Prepare yourself for spine-tingling horror that is certain to make your blood run cold and make you sleep with one eye open!

For two nights only, the brave and daring can experience the Toledo Community Haunted House – The Wood Shop of Horrors! Frightful tours will be available after dark on Sunday October 30^th and Monday October 31^st at the Toledo Middle School’s old abandoned wood shop.

Admission is free with donations gladly accepted. All donations will go to Vision:TOLEDO.

The Toledo Community Haunted House – Wood Shop of Horrors is a project of Ron Gaul’s Art and Drama students at Toledo High School.

PREPARE TO BE SCARED!

You’re invited to the 9th Annual ARTrails 2011 Studio Tour, September 17-18 and 24-25.

Spend a delightful weekend or two traveling to the scenic back roads of Southwest Washington and discover the diverse creativity and inspiration of the region. Below is a studio guide of artists at work in Toledo.

Visit artists, buy art and experience art, right here in Toledo!

Saturday and Sunday August 27th – 28th, 2011

The Official 2011 Riverfest Schedule

Come celebrate Toledo’s historic connection to the Cowlitz River at the second-annual Riverfest gala Friday night and Saturday. This weekend’s events include something for everyone: live music, river activities, a multi-city poker fun run, a kids fest and an urban adventure race.

The festivities will begin Friday night with Toledo Telenet Movie In The Park, in the Toledo City Park. Friday night’s movie will feature “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.” Free hot dogs will be served starting at 6:30 p.m. and the movie will start when it gets dark.

The fun continues Saturday at 10 a.m. with the Riverfest Road Run, a multi-city quest to collect the best poker hand. Start at the Daily Grind in Toledo.

Toledo Market Fresh IGA will be hosting their Kids Fest, in their parking lot from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

New this year to Riverfest is “The Landry Run: Toledo Riverfest Edition,” an urban adventure race that combines puzzles, photo challenges and food challenges. Grab a teammate and see a side of Toledo you never knew. There will be lots of prizes, including a prize for the best-dressed team. Cost is $20 per team, with part of the proceeds going to vision:TOLEDO. For more information, visit www.thelandryrun.com or call Mike or Jadee Landry at (360) 785-4143.

There will be a fun float/poker run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for boats, rafts, canoes and kayaks at the South County Park, also referred to as Wallace Pond. Cost is $5.

The main action Saturday will center around Toledo’s new boat launch by the bridge. There will be live music from noon to 10 p.m. or later, featuring Beet Oven, Yurt 30, The Malcolm Clark Band and Sucker Punched. Adults can enjoy some live music by the river in the beer and wine garden.

Riverfest organizers are also planning a handmade boat show and power boat rides from noon to 4 p.m.

Riverfest is made possible thanks to the efforts of vision:TOLEDO volunteers and support from: South Lewis County Chamber of Commerce, Sandy’s Pizza, Toledo Telenet, Toledo Lion’s Club, Harry’s Place, and Los Pepes.

Visit the Official 2011 Riverfest schedule page.

Ron Nowlen of Toledo boated this 12-pound, 4-ounce steelhead to take first place in Saturday’s Steelhead Fishing Derby. Photo: John Markon / The Daily News

Drizzle on another cool summer day didn’t seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the 61 kids and adults who showed up for the inaugural Toledo Steelhead Fishing Derby.

Contestants gathered on the banks of the Cowlitz River or in a boats on the chilly water July 16 in an effort to catch the biggest steelhead and claim cash prizes.

Anglers landed and weighed in 21 steelhead, the biggest coming from Ron Nowlen of Toledo at 12.5 pounds.

Following the Derby, participants enjoyed a free barbecue together as over 60 prizes were given away, including $200 for the biggest fish, $100 for the second biggest, and $50 to the mystery weight which was seven pounds.

Steelhead, which are actually an ocean-returning trout and not salmon as many think, are larger than a normal Cowlitz River trout but seemingly small compared to salmon. Unlike salmon, steelhead can spawn as many as three or four times in their life span.

None of the winning fish ended up in the celebration barbecue, as participants got to keep their fish.

“Next year we hope to generate even more interest in this event as it was fun to see everyone of all ages enjoying the day on the river, even, despite the weather,” says Rick Lovell, coordinator for the Toledo Steelhead Fishing Derby.

Vision:TOLEDO would like to thank:
Riverview Food Mart/Flying K
Mrs. Beesley’s
Dave’s Chevron and Subway
Four Corners general store Castle Rock
Winlock IGA
Toledo’s Daily Grind
Betty’s Drive-in
Hair it is
Toledo Lions Club
King Beverage
Sunset Auto Napa Castle Rock
Gunners Auto Parts Castle Rock
Gateway food and fuel Castle Rock
Los Pepe’s
Liquor store Toledo (Jerry Pratt)
L&E bottling
One More Thing, 2nd hand
Brian’s Transmission
Sunshine Liquidator
Toledo Hair Studio
Sandy’s Pizza
Toledo Hardware
Barrier Dam Campground
Ethel Market and Sporting goods
Sunbirds Sporting Goods
Timberland Bank
Toledo Telephone
Riverview Sporting goods

TOLEDO — Cool, wet weather dampened — but did not drown — what was supposed to be a warm, sunny Saturday on the Cowlitz River.

Organizers of “Clog the Cowlitz,” a four-mile float on rafts from the Blue Creek boat ramp downstream to the Front Street ramp in Toledo, had selected July 16 as the date for their event because their research determined it had the greatest probability of producing a temperature of 90 degrees or more.

Instead, they got 70 degrees — or less.

With rain. Read More from The Daily News

Vision:TOLEDO is hosting a steelhead fishing derby on the Cowlitz River this weekend. The hunt for steelhead will start July 16 at 5 a.m. sharp and finish by 4 p.m. at the Toledo boat launch. There will be cash prizes for the biggest fish, a prize for the fish that meets the mystery weight and various door prizes.

Entry fee is $20 for adults. All entries must sign up by July 15. There will also be a free youth division for anglers under 14 who sign up in advance, and a barbecue for participants.

For more information, call 360-864-2121 or come by the Flying K gas station next to the bridge. Part of the proceeds will be donated to the Friends of the Cowlitz and vision:TOLEDO.