Celebrate Molalla
Annual city event set for Aug. 26
In 2017, the Molalla City Council embarked on creating a vision and action plan. The plan would be a road map for Molalla from 2020 to 2030. The project reached an important milestone in July 2018 with the idea of a city celebration.
In the span of two months, a group of residents, including a city councilor and a few community builders, put their heads together to plan the event. They visited festivals to find vendors, found musical performers, developed ideas for free kids’ crafts, and, in the end, put on a celebration that covered three city blocks. It was the largest street festival in the history of Molalla.
Approximately 2,500 people enjoyed the celebration in 2018, tasting treats, buying crafts, listening to music and enjoying the small community. Visitors also came from far and wide.
At the end of that first year, the organizers knew they had something special. The following years brought more vendors, more food trucks, more musicians and more excitement. The word spread to outlying areas, and vendors from all over Oregon and Southwest Washington began to join in the fun.
Celebrate Molalla grew to cover six city blocks and included not only contemporary artists and artisans, but also vendors who promoted the rich history of Molalla. Many community service organizations also offered resource information at booths.
On Aug. 26, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., the 2023 celebration will be hosted in a new location: Clark Park, 815 Shirley Street. With more space, the food and drink court will be expanded. The Corn Hole Tournament also will be bigger, and kids’ activities now will be located in one single area. Musicians with major local followings will be performing and a great variety of vendors will be selling their wares.
If you are interested in being a vendor, registration is open until Aug. 10 and can be found at https://bit.ly/43pvi6Y.
Fun for everyone
“Celebrate Molalla is truly a grassroots festival borne out of deep passion for this community. Organizers are local volunteers, and vendors are generally from the Molalla area. The festival started as an idea and has grown into something truly special.” Molalla City Manager Dan Huff
