BY AVERY GOODSTINE for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 8/14/2026
Lakewood’s SummerFEST is projected to host more than 50,000 people from around Pierce County during its 21st year on Saturday, Aug. 15.
The festival began in 2005 as a sports-focused event, with a triathlon being one of the main attractions. Over the past two decades, it’s grown into a celebration of culture through food, music and playfulness.
While the festival has traditionally been held on the third Saturday in July, Roxanne Miles, director of parks, recreation and community services for the City of Lakewood, said the date was pushed back this year due to the high demand for resources anticipated for the FIFA World Cup soccer games in Seattle. For future years, she said they do plan to go back to the July date.
Located at Fort Steilacoom Park, the festival will be an all-day, family-friendly event from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and is free to attend. There are a plethora of activities to enjoy, including live music, food trucks, car shows, motocross, circus performances, tethered hot-air balloon rides, LEGO contests, a vendor market, laser tag, a petting zoo, axe throwing and more. The complete festival schedule can be found on its website.
“We have some hands-on activities, and then the food booth,” Miles said. “So, 225 vendors plus is huge, and so it really lets people take their time, browse, play, eat, do different things that can really fill the day in the afternoon, compared to something that you might, you know, stop by, visit, browse for a half an hour, and feel like you’ve seen and done everything. That will not be the case.”
Regarding parking, Miles wants to remind people to be patient. She said there is a lot of overflow parking at the park, but they always encourage people to use public transit, as parking will most likely be full by midafternoon. There will be a shuttle bus providing transportation to the festival from Pierce College. A parking map is also available on the festival website.
While visitors can expect to see the same performances and activities they already know and love, Miles said they are excited about the new addition of a petting zoo and the SplashTime Fun Zone, which will be ongoing most of the day. The fun zone will feature skimboarding, bubble soccer, a foam party, a bubble party and more.
Also unique to the festival this year will be Lakewood’s 30th anniversary celebration on the main stage from 4 to 5 p.m. There will be party favors and banners throughout the event, along with a birthday song performed by the Dusty 45s and a hot-air balloon aerial display.
“Some extra fun is scheduled … to invite the community to celebrate what Lakewood has become, very collectively, and how the community has come together over the years,” Miles said. “The city tends to do something every five years on these birthdays, but we really want the community to be part of this piece of the 30th anniversary celebration through this birthday bash.”
Another key feature of the festival is the international performances, which will be on the international stage all day long. This year, there will be performances from 14 different cultures, including Korea, Tahiti, Samoa, the Philippines, Hawaii, Okinawa, Costa Rica, Japan, Cuba, China, Cambodia, Mexico, Polynesia and the U.S.
In order to celebrate these cultures, festival organizers work with the Lakewood Sister Cities Association to identify “sister cities” in other countries. Sister Cities International defines a “sister city” as an “official partnership between two towns or cities in different countries … to help people share culture, trade, and ideas.”
This year, Miles said a contingent from Gimhae, South Korea, will be attending, and its Choi Sun Hee Gaya dance group will be performing at 11:40 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
“We’re super excited that they’re going to join us,” Miles said. “They’ll be introduced and they’re sharing their culture with us. But this Sister Cities Association really helps manage the whole stage to bring out groups that can help us celebrate all the different cultures that are found in Lakewood, and not just our sister city partners.”
She also wanted to acknowledge the Polynesian Fire Dance Show, which will be the festival’s grand finale event at 7:45 p.m., and how it honors the large community of Pacific Islanders in Pierce County.
Since the festival is usually in July, there are normally extended evening hours with a glowing hot-air balloon display and a drone show. With an earlier end time, Miles said it allows a “perfect twilight close” to the day while giving the performers plenty of time to showcase this specific aspect of island culture.
“There really are a lot of different island traditions, a lot of different languages that go throughout the Polynesian islands, and to be able to have this highlight, we know that there are local residents who are really looking forward to this because it is a celebration of their culture and those things that they love most about their gatherings at home,” Miles said.
