(From left) Mark Kurth, REI Operations Supervisor Bike Shop, with Officer Pennel, Chief Brad Moericke and Melinda Jobst, REI Community Outreach Specialist

The Sumner Police Department got an extra gift this holiday season-a new bike!  REI donated a Novara Ponderosa 29er to be used by Sumner Police, primarily Parking Enforcement Officer Jim Pennel, who monitors parking areas city-wide.  This is the fourth bike that REI has donated to Sumner Police.  Officers attend a week long bicycle patrol course and use the bicycles during patrol and especially large events where they can get around crowds easily. 

Many already know that REI was founded in 1938 by a group of Pacific Northwest mountaineers seeking quality equipment.  They have been sending their gear across the country from Sumner's distribution center for many years now.  However, you may not realize that REI's in-house team designs and develops award-winning gear and apparel for camping, hiking, cycling, urban lifestyle, travel and general outdoor recreation.  The Novara brand is sold exclusively through the co-op's retail stores, website and catalogs. 

Sumner sends a big thank you to our friends at the REI Distribution Center.  Officer Pennel, especially, is as excited as any kid (big or small) who gets a new bike for the holidays, especially a bike whose origins have "roots" here in Sumner.

 Everyone enjoys summer with long-standing traditions like Music Off Main and Relay for Life plus new additions such as Rhubarb Days.  However, the former Sumner Arts Festival has been lagging on attendance the past few years, causing some non-profits and vendors to stop participating.  The Puyallup/Sumner Chamber of Commerce stepped in to save the festival last year, but a weekend of 105-degree weather continued to hurt attendance, and the Chamber lost thousands of dollars.  It seems time for a new plan.  The old idea of a two-day festival is perhaps outdated and vulnerable to hot or wet weather.  Instead, the City is brainstorming with the Sumner Arts Commission and other groups in Sumner to explore how to reshape the Festival so that it can grow and succeed.

One idea is a multi-week Sumner Rhubarb Pie Festival full of many different events hosted by different organizations.  Similar to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, this new model gives many events, new and old, the benefit of an overarching publicity campaign while individual organizations retain ownership and control of their own events.  Plus, visitors will have more dates to visit, shop and stay in Sumner.  This new version of the Festival could incorporate Sumner Arts Commission's Music Off Main, Sumner Downtown Association's Rhubarb Days, Relay for Life and perhaps even a new kind of arts event hosted by the Sumner Arts Commission. It also gives the opportunity for service groups and non-profits in Sumner to incubate new fundraisers such as perhaps a quilt show or a fun run on the trails. 

The City is beginning conversations with the Sumner Arts Commission to explore the possibilities, including how to keep and grow the aspect of art in Sumner during the summer.  Stay tuned as plans develop, and let us know if you have ideas yourself.  If you have ideas, contact Sally Abrams at sallya@ci.sumner.wa.us.