Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
Each year, the residents of Yelm and surrounding communities gather downtown to celebrate the city and history of the region through the annual Prairie Days weekend.
This year, Prairie Days weekend coincided with the United States of America’s 250th anniversary — leading to one of the strongest Prairie Days Parade turnouts in recent memory.
This year, the parade took place on Saturday, June 27.
Following the activity, Mayor Joe DePinto spoke to the Nisqually Valley News and highlighted the history of the mid-summer festivities.
DePinto, on Monday, June 29, said that Prairie Days weekend has constantly evolved throughout the decades it’s existed.
“I feel like it started in the 80s, and that’s always the date that I hear, but I think it dates back a little further than the 80s,” DePinto said. “A lot of things have evolved and changed since then. The United States has changed and society itself has changed since the 80s. Prairie Days has as well.”
Personally, DePinto stated that, as a kid, the annual Prairie Days celebration was “all about” the carnival rides and games.
“Those were a lot of what Prairie Days was back in the day, along with the parade,” DePinto said. “For me, I enjoyed the carnival and I was really disappointed when it stopped. I was a council member when it stopped. I was opposed to how it was stopped.”
According to the mayor, the last year the carnival was part of the Prairie Days celebration was in 2018 at the old Yelm Middle School bus barn — where the new school currently sits. He noted the carnival itself was put on by the Yelm Lions Club, who had a profit sharing business model with the carnival the organization collaborated with.
“The carnival stopped — the rides, games and all that stopped. A lot of that had to do with Yelm City Park not being able to hold it anymore,” DePinto said. “The park has obviously changed quite a bit over the years too. I grew up playing t-ball on the small, run down field there.”
Additionally, like Prairie Days and Yelm itself, the city park has evolved over the years with the addition of the Yelm Community Center, the splash pad, a playground, the Centennial Stage, benches and more. With the expansion of the Yelm City Park, it is no longer able to host the carnival that once called Prairie Days home.
“Obviously, the carnival is important for a lot of people,” DePinto said. “If you read the Facebook comments, people will say ‘it’s not the same.’ Yeah, it’s not the same as when you and I were kids. For a while, I was right there with them. It’s not right that we don’t have this carnival. We need to bring it back. One of the things that we’ve done, my administration has done, is bring back those carnival rides. Last year we brought two back. This year we had three. I’m sure we’ll have another one next year and we’ll continue to grow it.”
With the reintroduction of several small carnival rides, DePinto noted the evolution of those activities this time around is that the admission for the different rides are free. Along with the free rides, there are several new contests that take place during Prairie Days weekend like the pie baking contest and photography contest.
“It’s really geared towards families,” DePinto said. “It used to be a small carnival. It wasn’t a big carnival — it was a small carnival, but it was cool. It’s more inclusive now. It allows people that if you don’t have a bunch of money, you can still have a lot of fun at this event.”
DePinto also wanted to recognize the hard working crew who put in countless hours throughout this past year to ensure that Prairie Days weekend was a tremendous hit. Specifically, he highlighted Line Roy, the City of Yelm’s communications and recreation coordinator.
“She’s been great at coordinating a lot of it from the city’s perspective on how we do things,” DePinto said. “We’ve taken a bigger lead in a lot of that stuff. She puts in a lot of time for this. The Lions Club does a lot. The Yelm Chamber of Commerce does a lot. All of these organizations, and a ton of other organizations, make this happen each year. I appreciate them trying to make this go on for the next generation.”
Throughout all of the constant evolutions and changes over the history of Prairie Days weekend, DePinto is thankful to see that the tradition of the parade has stuck around and remains a hit for residents of all ages.
“That’s probably the coolest thing that I remember growing up as a kid — all of the candy that was handed out and all of the cool vehicles you saw at Prairie Days,” DePinto said. “That’s something that’s stayed and remained with the city for so long. It’s cool to see a huge turnout this year. I think a lot of that has to do because of America’s 250th anniversary.”
