‘We’re ready’ for Tour de Terrace

Davis Shows Northwest crew members make wooden support blocks for carnival rides Thursday.

Story and photos by Doug Petrowski

“We’re ready!”

The 19th edition of Tour de Terrace, the annual three-day summer festival in Mountlake Terrace, is set to begin Friday, July 27, with carnival rides getting started at 1 p.m., food, commercial and arts and crafts booths at 4 p.m. and the beer garden at 5 p.m.

Crews were buzzing all around the Tour de Terrace grounds Thursday afternoon preparing for the festival’s Friday opening. The main stage, beer garden, and carnival rides were all set up, with food vendors beginning to assemble their booths and preparation areas.

“We love Tour de Terrace,” said Cynthia Bowens, of The Whim of the Chef’s. Husband and wife Calvin and Cynthia Bowens are back for a fourth year with their booth that offers a selection of Cajun and southern cuisine. In addition to favorites like cheesesteak, gumbo, seafood skewers, and deep fried pickles, new to the Bowens’ menu this year is a “Kick Azz Chili Bowl.”

The Bowens have been married 32 years after meeting while each was serving as cooks in the Navy. Their interest in food continued after leaving the service and has blossomed into not only the festival booth but an entire catering and food service consulting company.

“Friends convinced us to give it a try,” Cynthia said. She explains that the food booth wasn’t too much of a stretch after their military experience. “It’s essentially like setting up a field kitchen,” Cynthia explained.

Right next door, Everett resident Randy Giddens was working in his booth that will be serving up barbeque, onion bursts, ice cream and espresso. For Giddens, setting up is only the beginning; “I will be here at 8:00 Friday morning to get the barbeque started,” he stated. He will finish up around midnight Friday night, drive home to Everett, then be back at 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning to do it all over again.

Davis Shows Northwest has been on site since Monday setting up their carnival rides and game booths. “We like to roll in early to make sure we’re ready to go,” said Jim Parks, unit manager for the Tour de Terrace carnival team. Members of the Davis Shows crew even had time on Thursday afternoon to construct the wooden blocks placed under the rides for stability that will be used at upcoming festivals they will travel to after Tour de Terrace.

When pyrotechnic crews begin setting up for the Saturday night fireworks display, they will do so in a new area. The fireworks will now originate from the baseball diamonds south of the carnival area, not from the soccer field north of the festival. The fireworks show is scheduled for Saturday at approximately 10 p.m.

There shouldn’t be any issues with garbage pick-up at Tour de Terrace due to the current Waste Management work stoppage. The festival has on the grounds three 30-yard dumpsters to handle all the waste generated over the weekend; Tour de Terrace work crews will be on-hand all weekend emptying trash into the large dumpsters from the 25 garbage and recycling bins places around the site. The dumpsters are then scheduled to be hauled away on Monday.

A worker checks out a ride that’s sure to brighten some child’s day.
Calvin and Cynthia Bowens set up The Whim of the Chiefs food booth.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Real first and last names — as well as city of residence — are required for all commenters.
This is so we can verify your identity before approving your comment.

By commenting here you agree to abide by our Code of Conduct. Please read our code at the bottom of this page before commenting.