The Hockinson Fun Days celebration will return in the first week of June after a two-year hiatus with a packed schedule of events for attendees.
Coordinator Julie Atchley said the event will mirror prior iterations of the event before the pandemic hit.
“People should expect that Fun Days will be in full swing the way that it has in the past,” Atchley said. “We had to take two years off because of COVID, so we’re super excited to bring the event back to the community.”
She said the event will kick off on June 3 at Hockinson High School with a family bingo night from 5:30 to 8 p.m. It will be followed by the school’s theater company, which will perform live skits in the multipurpose room from 8 to 10 p.m.
Clark County Fire District 3 will then host its pancake breakfast the next morning from 7 to 11:30 a.m., while the marketplace bazaar will be held at the Hockinson Community Center from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Atchley said about 30 vendors are expected to take part. A couple of the notable vendors she mentioned is Getta Gyro, a Greek restaurant in Vancouver, and the Tooth Docs from Battle Ground, who will hand out water. Erik Huset, the woodshop instructor at Hockinson High School, will also set up a booth to sell his students’ handmade items. The proceeds from Huset’s booth will be used to buy more resources for the woodshop department. A few sponsors she mentioned are Vancouver Tennis Center and Rech Team Realty.
On top of that, the Fun Days parade will begin at the high school and run along 159th Street and past Hockinson Middle School starting at noon on June 4.
The parade will start with the town’s police department followed by Beth Tugaw, who is the parade’s grand marshal.
“Beth has been living and working in Hockinson for many years. She was a big part of getting the original high school started and she is retiring this year, so we wanted to honor her many years of service to Hockinson,” Atchley said.
The high school and middle school bands will take part, as well as the Hockinson Singers Company. The high school’s cheer and football teams will march alongside them. The parade will conclude with Fire District 3. Other participants that are expected include the Clark County Fair Court and Curly the Camel.
There will also be a carnival in the parking lot of the community center from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 3 p.m.
“(At the carnival), we sell tickets and the people play games where they get prizes to redeem them at the prize booth,” Atchley said. “We also have a dunk tank where kids of all ages and even adults dunk some of our administration or teachers I convinced to get in the tank.”
The event will also feature a cruise-in and live music at Elim Church Lawn from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 4.
According to Atchley, Fun Days started in 1989 when Fire District 3 held its first pancake breakfast at Hockinson Elementary School. It later expanded to include the parade and other events in 1993.
“I really feel like it’s our true community event that brings us all together and I see that from the planning committee all the way down to the day of the event, where we see a lot of volunteers come out and help plan different parts of Fun Days,” Atchley said. “Overall, I like the community outreach aspect of coordinating Fun Days.”
For transportation, a shuttle bus will go back and forth between Hockinson High School and Hockinson Middle School from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m on June 4.
