Loggers playday

From harborpedia

Loggers Playday takes place in Hoquiam.

Each year the festival begins with the Rotary Club's Famous Pancake Feed.

Event Information

Where It's At

The small town of Hoquiam, on the Olympic Peninsular in Grays Harbour County, is host to the Annual Loggers Play Day every September. Hoquiam was originally the site of a Native American Indian village, but white settlers were attracted to the area by the abundance of giant trees. Hoquiam means 'hungry for wood' and logging has been the areas main stay industry since the 1850s. The Indians named it after the volume of timber that used to float down the river into Grays Harbour.

What Happens at the Loggers Play Day?

This annual event pays homage to the history and skills of the logging community in Hoquiam while providing a fun competitive day out for all the family. Start the day with a logger's breakfast, then head down to watch the truck driving competition and parade, before making your way to the Olympic Stadium for the evening's entertainment. You'll see many competitors landing with a bump, getting very wet, and generally working up a sweat. The evening is a traditional ho down. It's a real 'man's man' event with a great, fun atmosphere. Stay the night at the Hoquiam Castle, formerly the home to a lumber baron. Each room has been uniquely themed.

Reynvaan Run on Loggers Playday is 2 miles, 5K, and 10K run. It is open to the public and registration fee is the cost of a loggers playday button. Registration is usually at 8:00 and the race begins at 9:00. [1]

The vendor fair runs from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. in downtown Hoquiam. There are food concessions, craft vendors, and other activities to enjoy.

The Elks Lodge Grand Parade begins at 12:00; the Lions Salmon Bake at 2:00.

The Festival concludes with Hoquiam's renowned Loggers Show at 6:00 at the historic Olympic Stadium. Lumberjacks travel from all over the country to compete in the night time activities such as binder (axe) throwing, saw bucking, obstacle pole bucking, tree-topping and other combinations of blades, wood and skill testing [2]. The highlight is probably the choker setting contests where competitors race over logs and through water and try to keep their balance on a floating log.

Participants from throughout the Northwest participate in events at the evening logging show.

The show ends with a fireworks display and offers great family entertainment...! http://cityofhoquiam.com/fest_lp/[3]

Girl Scouts and Hoquiam Loggers' Playday Parade

Generations of Grays Harbor Girl Scouts of all ages have loved to show their colors in the annual Loggers' Playday Parade in Hoquiam.

In recent years, Girl Scout volunteer parade unit director Juli Bonell hasn't been content to simply march. Juli has created themes for the parade that help girls to dream, plan, and achieve.

Last year, Girl Scouts provided a service while marching in the parade by bringing Emergency Preparedness to the attention of the crowds of people lining the streets. They carried signs and passed out brochures with information about tsunami evacuation routes and making home emergency kits to help local residents "Be Prepared".

During Juli's first theme parade, in 2004, Girl Scouts marched dressed to represent their dream career. The girls proudly marched as doctors, lawyers, veterinarians, police officers, a president, teachers, scientists, dancers, a marine biologist, a logger, an artist, and numerous other career choices. There was even a detective in a complete Sherlock Holmes costume.

World Thinking Day is one of the biggest annual events for Grays Harbor Girl Scouts. World friendship and respecting diversity is key to this event, and was the theme selected for the parade in 2005. To show the onlookers the global scope of our World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), local girls marched in costumes representing many of the WAGGGS member nations. Led by a Girl Scout Honor Guard carrying the American flag, each girl carried a miniature flag of the nation she had chosen.

Held each year in early September, the Loggers’ Playday Parade has become a favorite way to kick off a new year of Grays Harbor Girl Scout fun!

Competition Category Information

Log rolling involves two lumberjacks, each on one end of a log floating in the river. One or the other starts "walking" (or "rolling") the log, and the other is forced to keep up. The contest involves attempting to stay on the log while attempting to cause the competitor to lose their balance and splash into the water. It is also commonly known as log birling. [4]

[5]

Tree topping is the practice of removing large branches and/or trunks from the top of a tree's canopy. Large pruning wounds often fail to compartmentalize and become entry points for disease and pests, undermining the long term health of the tree. Aesthetic appeal is compromised as the natural shape of the tree is lost. Trunks grow at the topping location and as these weakly attached trunks increase in size, they often fall during windstorms. [6]