Are you ready for the 37th annual Bloomsday race? If not, you still have time to register and to train. Bloomsday is an annual 12 K (7.46 miles) footrace open to all runners, walkers, wheelchairs, assisted wheelchairs, and strollers. It is held on the first Sunday in May (May 5 this year) on a scenic route that begins in downtown Spokane. Click here to view the course. From elite world class athletes competing for the top prizes to parents slowly pushing strollers and stopping for ice cream at Doyle’s on the way, people come from all over for this exciting event. It is more than a race; it is seven miles of live bands along the course (plus the SpoCon sci-fi masquerade!) with 48,000 or so participants making it to the finish line. Many people create fun, unofficial teams or wear costumes, so there is plenty to look at to distract yourself from the physical exertion. New this year, online registrants can sign up to have their results broadcast to Facebook, Twitter, and mobile phones as soon as they cross the finish line. Also new this year, the Fit for Bloomsday program will distribute trading cards, including Spaghetti Betty (carbo-loader extraordinaire) and Doomsday Hill-Billy (always inclined to run), at the Bloomsday tradeshow (May 3 and 4 at the Spokane Convention Center).
Young racers with SpoCon sci-fi masqueraders.
Register here through April 21. Cost is $17 plus $1.69 online processing fee. Late registration is available through April 28 and costs $35 plus a $3.49 online processing fee. You can also register in person at Sports Authority stores until April 16 or by mail (must be postmarked by April 16). Mail forms are available at Washington Trust banks, Safeway stores, Franz/Snyder’s Bakery Outlets, Holy Family and Sacred Heart hospitals, and most running stores. Free clinics hosted by Providence and Group Health to prepare for Bloomsday start this weekend. You can sign up here.
Spokane is a vibrant, fun, beautiful city to visit any time of the year. Something is always going on! Below is a list, by no means complete, of some of the most popular annual events that draw people from all over the region.
From Garden in the Sea, one of the films being shown at the 2013 Spokane International Film Festival.
This is a golden opportunity to see some of the previous year’s best films from all over the world on the big screen. Some of them may not ever be available on DVD in the United States. Festival passes are available. Individual tickets go on sale online January 12 and range from $5.00–$10.00. Films will be shown downtown in the Magic Lantern Theatre and the Bing Crosby Theater. Click here for a list of this year’s selected films.
Spokane celebrates all things Irish as well as a sense of community with a festive parade through downtown Spokane. Marching bands, creative floats, school groups from around the region, and dancing are some of the sights to be had. Come early to stake out a good place to watch! Click here for the parade route.
The first Sunday of every May, runners, walkers, and people using wheelchairs trek 12 km (7.46 miles) in and around downtown Spokane, WA in one of the nation’s largest annual foot races. Elite runners competing for the championships come from all over the world, but many more people are there for the fun of it. Flamboyant costumes, creative team themes, and great on-course entertainment are guaranteed to help distract you from the physical exertion. You can register online anytime through April 21 for $17 plus $1.69 online processing fee. Beginning March 1, mail-in forms will be available at various locations around town (must be postmarked by April 16).
Spokane is known for its gorgeous, though short-lived, lilacs that bloom in the spring. Each year, at around the time the lilacs are blooming, the community celebrates with a big torchlight parade, a car show, and several other events featuring the Lilac Royalty (princesses and a queen). The main events are on Saturday, May 18. The Cruzin’ the Falls Classic Car Show runs 10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. downtown on Spokane Falls Boulevard, and the 75th Spokane Lilac Festival Diamond Anniversary Armed Forces Torchlight Parade starts at 7:45, also downtown. Click here for a full list of Lilac Festival events.
Coeur d’Alene’s IRONMAN triathlon course is one of the most scenic in the nation. Competitors swim two loops (2.4 miles total) in beautiful Lake Coeur d’Alene, cycle two loops (112 miles total) through rural, scenic North Idaho, and run two loops (26.2 miles total) parallel to the lake. Spectators cheer on the athletes during the running course. There will be 50 qualifying Age Group slots to the IRONMAN World Championship on offer at the 2013 IRONMAN Coeur d’Alene. About 2,800 people participate.
