West End residents will celebrate Independence Day with an array of activities including a parade, fireworks, a nature walk and a surfing competition.
The array:
* In Forks, almost everything that is standing still has been draped with red, white and blue in honor of the annual Forks Old-Fashioned Fourth of July celebration.
An array of events including a parade, demolition derby, arts and crafts show, horseshoe and cribbage tournaments, a salmon bake and a fireworks show are planned.
Grand marshal of Sunday’s Grand Parade, which kicks off at noon in downtown Forks, will be Lonnie Archibald, longtime resident and photojournalist for Peninsula Daily News and other publications.
For a full schedule of events see Page 3 of today’s Peninsula Spotlight.
* In LaPush, the Quileute tribe will welcome dozens of surfing and kayaking enthusiasts to test the waters off First Beach today and Saturday during the inaugural Surfing and Traditions event.
The event features a free surf and kayak camp for West End youth between the ages of 10 and 18 today, and an open board and kayak surf competition Saturday at First Beach.
Both days, Quileute dancers and drummers will share traditional songs and teach participants about a culture that dates back thousands of years.
Novice and avid surfers will compete for an array of prizes Saturday.
The competition starts at 8 a.m. on the sandy shores of First Beach.
There is a $20 per person entry fee, and participants can register just prior to the start of the competition.
A traditional salmon dinner will be available for a nominal fee.
Watching the competition from the beach is free of charge.
* At Klahanie Campground, an interpretive community hike will be offered within Olympic National Forest on Saturday.
The event is designed to replicate the volksmarch, a non-competitive 6-mile community walk which has trails marked and/or mapped, with checkpoints and refreshments along the way.
The Forks volksmarch will be a 5-mile walk on Forest Service Road 29 starting at the entrance of the Klahanie Campground at 9 a.m.
The road’s level surface accommodates wheelchairs and strollers.
There is a $5 registration fee charged for adults and a $2 fee for children.
Walkers who arrive early will start the walk with Smokey Bear.
Everyone who completes the walk will receive a commemorative cloisonné pin.
The campground is located at milepost 5 on Forest Service Road 29, also known as the A Road, and is labeled Sitkum-Sol Duc Road.
People will turn right off U.S. Highway 101 northbound onto Sitkum-Sol Duc Road, which is located across the highway from the Smoke House Restaurant, 193161 Highway 101.
Parking is available at the entrance of the campground, but people wanting to carpool for the 5-mile drive to the event site can park at the industrial park at the base of Sitkum-Sol Duc Road.
