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It’s Time for the Spokane County Fair! Discount Ride Tickets Available through September 9

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

2010 Spokane County Fair LogoKids are back in school and fall is in the air, two sure signs that it is time for the Spokane County Interstate Fair. Where else can city slickers visit all their favorite farm animals, watch a real live rodeo, see how to drive a tractor, gawk at monstrous vegetables, and see both famous country music and hard rock bands? It will indeed be an “AG-Venture.”

The ten days of fun start on September 10 and end on September 19. You can pick up amusement ride bracelets at a deep discount through the close of day September 9 at the Fair Office (at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center, 404 N. Havana St. in Spokane Valley). At just $22, the bracelets are good for one day of unlimited rides. Individual ride tickets are $1, and each ride costs three–five tickets, so the pre-purchase bracelets are an excellent deal. Bracelets are available after the fair has started as well, but they cost a bit more. Discount pre-fair admission tickets are also available at the fair office through September 9.

In addition to thousands of exhibits, the 2010 Spokane County Interstate Fair will offer plenty of free entertainment including the ever-popular pig races, International Lumberjack Show, and Mutton Bustin’, where kids 6 years and under try to stay on a bucking sheep for six seconds. Performances at the Grandstand, which you can purchase tickets for through TicketsWest, include the PRCA Rodeo, country star Clint Black, ABBA the Music (ABBA tribute band), and the hard rock band Hinder. There will also be dozens of great shows for free with admission at the North Stage, everything from a hypnotist to country gospel music. Check the website for the full entertainment schedule.

Of course, there will also be plenty of fair food to celebrate the end of bathing suit season with, so bring your appetite! You can count on all your old favorites, such as elephant ears, deep-fried ice cream, fresh fudge, pecan rolls (my personal favorite, which I eat exactly once per year), kettle corn—and those are just some of the desserts!

See you at the fair!

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Posted in Art, Deals, Dining, Events, Family, Home & Garden, Live music, Shows, Spokane | No Responses »

Three Festivals in One in Downtown Coeur d’Alene, July 30–August 1

Friday, July 23rd, 2010
Downtown Coeur d'Alene Street Fair

Downtown Coeur d'Alene Street Fair. Copyright 2010 Coeur d’Alene Downtown Association.

Every summer for the last nineteen years, Sherman Street in the downtown lakefront district of beautiful Coeur d’Alene, ID, has turned into a giant street fair for one sunny weekend. The Coeur d’Alene Downtown Street Fair features over 250 vendors of all kinds of arts, crafts, food, and other wares plus entertainment galore. Around 40,000 people attend the family friendly fair, which runs concurrently with two other big events in the city. It is handicap and stroller friendly so that everyone can feel welcome and comfortable. Hours are Friday and Saturday, 10:00 to 8:00, and Sunday, 10:00 to 5:00.

Also in downtown Coeur d’Alene, check out A Taste of the Coeur d’Alenes, in the city park, with food booths from some of the finest restaurants in the area. This is a great way to sample some of those nice restaurants you have been wanting to try! You can also enjoy great free live music in the park while you relax in the large, grassy sitting areas.

Art on the Green 2010Just a short walk away, or a short free shuttle ride that comes every thirty minutes if you are tired from walking around the street fair, is Art on the Green at the old Fort Sherman Grounds on the North Idaho College Campus. This event, in its forty-second year, brings together 135-plus artists, a variety of performers, over 500 volunteers, and 50,000 visitors for a celebration of art, creativity, and friendship. You can browse a large marketplace of original artist creations or try your hand at creating some of your own art in the hands-on sections for both children and adults, instruction provided. Two stages will showcase jazz, salsa, and Celtic music plus performances by the Lake City Playhouse, the Coeur d’Alene Opera, the Arte Flamenco Dance Theatre, and much more. Hours are Friday, noon to 7:30, Saturday, 10:00 to 7:30, and Sunday, 10:00 to 5:00.

