Snoqualmie Railroad Days: A runaway success
August 26, 2010
By Kirsten Johnson
NEW — 11:50 a.m. Aug. 26, 2010
A youth performs during the 72nd Annual Railroad Days. (Photo by Kirsten Johnson)
The smell of corndogs, kettle corn and curly fries filled the air of downtown Snoqualmie as folks came out Aug. 20-22 to enjoy the 72nd Annual Railroad Days.
While the festival began Friday and carried into Sunday, Saturday featured the most packed day of events. With temperatures at a comfortable 70 degrees that afternoon, fairgoers picked an ideal day to enjoy the fun.
Morning attractions included a pancake breakfast served by the Snoqualmie Firefighters Association, the morning Fun Run, and the Grand Parade. The parade included crowd-pleasers like a bagpipe player and the Seafair Pirates.
This year was the Pirates’ first time visiting the festival since 1997. Mike “Sparrow” Knowlton, captain of the Seafair Pirates, originally hales from Snoqualmie. He said he was excited to return to his hometown for the festival.
“I was born here in 1960,” he said. “I’ve been all over the world, but nothing compares to here. Where else can you see a mountain shaped like an Indian?”
All throughout the day, food and vendor booths lined the streets selling artwork, crafts, and practically every kind of fair food.
A Seafair pirate roams the streets of Snoqualmie during the 72nd Annual Railroad Days. (Photo by Kirsten Johnson)
Kathy Miles, from Maple Valley, manned a vendor booth called Country Miles. She sold a variety of joke and toy gifts, attracting all types of people, but especially children. Each weekend in the summer, she travels to festivals all over Washington. This was her fourth year at Railroad Days.
“I have kids who look for me every year,” she said.
Ron Payne, of the Snoqualmie Fire Fighters Association, was attending a booth set up by the firefighters, beside Seattle’s first fire engine, a 1930’s antique. The firefighters had it set up as an attraction for children to play.
“Kids love to crawl all over this,” he said. “If you were a kid, wouldn’t you like to?”
Music from the Mainstage could be heard from all over the fair. Over the weekend, more than a dozen talented performers took the stage.
Rosalba Pantoja brought her entire family on Saturday to see all the attractions. They sat and enjoyed a plate of curly fries while watching Cascade Jazz Quintet perform that afternoon.
“We’ve been to the garage sales, my son and I did the run, and now we’re enjoying the fun music,” Pantoja said. “The kids are having a great time. It’s been a lot of fun.”
The railway museum gave train rides throughout the afternoon as well as performed railroad demonstrations for spectators.
The museum sponsored the event for the second year in a row. Susan Hankin, president of the museum, said that she believes the festival is an ideal opportunity to expose children to history of the Valley.
“Teaching kids about railroads is essentially teaching them about the history of the Valley,” she said.
The Kids Training area, set up behind the museum, was a popular stop for children. It featured a banana boogie race, a rootbeer garden and a stage full of fun acts, including a puppet theater.
Mike McRitchie, of Snoqualmie Ridge, came with his son Dmitri and daughter Isabella to enjoy the festival. His children especially enjoyed climbable amenities in the children’s play area.
“The kids love to play with all this stuff,” McRitchie said. “Dmitri loves to hear the big train passing by the museum blast the whistle.”
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