Category Archives: Soon

Events, entertainment, fun stuff scheduled pretty soon.

Events, Soon, To Dos

Big Fourth of July Festival of America this week

Fireworks on the dam
Fireworks off the top of the dam will be bigger and better this year, chamber of commerce officials, say.

Music, food and fireworks.
Sounds like Festival of America time in the coulee, when patriots can celebrate America Friday and Saturday at the park below the Visitor Center, with a guide to the action inside this issue.
The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, the organizer of the event, has put together live music, kids activities, a big show in the park, fireworks and more to entertain local residents as well as the thousands of visitors who crowd the park and surrounding areas each year.
Listen to the music of MacDaddy, Tuxedo Junction and the Olson Bros. bands.
Fifty vendors will provide food and product in the park.
An “Inflatable Village,” a romp particularly for the kids, will help to make the time clearly a family time.
New this year is the chamber’s Beer Garden, located on town shop property facing Columbia Avenue, where adults can go for a beverage break and a retreat from the crowd.
All in all, a great experience filled with possibilities for everyone.
And don’t forget the Laser Light Show, kicking off just before the fireworks over Grand Coulee Dam.
All the fun is explained in the special Festival of America section with this week’s Star newspaper.
And by the way, when you see a chamber of commerce member, say “thanks” for the creativity and hard work it takes to put on the festival.

Here’s our online edition of our printed special section:

Events, Soon

Kids Fest happens this Saturday

 

Kid-powered boat
Kids power a peddle boat during the 2013 Koulee Kids Fest in the Grand Coulee Dam Area

Kids, mark Saturday, June 20, on your calendars.

That’s the day the 11th Annual Kids Fest occurs in the coulee area.

Start by picking up your passport and map from a variety of places — Saturday Market at North Dam Park, Coulee Hardware or the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center.  It’s your ticket to a day of fun and adventure — and potential prizes.

Bring your passport with six or more stamps on it to the Grand Theatre on Grand Coulee’s Main Street for a performance by juggler-comedian-yoyo man Curtis Carlyle ( a 60-minute performance) with prizes awarded afterward.

During the day, kids can take advantage of many fun things to do, all organized and presented by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce.

Ride a pedal boat

Catch a fish from a large fish tank.

Sit inside a real MedStar helicopter.

Tour the inside of a fire truck.

Romp in a bubble station.

Play disc golf.

Create beautiful chalk artwork.

Build your own dam.

Vote for your favorite Coulee Cruizers car.

Play a round of miniature golf.

Get free ice cream and cookie.

And at the end of the day make it to the thrilling Curtis Carlyle performance at 3 p.m. Winners must be present and ages 12 and under to win.

See you Saturday, June 20, for the 11th annual Koulee Kids Fest.

Boating, swimming and fishing, Soon

Army Corps to lower water level at Rufus Woods April 11-12

Fishing on Lake Rufus Woods
Anglers ply the waters of Lake Rufus Woods, behind Chief Joseph Dam in this 2010 photo

 

SEATTLE – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is lowering the reservoir water level upstream of Chief Joseph Dam by 1.5-2.5 feet below normal pool this weekend, but the Seaton’s Grove boat launch will remain open.

Water managers expect that work scheduled for April 11-12, to prepare for a bank stabilization project, will lower Lake Rufus Woods from its normal low-pool level of 950 feet above sea level to a lower elevation between 947.5-948.5 feet.

The project will eventually address erosion problems by placing bank-stabilizing rock armor and native plantings along 700 feet of shoreline on the Columbia River’s northeastern bank downstream of Seaton’s Grove boat ramp.

To prepare the site for construction, the waterline is being lowered this weekend for an inspection of conditions, and to remove vegetation and other obstructions that could impact bank protection integrity.

Water levels are expected to return to normal April 13.

A Corps spokesman said he didn’t know when the actual construction work would take place or how long it would take.

When complete, the structure will provide protection against reservoir erosive forces, the Corps stated in a press release Friday.

The Corps said that throughout the planning process it coordinated with the Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Reclamation, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Washington Department of Ecology, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

Events, Soon

Fall into fun at the Harvest Festival Sept. 12-14

Harvest Fest Hay Ride
Hay wagon rides are a big hit at the Harvest Festival

Here’s a quick bit on the upcoming Harvest Festival you can send on to your friends and relatives.

The Third Annual Harvest Festival, Sept. 12-14, at North Dam Park, is a fun festival for the entire family and a good way to polish off what has been a great summer.

And it’s free!

Always wanted to take a helicopter ride? You can do it at this year’s Harvest Festival, at a nominal price. Soar through the sky and look down on the things you’ve seen all year long, except from a different vantage point. Rides are available from 11 a.m. to dusk on Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Get on a hay wagon and relive those early days when the horse drawn wagon was a common mode of transportation. You can Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at North Dam Park.

Can you bake a berry pie? There’s competition in the berry and apple pie-baking event. Judging will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday in the picnic area with winners announced at 2 p.m. Bring two pies, one for judging and the second for a pie raffle.

One of the featured events is the barbecue competition. This is serious stuff for barbecue enthusiasts and some of the best in the Pacific Northwest are head our way.

Luckily for them, we also have an excellent beer garden planned, featuring brews from one of our favorite Washington state microbreweries, Iron Horse Brewery. Among the brews featured: High Five Heffe, 509 Style, and, of course, Irish Death. (That last one is so smooth and not bitter, for a dark beer, that you’re tempted not to take it seriously, a mistake at least one ex-sailor I know won’t repeat.) For those of you not into such craft beers, and there are a lot of you, the beer garden will also be stocked with Bud Light.

That’s Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Judging and the awards ceremony begin at 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Samples will be available for purchase. The BBQ event is in conjunction with the Pacific Northwest Barbecue Association. Ribbons and trophies will be given and there are some $3,500 worth of cash prizes. The chamber of commerce, organizer of the festival, has info and a signup sheet here.

 

Day Trips, Events, Places to See, Soon, Uncategorized

Great things to do at Spring Canyon this weekend

canoe-tourIMG_4955

Saturday August 2, 2014
3:30-4:00pm Birds and Beaks
Join Ranger Deb in the day-use area in front of the Spring Canyon Exploration Center Building and learn about why birds have their particular beaks.
30 minutes.
6:00pm Bunchgrass Prairie Nature Trail Plant Walk.
Join Ranger Deb on a ½ mile walk on the Bunchgrass Prairie Nature Trail in the campground at Spring Canyon. We will be talking about the areas native plants and also learning about some invasive plants and their roles in the ecosystem. Please meet at the trailhead.
45-60 minutes.
 Please bring water and apply sunscreen.
 This is a very active bee and wasp area. Please, no bare feet and have epinephrine if highly allergic.
Sunday August 3, 2014
9:30am Crescent Bay Canoe Trip
Join Ranger Deborah for a free canoe trip exploring the wonders of Crescent Bay Lake. We
supply the canoes, paddles, life jackets and instruction. Beginners are welcome but an adult must
accompany children under 16.
 The trip is limited to 17-19 people, so reservations are strongly encouraged. Please make your reservations in person at the Spring Canyon Exploration Center on Saturday August 2, 2014 between 1:30-3:30.
 You must have your own transportation for the 10 minute drive to Crescent Bay Lake.
 Bring water. No water=No Go.
 Approximately 2 ½ hours, including drive time.

image