Editing Winlock, Washington (section)

==Arts and culture==
===Festivals and events===
The first Winlock Egg Days Festival was held in 1921 after a paved road (now [[Washington State Route 505|State Route 505]]) was completed between the town and the extinct community of Cowlitz. Known at first as the "Poultry and Egg Day", the annual event incorporates the city's poultry history and a local resident is honored as a festival marshal.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Roland |first1=Mitchell |title=Winlock Egg Days Festival gets cracking Friday through Sunday |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/winlock-egg-days-festival-gets-cracking-friday-through-sunday,341923 |work=The Chronicle |date=June 12, 2024}}</ref>

Since 2000, the city has hosted an annual Winlock Pickersfest (formerly known as the Winlock Bluesgrass Festival)<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hall |first1=Kathy |title=Pickin' and Grinnin' |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/pickin-and-grinnin,189253? |access-date=January 10, 2023 |work=The Chronicle (Centralia, Washington) |date=June 4, 2009}}</ref> at Winolequa Park. The festival focuses on the use of stringed instruments, particularly the banjo, and are incorporated into various musical genres including [[Americana (music)|Americana]], bluegrass, and jazz. The three-day event is usually held on the first weekend of August.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vander Stoep |first1=Isabel |title=Winlock Pickersfest Returns for 20th Year |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/winlock-pickersfest-returns-for-20th-year,298072? |access-date=January 10, 2023 |work=The Chronicle (Centralia, Washington) |date=August 8, 2022}}</ref>

===Groups and organizations===
Winlock is home to the Hope [[National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry|Grange]] (No. 155). It was established on March 18, 1904 in [[Evaline, Washington|Evaline]], beginning with 19 members.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sexton |first1=Owen |title=Evaline School celebrates 140th anniversary alongside Hope Grange's 120th in Winlock |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/evaline-school-celebrates-140th-anniversary-alongside-hope-granges-120th-in-winlock,340654 |access-date=November 4, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=May 20, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Hope Grange Is at Evaline |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1953/06-06/page-83 |access-date=November 4, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=June 6, 1953 |page=23C}}</ref>

===Historic buildings and sites===
Situated near Olequa Creek in a residential area west of the downtown core is the Sacred Heart Catholic Church which was built in 1908. It was closed in 2014 due to financial concerns. The church was reopened as a parish of the Saint George Byzantine Catholic Church of Olympia in November 2024 after a foundation formed by local residents purchased the building that summer with the intention to remodel, repair, and preserve the historic church.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Roland |first1=Mitchell |title=Worshipers return to historic Winlock church |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/worshipers-return-to-historic-winlock-church,368821 |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=November 18, 2024}}</ref>

====Winlock Egg====
[[Image:WinlockEgg.jpg|upright|thumb|World's Largest Egg]]

'''The Winlock Egg''' was listed as the world's largest egg by [[Ripley's Believe It or Not!]] in 1989. The current structure is the fourth reincarnation of the original egg.

The first egg was built for a celebration of the opening of the Pacific Highway Bridge over the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon. The idea of an egg came from John G. Lawrence, the manager of the newly formed egg and poultry co-op as a way to represent the growing industry centered in Winlock in the 1920s.<ref name="AOTMA"/> During that time farmers in Winlock were shipping as much as a quarter million cases of eggs to market a year.<ref name="WTHUMB"/>

The first egg was made of an egg shaped wood frame stretched with canvas and painted white. It was mounted onto a truck as part of a parade of floats and vehicles that traveled from Olympia, Washington to [[Salem, Oregon]] on October 23, 1923, to celebrate the expansion of trade between Washington and Oregon through the railroad. After the parade, the egg was placed on a platform near the train depot, and has since remained a source of local pride.<ref name="AOTMA"/>

The first egg was covered with plaster and measured {{convert|12|ft|m|1}} long, with a maximum diameter of {{convert|8|ft|m|1}}. After 20 years in the elements, the {{convert|2,000|lb|kg|abbr=on}} egg had deteriorated and was replaced by a [[plastic]] version made by a new company to the area, the Johnny Simpson's Plastic Company. This version lasted until 1958 when it fell from its rotted platform and cracked. A [[fiberglass]] replacement was made but not installed until 1965. Weighing in at {{convert|1,500|lb|kg}}, the fiberglass egg was {{convert|15|ft|m|1}} in length<ref name="AOTMA"/> but there were concerns that it was shaped too much like a football.<ref name="WTHUMB">{{cite web |author1=Rita Cipalla |title=Winlock - Thumbnail History |url=https://www.historylink.org/file/21286 |publisher=HistoryLink |access-date=November 22, 2023 |date=August 9, 2021}}</ref> The community created a fenced park, Vern Zander Memorial Park, around the attraction and the egg was labeled with a sign denoting it as the world's largest egg.<ref name="AOTMA"/><ref name="WTHUMB"/>

Another fiberglass replacement egg was installed in 1991. The new {{convert|1,200|lb|kg|abbr=on}} sculpture was part of the Winlock Egg Day Parade before it was placed in the Vern Zander Memorial Park on top of a {{convert|10|ft|m|1}} steel support. The egg, in the 21st century, has been painted to reflect certain interests or events, including being depicted as a red, white, and blue American flag after the [[9/11 attacks]] and decorated with the [[Seattle Seahawks]] logo in the 2010s.<ref name="AOTMA"/><ref name="WTHUMB"/>