Support pours in for Chehalis Fourth of July celebration
Stan Hedwall Park will be the new face of the Fourth of July in Chehalis, hosting the only fireworks show in the Twin Cities this summer as it celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The Chehalis City Council accepted $48,200 in sponsorships and in-kind donations to support the upcoming Independence Day event during its Monday business meeting.
Chehalis Recreation Manager Sarah Prok presented the fundraising update to the council, adding that the city needed approximately another $21,000 in donations or sponsorships to meet its goal of having no impact on the city budget.
This is the first recent city-led Fourth of July celebration in Chehalis, which has long been dominated by Summerfest festivities in Centralia.
"We do have some pending sponsors that we are continuing to look to secure and hopefully reach our goal," Prok said to the council.
That total adds to a $20,000 sponsorship agreement with Gesa Credit Union, which will be the stage sponsor for the event. City of Chehalis staff also received a verbal commitment for another $2,500 sponsorship from the Port of Chehalis during a port commission meeting on Thursday, June 11. Those additional sponsorships put the city at $70,700 raised to fund the event.
The free community event, which will include a "family area," a beer garden, food trucks and live music, is also intended to mark the beginning of a multi-year plan to turn the more than 200-acre park into one of the most well equipped parks in the region.
The Stan Hedwall Master Plan Committee has big dreams, believing it to be the perfect place to add more local features and amenities to better serve youth of all ages and the area's senior population.
USA 250
America's 250th 4th of July Celebration, as it is called by the city, will begin at Stan Hedwall Park at 4 p.m. on the Fourth of July. The event comes with a general theme of "Honoring our past, celebrating our future."
According to Prok, it is intended to be a family-friendly and fiscally-responsible event and to become the city's annual celebration and fireworks show moving forward. Live music at the event will begin at 6:30 p.m. with Creedence Revelation, a Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band featuring Randy Linder. Eagles tribute band Eagle Eyes will take the stage at 8:30 p.m. and serve as the headliner of the event.
Between the two music acts, Gesa Credit Union will present its Local Heroes Grant Program awards to local first responders as part of its "Stars, Stripes and Stronger Communities" theme.
According to Prok, her team approached the Gesa with the proposal for the sponsorship, pointing out that they would have the only Fourth of July fireworks display show in the Centralia-Chehalis area this year.
The fireworks display will be the final event of the evening and is scheduled to begin at 10 p.m.
While Gesa Credit Union is the largest sponsor of the event, a long list of other local businesses have also signed on. Of the $48,200 accepted by the Chehalis City Council this week, $27,000 came from community sponsorships. Those sponsors include Powersports Northwest, Cole Electric, Express Iron Works, Pacific Mobile Structures, Papé Machinery, Comcast, Service Saw and the Twin Cities Sports Commission.
The remaining $21,200 of the recently accepted funds came from in-kind donations from Bethel Church, Alderson's Printware Northwest, Diversified Entertainment and Sertoma.
Businesses and organizations can still register to sponsor the event on a sliding scale with as little as $500 and as much as $30,000 for a main event sponsorship.
Stan Hedwall Master Plan
Prok and the Chehalis Parks Department see the Fourth of July celebration, in part, as a launch party for the beginning of their plans to transform the massive local park into a regional destination for outdoor events, sports, fitness and trails.
The City of Chehalis convened the Stan Hedwall Master Plan Committee last year to hear from residents and stakeholders about their desires for the local park. The parks department is now pitching a three-phase, 15-year plan for the parks transformation starting from this summer onward.
According to Prok and City of Chehalis Administrative Assistant Josh Pickett, the first phase would focus on community engagement and improvements to existing features such as many of the sports fields at the park.
"This really is the kickoff to a large-scale awareness that this park will look familiar, but completely different, transformed in 15 years for a new generation of our community to enjoy," Prok said as she presented the plan in a recent Port of Chehalis meeting.
Longer term goals include flood mitigation and flood resilient infrastructure, new playgrounds, walking trails and wilderness areas, improved and safer water access to the Newaukum River and even a large amphitheater for hosting large cultural events and live music.
The team also has hopes of reclaiming a small island in the river known as Scout Island in cooperation with local Scouts of America groups.
Pickett and Prok are currently applying for grants to drive the funding of the first phase, which includes a youth athletic facilities grant and a recreation accessibility grant. The first phase is expected to be completed by 2030.
Phases 2 and 3, which will include larger improvements and infrastructure changes, are each expected to take five years as well, which would set the park on a path to complete its metamorphosis by 2040.
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