3rd & 4th of July Celebration

On the evening of July 3 the field behind Eatonville Elementary and Eatonville Middle Schools fills with food trucks, bounce houses, vendor booths, and a stage for live entertainment. Activities begin at 5:30 p.m. The association’s 2025 calendar listed the hours as 5 to 10:30 p.m. Snack booths sell ice cream, cotton candy, and packaged food, and the trucks serve hot meals. Kirk’s Pharmacy sponsors the bounce houses. Cardinal Clinic and Eatonville Heating & Cooling pay for the portable toilets. The evening builds toward a professional fireworks display, which begins at dark.

The Eatonville Business Association puts the crowd at more than 8,000 people each year. The town counted 2,845 residents in 2020. The association advises arriving early, because the lots fill quickly before the fireworks. Free parking is at Glacier View Park, a short walk from the field. Paid parking supports local community organizations. For the 2025 show the Eatonville Dispatch reported that parking at the school went for a donation toward event costs, that free street parking was limited, and that organizers recommended carpooling.

Noon on Mashell Avenue

The parade steps off at noon the next day. It is free to watch. The county’s listing calls it “a good old-fashioned small-town parade,” with floats, animals, and marching bands. Businesses, civic groups, government agencies, and individuals all register to march. In 2024, rangers, volunteers, and family members walked for Mount Rainier National Park, and the park’s parade photographs in the Wikimedia Commons collection go back to 2013 and 2014.

The association gives the main route as Mashell Avenue. The Dispatch’s 2025 notice printed it as “Marshall Avenue and Downtown Eatonville.” The association’s 2025 calendar allowed one hour for the parade, noon to 1 p.m.

The business association and its twenty-fifth

The Eatonville Business Association describes itself as a body uniting businesses, industries, and civic organizations “into a common voice to promote commerce in the Town of Eatonville.” Its visitor center stands at 132 Mashell Ave N. Karen Woodcock is the event coordinator. Member businesses are asked to “throw on that branded golf-t” and work the celebration. They direct parking, supervise the inflatables, cook and serve food, and sell fundraiser items. Local business sponsorships pay for the fireworks, the entertainment, and the event’s infrastructure.

The 2026 celebration marked the event’s 25th anniversary. The association sold a commemorative T-shirt for $10 in presale, to be picked up on July 2 at Enchanted Dragonfly Games, or for $15 at the event. That summer Pierce County listed the Eatonville fireworks and parade among its events for America’s 250th anniversary. Other listings that week included a July 3 fireworks night at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma and a drive-in fireworks show at the Washington State Fairgrounds.

When the 2026 edition was over, the association posted to its July page: “It’s a wrap!” Its next parade runs along Mashell Avenue and Center Street West on the first Saturday in December. The 2026 Christmas parade was scheduled for December 5 at 6 p.m.