Northwest Cherry Festival 42nd Annual

Why do we feel that investing in the community is so important?

Because of the sizable returns.

NW Natural is proud to have served our customers for over 163 years. With that pride comes the knowledge that we have an even greater responsibility to the community at large. That’s why on any given day you’ll find our employees helping others. And the fruits of those efforts are visible in the faces of those who need us most.

We believe that if we put the time in to help our neighbors through philanthropy, volunteering or just plain sweat, the rewards are tenfold.

Together with numerous charitable organizations, we’re doing what any good neighbor would do. We’re working to make this the kind of place we can call home. And that’s the biggest return of all.

The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce would like to welcome you to the 42nd annual Northwest Cherry Festival.

A long time favorite among locals and visitors alike, the festival is set in the spectacular Columbia River Gorge and showcases The Dalles deep agricultural heritage and Western roots. The Cherry Festival is three days of family-friendly activities and events.

The Northwest Cherry Festival takes place downtown The Dalles Friday April 21st through Sunday April 23rd.

If you or your family member are in need of transportation services such as services for wheelchair-bound clients or mobility impaired individuals, please contact us. We will be happy to discuss details on how to meet your specific requirements as you travel safely with Bobbi’s Way Transportation.

Grand Marshall

By Alana Lackner

This year, when Darrell Klampe rides through The Dalles as the Grand Marshal of the Northwest Cherry Festival, the title will be new to him, but the experience of being in the parade won’t be.

Darrell moved to The Dalles in 1957, and even though he didn’t grow up in the Gorge, the spirit of The Dalles comes through Darrell in his love of cherries and agriculture. As a Master Gardener, Darrell was revered around The Dalles for his delicious raspberries and his gift to always grow the biggest, tastiest garlic. More than just his green thumbs, he was known for his generosity, as he was always more than happy to give his crops away. In fact, Darrell would donate his garlic to local restaurants, even going so far as to teach one of the restaurant owners how to grow garlic themselves.

Darrell also used to spend time in the orchards every year with a friend who

was an orchardist, and he would even take the kids picking. Even now, he asks Keri to make him a cherry cobbler every year during cherry season.

It’s easy to see why, then, he’s always loved the Northwest Cherry Festival. From the time it started, he and his wife, Analea, always took their family to enjoy the festivities. They were such regulars, in fact, that they always knew exactly where downtown to stand to watch; it was their own special spot, where they would watch as a family.

A few times, however, he found himself looking at his family from inside the parade itself: once with the Lions Club, and a few times from inside the comfort of his Pontiac GTO, even as recently as five years ago, his step-daughter Keri Day said.

Now, decades after he and his family first started attending, it’s become a family

tradition, spanning four generations.

“He used to take us every year and then once the grandkids came along, the grandkids would come up and he’d take them too,” Keri said.

Darrel isn’t just a Cherry Festival veteran; he’s also a retired veteran of the U.S. Navy. He spent two years deployed in Bermuda and was in reserves for well over 30 years. Though serving one’s country is, by nature, dangerous, Darrell also found space to have fun. It helped that he was able to stay safe, which is something he partially attributed to his mother.

“I think my mother saved me because I think she went to my commander and wrote him a letter,” Darrell said. “She said

‘Take good care of my boy, I only have one.”

It wasn’t until after serving in Bermuda that Darrell moved to The Dalles and started working for the State of Oregon. His career would change and move around a bit, especially when he would leave for a few weeks here and there with the Navy reserves, but he always ended up back in The Dalles and back at Cherry Festival.

Ultimately, his favorite memories of the Cherry Festival always come back to driving his GTO in the parade. And even though Darrell may not be in his GTO this year, he is excited to take the parade by storm and show off his starpower.

“I’m just too famous, what can I say?” he said with a laugh.

King & Queen Bing

By Alana Lackner

It was never the Mannings’ intention to become orchardists.

In fact, as Mike and Pam fell in love in Portland as highschoolers, made it through college and got jobs in the city, their minds couldn’t have been further from The Dalles and cherry trees. Mike worked in tires and Pam worked for Coca-Cola for years, until she quit and they moved to start a family in Gresham. Four kids, 80 sheep, two goats and a flock of geese later, the young family was living a farmhouse dream, but they felt like where they were just wasn’t the right place to raise their kids. They wanted somewhere different. Somewhere homier. Somewhere like The Dalles. “We drove all over the Northwest looking

for a place to raise our family,” Mike said. “And we settled in The Dalles. We decided that this would be the best place for our kids to grow up and get a good education.”

In 1987, Mike sold his interest in the tire company he had been working at and the pair found Nelson Tire in The Dalles. They purchased it and by 1989 had sold their house in Gresham to move to The Dalles and raise their family, just like they had dreamed.

“Bringing up my children in The Dalles was so great,” Pam said. “They had all kinds of Northern Wasco County sports, they had swimming and baseball and softball and soccer. The kids were involved, and yet I didn’t have to go very

far to get four kids in different things moving.”

“The Dalles is a really different place,” Mike said. “Anybody that is here really has the opportunity to be what they are.”

