By Dennis Box, The Courier-Herald

Forget about the rain, the fun times are coming.

This year's Bonney Lake Days celebration is planned for the weekend of Aug. 20 through Aug. 22. The planning and preparation is in full swing, bands have been scheduled and vendors signed.

The three-day festival will take place at Allan Yorke Park.

"We started talking and working on the plans at the end of last year's Bonney Lake Days," Councilman Neil Johnson said. "We learned a lot from last year; we started way late. This year we're a lot farther ahead on planning."

The band, Four Stroke Ride, is scheduled to kick the party off on Friday, playing from 7 p.m. to midnight. Two additional bands, Pretenders and New Horizons, are scheduled to perform over the weekend.

Other events already scheduled are a pancake breakfast on both Saturday and Sunday and a classic car show on Saturday.

A change from last year will be the extended hours of the beer garden, approved by the City Council at the Feb. 17 workshop.

Bonney Lake Tavern will operate the beer garden from 5 p.m. to midnight Friday, noon to midnight Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The City Council has allocated $20,000 for Bonney Lake Days.

Johnson was instrumental in bringing the celebration back after a five-year hiatus.

"Everyone is on board now," Johnson said. "We have better communications and the city is backing it. I think it will be a big success. I expect the attendance to be at least double."

For further information concerning vendor applications and entertainment bookings call Neil Johnson at 253-209-8850.

Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@courierherald.com