This very popular event is already sold out for general entries, but there are still Ironman Foundation entry fee spots available ($1,250, half of which goes to the Ironman Foundation). Come and support a competing athlete you know or just watch this incredible feat of endurance!
This is the largest 3-on-3 street basketball tournament in the world, with over 7,000 teams and almost 28,000 players in 2012. People of all abilities can put together a team and register, but the youngest players must be entering the third grade in fall of 2013. From the 3BA Elite Division to occasional players, there is a bracket for everyone, and prizes are awarded to the winners in each bracket. Registration opens March 15. If you want to be actively involved without playing, volunteer! Hoopfest is made possible by 3,000 people who volunteer their time.
Independence Day Festival, July 4
Music and other live entertainment, food, vendors, community booths, and fireworks at dusk at Riverfront Park.
At the Riverside State Park Equestrian Area on July 13, you can stomp in puddles all you want, whether you are 8 or 80, and no one will care that you are ruining your shoes and splattering everyone around you. In fact, it’s actually the point of the event to get just as filthy as you possibly can while negotiating a slippery, 3.5 mile obstacle course of walls, mud hills, pipes, giant slip ‘n slides, and more features. There is even a “Beer Chug Obstacle” (root beer also available) where you will chug a beer before attempting the challenge (for beer, you must present your ID and get a wrist band before the race starts). There is also a shorter Piglet Plunge for ages 2–12 (must be accompanied by a parent, $20 to register), a 1-mile course with kid-friendly obstacles and features like the “Hog Wash” and the “Pig Sty.”
Register as a team or an individual. Costumes, bad mustaches, and outrageous hair are highly encouraged, and you might just win prizes for them, along with other creative categories. Cost is $35.00 through January 31, then it goes up gradually until July 10, when it is $55.00.
Don’t miss one of the best free music festivals in the Northwest, held in Riverfront Park. This huge, six-day celebration begins on the Wednesday before Labor Day. Three stages plus roving entertainment provide something for everyone. Of course, there are also about 54 food booths offering up all kinds of cuisine, from foot-long hot dogs to samosas. Local and regional bands as well as national headliners play.
It’s all here—farm animals, amusement rides, rodeo, live music, art, crafts, giant produce, wickedly good junk food, trinkets, antique machinery, and much more. The fair ushers in the fall; it’s the last big summer weather event. Watch the website for details of the 2013 fair as they become available!
The exact dates have not been announced yet, but in the second half of September, the 4th annual Spokane Oktoberfest will be held in Riverfront Park. This 21-and-older event features a large variety of Washington state beers for tasting. Live music, German concession food, and an Oktoberfest costume contest are all part of the fun.
Green Bluff Growers Festivals, May through December
Green Bluff, home to a few dozen farms, is located about 15 miles north of Spokane in the scenic foothills of Mt. Spokane. During the summer and fall, you can visit growers and buy food directly where it is grown. You can even pick your own berries, tree fruits, pumpkins, and more. On festival weekends, farmers and shops offer live music, farm-fresh cuisine, tours, and more. Some farms have play areas for kids, petting zoos, wagon rides, and corn mazes. There are even wineries and candy makers to visit.
