Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
The Yelm Chamber of Commerce’s Nisqually Valley Spring Expo will return on Saturday, April 26, and Sunday, April 27, in a centralized location within the heart of Yelm.
Tina Richardson, the chamber’s executive director, told the Nisqually Valley News on Friday, April 18, that the 2025 Spring Expo will feature a strong focus on the businesses within Yelm. The yearly event will be located inside Yelm Middle School.
“There’s a lot of change. But with the change of location going to Yelm Middle School, we wanted this event to be in the heart of Yelm. Keeping it right there, more centralized, and trying to make it fun and for families,” Richardson said. “For us as a chamber, we don’t ever want to not have something to represent our businesses — especially this part of the year. We want to highlight these businesses. We want to create a space for family and fun. We’ve partnered a lot with the school to try to make it about family, make it community and make it about Yelm and surrounding areas. We want to keep it as local as possible.”
Richardson said local businesses have been enthused and more than willing to participate in this year’s Nisqually Valley Spring Expo. She noted that all of the spaces within the YMS gymnasium sold out quickly.
The executive director added vendors will compete in a People’s Choice Award for best decorated booth. Trophies will be awarded for first, second and third place finishers, she said.
“We’re trying to make sure there’s activities for both days. We want some heavy hitter car shows, and we’re going to work together to pack out that day. We are fully sold out for 10-by-10 (spaces), and we won’t have any more vendors for those spots. We have a couple 5-by-8 available, but we are almost at full capacity for vendors,” she said. “I have very much felt a shift in, one, camaraderie, two, excitement for this event, and three, this concept of how are we going to celebrate with one another but also challenge each other? It’s a fun competition between the businesses, and it’s bringing this fun community dynamic that I love to see. It’s been a little different, even from last year.”
Richardson noted outdoor vendors at the event will include Steele Barrel BBQ, Pop’s Kettle Corn, Galloping Grounds, Sweet Snack Attack and Bulgogi Hustle with the potential for one additional vendor that has yet to be announced. Sponsors for the event include Olympia Federal, Yelm Prairie Hotel, DZines Creative Solutions and Graphic Designs, Horizon West and fun run sponsor Yelm Anytime Fitness.
Graham Auto, in collaboration with Prairie Street Rod Association, will sponsor a car show on Saturday morning at the Nisqually Valley Spring Expo at Yelm Middle School. On Sunday, Moore Designs will sponsor the car show at the same location.
Nearly 50 local businesses will set up 10-by-10 booths inside the YMS gymnasium for both days of the event, including: Harly Exteriors, Rides Bike and Board, Spot n Designs, PTL Flooring, DZines, BBQ Rally, PT2 Xcel, Tim’s Pharmacy, State Farm, Funtime Toys, Jerry’s Color Center, Yelm High School sports medicine, Kauai Donuts, J&I and many others. For more information, visit Yelm Chamber of Commerce on Facebook.
“We’re trying to focus on featuring local businesses,” Richardson said. “In the past, we usually would only have a couple people from town but most of them came from outside. We want Yelm businesses to be highlighted. We want them to show up and show out at this event.”
Though Richardson said the activities list for the Nisqually Valley Spring Expo was still being finalized, the executive director said the event will likely include a dance workshop with Legacy Fitness, a summer arrangements class with Gordon’s Garden Center, a first-time home buyers class, a yoga class with Peak Wellness and an inflatable fun run.
“We just wanted to offer a lot of things for people to come in and get educated. There’s going to be a lot of activities,” Richardson said. “We’ll do an inflatable run. We tossed it up as an idea, and it gained a lot of traction. We’ll do it on the track. We’ll do a little inflatable mini-parade at 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, and we’ll walk through the expo. Graham Auto has a runner. PTL has a runner. There’s a lot of these different businesses that will have a runner representing. We’ll parade over to the track and do a one time run, where the winners will get first place, second place and third place medals. We want to celebrate and have some fun with that.”
The event will feature several raffles for different prizes, and Richardson highlighted two specific raffles that included the Yelm Prairie Hotel and the Yelm Rotary Club. Anyone who brings in two types of non-perishable items will be entered into the rotary club’s drawing, she said.
“Bring in a can of tuna, bring in a can of chili, and you can be put in for a drawing. We also partnered with Prairie Hotel, and one of their giveaways for a drawing, after visiting some booths, will include a two-night stay in one of their nicer rooms. We enjoy partnering with local businesses,” Richardson said. “The whole goal is we want the Spring Expo to highlight businesses. If you’re looking for roofers, home exterior help, gardening tips, and mix that with things like jewelry, food vendors, and so we’ve got a good mix of fun little things to buy.”