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Posted in Art, Coeur d'Alene, Dining, Events, Family, Live music, Shows | No Responses »

Spokane’s 4th of July Festival Jam-Packed with Music and Fun

Monday, June 28th, 2010
Fireworks in Riverfront Park

Fireworks show in Riverfront Park, Spokane, WA

Sure, Spokane, WA has a spectacular fireworks extravaganza on July 4th, but the fireworks show is the culmination of two full days of revelry in Riverfront Park. Spokane’s 4th of July Festival begins on Saturday, July 3. All day long, you can watch live music at three different outdoor stages, including an American Idol competition with Spokane’s top ten competitors, the Spokane Jazz Orchestra, a dozen or so popular local/regional bands, and a karaoke competition. On Saturday night, don’t miss Ignite Community Theatre’s presentation of the melodrama Blazing Guns at Roaring Gulch (7:30 p.m.) followed by a showing of the film The Basket, which was filmed right here in Spokane. Roving performers will entertain you while you walk around. The shows are all free and fun for the whole family. For the complete schedule, go to the Riverfront Park website.

Loof Carousel in Riverfront Park

The historic Loof Carousel in Riverfront Park

Riverfront Park will also offer specials on day passes all weekend for the park’s many attractions including the historic Loof Carousel, the IMAX theater, amusement rides, and the Spokane Falls SkyRide gondola. Food choices will be diverse, with an international selection of food booths, and beer and wine will be available at the Boulevard Bistro. You can also browse exhibitor booths and enjoy art activities and games.

Do you have something you’ve been dying to say on stage? Sign up for a five-minute slot on the Freedom of Speech stage, which will be open on both days.

The big finale fireworks show starts at 10:00 p.m. on Sunday. If you want the best seats, you can purchase reserved seating tickets for $8.00, which includes a collectible stadium seat cushion. Tickets can be purchased at Riverfront Park’s Guest Services or by calling 509-625-6602 (there will be a $3.50 handling fee for phone transactions.) Quantities are limited and will be on sale until July 1, 2010 based on availability.

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Father’s Day: A Tradition that Started in Spokane

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

Spokane Celebrates 100 Years of Father’s Day June 20!

Spokane Father's Day 2010 Centennial Celebration

Copyright 2010 Spokane Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau

June 20, 2010, marks the 100th Father’s Day, a holiday that began right here in Spokane, WA. Local resident Sonora Smart Dodd, who is often referred to as the “Mother of Father’s Day, was inspired to propose a day to celebrate fathers after hearing a sermon on Mother’s Day in 1909. Dodd’s mother had died in 1898, so her father raised her and her five younger brothers alone on a remote farm in Eastern Washington. With help from her pastor at Old Centenary Presbyterian Church (now Knox Presbyterian Church), Reverend Dr. Conrad Bluhm, Dodd made a proposal for Father’s Day to the Spokane YMCA. That organization, along with the Ministerial Alliance, endorsed the idea and celebrated the first Father’s Day on June 19, 1910, with sermons honoring fathers presented throughout Spokane.

The rest of the nation eventually caught on: in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge recognized Father’s Day and urged the states to do likewise; in 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a proclamation calling for the third Sunday in June to be recognized as Father’s Day; and in 1972, President Richard M. Nixon signed a proclamation permanently observing Father’s Day on the third Sunday in June. Today Father’s Day is celebrated from Antigua to Zimbabwe in over fifty countries around the world.

Traveling to Spokane for Father’s Day? You can book your luxurious, affordable suite at Stratford Suites today and enjoy a 50 inch hi-def. television and pillow-top mattresses in every room.

Here are just a few Father’s Day event highlights in Spokane, WA:

Father’s Day 100th Anniversary Tour by Group Coordinators

Numerous options are available for a fun-filled tour that Dad will love. On Friday, June 18 and Saturday, June 19, group tours will be given for wine tasting, beer tasting, Spokane Symphony at the Fox performances, Spokane nightlife, golfing, and more. Check out the options at groupcoordinators.com/sonora-dodd.php. Reservations can be made by calling 509-455-4354 or emailing julie@groupcoordinators.com.

