4 minute read
LOGGING LEGACY: SULTAN SHINDIG
Sultan Shindig LOGGING LEGACY:
BY CHRIS HENDRICKSON
It is difficult to pinpoint what people love the most about the Sultan Summer Shindig Festival, because the answer is different depending on who you ask.
The 2019 SULTAN SUMMER SHINDIG FESTIVAL takes place Friday, July 12, Saturday, July 13 and Sunday, July 14, near the heart of downtown Sultan in River Park (corner of 1st and Main streets). Discount tickets will be available at various locations in Monroe, Sultan and Gold Bar. Please visit the Sky Valley Chamber of Commerce website for additional details: skyvalleychamber.com
Some love the carnival the most, with its exhilarating rides and classic amusement park games. Others love the live entertainment, which features local performers during the day, and then shakes, rattles and rolls the night away with classic rock, rhythm and blues, and dance music. Some have a particular heart for the fireworks display, others the parade, some the car show, and others love the logging competitions. One thing on which everyone can agree is this: The Sultan Summer Shindig Festival is the quintessential small-town extravaganza, and everyone should experience it at least once.
Held annually during the second weekend in July, Shindig is a long-standing community tradition looking forward to celebrating its 36th showstopping year. The festival is built on Sultan’s rich logging history, merging tradition, honor, heart and hope, along with vibrant splashes of old-fashioned family fun. It’s coordinated by Sky Valley Chamber of Commerce Director Debbie Copple, who has assembled a veritable army of community advocates who tend to its various aspects.
And they don’t do it for a paycheck. Since its humble beginnings, Shindig has been organized by volunteers and supported by local businesses, an unaltered tradition that enhances community investment in the three-day festival.
“Shindig wouldn’t be possible without the hardworking volunteers who come together every year to make it happen,” Debbie said. “We are blessed with extraordinary levels of community support and are so grateful for everyone’s participation.”
Whether your first time at Shindig or your 25th, the weekend festival ignites unmistakable feelings of nostalgia, compelling guests to pocket their smart phones and revel in the event’s timelessness.
The logging competition showcases Sultan’s iconic history, honoring an important industry that formed the backbone of the Sky Valley economy for many years. With its high-intensity competitions including the Chokerman race, obstacle pole buck, Hooktender’s race, hot saws, spar pole climbing, firewood chopping and axe-tossing, guests spend a lot of time on the edge of their seats.
One of the much-loved highlights is the spar pole climbing, in which two competitors face off in a furious flurry of wood chips as each races to the top of an 80-foot spar pole. Climbers start with one foot on the ground and the other on the pole, rocketing their way towards the sky in a heart-pounding display of strength, endurance and agility.
To volunteer entertainment coordinator and newly-appointed parade director Elizabeth Emmons, Shindig is more than just a weekend festival. It’s Americana in its purest form, embracing the “big heart, little city” spirit that Sultan is known for. While she loves the entire weekend and all of its various elements, to her, Saturday night holds an indelible magic that returns year after year.
As the day fades away and the final band takes the stage, the warm evening air is awash in reassuring swells of music that twirl discreetly up towards the stars. As the final song reverberates throughout the dusky twilight landscape, a brilliant fireworks display commands your attention, enveloping the evening in a vivid display of color and light.
The Sultan and Skykomish rivers capture the display and reflect it back for guests to further enjoy, as the band plays its closing notes. The carnival rides take their final spin and fold quietly away for the night, like ancient metallic beasts fueled by sun and laughter.
It’s the very essence of community, Elizabeth said.
“I get goosebumps when I think about it. I just feel so grateful to be here and to be a part of making this happen,” she said. “I absolutely fall head over heels in love with my community every year during the second weekend in July.” CM
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