 15 years of age and
older (Adult). Prizes will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd and
3rd place winners in each category The winners actually get
to pick out their own prizes. Winners are given a ticket and
then visit the nearby booth to select their prize. The Pie
Eating Contest will be held from 2:30 to 3:10 p.m. on
Saturday, July 19 on First St. betweenAve.A and B, right
after the Ice Cream Eating Contest (which is also sponsored
by Key Bank). The staff at Key Bank enjoys being a part of
this community event. "Both the Ice Cream Eating Contest and
the Pie Eating Contest are a lot of fun!" Cindy said.
The entry fee is only $1. Where else can you have a large
delicious piece of pie with whipped topping for only $1?
Can you eat a lot of watermelon?
The traditional Kla HaYa Days Watermelon Eating Contest will
be held Saturday, July 19 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on
First Street between Avenues A and B. Come try and see how
fast you can chow down a big wedge of delicious Stocker Farm
watermelon!
Stocker Farms will equip the watermelon-eating competitors
with a quarter of a watermelon (depending on age). The first
one to eat the watermelon to the rind without having most of
the melon still on the table will win. "The judges will be
looking for quantity consumed in the least amount of time,"
said Keith Stocker of Stocker Farms.
"The Watermelon Eating Contest is one of the most popular
contests of Kla Ha Ya Days," said Keith. "We encourage
everyone to come bury their face in a watermelon! Everyone's
a winner because they get to eat watermelon!"
There will be three age divisions for watermelon-eating
competitors: Youth - age 8 and under, Teens - ages 9-15, and
Adults - ages 16 and up.
The International Federation of Competitive Eating lists the
record of 13.22 lbs. of watermelon eaten by Jim Reeves in 15
minutes. Anyone out there think they can do that? If you
think you can eat a lot of watermelon quickly, come on down
and prove it during the contest! "You won't have to eat
13.22 lbs. of watermelon, but you'll have to eat your
sharequicker than anyone else!" said Keith.
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How far can you spit a cherry pit?
The 3rd annual Kla HaYa Days Cherry Pit Spitting Contest
will be on Saturday, July 19 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on
First Street between Avenues A and B.
Two years ago, Keith Stocker of Stocker Farms was asked to
sponsor the traditional watermelon spitting and
watermelon-eating contest and readily agreed to do so.
However, Keith thought that a cherry pit-spitting contest
would be better than the traditional watermelon seed
spitting contest. "Cherries are readily available during
this time and the pits would make a better spitting contest,
so why not?" said Keith.
This year Keith said that the cherries will be bigger than
ever! "With the odd weather we had this year, the cherries
lost some of their blooms. This means the crop will be
thinner but the cherries will be huge! There's less fruit so
the fruit that survived will absorb all of the nutrients,"
said Keith. "I imagine this will hold true with all of the
fruit this year."
Stocker Farms always carries a good supply of fresh fruits
and vegetables so they will be able to set up everyone with
plenty of ammunition to compete and have fun.
"That's the perk of being in the Cherry Pit Spitting
Contest," said Keith. "You get to eat the cherries!"
Keith continued, "The Stocker family is happy to be a part
of the community for so many years and sponsoring the Cherry
Pit Spitting Contest and the Watermelon Eating Contest is a
small way to pay back the community."
A firing range will be in place using barricades and butcher
paper will be laid. Each competitor will be armed with three
cherries containing three official pits to launch down the
firing range. Pits will be taped to the paper and the
longest launch will win.
The contest will be split in three age divisions: Youth -
age eight and under, Teens - age 9-15, and Adults - age 16
and over.
The world record for cherry pit spitting is 95 feet, 6 1/2
inches! Come on down and see if you will be the next lucky
person to
set a new world record!
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Are you up for the extreme bed race?
The Extreme Bed Race is a competition in which teams of four
people push a bed with a passenger on it through a course
set up on First Street.
This hilarious relay contest pits bed against bed and if you
snooze, you lose!
People's Bank at the new Snohomish Station is the sponsor of
the event this year.
"We decided to sponsor the Extreme Bed Races because it is
one of the most fun events of Kla Ha Ya Days," said Marie
Auriol of People's Bank. "People's Bank definitely wants to
be involved in the community^' Marie continued.
"The manager, Carol Bell, and I have worked in the Snohomish
community for numerous years and want to continue to be a
part of the community."
Marie would like to have the Extreme Bed Races a timed event
this year, rather than heats. "It will be 'best time wins'
for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place," said Marie. "The winners will
receive trophies and there will be prizes for everyone,
"Marie continued. "We want this to be fun for everyone!"
Snohomish Fire District 4 is hoping to enter a team again in
this year's event.
"We dominated in the Extreme Bed Races last year, as
always," said Whitney Mansfield, a full-time firefighter
with Dist. 4. "We'll probably dominate again this year
because nobody can compete with us!"
I had heard that Les Schwab was going to enter a team last
year, but evidently they chickened out," continued Whitney.
"Top Foods entered a team and they did a pretty good job,
but they just didn't have the stamina to beat us!"
So the challenge has been made! Get your teams together and
see if you can give Fire Dist. 4 a run for their money!
This is sure to be a verycompetitive and fun event this year
that is guaranteed to make you laugh!
The Extreme Bed Races will be on Saturday, July 19 at 3:00
p.m. between Ave. B and Ave. C.
Entry forms are available at
www.klahayadays.com
or at People's Bank, located just inside Fred Meyer at the
new Snohomish Station on Bickford Avenue.
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