Dad/Daughter Style Class

Saturday, June 19, 11 a.m.
Workshop for dads to learn more about styling their daughter’s hair for picture day and special events, because mom isn’t always available.

Haute Headz
1505 N. Ash
Spokane, WA 99205

Reservations: 509.838.2280; $30 for one daughter; $5 for additional

Garage Mahal Tour

Saturday, June 19, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Take Dad on a one-of-a-kind tour that ends with a feast from Longhorn Barbeque. Sights include the oldest flying Boeing at Felts Field, the new Pullman train car museum at the Spokane County Fair & Expo Center, a behind-the-scenes tour of McKay Manufacturing, and Gary Hite’s custom motorcycle shop and museum with motorcycles by Harley Davidson, Merkel, and others spanning more than 100 years of technology.

Get your tickets at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture or Longhorn Barbeque. For more information, go to the museum’s website.

Spokane Indians Baseball

June 20, 3:30 p.m.
The Spokane Indians will salute fathers while playing against the Tri-City Dust Devils by wearing light blue jerseys, running light blue bases, and holding a silent auction benefitting Bat for the Cure.

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Museums in Spokane, WA

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Visit Spokane’s museums to learn about the history of the region, view some excellent art, and have fun with the family. The museums listed below offer entertainment for residents and visitors alike. If you are on vacation with children, Stratford Suites Extended Stay Hotel is a convenient, comfortable choice for lodging. Two-room suites are available to provide plenty of room and privacy for families, and all of the large, beautifully appointed rooms have a full kitchen, so you can save by eating in.

Northwest Museum of Art and Culture

Northwest Museum of Art and Culture and the Campbell House

Known as the “MAC,” the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture houses an impressive array of historical and modern art exhibits. Summer 2010 exhibits include Ruben Trejo: Beyond Boundaries, Aztlán y más allá (Trejo, who recently passed away, was one of the region’s most important and respected artists); Living Legacy: The American Indian Collection; Harold Balazs (one of the region’s best-known artists); and Mestizo: Collections and Cultural Fusions.

Campbell House. Copyright Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture

Right next door to the MAC, the historic turn-of-the-20th-century Campbell House is an English Tudor Revival beauty, with fully restored luxurious rooms that give you an insight into the life of the wealthy who made their fortunes in the region’s lucrative mining industry. Forty-five minute guided tours inform visitors of the life and times of the house’s original inhabitants.

Where: 2316 W. First Avenue
Cost: $7, $5 for seniors and students, children under 5 free.

Mobius Kids

copyright Mobius Kids

Got kids? Take them to Mobius Kids Museum and let their imaginations run wild as they engage in exciting activities with high educational value. Kids can learn about far-away cultures by bargaining at a Filipino rural town store, take control of city traffic signals to learn about traffic and bicycle safety, listen to guest storytellers in the Globe Theatre, create original art, and more! The museum averages over 65,000 visitors annually and is a top-tier children’s museum in Eastern Washington.

Where: 808 W. Main, River Park Square Mall, lower level
Cost: $5.75, babies under 12 months free (and yes, there is plenty of fun to occupy babies and crawlers)

Spokane Valley Heritage Museum

Visit this cultural museum to get a feel for what it was like to live in a growing Western town over 100 years ago. The Spokane Valley Heritage Museum chronicles 150 years of the city of Spokane Valley, WA, from its first settler in 1849 through today.

Irrigation Brings Life to the Valley Exhibit

Located in the last remaining township hall in the state of Washington, this museum features historic photos, inspiring exhibits, and fascinating artifacts.

Where: 12114 E. Sprague Avenue
Cost: $4–$6
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Posted in Art, Family, Spokane | 2 Responses »