Category Archives: Soon

Events, entertainment, fun stuff scheduled pretty soon.

Boating, swimming and fishing, Events, Soon

Crazy fun stuff planned for New Year’s Day

Nothing seals friendships like overcoming adversity, such as freezing your rear off for a few seconds in Lake Roosevelt and creating a memory on New Year’s Day.

If you’d like some active fun on New Year’s Day, here are a couple local options:

1. Meet at Spring Canyon at noon for a polar bear plunge into Lake Roosevelt or join a few crazy kayakers braving the cold. They’re both happening at noon.

Spring Canyon, the National Park Service’s closest campground in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area to Grand Coulee, isn’t open with full service now, so plan on taking any trash with you when you leave. And be sure to bring a thermos of something hot to drink when you get cold, plus a way to dry off and warm up.

We understand some folks will also make their way to a local bar to help in that effort, if that’s your thing.

A September shot of the western rim of the Lower Grand Coulee, with its iconic overlook at left.

2. Take a hike at Dry Falls with the Washington State Park’s “Adventure Awaits” event, “New Year’s Day — Tracks & Impressions — Dry Falls Hike.”

Starting at the Dry Falls Visitor Center on highway 17, you’ll walk the western rim of the Lower Grand Coulee. (If you drive there from the city Grand Coulee, you will have driven the length of the Upper Grand Coulee along Banks Lake.)

The 2.5-mile hike, judged to be of “moderate” difficulty starts at 10:30 a.m. and lists no minumum age on the adventurewaits.com website. But note that the trail is NOT stroller or ADA accessible.

Dogs will be allowed on a leash.

Hikers should be prepared for winter conditions, of course, but also note that you’re hiking the rim, so prepare for wind. You should also bring a day pack with water and snacks, winter boots and hiking poles.

Park Interpretive Specialist David McWalter is organizing it: david.mcwalter@parks.wa.gov. , 509-632-5214.

Entertainment, Events, Soon, To Dos, Uncategorized

Harvest Festival Sept. 20-21 2019

Fall is fast approaching, and rather than be plagued by the summertime blues, why not celebrate autumn with the upcoming Harvest Festival?

Life-size fun with human foosball.

There will be food and fun aplenty for adults and kids alike with helicopter rides, arts and crafts, games, barbecues, beers, live music. 

The Harvest Festival, put on by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, will take place from Friday to Sunday, Sept. 20-22, at North Dam Park. 

Helicopter rides will be available from Inland Helicopters from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, offering those who take the ride a scenic bird’s-eye view of the coulee’s unique landscape, a great opportunity to take photos for the photographer in all of us. 

And when you need to calm down from the adrenaline rush of flying in a helicopter, the Harvest Festival beer garden will have a variety of ales that are good for what ails ya, and some live music to boot.

The beer garden will be open on Friday from 6-10 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The Hometown Hooligans, a rock ’n’ roll band hailing from Coulee City, will perform live music on Saturday night, from 8-11 p.m. 

And bring your bib! A barbecue competition will take place on Saturday and Sunday, with samples available on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. when $10 will buy you four samples. Categories include ribs, brisket, pork, and chicken. 

The competition is sanctioned by the Pacific Northwest BBQ Association and awards cash prizes totaling $6,500. 

On Saturday from 10-3 kids can enjoy a number of free activities: finger painting, rock art, slime making, popsicle stick art, pumpkin decorating, water balloons, and a “magnificent bubble station.” 

Also on Saturday, from 10 a.m .to 1 p.m., teams of six will compete in a lifesize human foosball tournament. 

The Run The Dam race will offer 5k, 10k, and half-marathon lengths to run, starting at 9 a.m. Saturday.

And if motorcycles and poker are your thing, a motorcycle “poker run” will start on Saturday at 9 a.m. Riders will take a 210-mile journey around the coulee and surrounding areas, gathering cards to try to get the best hand of poker.

And as always, there will be vendor booths, on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

More information on all of these activities, such as registration info for the bbq contest, information for vendors, and more, can be found on the chamber’s website at http://www.grandcouleedam.org or by calling 509-633-3074.

