Sunday, September 30, 2018

The Vikings Were Here!

A Special Thank You from the Senior Center of Rainier to Bill Koutrouba and the Vikings Festival Crew!


When Captain Bill Koutrouba mentioned holding a Viking Festival in Rainier,  my husband George and I thought it was a wonderful idea.  George is an original "idea fairy".  He knows ideas can be great, but they take a tremendous amount of work to bring them to fruition.  After months of planning and just plain hard work, Bill and his crew, along with Tony Cox (Bear) brought the Viking Festival to life!   

George and I enjoyed going to the Viking Festival.  Bill showed us around and introduced us to vendors and reenactors in Wilkowski Park.  It was amazing!  People from all walks of life meandered through the crowd watching everything from a beaver being skinned to swords being forged.  They had mock fights and cannons that shot water balloons.  There were tents, horses, people dressed up in Viking gear - all surrounded with artifacts from the Viking era.  The booths were filled with amazing items that were handmade.  One of our favorite leather booths was the "Hawk & Dove" which had custom leather crafts.  They made quality purses, wallets, belts, and Viking gear.  Several of the vendors said this was the best event they'd worked all year!  They enjoyed being in Rainier because the people here are friendly and they look forward to coming back next year.  

During the planning of the festival, Bill told us that the Vikings crew would buy food for the Senior Center of Rainier's pantry with the proceeds they earned from this year's festival.  After the festival, he called George and asked him for a shopping list.  Wednesday Bill and members of the Viking Festival Crew, Scott & Samantha Kammerson, Tony Cox (Bear) and Eileen Largen, came to the Senior Center with a truck and van filled with the food to donate to our pantry.  

We've never seen anything like it!  Six tri-tip roasts, cases of canned vegetables, 2 large bags of rice, beef & chicken broth, toilet paper, paper towels, facial tissues, gallons of syrup, mayonnaise, pasta, as well as #10 tins of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.  They brought in cases & cases of food.  The pantry had boxes stacked from one end to the other with food!  Bill and his crew didn't just buy the items on our list, they bought those items in large quantities!  They also brought in fresh vegetables from our own Rainier Community Garden!  

We look forward to next year's Viking Festival in Rainier.  We hope to see you there!

Check out our Viking Festival pictures on "WeLoveRainierWA" Facebook page, too.