Thousands turn out for McCleary Bear Festival

A hot summer weekend held the promise of magic as throngs visited McCleary for the 65th iteration of the Bear Festival, which took over the town for the weekend.

The event went off fabulously, said Andrea Dahl, member of the festival committee, with all the parts moving like they were meant to.

“This weekend went as flawlessly as you can expect a weekend to go,” Dahl said. “When we can sit back and enjoy a burger, that means it’s running good.”

Dahl, along with Cindy Kuismi and Sarah Daniels were on the festival committee. Alongside more volunteers than can be easily counted throughout the year and through the weekend, the festival went smoothly, Dahl said.

“I think the city needs to be recognized. They do a lot of prep work,” Dahl said. “They make sure the park and the town are in good shape. They had their public works crew out busting their tails.”

Parades, soap box car races, the softball tournament, vendors, car shows and more dominated the town from Friday to Sunday. The cycle never stops, Dahl said.

“Even wrapping up this year, we’re already talking to entertainment and vendors and kid zone and car show about next year,” Dahl said. “It’s all year long.”

The parade was much larger than last year, Dahl said, with Carri Comer serving as Grand Marshall, nominated for her commitment to the community and civic renewal.

“The parade we had more entries than last year. I want to say it was around 40. It was up from about 30 last year,” Dahl said. “We had some new parade entries that we hadn’t seen there before.”

The Soapbox Derby also returned, Dahl said. The softball tournament went well, with the firefighters winning the annual Guns and Hoses game against the police, Dahl said. Hundreds partook of the traditional Bear Stew, while others went for other culinary options, Dahl said, including one most appropriate diner from Hoquiam.

“We have new vendors every year. We had new food trucks this year,” Dahl said. “The Grizzly Den had a food truck. It was a great to have them here and they had a lot of fun.”

The weekend was a great one, Dahl said, a worthy note to go out on, as she plans to step back from serving on the festival committee for a bit.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. It was perfect,” Dahl said. “The weather cooperated. Everyone was having a good time.”

Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or michael.lockett@thedailyworld.com.