WOW!!! It’s already summer time! The year has gone by crazy fast! Summer is just around the corner, Literally! That raises the question of what students and teachers will do during summer. And what fun attractions are happening near us in Washington, So let’s dive into it!

Fun things in maple valley- 

• Maple Valley has a few fun things that go on during the summer, the Farmers Market is always in season on Saturdays from 9am to noon, some more information on that can be found in an article written also by Lyla Hubert. 
• Lake Wilderness holds an event during the summer starting on Thursday, July 30th 2026 – Thursday, August 20th 2026, called Music and Movies in the park. On July 30th: 13 Til Midnight will be there playing, August 6th includes: Cody Beebe and The Crooks, August 13th: Lucia Flores-Wiseman and they will be playing Lilo and Stitch (2002), and lastly of August 20th: Boogie Boulevard and they will be showing E.T. The Extra- Terrestrial (1982). All concerts begin at 6PM and the movies will start at dusk. More information about this event can be found on the home page at Music and Movies in the park. 
• Lake Wilderness also holds a Beach Summer Program with plenty of LifeGuards on duty from June 22 to August 23, 2026 between 12:00PM to 7:00PM. You can rent boats or bring your own, there is also a concession stand where you can get beverages, snacks and treats, Better Bites and even Ice Cream. More information can be found on the home page under Summer Beach Program.  
• The Maple Valley Days Festival takes place at Lake Wilderness Park, this event is coming up faster than some of the other ones, its annual and only happens on June 13th – June 15th from 10AM to 8PM. Here they include Vendors, Music, Entertainment, Food, a Parade, Kids activities, Carnival, Arts festival and so much more! Tons of more information is always available on their website under Maple Valley Days Festival.

While this is not all the stuff that can be found in Maple Valley during the summer, let’s see what some students and teachers are going to be up to during the summer, including some of the seniors who are leaving to accomplish the next chapter of their lives outside of Tahoma! 

Student activities-

A senior who is graduating this year answered our questions about her summer, here is a short description of what she said. “My plans for the summer are making films, writing scripts, hanging out with friends and in August I’m planning on going to Alaska for a family cruise.” stated Alara Husmann. 

Another senior  who is graduating this year answered more of our questions, here is a short summary of what he answered. “ I am quite excited for summer, as it will be my last summer as a high school student and before I head off to college. I currently hope on getting a part time job over the summer to rake up some money for future thinking to pay off loans for college that I may have in the next few years. This summer my goal is to hang out more with my friends, adding on to that i would really like to do more side quests including finding books that I enjoy reading not just the ones that I had to read for highschool english classes.” he also added on later some things that he would recommend people to do over the summer when we checked back in with him the next day to see if he had anything else to add. “The number one thing that you have to do is getting out of your comfort zone that includes trying new things, you may never know what could be your next calling card if you don’t go out and try new things. Second, you need to go out and find time to hang out with friends and family, make memories just like the ones that you see when you scroll through videos on your phone.  And lastly, have fun, it’s summer time. Treat it as a time of fun and a way to get outside more. That’s what it’s here for.” These amazing points and advice all came from one senior with the name of Izumi Galang.

While on the flip side a freshman had answered some questions for the summer, here is a short summer of what she said. “I am so excited for my summer plans. I am camping, doing dance comps, going to Wild Waves, and traveling to New York for elite dance classes.” She then went on to talk about how going to dance has made her so happy and given her so many different and awesome friends, she also stated how she is very enthusiastic looking forward to new experiences over the summer. Aurora, who didn’t want her last name to be mentioned for personal reasons, recommends giving “new experiences” a try and “learn to do something new”.

A sophomore this year answered some of our questions, here is a short summary of what she said. “Given that summer is only around like 2 months long, I haven’t really planned much. I have planned to go on a few trips and a Christian summer camp but other than that I haven’t gotten around to planning hangouts or communicating with my friends about parties.” stated Eliza Dougherty 

To rap up the summary of things that students told us when we interviewed them, mostly all of them mentioned that they wanted to find time to hang out over the summer and recommended that those who are looking for fun things to do over the summer need to go out and make memories that you probably won’t have time to complete during the school year.