Kids play on a bounce house during the 2018 Funtime Festival in Napavine.
Kids play with hula-hoops during the 2018 Funtime Festival Napavine.
Hemi Hickson, 11, a member of the Napavine Youth Tournament team is dunked during a fundraiser as part of the 2018 Funtime Festival in Napavine.
This Friday and Saturday, Napavine’s largest community event will take shape for yet another year, as the Napavine Funtime Festival provides events, food vendors and festivity throughout the day.
“It’s always exciting, it’s just fun to see who shows up and to see, especially, the kids come and enjoy the parade and the kids’ activities, as well as adults visiting and having a good time,” said the festival’s chairman, Jerry Owens, who has been involved with the festival since its inception 36 years ago.
Owens said there will be events through the day Saturday — and the annual coronation ceremony for the new Princess Napawinah being held at 7 p.m. Friday at the grade school auditorium — but, unlike festivals past, there won’t be activities on Sunday.
Starting at 7 a.m., a breakfast will be served at the Rebekah Hall and a lunch at noon. Both meals must be purchased, said Owens.
A car show at 9 a.m. will be held at the Napavine shopping center, and will feature around 100 cars, Owens said. Later on at 1 p.m., Centralia resident Pat Slusher will put on a free magic show, followed by a soapbox derby at 2 p.m.
“It’s becoming very, very popular with youngsters — they absolutely love it,” said Owens, adding that this is the third year the festival has hosted a soapbox derby, where kids vie for first place as they race downhill in handmade cars.
At 3 p.m., Owens said, there will be a hot saw demonstration, where a professional will show off a specialized chainsaw that makes incredibly short work of lumber. It’s a demonstration that’s new to the festival, and harkens back to the logging history of the town and the type of events that were held in early iterations of the festival.
“These are those saws that will cut through a 20-inch log in six seconds,” said Owens, adding later: “We used to have logging shows here for many years.”
Throughout the day, there will be food vendors set up around the shopping center and various events for kids, like pony rides and a bouncy house.
Owens estimated an average of 2,000 people stop by to enjoy the festival, making it the largest annual community event in Napavine each year — although the Funtime Festival committee does orchestrate other events through the year.