Boating, swimming and fishing, Soon

Spring Canyon OPen Labor Day Weekend

The Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, including Spring Canyon, is scheduled to be open for Labor Day Weekend according to the National Park Service website. 

Various locations on Lake Roosevelt have been closed due to pavement construction projects. 

From the NPS website: 

Updates on Closed Areas – Updated 08/28/2019
The following work and closure timeline is tentative and subject to change depending on weather, wildfire, and other unforeseen circumstances.

Closures for the week of August 26:
All locations are currently scheduled to be open for Labor Day Weekend with the exception of Porcupine Campground, Day-use, and Fish Cleaning Station. The Porcupine Bay boat launch may not open until late Friday or early Saturday depending on cure time for the micro surfacing. This schedule is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances.
For Crack Sealing:
Spring Canyon Group Campsites
Spring Canyon Campground
Spring Canyon Day-use
Spring Canyon Boat Launch

For Patching:
The following locations will be open but with traffic diversions in place. Please drive carefully and pay attention to the flaggers.
Lincoln Mill Boat Launch (Reopened 8/28/2019)
Hanson Harbor Boat Launch
Keller Ferry Campground

Keller Ferry Boat Launch
Keller Ferry Day-use

https://www.nps.gov/laro/planyourvisit/pavement-project.htm

Kids jump off the popular swimming platform at Spring Canyon.
Events, Soon

Colorama coming right up

Two kids take a carnival ride Thursday night of Colorama.

Our area’s big kickoff to the upcoming season — warm weather, hikes, swimming, camping — is about to kickoff with the our big annual festival. It’s Colorama time next week, when the carnival comes to town, runners lace up those shoes, cowboys ride into town and people line the streets of Grand Coulee for the parade.

Here’s a quick rundown of what to expect. We’ll get into more detail with a special section in next week’s Star.

Rainier Amusements will again bring in the carnival, as they did last year, beginning Thursday, May 9, at 4 p.m.

Presale tickets are still available for less money than you’ll pay at the carnival.

The Colorama Color Run is set for 9-11 a.m. Saturday, May 11, at North Dam Park. You can register online or in person for the 5K event that gives you the option of adding a whole lot of bright color to your outfit before heading to the big Colorama Parade.

That starts at 11 a.m., but a lot of people find their parking spots the night before all along the route, which winds down Federal Avenue and turns onto Midway in front of The Star.

That morning, the Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center offer their Cowboy Breakfast from 7-11 a.m. to give you enough fuel to get to the day’s events.

Those can also include the arts and crafts fair at North Dam Park, an event so successful the last few years that the chamber has turned away some aspiring vendors.

The Ridge Riders’ Pro-West Rodeo starts Friday night at 6 p.m., then again on Saturday at 4 p.m. with kids’ stick-horse racing and “mutton bustin’” prior to each event.

All through the festival, helicopter rides will be offered from the upper ball field at North Dam Park.

And the chamber will again offer a Beer Garden at the park, which has become an annual meeting place for friends old and new.

For more information on events and times, check the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce website.

Entertainment, Events, Soon, To Dos, Uncategorized

Festivities this weekend: kids fest, fireworks, bull riding, wild horse race!

Mini golf at Sunbanks Lake Resort is one of many free activities for kids this weekend.

There’s a bull ride and wild horse race on Friday, then fireworks on Saturday night may be enjoyed from a park or from the waters of Banks Lake. That comes after Saturday’s Koulee Kids Fest with plenty of activities for the kiddos, and a traveling show going around Eastern Washington.

The Ridge Riders Rodeo Grounds in Delano on Alcan Road will host the bulls and wild horses at 6 p.m. on Friday June 15. Read more about it here

Koulee Kids Fest takes place on Saturday, with free activities, treats, and a show for the kids, all going on around town. Call the chamber of commerce for more info at 509-633-3074. Read more about it here

Fireworks will be launched on Saturday, June 16, from North Dam, and can be seen from the nearby Banks Lake Park, North Dam Park, Coulee Playland, and from the waters of Banks Lake. Read more about that event here

A traveling Chautauqua will be making stops in nearby towns such as Coulee City and Nespelem this week, with juggling acts, education, parades, music, and more. Read more about that here.