Early American Heritage Festival brings patriotic history to Rainier

The history of the American Revolution came to life at Wilkowski Park in Rainier from Friday, Aug. 15, through Sunday, Aug. 17, as the Spirit of ‘76 Living History Association hosted the annual Early American Heritage Festival.

Kevin Saville, Spirit of ‘76 Living History Association’s event coordinator and treasurer, told the Nisqually Valley News on Saturday, Aug. 16, that it was nice to see community members taking an interest in the nation’s history.

He was also gracious for the support from the City of Rainier, We Love Rainier WA and Amy Baker, who is currently running unopposed for Rainier City Council’s Position No. 1 seat.

“In the Spirit of ‘76 Living History group, we’ve got representatives of all our groups. We’ve got the Americans, which is the 3rd New Hampshire, and the fife and drum corps is with them this weekend,” Saville said. “We have the Lewis and Clark group, so they’re representing the Lewis and Clark expedition. We’ve got the Gilded Thistle, otherwise known as Barcelona Tea Company, depicting theatrical things from perhaps an earlier era.”

Also present at the Early American Heritage Festival was a replica of the HMS Chatham, a boat used in the Vancouver Expedition in the 1790s. Representation from the Royal Forces’ 43rd Regiment of Foot and Royal Artillery was featured at the event, as well.

Among other depictors at the weekend-long event at Wilkowski Park were civilians, who set up camp and lived what would’ve been a normal life in the colonial era. Joining them was a printer by the name of Isaiah Thomas, who demonstrated how to use his colonial-era printing press.

“There’s a lot of history about the founding of our nation represented in the documents that he brought. It’s very neat to see,” Saville said.

The age demographics at Wilkowski Park varied from young community members just learning about the American Revolution to older citizens who witnessed the bicentennial celebration of the founding of America in 1976 and will soon celebrate the 250th anniversary.

“We have a lot of families involved with the children. They all love history, as well as the older folks that have maybe grown up since and experienced the bicentennial era. Now we’re getting to experience the beginning of the 250th anniversary era of the founding of our nation in 1776,” Saville said. “We appreciate the public’s interest in the Early American Heritage Festival. We appreciate our sponsors, and the support we’ve received from the City of Rainier for the use of this park, and from We Love Rainier. We’re also thankful for Amy Baker’s efforts. This is our last major event of the year, but we’re glad to do it.”

Spirit of ‘76 Living History Association will appear and participate in several parades around the region following the Early American Heritage Festival, but Saville noted this was the organization’s final event for 2025. There’s no defined schedule for 2026, but he’s hopeful to see the organization return to Wilkowski Park and the Nisqually Valley Region next year.

“We really do like this location here. I think with additional publicity and support that we could make a really good showing, once again at Wilkowski Park next year,” Saville said.