Green Bluff farms open up to the public beginning with the Blooms on the Bluff (flowers, plants, crafts) on Mother’s Day Weekend. At the end of June and beginning of July, you can enjoy some super fresh, sweet, local strawberries during the Strawberry Festival. Next is the Cherry Festival, two weekends in July, including the Cherry Picker’s Trot annual fun run. The Peach Festival runs late August through Labor Day, and the Apple Festival is late September to the end of October. You can even come back for holiday shopping during Holiday Memories November 23 through December 24 and cut your own Christmas tree or pick up unique, local food gifts. Each farm has its own hours and events. Click here for the growers’ map, from which you can access information pages for each farm
The biggest, most inclusive New Year’s Eve party in Spokane starts at 6:00 p.m. (some kids’ activities start at 3:00 p.m.) It runs until midnight, but you won’t run out of things to do and probably will not have time to see everything you want to! Click here for a description of the dozens of performance and attractions at First Night Spokane 2013. Admission buttons are just $12 through December 30 or $15 on December 31. Kids 10 and under are free when accompanied by a button-bearing adult. Get your buttons at Cenex Zip Trip stores, the River Park Square concierge desk, Auntie’s Book Store, or Mountain West Bank. Not going to be near any of those places in the next few days? Just order online and pick up your buttons at the Spokane Convention Center beginning at 3:00 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. Your button gets you into all First Night events.
The evening begins with a masquerade parade at 6:10 p.m. from the Spokane Convention Center to the Riverfront Park Fountain and ends at midnight with a fireworks show that starts at 11:50 p.m. In between, there is a large variety of entertainment for everyone. As always, First Night Spokane is alcohol free and family friendly. To help you decide, here are some great choices, one for each hour counting down to 2013.
Bring the kids to the Spokane Convention Center for three hours of fun. Activities are centered around this year’s First Night theme: Across the Universe: the Year of the U.F.O. Kids can create their favorite “Martian Marmot,” launch a rocket, get a robot hat, and put on a washable tattoo. There will be dancing, a “moon surface walk,” “space writing wall,” and music. There are even special activities just for tots 2–4 years old.
7:00 p.m.—Outrageous Wild Women Crown Making
Stop by first, or anytime throughout the evening, to decorate a personalized crown. Not just for kids! Grown-ups need to feel like royalty, too! Located in the Crescent Court, 2nd floor.
8:00 p.m.—SCC Players at the Spokane Public Library
Check out live theatre performances by the Spokane Community College Players at 7:00, 8:00, or 9:00 p.m. Last year’s show included actors performing unique folk stories from faraway lands; this year is sure to be equally interesting. While you are there, check out the photographs of Afghanistan by Casey Johnson.
9:00 p.m.—Blue Door Theatre, Convention Center Conference Theatre
Check out Spokane’s great improvisational comedy group, Blue Door Theatre. They will perform every hour all night. Every show is different because it is influenced by audience participation and random, on-the-fly ideas. Very entertaining, with jokes that require creativity rather than crudeness—it’s all clean humor.
10:00 p.m.—48 Hour Film Festival, Produced by NXNW
Each year, local film makers are invited to enter short films that must be written, filmed, and edited in just 48 hours. In case you are wondering (I was) how they prevent cheating, NXNW keeps the storyline requirements secret until the 48 hour timeline begins. Come watch the contestants’ submissions anytime throughout the night in the Spokane City Council Chambers meeting room in the lower level of City Hall. If you don’t have time to catch them during First Night, you can watch them on YouTube.
11:00 p.m.—Ice Skating and Looff Carousel Rides
End your night in the park to be close by when the fireworks begin. Your button provides free rides on the carousel and free ice skating at the Ice Palace (skate rental is not free, though). As you stroll through the park, stop at the many bonfires to warm up, or warm up by dancing to DJ music at the Riverfront Park Fountain. Visual artists will also be showing their work in the area.
Parking
Get a happy start to your night, rather than an irritating one, by choosing the easy, free parking option for First Night Spokane! Park at the Riverpoint Campus just east of downtown at 412 E. Spokane Falls Blvd. in the yellow lot for free. Then catch a free STA bus, which will run every 10 minutes from 3:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m., to various venues of First Night. Catch a bus back at the end of your evening. Click here for a parking and shuttle service map. Easy peasy!
