Pemberton’s Summerfest was the kickoff the City needed for August. On August 2 and
3, the town held several activities to entertain residents and share some pride in being
from Pemberton. It wouldn’t be a small-town festival without a pageant, a parade, a kids’
power pedal pull, and several other activities.
Although the main activities for the festivities didn’t start until August, Summerfest
kicked off with a medallion hunt on Tuesday, July 30. On Thursday afternoon, August 1,
the Pemberton Summerfest Facebook page shared that the medallion had been found.
The winner was Aven Sevilla, and he received $25 as a reward for finding it. This year’s
medallion hunt was sponsored by Backyard Bar and Grill.
Friday, August 2, kicked off the silent auction at the Pemberton Plaza and the bake
sale. The silent auction had over 170 entries donated by a number of local businesses
and items like a bird feeder, a wreath wrapped in the American flag, solar-power
emergency lights, a handful of beautiful art work, and others were all available for bids.
One reporter felt confident that a basket filled with water bottles would be his, but it
appears that six dollars doesn’t stretch as far as it used to. The pulled pork supper was
also at the plaza from 5-6:30 p.m and a traditional meal with a sandwich, a scoop of
baked beans and potato salad, and some decadent apple crisp for dessert was served.
Kudos to that baker of the crisp–good stuff. A small bake sale featured some tasty
treats whipped up by some local bakers of Pemberton as breads, pies, and a chocolate
bundt cake were hot items for good reason–they were out of this world delicious.
Soon after the meal was finished, the Trinity Church Ladies provided some
evening entertainment at 6:30 p.m. The Church Ladies have been a regular act during
Trinity events since their inception in 2012 and feature up to seven lovely ladies with a
penchant for having a good time. Five of the Ladies: Louise, Judy, Kris, Eugenia, and
Marcie welcomed an almost full community center as they sang an ode to Summerfest.
Much of the act consisted of the Church Ladies lamenting about the curious world
around them in comedic ways, poking fun of their elderly age, and of course, unleashing
a barrage of puns that got plenty of chuckles and groans from the audience.
The Ladies did have a few flubs from time to time–sometimes from laughing too
hard–and this would eventually cause all five of them to break out in a fit of laughter. A
brief 10 minute intermission during the performance gave a local musician Barry
Hoffman an opportunity to perform some music while the Ladies slipped into their iconic
costumes as they prepared to…travel to the State Fair. The five got a roar from the
crowd as they entered the community center in their roller coaster seats and quipped a
few jokes of “not riding these on a full stomach” or “I think that corn dog went bad.”
Hilarity ensued as the finale of the act followed the Ladies as they began to ascend to
the top of the tallest rollercoaster at the Fair only to fall with their hands raised high in
the air and screams belted from their lungs. The simple act of pretending to ride an epic
roller coaster had the Ladies and fans laughing until they decided to disembark from the
Fair.
I witnessed a sort of behind the scenes moment shortly after the performance as
the Ladies worked to carefully climb out of their costumes and some laughter filled the
hallway as they explained, “It’s tricky to get in and out of them some days.” The Church
Ladies have been close friends for years and “we all have a sense of humor” but it took
happenstance to get the group started. One Lady noted that the addition of the Disciple
Center at Trinity gave the Ladies an opportunity as entertainment was needed for the
space’s grand opening, “We wanted to be a part of something that would make people
laugh…and it’s such a thrill to keep doing this after all of these years.” Typically, the
Ladies would perform solely for Trinity events, but a close friend of theirs and
Summerfest committee member, Ruby, asked them to perform during Pemberton’s
Summerfest celebration.
For the most part, the Ladies’ jokes are simply an
amalgamation of clever wordplay from their own minds or things they have read or
heard, the roller coaster bids were crafted by the Ladies themselves and came from a
Youtube video one of them had watched online. They only practice their act a handful of
times before their performance, so there might be some mistakes, but the Ladies take it
in stride and laugh it off, “I think it kind of adds to the show to be able to laugh at
ourselves even if we make a mistake. It’s that genuine emotion to burst out laughing
when you see your friends laughing and we’ve been able to do this for years.”
The party started—at least for the youth—at the Pemberton Fire Hall with a dance from
7:30-10:30 p.m. The dance was pretty dormant for the opening hour or so as only a
handful of children took to the dance floor while others simply pedaled by on their bikes
or stopped to enjoy concessions. One rambunctious kid was eager to boogie on the
dance floor as she let out an array of dance moves that at times appeared to be more
flailing about than staying on rhythm. Her dancing turned out to be somewhat infectious
as others joined her with some moves of their own with a pair of teenagers copying
dances popularized on Fortnite. 8:30 featured some line dances coordinated by one of
the teenagers and even in your 30s and 40s, once the Electric Slide music starts, your
feet don’t stop until the song is over.
Saturday, August 3, was the busiest day for Summerfest. At 9 a.m., a volleyball
tournament featuring four teams, including a team with Councilor Oftedahl, battling for
bragging rights commenced. The slowly intensifying heat didn’t seem to affect the
competitors as teamwork was used throughout the contests as the classic
set/bump/strike attack proved effective during several points. Even after a defeat, both
times would reconcile and give congratulations after the match, but there was certainly
some chatter between the winner and loser. The vendor’s fair opened at 10 a.m. in the
plaza, followed by the Little Miss Pemberton pageant at 10:30 a.m. (There were no
candidates for Miss Pemberton this year.) In the same room as the silent auction,
several familiar vendors like VMS Creatures and Fidgets stood out as their tables were
filled with their 3D-printed creations; Schubbe Creative sold self-printed tees, coffee
mugs, and other crafts, Linda’s Decor returned as well with its variety of salsas, jams,
and hand-sewn house and kitchenware.
The parade, which featured nearly 30 floats, took place at noon. For a small town of
over 225 people, that’s not too shabby of a showing. Those in the parade lined up on
5th Street, followed 3rd Avenue, then looped to 2nd Street and onto 2nd Avenue.
Following the parade at 1 p.m., several kid-friendly activities were held, starting with the
kid’s power pedal pull; although many pedal pulls in certain cities are sanctioned under
the same rules as the state competition, that wasn’t the case for Pemberton’s pedal pull.
Kids could also have swords made of balloons by “Balloon Twisters.” If the heat was a
bit too much, kids also had various games at the plaza, free bingo for cash, and several
other prizes. The adults had a bean bag tournament starting at 1 p.m.
The silent auction at the plaza closed at 3:30 p.m. Summerfest’s final activity was music
at Jamie’s Pub at 8:30 p.m.
For a small town, Pemberton does well in providing as much entertainment, fun, and
concessions as possible during Summerfest. That hospitality has paid dividends for
several years. Many come from the neighboring areas to enjoy a simple, small-town
festival and take up every parking spot in the plaza and most parking spots downtown.
After all, you can’t go wrong with pulled pork suppers, Church Ladies and free candy
from a parade.
