Valleyfest expands to three days

Valleyfest, the largest all-community celebration in Spokane Valley, will last three days this year, its longest run ever.

Event organizers released the entertainment schedule for the free festival, which occurs Sept 21 through Sept.23 at Mirabeau Point Park.

The biggest change to this year’s lineup is a full day of events Sunday, which will showcase the best performers of the two-day Valleyfest logging competition. Logging competitions are a glimpse into the way timber was harvested in the days before high-tech logging operations were born. Some of these events are only used in competitions. They’re a chance to celebrate the skills necessary to survive as a lumberjack.

The competition will pit lumberjacks and lumberjills against one another in competition with axes, crosscut saws and chain saws with prize money on the line.

Events will include both single and double hand bucking, springboard chop, underhand chop, standing block chop, hot saw, ax throwing, choker setting and birling – log rolling for those who haven’t become aficionados of ESPN’s “Great Outdoor Games.”

Billed as “Loggingfest,” the competition begins in Mirabeau Park at 11 a.m.

The popular Fishing at the Falls child’s fishing event is back at the Mirabeau Point Park waterfall and pond. A car show will take place Sept.22, with awards for best cars issued at 3:30 p.m. The entry deadline is 11 a.m. the day of the show. Participation costs $10.