Timber strong. Communities united.

The legacy continues –

Welcome to the 2023 Mason County Forest Festival. The theme of this year's Forest Festival "Tall Timbers" celebrates the 79th anniversary of this event. Mason County Forest Festival Association is a volunteer organization, incorporated in 1947 as a non-profit.

Today there are several timber companies in Mason County: Simpson and Green Diamond; Port Blakely; Manke Timber; Hama Hama Logging; Alta Forest Products; Belco Forest Products and Sierra Pacific all are active legacy timber harvesters. With their support we hope this event helps bring awareness to our rich timber heritage as well as that wildfire is still very much a part of our landscape and most can be prevented. Enjoy the 79th Mason County Forest Festival.

Mick Sprouffske MCFFA President

Favorite festival time

Forrest and I have chosen to raise our family and run our business in Shelton –we love living here and being involved in this community.

We are creating our own traditions with our daughter Caroline, and Forest Festival is absolutely one of them. The excitement builds downtown as businesses prep for this grand event as the community share photos & stories. Forest Fest is so loved. Seeing neighbors and visitors fill the streets of Shelton to experience this great event is exciting and heartwarming. We love to attend the carnival, fireworks shows, music events, logging displays, car show and especially the Parade. It’s a tradition for many, both for locals and visitors.

Amy Cooper MCFFA Vice-president

Uniting Generations

Mason County has a deep-rooted history in forestry, and it is an honor for me to be a part of the Forest Festival celebration. I have attended the Festival with my husband, Mike, and two sons, Tyler and Zach, many times over the nearly 30 years I have been a member of this community. Mike, a lifetime resident of Shelton, and our sons all graduated from Shelton High School, and we’ve remained involved by volunteering with the Mason County Youth Baseball Association, the Shelton Highclimbers Football Booster Club, and the Shelton Youth Football League. The Mason County Forest Festival has always inspired an appreciation for both our past and our present. The logging show, which my husband and son, Zach, will be a part of this year, displays historically traditional logging practices, while the parade and carnival bring out new exhibitions and fresh faces. The parade is probably my favorite part with all the original floats from our schools and organizations, the classic cars and motorcycles, and the beautiful horses. My family and I also enjoy the carnival and we never miss an opportunity to spur on a little friendly competition with all the games. Being part of a community and work culture that promotes benevolence and quality of life, for me this event is an important opportunity to support our local economy and bring people together. I am looking forward to working with a great team that makes Mason County Forest Festival possible every year and privileged to serve as the association’s treasurer.

Sherry Speaks MCFFA Treasurer

Bunyan–sized support!

I have lived in Shelton most of my life and have many fond memories of watching the Paul Bunyan Grand Parade with my family and friends.

My husband and I have been involved with the logging show for many years.

When our daughter, Eryn, was honored to be part of the Royalty Court for two years, I enjoyed helping with the float and court during parades. It was rewarding and I wanted to continue to help, so I joined the Forest Festival Committee. The board welcome new volunteers. If you are interested in joining or learning more about how you can support this event, contact us at masoncountyforestfestival.com.

Cheryl Earsley MCFFA Secretary

Thank you to all of local sponsors of this event – including the business and organizations featured in this program – Without their support the Forest Festival legacy would not be alive still after nearly eight decades. Consider these businesses and organizations when shopping in our community.

Timber Legacy Begins

The first known saw mill in the area was built in 1853 just south of Shelton, by Michael T. Simmons. This was the beginning of the timber harvest of Mason County. Imagine, when Forest Festival began, they had been actively logged for more than 90 years! Several others would join in including Sol Simpson who incorporated Simpson Logging Co. in 1895.

Only you Can

Along with celebrating the rich history of Mason County's timber heritage, Forest Festival was started to promote forest fire prevention. Whether started by lightning or human, fire was and is something that forest managers despise for the loss of timber, property and, most of all – lives! By the early 1940s there had been so many wildfires that in 1944 the Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign began.

Smokey's original slogan was "Smokey Says - Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires" in 1947, the slogan changed to "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires." Forest Festival was an member of the local chapter of the Keep Washington Green Committee. For many years there were parade floats themed around forest fire prevention and logging history.