Editor’s note: This article was originally published online on July 25, 2019.
The busiest three-day stretch of Enumclaw’s summer season is about to hit, with downtown gearing up for the annual Street Fair and the Enumclaw Expo Center preparing to play host to the Scottish Highland Games.
The popular events overlap, providing the opportunity for an entertainment doubleheader. The Street Fair operates Friday and Saturday, while the Highland Games attracts visitors Saturday and Sunday. Added to the mix is Sundays On Cole, the weekly downtown celebration that sees several blocks of Cole Street closed to traffic and given over to vendors and shoppers.
The Street Fair is again sponsored by the Enumclaw Rotary Club and will operate from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days. Cole Street will be filled between Stevenson and Marshall Avenues, with Griffin Avenue remaining open for traffic. Additionally, some of Initial Avenue will be involved in the Street Fair, as will a portion of Myrtle Avenue.
Event coordinator Jill Carlson expects at least 80 vendors will be on hand, highlighting everything from home improvement and healthcare to noxious weeds and cosmetics.
On the food-and-beverage side of things, vendors will be whipping up burgers and hot dogs, kettlecorn, desserts, snow cones and Mexican specialties.
For the 21-and-older visitors to the Street Fair, local vendors will be setting up both a beer garden and wine garden. Conveniently, both will be near the stage.
Live entertainment is always a part of Street Fair and this year is no different. Friday’s schedule includes Music Store and Camp Commotion at 10 a.m., Ellie Schmidt from noon to 1 p.m., the Dan Farr Band from 2 to 3, Dance it Up at 3:30, Sugar High Band at 4:30 and Chicken Wire playing from 6 to 8 p.m.
Saturday’s entertainment schedule starts with Magic Strings at 10 a.m. and a storytime session hosted by the Enumclaw library from 11 to noon. Then it’s Peak Gymnastics taking the state at 1 p.m., Tom Taylor at 2, Dance it Up at 3 and Steel Grit from 4 to 5:30. The Camouflage Cowboys will close the Street Fair by performing from 6 to 8 p.m.
Back again is the Kid Zone, providing family fun, especially for the younger set. Much of the Zone will be free, with fees for some of the attractions.
Two events adding additional interest to Street Fair are a 3-on-3 basketball tournament and 5K run/walk.
The fourth annual hoop tourney will take place in the parking lot between Cole and Railroad streets, beginning at 11 a.m. The one-day tournament has multiple divisions for men, women, families, businesses and kids.
The entry deadline had been extended to Tuesday, July 23.
For tourney details, visit: https://content.molenorthodontics.com/enumclaw3x3.
The 5K begins and finishes at the corner of Railroad Street and Myrtle Avenue, next to the library. Things get rolling with a Kids Dash at 8:45 a.m., following by the main event at 9.
The early-registration period has passed, but racers can sign up until the morning of the event. For all details, including a registration link, visit: enumclawstreetfair.com/index.php/5k-race.
SCOTTISH HIGHLAND GAMES
The Pacific Northwest Scottish Highland Games and Clan Gathering officially kicks off Friday evening, but really opens its gates to the general public Saturday and Sunday mornings.
This year marks the 73rd annual Highland Games and the association’s 33rd year in Enumclaw.
These Highland Games, hosted by the Seattle Scottish Highland Games Association, are the sixth-oldest in the United States and the largest in Washington state. Attendance is known to top 20,000 visitors.
An annual highlight is the massing of the pipe and drum bands and the parade of the clans, which takes place both Saturday and Sunday.
The Highland Games include the North American Scottish Athletics Championship, U.S. West Coast Drum Corps Championship, individual pipers and drummers, colorful pipe bands and competition among Highland dancers. Visitors can sample a wide variety of Scottish foods, take a stroll through the clan tents and delve into Scottish ancestry, wind through a hall filled with Celtic vendors, visit the Scottish farm featuring shaggy Highland Cattle and the kennel to enjoy Celtic dog breeds at work and at play. Some guests have been known to enjoy a Scottish-style ale at a beer garden.
Musical acts perform on five stages throughout the grounds, offering everything from quiet strings and balladeers to raucous reels and electric guitars.
A different type of entertainment is provided by the Seattle Knights, a theatrical troupe whole specialty is billed as “medieval fantasy.” For the Games, performers likely will swap armor and horses for kilts and comedy.
As always, male and female athletes will compete in traditional Celtic events like the caber toss and sheaf toss.
Tickets are $20 for adults per day or a two-day pass is available for $30. Senior citizens and children can get a daily pass for $15 or a two-day admission for $20; kids younger than 5 are admitted free. Tickets can be purchased online (there’s a fee) or at the gate. Also, be prepared to pay for parking at the Expo Center.
For information call 206-522-2541 or visit www.sshga.org.
