Summer is right around the corner and so is the annual Covington Days Festival celebration set for July 16-18.

Friday night will kick off with a barbecue at Covington Christian Fellowship at 5 p.m. followed by fireworks at 10.

This year the fun run and walk as well as the parade down Southeast 272nd Street will be expanded, explained Karla Slate, who serves as Covington’s representative on the festival committee.

“The Fun Run and Walk was a 5k last year, but, they’ve added a 10k category this year,” Slate said. “It will start and end at Kentwood High School.”

Julie Stein, who coordinates the parade, said this year there will be a new opportunity for children under 12 to participate in a new feature.

“We are planning a kiddies parade,” Stein said. “We are hoping all kids within the community who would like to participate in the parade can do so and decorate their bikes, wagons, tricycles, their animals. They can wear costumes.”

Stein said the kiddies parade would go first ahead of the grand parade.

Youngsters will need to register if they wish to be in the kiddies parade.

“They will walk first, then we’ll have a little gap, then we’ll have the Grand Parade right after,” Stein said. “We had the idea last year but nobody signed up.”

With enough advertising, encouragement and advance notice, however, Stein is hoping there will be greater interest this time around.

“Everybody in the community is welcome,” Stein said. “You don’t have to live in Covington to be part of the parade. It’s open to anybody who would like to join us. The bigger, the better.”

Organized by the Covington Lion’s Club, the festival is supported by the city of Covington, Valley Medical Center, MultiCare and Fred Meyer.

“The city is a huge contributor,” Slate said. “Most of our contribution goes to booking the entertainment. The city also does the watermelon eating contest… and also the council challenge.”

Residents will be able to challenge Covington council members to certain, predetermined games which, Slate explained, “is a really great way for people to see the council members, that they’re out there, they’re not just politicians.”

Slate said this is a new tradition for Covington Days that began last year. The council members enjoyed it and the challenge will only get better this year.

In addition, the city is working with Allied Waste on a recycling event, Slate said. This will help raise awareness in a fun way.

Allied will round up trash in Covington then contestants will each get a paint bucket. They will fill the bucket up with items they think are only trash and not recyclable.

“We’ll go around to each person, dump out the bucket, and find out if it’s all trash,” Slate said. “The person who has the least amount of recyclables will be the winner.”

Another concept festival organizers tried to bring the weekend last year is a beer garden. This year, with the help of 2seven2, a beer garden will be part of the festivities.

“It’s a separate piece, but it will be in conjunction with the festival,” Slate said. “What we on the committee realized is that it’s very difficult to do it themselves. It was easier to piggy back on someone who already has (the facility, liquor license)… all of that.”

It is a win for both the restaurant, which will get some additional exposure as a new business, while allowing a new element for the festival.

Judy Swanberg, co-chair of the festival and member of the Lions Club, said many of the familiar favorites return this year including the Kids Zone, the art show in MultiCare, all kinds of vendors, food, crafts and entertainment as well as carnival games and rides.

She said there are still sponsorship opportunities available and anyone who gets their information to the committee before the end of May will be on the festival’s brochures and fliers, which is “a good way to advertise.”

Swanberg said the festival, which is free, will be fun for families just like it has been in the past.

“We hope the weather is great,” she said. “We hope to have a great turnout.”

For more information on the Covington Days Festival, log on to

www.covingtonfestival.com or call the message line at 425-432-9140.