Folks from all over the Sky Valley and beyond braved the heat and came out to enjoy Sultan's 31st annual Summer Shindig celebration last weekend.
The event kicked off on Friday afternoon with the carnival, street fair, car show and performances at the main stage.
Saturday morning festivities started early as people packed Sultan's Main Street to watch the parade. The children's parade began at 10 a.m. and at 10:30 a.m. the Grand Parade commenced. The event was emceed by Darnell Koenig, who treated the crowd to random facts about the city of Sultan as well as some of the history of Shindig.
The award-winning Sultan High School Marching Band dazzled attendees along with many others including the Miss Gold Dust Royalty, Miss Gold Dust pageant co-director and the reigning Miss Sky Valley Queen of Queens Katelyn Baller; the Sultan VFW Post #2554 Color Guard led by Sultan resident and Highway 2 Freedom Runner Dave Sivewright; the Sultan Summer Shindig Parade Grand Marshalls Aaron and Cathy Day and their family; Sultan Summer Shindig Logging Marshall Roy Sartaineand the Sky Valley Chamber of Commerce Members of the Year, Joe and Anne Beavers.
The crowd watched the Fallen Hero Banners of Snohomish County presentation in silence as a group of individuals associated with several local organizations walked down Main Street carrying banners of U.S. military personnel who have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Other parade participants included Sultan Mayor Carolyn Eslick; Snohomish County Fire District #5; FLAME Missions; The Gunslingers Drill Team; the Sultan Middle School Marching Band, the Sultan Elementary School Unicycle Team; Toastmasters; Good Samaritan International; West Coast Country Heat; the Index Arts Festival; the Sultan Lady Turks Basketball Team; Sultan's Summer Santa; Selena's Dance Academy; Crosswater Community Church's Shine Day Camp and many others.
The parade also featured several political campaigns, including Sultan Mayor Carolyn Eslick's campaign for Snohomish County Executive; Sgt. Jim Upton for Snohomish County Sheriff, complete with his custom 1968 zebra-striped jeep and Washington State 39th District Representative Elizabeth Scott along with her opponent, Charles Jensen, a Democrat from Sedro Woolley.
The rest of the weekend featured logging competitions, musical acts, encore performances by the winners of Sultan's Lip Sync competition and, of course, a whole lot of sunshine.
"I love how our community comes together for Shindig,GÇ¥ said Sky Valley Chamber Volunteer and Shindig Main Stage Coordinator Elizabeth Emmons. "It's the biggest party in the valley and it's all thanks to volunteers stepping up to make the magic happen.GÇ¥
"Of course, most of the credit goes to Debbie Copple; she is the glue that holds everything together,GÇ¥ Emmons continued. "Thanks to her efforts, our amazing volunteers and our generous sponsors, everybody who braved the heat had a great time! I can't wait until next year!GÇ¥
Volunteerism truly stood out this year. In additional to all the event coordinating and set up that it took to make Shindig a success, Sky Valley Chamber Director Debbie Copple received a helping hand from the FLAME Mission, a discipleship program for both youth and families, who volunteered to perform the subsequent event cleanup.
FLAME, an acronym which stands for Following the Lord and Ministering Everywhere, is made up members from many different local churches, and is currently sponsored by the Snohomish Faith Assembly.
Natalie and Annessa Day, both members of the FLAME Mission, shared that they were happy volunteer their time.
"We love spreading God's word,GÇ¥ said Natalie. "We just like doing that kind of stuff just to spread his word.GÇ¥
Her sister, Annessa, agreed, stating that they wanted to do it to show their love for the community and all the people in it. The girls and their parents, Aaron and Cathy Day, along with the rest of their siblings were this year's Shindig Parade Grand Marshals.
Copple stated that she was beyond grateful to FLAME for their offer of help.
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