Following the weekly Saturday Morning Market, Fleet Park will be transformed for a music festival, featuring bands, solo artists, and food vendors.

The Full Monte Music Festival will be held on Aug. 26, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Fleet Park.

In addition to music, the event will feature information about the city forest and outdoor recreation opportunities.

“Basically, it’s just what Montesano’s about,” event organizer Brooke Chapman said. “And that’s really what we’re trying to do with all of our festivals – trees, outdoors, hiking, just bringing the community together.”

Headlining the event is the Psychedelic Shadow Show band. The band regularly performs throughout the Olympia/Tacoma area and features songs by Jefferson Airplane, Cream, Janis Joplin, and other favorites.

According to the band’s Facebook biography, the band aims to “bring fans young and old the music of the Hippie Era.”

The Bruce Hughes Band is a classic rock band that will also take the stage during the music festival. A press release from the Montesano Chamber of Commerce called the band “a local favorite.”

Beyond the bands, the music festival also will feature guitarists and vocalists. Those performers are Terry Lee, Lisa Ramsauer and Emmanuel Simmons.

As the music festival gets underway, Chapman said many of the vendors from the Saturday Morning Market will move to the perimeter of Fleet Park.

Food vendors also will be on hand.

About a block away from the park, Savory Faire will host a wine tasting.

In the end, it’s good for residents and good for the city.

“We’re just going to have some food and it’s tying off of the Saturday Morning Market,” Chapman said. “It’s not going to be a late event. Savory Faire is going to have beer and wine where people can go out and sit, and Charlie’s (Sports Bar) will have music afterward. We’re trying to boost business.”

But with the boost to business also comes an opportunity to showcase Montesano, not just to visitors but also to residents.

City forester Loren Hiner will be on hand to hold short informal clinics about tree planting.

“It’s going to be a walk-up deal,” Hiner said. “There will be different handouts on how to plant trees and how to prune trees. I’ll be there to have a discussion with whoever walks up depending on what they want to know.”

“We’ll be available to answer questions and to try to explain what we have,” he said.

Hiner will be passing out 1-year-old noble fir seedlings. The seedlings were donated by the state Department of Natural Resources. They come from the state’s nurseries.

“The DNR allow so many seedlings every year for special education events such as these,” Hiner said. “We were able to get them to donate 100 of the trees for this cause.”

Hiner has been educating the community on the resources and opportunities available to them at the city forest through weekly hikes and bike rides through the city forest. The festival is another opportunity to continue the dialogue with the community.

“The planners of the event were working for a theme, so they decided to do it on an outdoor theme,” Hiner said. “So we’re just trying to fill out the experience of the theme.”

It’s about keeping up community awareness, he said.

“We’re keeping the awareness in the public eye of what a gem the city forest is for our community and the opportunities we have up there,” Hiner said. “We’re promoting sustainable forestry and the trees in our community and up in the woods.”

The festival is free and is hosted by the Montesano Chamber of Commerce. For more information visit the chamber online at www.Montesanochamber.org.