The tradition of Oktoberfest began October 12, 1810, when the citizens of Munich were all invited to celebrate the marriage of Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen by drinking beer and watching horse races. Two hundred years later, millions of people attend Munich’s Oktoberfest, and cities all over the world host their own celebrations. Downtown Coeur d’Alene, with its walkable, charming streets and numerous independent shops and restaurants, hosts its annual Oktoberfest this Friday and Saturday.
For $15, you receive a glass beer mug, six sampling tickets, and admission to all music venues participating in the festival. There are eight sampling locations, all located on Sherman, including the Main Tent area on 2nd and Sherman. Click here for a list of sampling venues. You must be 21 to purchase drink tickets of course, and valid identification is required. However, new this year, kids can come and enjoy the fun too! On Saturday, starting at 1:00 p.m., the Kinderplatz in Sherman Park will serve up kid friendly activities, food, and non-alcoholic beverages.
Coeur d’Alene Oktoberfest 2012 runs Friday 4:30–8:00 p.m. and Saturday 1:00–8:00 p.m. You can pick up tickets, mugs, and festival tasting maps at the Plaza Shops, 210 E. Sherman Avenue, starting at 4:30 Friday and 12:30 Saturday. The opening ceremony in which the first keg will be tapped is at 5:00 p.m. Friday in the Main Tent area.
This weekend, the City of Spokane Valley will host its biggest celebration of the year, with a parade, hot air balloons, gourmet food and wine tasting, bicycling and running events, live music, and more. Valleyfest began in 1990; its mission “is to showcase the talent that enriches our community and give exposure of the visual and performing arts, education, science, and recreation to those families who might otherwise not have the means to experience them.”
Friday night, bring your family to see the Hearts of Gold parade, which starts at 7:30 p.m. at Sprague Avenue at Appleway Florist and travels east to the Spokane Heritage Museum. The parade will feature lighted floats, mascots, dancers, classic cars, and fire trucks.
Start your day with a pancake breakfast from 7:00 to 10:30 a.m. Volunteers will be preparing and serving a hot breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, and bacon, plus your choice of coffee, juice, or milk. The price is $7 for adults, $3 for kids 3–6, and free for kids 2 and under. Click here for a $1 discount coupon!
Parents and expectant parents can attend educational workshops and movies and visit baby-themed exhibitions at BabyFest 2012. BabyFest runs from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free.
Look at the stars under a roof at the Stargazer Planetarium from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
At Taste of the Valley, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., you can sample regional wines, enjoy hors d’oeuvres, and listen to live music on the patio. Tickets are $30 and must be purchased by Friday.
Valleyfest Car Show will be held on the grass outside CenterPlace. Registration is 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. and is $10.00 per vehicle. Lowco’s car club is hosting and judging the event, with awards given at 3:30 p.m.
Throughout the day, the CenterPlace patio stage will offer live music and comedy. Click here for a schedule.
Mirabeau Point Park, located next to the CenterPlace Event Center, will have plenty of fun things to do and see:
The Spokane Astronomical Society will be around all day Saturday to hand out free DVD’s and other prizes and to let people look through telescopes of all different sizes. You can view sunspots and solar flares with special telescope filters, and in the evening, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Saturday, the group will host a night sky viewing. Come see the galaxy and learn what you are looking at in the night sky!
Weather permitting, Balloons over Valleyfest will launch hot air balloons from the park at 6:40 a.m. on Friday. At 5:00 a.m., you can come and view the “Morning Glow” of the lit balloons before takeoff. Saturday and Sunday, the balloons will launch at 6:35 a.m. Saturday night at 8:00 p.m., the lit balloons will be on display for “Night Glow.”
Sunday, bring your bike for the Spokane River Centennial Trail Bike Ride. Meet at the Mirabeau Point Park North Centennial Trail Head at 11:00 a.m. for check-in ($10.00 for ages 11 and over and $5.00 for ages 10 and under). The ride starts at noon, and you can choose from four routes ranging from 6.8 to 15.6 miles. All routes are loops that finish back at Mirabeau Park. Pre-register here.
