Intermittent sprinkles, thunder and gray skies weren’t enough to deter people from taking in the annual Pacific Days celebration in Pacific.

According to Pacific Mayor Richard Hildreth, about 2,000 people attended the celebration, which commemorated the city’s 100th birthday.

In addition to the Pacific Days celebration, which featured a parade, vendors, raffles, hot air balloons and live musical entertainment, this year’s event offered the inaugural White River Chainsaw Carving Championships. The carving championships featured 12 of the region’s best chainsaw carvers – including carvers from Enumclaw, Edgewood, Wilkeson and Reedsport, Ore. competing for cash and awards.

“I thought it was really good because they’re artists with chainsaws,” said Pacific resident Conner Newhouse, 10, who rode his bike to the event with his brother Walker, 8.

Mayor Hildreth said the response to the first time event was all positive.

“It’s been very, very positive,” he said. “A lot of people, they’re really amazed at how much talent these people have. They’ve seen it at the fair and at roadside attractions and stuff like that, and not taking away from those artists, they’ve never seen this caliber.”

Among the world-class chainsaw artists at the White River championships were local favorites such as Edgewood’s Bob King, who won People’s Choice, and Enumclaw’s Joaquin Quezada, who was awarded first prize in the competition.

Although the chainsaw carving provides a draw for the curious, Hildreth and other community leaders said that the main purpose for the event is to give Pacific residents and visitors a chance to celebrate their community.

“Number one, this is a chance for Pacific residents to celebrate,” Hildreth said. “This is a chance they get every year to come down and celebrate the great community they live in.”

Pastor Jim Brass from the Pacific Community Church agreed.

“I think this is important because it lets people know that there is community and they’re not alone,” he said. “A lot of people wander through and say, “I never even knew we had a park.’”

Brass was on hand with several members of his congregation, as well as several Boy Scouts, entertaining the audience with live music.

“I think it’s really good for people’s emotional health to get outside, have a burrito, sit under a tree and listen to some music,” he said. “It’s good stuff.”

Contact Auburn Reporter Sports Reporter Shawn Skager at sskager@auburn-reporter.com or (253) 833-0218, ext. 5054.

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