Still, it was almost a decade before they would get into the cherry industry, after they moved up onto Three Mile Road in 1998, purchasing an orchard that would become Blossom Ridge Farm.

“It was just a lucky kind of thing,” Pam said. “We were looking for something else because we had spent 10 years at our home in The Dalles and to move up onto Three Mile, it was an opportunity. The orchard was great, the home had a view, and the kids were young and it was

a great place to come home to. It was something different.”

Despite now finding themselves with an orchard full of cherries - specifically processing cherries to be turned into maraschino they still had the tire business, which remained their focus until Mike fell ill in 2000. The Mannings sold the tire business and decided to go all in on the cherries. Unfortunately, breaking out into cherries was not an easy task. In fact, they really couldn’t have had a rougher start, Mike said.

Right after their purchase, processing cherries started to have trouble, he said. Suddenly, the model changed so that orchardists weren’t getting paid for their year’s crop until the end of three

years. And just when they thought things couldn’t get worse, they did. The market made it so they could only deliver half the processing cherries that had been historically delivered. It was a crisis at the time, but in hindsight, it’s more like a blessing, Mike said.

“One of the best things that happened was the collapse of the maraschino industry, because that forced us to immediately change,” he said. “And since we were green, we didn’t know any better and we went at it full steam and really worked at it.”

Their work paid off. They made the switch to fresh cherries and now, two decades later, their orchard has over 20 varieties of fresh cherries, some of which are new, cutting edge varieties from Canada or New York that they were able to sign agreements for. In many ways, their ability to stay at the forefront of cherry varieties was because of Pam. In 2005, Pam started working with the Oregon State University Extension Service, specifically in cherries. With a background and a degree in science, she was more than able to jump in and start learning all about cherries, from varieties to rootstocks and most importantly, what cherries were the best. With OSU Extension, Pam said they would go to markets in Portland and bring cherries to get direct feedback.

“We would bring cherries for specific reasons,” she said. “We brought different varieties and would ask ‘Do you like the

color? Do you like the taste? The size?’ And we would learn things and offer that up to orchardists.”

Today, Pam and Mike both find themselves beginning to wrap up the cherry chapter of their lives. As they get older, they find themselves facing retirement and preparing to sell their orchard and move, which is bittersweet, with the love they have for the orchard.

“Working in the orchards is probably one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever done,” Mike said. “It’s a privilege, a real privilege.”

When one door closes, another opens, however. “We’re getting ready to do something else,” Pam said. “And we will, because that’s just what we do. It’s different but it’s good. Exciting.”

For now, though, the ‘something else’ directly on their radar is serving as King Bing and Queen Anne in the 42nd Annual Northwest Cherry Festival, which almost feels like coming full circle, Pam said, as they’ve been involved with the Cherry Festival since the 2000s. Not only did they frequently participate in the baking and cooking contest, but two of their daughters were also on the Sweetheart Court, one in 2002 and one in 2004.

To be able to be a part of the Cherry Festival one last time before moving onto their next chapter is not just icing on the cake, but also a cherry on top.

“I’m really honored,” Pam said. “I’ve never been queen before!”

Little Royals

The 42nd Northwest Cherry Festival is pleased to announce our Little Royals Contest, sponsored by Rivermark Community Credit Union! Since the very first crowning of the Little Royals in 1988, this time-honored tradition has warmed the hearts of our entire community. Candidates must be between the ages of four and seven and may be entered into the contest at The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce at NorthwestCherryFestival. com a few weeks prior to the event!

Our community votes every year for our Little Royals! The winning candidates get to ride in the Cherry Festival Parade along with the other Cherry Festival Royalty. The Little Royals will receive a backpack full of fun goodies from Rivermark Community Credit Union. This year’s Royal Court Coronation, with the crowning of Little Miss Royal Ann and Little Mister Royal Andy, along with King Bing and Queen Anne, will take place during the Cherry Festival Breakfast which will be held at the Mid-Columbia Senior Center on Saturday, April 22nd at 8:00 am.

Events

CHERRY TRAIL

Friday, April 21 thru Sunday, April 23

Various Locations throughout The Dalles

RAINIER AMUSEMENTS CARNIVAL

Friday, April 21 thru Sunday, April 23

First Street, The Dalles

GORGE ARTISTS OPEN STUDIOS

Friday, April 21 thru Sunday, April 23

Various Studios will be open 10am – 5pm

www.gorgeartists.org

LITTLE MUSIC CITY

Friday, April 21 through Sunday, April 23

Live Music at Various Locations in The Dalles

Check TDCommunityCalendar.com for Live Music Around The Dalles

OPEN AIR MARKET

Artists, crafter, food vendors & more!

Friday, April 21, 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Saturday, April 22, 11:00 am – 9:00 pm

Sunday, April 23, 10:00 am – 9:00 pm

Between 1st & 2nd St, Court to Laughlin St.