If walking is more your style, you can register for the Step up for Down Syndrome Walk, which starts Saturday at 10:00 a.m. at the Discovery Playground at Mirabeau Point Park. Or race in the 5k/10k Run for a Cause on Sunday at 8:30 a.m., which benefits education, research, and advocacy programs for Down Syndrome. Registration for the run is $15 before Sept 20 or $25 if registered after September 20, 2012.
Saturday and Sunday, the Family Stage will feature performers of various kinds, including music and dancing. Click here for a schedule.
The Meadow Festival Stage will also feature live music and dancing Saturday and Sunday. Click here for a schedule.
The Spokane County Fair starts Friday, an annual tradition that offers the opportunity for city folk to see farm animals, kids of all ages to catch the thrill of high-speed carnival rides, and cowboys and cowgirls to strut their stuff in an arena full of people. Everyone has their own favorite, must-see feature of the Spokane County Fair, whether it’s the bunnies, the racing pigs, the demolition derby, or the freakishly huge pumpkins. Share your favorite Fair experience in the comment field at the end of this story! Below are some of the major highlights at this year’s Fair to help you plan your visit. Click here to see detailed lists of daily events.
Highlights
Butler Amusements Carnival: The main carnival opens at 3:00 p.m. Monday–Thursday and noon on Friday–Sunday. The Kiddyland carnival for the younger set opens at noon each day. Rides can either be paid for by tickets ($1 per ticket; each ride takes 3–5 tickets) or a pay-one-price bracelet, which is available for $30 and is good for one day. On September 10–13, the pay-one-price bracelet is discounted to $25. The county’s website does not specify what time the carnival closes, so it’s probably safe to assume it closes at 10:30 (8:30 on September 16) when the main buildings close for the night.
Steam and Gas Area: This is where you can see what life was like on the farm before modern conveniences like electricity and maybe exaggerate the difficulties of your own childhood to your kids. Antique tractors and other equipment are on display, and the Inland Empire Railway Historical Society’s Museum and train rides will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Throughout each day, demos will be performed of old-fashioned bread making, rope making, butter churning, a portable mill, a spinning wheel, and more. Check daily schedules for times.
Home Arts/Fine Arts: Come to Bay 3 and Bay 4 to see the work of local artists and beautiful flower exhibits. You can also see demos of different crafts, like water color painting, needlepoint, and card making. Click here for daily schedules.
Copyright Year of Plenty
Animals! Many kinds of cows, beautiful varieties of chickens, cute rabbits, friendly horses, and talkative pigs. This is your chance to see them all, and maybe ask their owners questions if they happen to be around. Important note: if you or anyone in your family has their heart set on seeing a particular animal exhibit, check the daily schedules for the notes on top about days when some animals are going home or are otherwise unavailable—explaining to a 5-year-old that the bunnies are “just not here today” is a conversation no one wants to have.
PRCA Rodeo (September 7 and 8, 7:00 p.m.): Events include bareback riding, barrel racing, bull riding, saddle bronc, steer wrestling, team roping, and tie-down roping. Tickets are available at TicketsWest.com, 1-800-325-7328, or at the Fair and Expo Center office and cost $5–$7, plus the price of fair admission.
Concerts and Shows: Headliners this year include Wylie and the Wild West Show, Jake Owen, Huey Lewis and the News, Styx, and Blues Traveler. Monster truck shows and a demolition derby are September 15 and 16. Tickets for concerts and shows range from $5 to $30 plus the cost of Fair admission and are available at Ticketswest.com, 1-800-325-7328, or at the Fair office. All these shows are at the Grandstand, but additional, free shows will run throughout the fair on the North Stage.
The Spokane County Interstate Fair runs September 7–16 at the fairgrounds, 404 N. Havana St. Parking is free. Admission each day is $7 for ages 7–13 and 65+, $10 for adults, and free for kids 6 and under. Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. except September 16, when the fair will close at 8:30 p.m.
