Pioneer Village Festival returns to Cashmere, bringing history to life in the Heart of Washington

CASHMERE– As Autumn leaves begin to pile up around the Wenatchee Valley, the Cashmere Museum and Pioneer Village welcomes visitors for a day of community fun and a celebration of local history at the annual Pioneer Village Festival. 

Each year, the Pioneer Village Fest is held in the Cashmere Museum’s Pioneer Village, a collection of real 19th-century pioneer log cabins donated from around the local region. The Village Festival focuses on celebrating the community of Cashmere and its rich history of pioneering as it came to be what it is today. 

This year, while providing a sizable list of local entertainment and attractions, the Village Festival is set to shed light more specifically on Cashmere’s unique aspects and historical moments that make it such a one-of-a-kind town.

Cashmere Museum Director, Nicky Clennon, explained this aim, mentioning the town’s strong sense of community as being a unique factor in Cashmere’s uniqueness.

“We’re really trying to focus this year, in particular, on all the things that have made Cashmere unique through history, and what makes it such a special place… everybody here has such a strong sense of community and will help, like with our cabin cleanup which is a testament to that, and just the volunteerism that has taken place for this to all stay alive and thrive is amazing.”

Another fascinating aspect of Cashmere, as Director Clennon shared, is its unique name, given to the area by Judge James Chase, an early settler of the Wenatchee Valley. Originally one of the many settlements in the region named ‘Mission,’  Chase proposed the name ‘Cashmere’ after the local postmaster ordered a region-wide name change for all towns named Mission. According to museum records, Chase came across the name while reading about the Vale of Kashmir in India, which, based on its descriptions, bore a close resemblance to the Wenatchee River Valley. 

As Clennon explained, a Kashmiri woman visited the museum and claimed that the only major difference between the Wenatchee River Valley and the Vale of Kashmir is Central Washington’s lack of sheepherders. Interestingly, images of the two areas, though separated by thousands of miles, are shockingly similar. With towering pine trees and dry, mountainous terrain, Cashmere’s surprising connection to the stunning Vale of Kashmir marks just one of many notably unique features of the area’s local history that the Cashmere Museum and Pioneer Village seek to explore at its annual Village Festival. 

In focusing on the things that make Cashmere special, Village Festival is also set to feature a variety of local entertainment, including the Wenatchee High School Jazz Band, Sanzar Dance Company, and local bluegrass band, Thorn Ridge Prospectors.

Alongside festive local performances, the Pioneer Village Festival invites locals to take part in history and enjoy an array of fun activities offered around the village. From watching silversmiths pound away at their work to engaging with live history actors, the Village Festival seeks to engage with the whole family.

“People can drink sarsaparilla in the saloon,” Director Clennon mentioned, listing off the wide variety of historical activities available at the Village Festival. “We’ll have gold panning, kids can gold pan for free. Mr. Whiskers will be back creating balloon animals for kids. Raleigh Schmitten, he’s a local historian and author, will be in the schoolhouse telling stories and talking about not only his book but the history of Cashmere as well.” 

With so many activities and local entertainment, the Pioneer Village Festival is ramping up to be a massive celebration of the Cashmere community’s rich and complex history, kicking off the Fall season with a festive and fun blast from the past. 

The Village Festival, set for Saturday, October 5, also plans an apple pie contest. Registration will run from 10 am to 5 pm on Friday, October 4. 

The Pioneer Village Festival begins at 9 a.m. on October 5 and ends at 5 p.m., making for a whole day of community connections and historical exploration.

To learn more about the Cashmere Museum and Pioneer Village and its various events, visit cashmeremuseum.org/events. 

Will Nilles: (509) 731-3211 or will@ward.media