UNDERRINER FORD AND NISSAN OF THE DALLES ENTERTAINMENT STAGE

Entertainment Stage - Dining Area - Family Friendly Beer Garden

Friday, April 21st

Second & Federal St

4:30 pm - 5:30 pm • Tyler Boeh Beat Boxer & Comedian

6:00 pm - 7:30 pm • Roll On - Tribute to Alabama

Saturday, April 22nd

12:30 pm - 2:30 pm • Dancing Horse

Performance

3:00 pm - 3:30 pm • The Dalles Dance Academy Performance

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm • The New Prohibitions

5:30 pm - 6pm • Cherry Pie Eating Contest

6:00 pm - 7:30 pm • Shades of Huey

Sunday, April 23rd

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm • Grupo Super Escandialo

3:30 pm - 5:00 pm • Chervona

CHERRY FESTIVAL ROYALTY CORONATION & COMMUNITY BREAKFAST

Saturday, April 22 nd

8:00am Breakfast

8:30am Coronation

Mid-Columbia Senior Center

9th & Cherry Heights

CHERRY FESTIVAL QUILT SHOW

Saturday, April 22nd, 10am - 4pm

St. Peter’s Landmark & Herbring House

Courtyard

405 Lincoln St • 314 W 3rd St

TEDDY BEAR RUN

Saturday, April 22nd • 9:45 am

Start at Eagles Lodge

Tonkin of the Gorge Cherry

Festival Parade

Saturday, April 22nd, 10am

Starts at Sixth & Webber and travels the normal parade route through town

KODL CLASSIC CAR SHOW

Saturday, April 22nd, 10am - 4pm

Awards at 3pm

Federal St between 2nd St & 4th St

NW Natural Community Fair

Saturday, April 22nd, 11am - 4pm

Parking lot at 2nd & Washington St.

EARTH DAY CELEBRATION

Saturday, April 22nd, 10am - 5pm

Lewis & Clark Festival Park

GORGE GRAVEL GRINDER

Sunday, April 23, 9am (all day event)

Dufur, Oregon

www.oregongravelgrinder.com/gorge-

Cherry Specials

Hop on the Cherry Trail and get 10 spaces initialed for a chance to win an inflatable paddleboard and the Cherry Trail gift basket! You can pick up a passport at The Dalles Chamber booth (located near the Grand Entrance) or at participating businesses.

Starseed Curisoities and Gifts

404 Washington Street

Cherry Quartz and Cherry Quartz Bracelets

Scooper Mcquades

215 E 2nd St

$2 Cherry ice cream scoop

Gorge Academy of Cosmetology & Massage

422 E 2nd St

“$10 basic Pedicures Thursday, Friday & Saturdays in April. Call to pre-book your appointment with the Code Word “Cherry Pampering” at 541-769-1144.

Gorge Academy of Cosmetology & Massage, is Gorge’s Beauty Headquarters!“

Emma’s Bowtique

305 E 2nd St

10% off entire purchase

T&T Coffee & Bagels

405 W 2nd St

Dark cherry smoothie, cherry habanero lime lemonade, and T&T philly bagel sandwhich

Terra Cotta Gorge Co.

111 E 2nd St

$5 off purchases of $50 or more

Columbia Gorge Lipomelt

802 W 6th #100

Buy one 15 minute hot sauna infared blanket, get one free!

Bargeway Pub

1535 Bargeway Rd.

Chocolatee Cherry Manhatten

The Workshop

116 E 2nd St

10% off your purchase

Cousins’ Restaurant

2114 W 6th St

Cherry Mint Mule: Fresh muddled mint & lime, cherry vodka, and ginger beer $8.50

Cousins Cherry Limeade: Deep Eddy citrus vodka, cherry vodka, Sprite, sweet & sour, and a splash of lime

$9.50

Cherry Drop: Double shot of cherry vodka, fresh muddled lemon, citrus liqueur, and monade served martini

style $9.50

Cherry Cinnamon Rolls, Cherry cobbler, Cherry Milkshakes

The Dalles Athletic Club

731 Pomona Street

Guest Pass, good for visits, classes, swimming, pickleball

Empower Yoga

311 East 2nd St

$10 Drop in special for Cherry Festival Weekend ONLY!!

Smokewring BBQ

801 East 2nd St

Cherry themed drinks, treats, and more

Rivertap

701 East 2nd

Cherry bourbon pulled pork sandwich, cherry cobbler, bourbon cherry coke, vodka cherry creamsicle

Ace Hardware

500 East 3rd St

15% OFF Traeger Cherry BBQ pellets with coupon

Grinders Coffee

502 East 3rd Street

Cherry themed drinks

Sigman’s Flowers and Gifts

200 East 2nd Street

15% off Cherry Items Throughout the Store

Last Stop Saloon

209 East 2nd Street

Spicy Cherry Rum Margarita, Cherry

Blossom Martini, Cherry Lime

Sublime Cider

Satori

406 E 2nd St

Cherry themes tattoos from 105pm with artists Harry Henschel, Jake Lagunas, and Mark McCormick. Lucky Locks Satori will be offering sparkling

Clock Tower Ales

311 Union St

20% off Cherry inspired food specials