Jerry Owens ready to take over as Grand Marshal of the Summerfest parade

By the Chronicle Team

Jerry Owens, who along with his wife, Eileen, was part of the original group to organize Centralia’s Summerfest in 1976, will serve as grand marshal of this year’s July 4 parade, the Centralia Downtown Association (CDA) announced this week.

Owens has been involved with Summerfest for many years since he helped found it, whether it was planning the festival, playing music or announcing the parade.

In a press release, Owens said his motivation for helping create Summerfest was to provide a family-friendly Independence Day celebration.

“Jerry said that playing music, often with special friends, was the highlight of Summerfest for him,” the CDA said in the release. “Another memory he shared was how hot it could be, recalling times when the heat caused transformers to explode and the power to go out. He recalled announcing the parade one year using a police car’s loudspeaker system because there was no electricity to run the PA system. Owens shared that there have been many beautiful floats and entries in the parade over the years. One special entry that brought so much fun and laughter to everyone was the Kiwanis Fun Car. It would flip, bounce, tilt and do all sorts of crazy things. The guys driving it had fun, the band had fun and everyone watching had fun.”

Being grand marshal of the Summerfest parade is a special title, Owens said.

“It’s a real honour to be considered for this,” he said. “I didn’t expect something like this. It’s an honour that goes to other people, not to someone like me. It’s very exciting and it feels really good.”

While Owens presides as grand marshal, Summerfest events will take place throughout Centralia. A free 5K fun run hosted by the Run Amok Irish Running Club will kick off at 8 a.m. at the Centralia College Clock Tower with an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast at the TransAlta Commons available from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. There will also be free field activities from 10 a.m. to noon, featuring an obstacle course, tees, bubbles, soccer goals and more on Centralia College’s Bob Peters Field.

New for 2024 is a free event shuttle service provided by Lewis County Transit with event parking at Fairway Mall and overflow parking at Lewis County Mall. The shuttle will be free and will operate from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. with departures every 20 minutes. Shuttles will stop at both parking lots as well as the Centralia Train Depot, George Washington Park and an additional stop on Pear Street near the Centrala College TransAlta Commons from 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

From noon to 3:30 p.m., Cooks Hill Community Church will host free family activities in George Washington Park, including a scavenger hunt, games, crafts and more.

Music will be provided by KELA/KMNT from noon to 2 p.m.

Food vendors will be present at Pine Street Plaza from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. to complement the downtown shopping and dining options.

There will also be live music from local band BonzoBalm from noon to 3 p.m. and games hosted by the Centralia Downtown Association.

The annual Summerfest parade, organized by the CDA and sponsored this year by Althauser Rayan Abbarno and Twin Star Credit Union, begins at 4 p.m. Live commentary will be provided at Pine Street Plaza by Chronicle editors and News Dump podcast hosts Aaron VanTuyl and Eric Schwartz.

To cap off the day, Summerfest attendees are invited to the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds for a demolition derby. Advance grandstand tickets—which are $12 for adults, $10 for children ages 6 to 12, and free for children under 6—can be purchased at the fairgrounds. Trackside seats are available for $25 for all ages. Eight-person loge seats are $200. Twelve-person loge seats are $300. Loge seats are available for purchase at the fairgrounds.

There will be a beer garden for those 21 and older. The cost is $30.

Tickets for the derby will also be available at the door from 5:30pm on July 4.

Following the derby, there will be a free fireworks display sponsored by the Lewis County Demolition Derby Association and the City of Centralia. The fireworks will not begin until 10:30 p.m.

To learn more about Summerfest, visit https://downtowncentralia.org/.