POLAR PLUNGE PARTICIPANTS brave the icy briny for the sake of Boys and Girls Club.

Warm-hearted Polar Plungers
brave chill for Boys & Girls Club

On the Saturday morning after Martin Luther King Day, should you be driving through Allyn, you will see a phenomenon you're not likely to encounter often or elsewhere some 22 to 33 ordinarily sane, responsible folks, most of them fully dressed, rushing like lemmings into the sea. Or the sound. It's not insanity, or if it is, It's insanity of the best sort. The Polar Plunge at Allyn's Waterfront Park is a major fund-raiser for the local Boys & Girls Club. Each swimmer braves the icy waters for pledges made by friends and colleagues. They're egged on by Lions Club members who bring hot drinks and warm pastries; Stan Yantis' Backwoods Windjammers provide music.

PUFFERBELLIES ALL IN A ROW? They may not be trains, but tooting and huffing of steam engines mark the Old Timers' Fair in Matlock.

Old Timers' festival in Matlock
showcases community history

With steam donkeys whistling, drag saws and tractors chugging, and black powder enthusiasts encamped in tents, history and old-fashioned entertainment come alive in Matlock on the first full weekend in May each year.

In the mid-1980s, some west-county residents realized their children knew little about the lives and technology of their pioneering forebears. Matlock-area folks began to assemble artifacts and oral and written records of those bygone years. Their efforts led to the Mary M. Knight Historical Society, the development of a farming and logging museum in an early school building, and to the annual Old Timers' Historical Fair.

The event itself began as a small gathering of antique tractor and old-time engine aficionados in the late Õ80s. That event was so successful that in succeeding years, more and more attractions have been added, bringing in more than 5,000 visitors each year.

The fest includes continuous live entertainment, an antique and classic car show, FFA plant sale, chainsaw carving, an "Encampment of Mountain Men," a rhododendron sale, food booths and a Mary M. Knight School reunion.

On the Saturday evening of the festival, a dinner is served by seniors at Mary M. Knight. The Matlock Historical Museum (see page 70) is open during fair hours each year.

"Bite of Shelton" is tasty part of
chamber's annual business expo

Great celebrations focus on food, and the Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce business expo is no exception. On the third Thursday of May each year, guests not only get to know local businesses and services, but they sample some great local cuisine in a festive atmosphere that draws more people each season.

Dozens of local businesses are there to make themselves known. Attendees can also enter drawings to win prizes donated by local businesses. Bite of Shelton takes place in The Pavilion at Sentry Park, slightly west of Shelton. For more information, check the Chamber Web site at www.sheltonchamber.org.

Rhododendron fanciers show off
their finest Mother's Day weekend

The state flower, its cultivated descendants, and their friends and relations (azaleas, heaths and heathers) take center stage each May in Mason County when the local chapter of the American Rhododendron Society puts on its annual show. Hundreds of identified trusses, displays of blooming bushes, and sales of choice and unusual plants are part of the free event. Check local listings for the show venue closer to the date; most recently, the show has been staged at the Mason County Fairgrounds.

And if you want a good look at the native rhododendron in its natural habitat, drive Highway 101 along Hood Canal north to the county line and beyond, or explore the Tahuya Peninsula in mid-May, when the rhodies are at their rosy best.