The Verve Pipe headlines at Pig Out in the Park this year.
Labor day weekend is coming, the last big holiday before kids go back to school and summer officially ends. You could go camping at your favorite lake spot, but let’s face it, camping at a beyond maxed out campground is not really all that fun. On the other hand, music festivals packed with people ARE really fun, and at Pig Out in the Park you can pick and choose from 100 concerts, all free!
The line-up, spread out over three stages, includes some great national acts, including the Verve Pipe (Friday at 9:15 p.m. and Saturday at 12:00 p.m.), the Yardbirds (Saturday at 9:30), JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound (Thursday at 9:00 p.m.), Fishbone (Sunday, 9:30 p.m.), and more. There are just too many don’t-miss local musicians playing over the weekend to mention them all, but a few highlights I recommend are Hot Club of Spokane (Thursday at 8:15 p.m.), Silver Treason, Terrible Buttons (Saturday at 7:15), Cary Fly (Sunday at 7:00 p.m.), and Civilized Animal (Sunday at 7:30 p.m.). Saturday and Sunday at 4:00 p.m., kids can enjoy a roving magic show. Click here for a full schedule of the festival’s entertainment.
Chocolate dipped cheesecake at Pig Out in the Park
While the festival has become known for an incredible array of live music performances, drawing people from all over the Inland Northwest, it’s called Pig Out in the Park for a reason. You will find copious amounts of a wide variety of foods from Navajo fry bread tacos to maple bacon cupcakes. Food booths will offer food from all over the globe—Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Cajun, Native American, Italian, Mediterranean, Mongolian, Southwest, and Indian, plus amazing desserts like chocolate-covered fruit kebobs and huckleberry brownie fudge sundaes. And yes, if you must, have a deep-fried Snicker’s bar or Twinkie. After all, Pig Out in the Park only comes around once a year. I like to go with a food tasting buddy or two, so I can try and share several items for less money. Click here for a helpful list of food vendors with sample menu items to help you plan your indulgence strategy—naturally, the food booth areas are very crowded so knowing where you want to go before you arrive is very helpful! There are also three adult beverage gardens.
Pig Out in the Park runs August 29—September 3 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. in Riverfront Park, downtown Spokane. Admission to the event and to all entertainment is free. All food items are $9.25 or less. Pets are prohibited from this event. Parking is available in paid lots and at street meters throughout downtown (Sunday, meters are free). Click here for bus schedules if you don’t want to deal with parking!
What’s better than a car show with beautiful classics on display? A car show that hands out awards for best retro hair-dos along with trophies for cars. This Saturday, July 21, Two Rivers Casino and Andy’s Classic Mustangs will host the Two Rivers Rod Run and Show at the Two Rivers Casino Park in Davenport, WA. All cars are welcome to enter the show, so if you have something you want to show off, bring it out! Spectators will judge the cars for people’s choice trophies.
You can bring your whole family to this event and feast on barbequed hot dogs and hamburgers for $1 and drink bottled Coke for 10 cents served out of the back of an old Mercury truck. There will also be a wine and beer garden. Dress in your best 1940s–1970s attire and watch for fun hair styles and outfits, as there are contests for best retro hairstyles, best dressed man, and best pin-up girl. In the evening, you can stick around and watch free music in the park (The Fat Tones) at 7 p.m. or play in the casino.
Registration for cars is from 10 a.m. to noon at the gate for $25. Spectators and parking are free (grass parking). Trophies will be awarded at 3 p.m. The show will be held at the Two Rivers Casino Park in Davenport, WA, located less than an hour from Spokane. Click here for directions. Camping is available at the Two Rivers Resort on Lake Roosevelt ($20 for tents, $35 for RVs).
Travel Spokane is a website built to inform Spokane visitors about the latest news, events, and opportunities in Spokane. The information is provided free courtesy of Stratford Suites. If you are looking for a Spokane Hotel be sure to check out our website at www.stratfordsuites.com
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