September in Spanaway: lanterns on the lake, Bison football, and the fair
Knock Knock Homies!!
September is my favorite month in Spanaway, and I'll tell you why. The heat backs off, the mountain comes out almost every morning, the school buses are rolling down Pacific again, and for about four weeks straight there is something going on every single weekend within fifteen minutes of my front door.
So this month, instead of one business, I Love Spanaway is doing the whole calendar. Here's what's happening around us in September, what it costs, how bad the traffic gets, and a few Homie tips from somebody who has lived it. Grab a coffee. This one's got some meat on it.
Light the Lake · Sunday, September 13
If you only do ONE thing on this list, do this one. Pierce County Parks turns Spanaway Park into a lantern festival for one evening: floating lanterns released out onto Spanaway Lake, food and local vendors along the shore, and kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards for rent from Spanaway Lake Adventures at the boathouse from 3:30 to 7pm.
Here's how the day works. The park is CLOSED to the public until 3:30pm so they can set up. Ticket holders get in at 3:30, food trucks and vendors open at 4:30, lantern decorating runs 5:00 to 7:30, and Stay Grounded (a reggae band, so yes, you will move) plays sets at 5:30 and 6:30. The general public is let in at 6:30pm. The lantern launch itself is 7:15 to 8:30, and the whole thing wraps at 8:30. Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for kids 8 to 17, and free for 7 and under (the free entry doesn't include a lantern kit, so plan on grabbing one for the little ones). You buy them through Pierce County Parks.
Homie tip: come early, bring a blanket, and put your lantern in the water when it's actually dark. Spanaway Lake at dusk with a few hundred lanterns on it is one of those moments where you look around and go, "yeah, I live HERE." That's the whole point of this series.
Bethel Bison football is back · home opener Thursday, September 10
Fall in Spanaway means Art Crate Stadium. The Bison open the season on the road Thursday, September 3 at Lakes in Lakewood (6pm kickoff), and then they're home Thursday, September 10 at 7pm against Skyline at Bethel High School, 22001 38th Ave E.
You don't need a kid on the roster to go. Half the people in those bleachers are neighbors who just like the lights, the band, and a hot dog that costs less than a latte. Bring a jacket. It's September in Washington, so the first half is summer and the fourth quarter is October.
The Washington State Fair · September 4 through 27
The Fair runs September 4 through 27 in Puyallup (110 9th Ave SW), closed on Tuesdays and on September 9. Scones, the rides, the animal barns, and a scone line that never gets shorter.
The concert lineup this year is legit. Boy George & Culture Club open it on the 4th, "Weird Al" Yankovic is the 5th, Little Big Town the 6th, Jon Batiste on the 18th, Trey Songz & Tyga on the 25th, plus Ice Cube, Lauren Daigle, Gretchen Wilson, Chase Rice, and Chicago through the run. Concert tickets start at $56.50 and include same-day fair admission, which is the move if you were going anyway.
Homie tip: for those four weeks, Meridian and Pacific Ave are going to be a parking lot every evening and every weekend. If you live in Spanaway, Parkland, or Frederickson and you commute through Puyallup, add time or take a weekday afternoon. The Fair posts parking and traffic updates on its own site, and they're worth checking before you leave the house.
JBLM Half Marathon, 5K, and 1K · Saturday, September 19
A lot of our neighbors wear a uniform, and a lot of them run. JBLM MWR's half marathon, 5K, and 1K is Saturday the 19th on base: the 1K goes off at 9am and the 5K and half at about 9:15. Packet pickup is Friday the 18th, 11am to 6pm, at Heritage Hill Airpark. Military-affiliated runners pay $30 for the half or 5K and $15 for the 1K; everybody else is $35 and $20. It's open to civilians too, so if you've been saying you'd do a 5K "someday," this is a pretty good someday.
And yes, JBLM's Oktoberfest comes back in late September. The date was still moving around when I wrote this, so check the JBLM MWR calendar before you plan a beer around it.
Pumpkin season starts September 27
Spooner Farms opens its harvest festival and pumpkin patch on Saturday, September 27 and runs through Halloween, 9am to 6pm, out on State Route 162 in Puyallup. Corn maze, pumpkins, and the family photo everybody posts in October. With six daughters in my house, this is not optional. Check their site for this year's admission before you go.
Two things changing on Pacific Avenue
This part isn't a party, but if you drive Pacific every day (so, all of us), you should know about it.
The mural at 145th and Pacific. Blue Zones of Parkland Spanaway put up a community mural in Parkland this summer (ribbon cutting was August 8), and the Spanaway one at 145th and Pacific is next. The design was voted on by the community, and the target is to have it installed before the end of September. Keep an eye on that corner. It's about to look a lot better.
WSDOT is redoing our stretch of SR 7. The state is in the early design phase for repaving Pacific Avenue between SR 507 and 99th Street South, and while they're at it they're looking at sidewalk, ADA, transit, and walk-and-roll improvements along that whole run. They held an open house at Spanaway Middle School on August 19, and the pre-design work is scheduled to wrap up in December. Here's why it matters: there is no other north-south road through Spanaway and Parkland. When Pacific gets worked on, everybody feels it. I'll keep you posted as the actual construction timeline gets announced, because this decides how long it takes you to get to the gate, to Tacoma, and to school pickup.
The Homie calendar, in one place
- Sept 3: Bethel Bison at Lakes, Lakewood, 6pm
- Sept 4 to 27: Washington State Fair, Puyallup (closed Tuesdays and Sept 9)
- Sept 10: Bison home opener vs Skyline, Art Crate Stadium, 7pm
- Sept 13: Light the Lake, Spanaway Park, ticket holders 3:30pm, public 6:30pm, lanterns launch 7:15
- Sept 19: JBLM Half Marathon, 5K, and 1K, on base, 9am
- Sept 27: Spooner Farms pumpkin patch opens, 9am to 6pm
- Late September: Spanaway mural install at 145th and Pacific; JBLM Oktoberfest (date TBD)
This is why I Love Spanaway
People ask me all the time why I stayed here after the Air Force, and September is the answer. It's lanterns on a lake I can drive to in five minutes. It's a high school football game where you know half the parking lot. It's the biggest fair in the state fifteen minutes up the road and a pumpkin patch my kids have outgrown twice and still beg to go to.
If I see you at Light the Lake, come say what's up. I'll be the guy with the six daughters and the three Aussies trying to keep a lantern out of the dog water bowl.
Love where you live. Support where you live. I ❤️ Spanaway.
Got a September event I missed? Text it to me and I'll add it to the list.
DiNero lives here, sells here, and knows which streets are five minutes from the lake and which are five minutes from the gate. Text us what you're looking for and we will point you at the right pocket and the right price.
Text DiNero or call (253) 861-2782