Founders’ Day takes the party city-wide in Cashmere this year

CASHMERE — It’s time again for Founders’ Day, and this year’s celebration promises to be as big a blowout as the small town vibe can handle, with at least one entirely new addition over at Side Street on Railroad Avenue. It takes place on June 28, and there are events all over town, so use this article as a guide to get you to each of them.

Cashmere's annual Founders' Day festival began in 1980, following the success of the town's 75th anniversary Diamond Jubilee in 1979. That initial celebration, organized by local businesses and community members, featured a pioneer parade, arts and crafts fair, and a community picnic, all capturing the essence of the tight-knit town.

Now that the Cashmere Valley Record has been digitized, it’s easy to look up those old celebrations. A glance at an article from July of 1980 says that Scott Jonas won the Stillman Miller Hill Climb, named for a prominent Cashmere businessman who’d passed only 3 years earlier.

The following year, Founders' Day became an annual tradition. But modern Founders' Day celebrations now span a few days and offer diverse activities for all ages. This year includes:

• A pickleball tournament starting on Saturday and finishing on Sunday (June 28 and 29), put on by Cashmere Rotary, being held at the Cashmere High School tennis courts, located at 329 Tigner Road
• A car show brought to you by the Mission Creek Community Club at 10 a.m. on Cottage Avenue
• A family fun fair and salmon release from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., presented by the Cashmere Library, taking place at Riverside Park (you can follow signs leading to the 9/11 Memorial)
• The vendor and food fair will also be at Riverside Park the whole day
• A ping pong ball drop sponsored by Doane’s Valley Pharmacy, scheduled for 3 p.m. during the family fun fair at the Park
• An artisan fair from noon to 6 p.m. being billed as the Brassbound Bazaar, hosted by Brassbound Collective at Side Street on Railroad Avenue

The main event, the Crunch Pak Grand Parade, begins at 5 p.m. on Cottage Avenue and will feature float entries from the Royalties of Cashmere, Wenatchee, Odessa, Prosser, Manson and the Leavenworth Autumn Leaf Royalty.

Other parade entrants include Miss Connell. Miss Lake Chelan, the Chelan County Rodeo Queen, Walt the Wolf from the Wenatchee Wild, the Wenatchee Bighorns Dance Troupe, the Tillicum Riders, members of the Alatheia Riding Center, District 12 Rep. Mike Steele, Crunch Pak, 9 trucks from 6th District Fire and the Cashmere Fire Department.

Today, the annual celebration attracts visitors from the wider region seeking an authentic slice of small-town Americana. Many former Cashmere residents also return home during the festival to reunite with family and friends.

Despite its growth since the Diamond Jubilee's inception 46 years ago, organizers emphasize that Founders' Day still reflects the original 1979 vision: A time for Cashmere to unite and celebrate its rich history, community spirit, and promising future. As the city marks its 121st anniversary on July 1st, Founders' Day remains a cherished tradition.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media