Category Archives: To Dos

Things to do in the Coulee area

Events, Soon, To Dos

Magic and fun festival coming up for kids

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

The upcoming weekend’s Koulee Kids Fest offers a passport for fun that will keep parents and kids entertained for hours, plus offer a chance to win some really great prizes.

Catching a fish at Kids Fest
Catching a fish is pretty much a guarantee at the fish pond provided by the Colville Tribal Fish and Wildlife Department.

 

To participate this Saturday, June 14, kids pick up passports at the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center, Saturday Market or Coulee Hardware. All the information will be provided when they pick up their passport.

Old car show is fun
Tons of fun at the Coulee Cruizers’ car show.

Kids and their parents take part in at least six featured events and show up at the Grand Gallery Theatre at 3 p.m. for the drawing for a Kindle Fire, an iPod and a lot more. Winners must be present and 12 or under to win.

And they can stay for a free magic show, starring Dick Frost, a 45-minute event billed to fascinate young and old alike.

At last count, venues for passport entries included:

• catching a fish at the huge tribal tank next to the museum;

• riding a paddle boat at Coulee Playland;

• stopping by the Coulee Cruizers’ Car Show and Shine event at North Dam Park to vote on your favorite car;

• buying a burger or hot dog at the Lions Club BBQ at North Dam Park;

• visiting the Visitor Center at Grand Coulee Dam, finding “Rosie” and coloring your favorite quilt blocks;

• playing disc golf at North Dam Park;

• geocache fun at Funzee’s in Grand Coulee;

• creating chalk art at the Skate Park;

• checking out the inside of a fire truck;

• getting free ice cream from the Coulee Creamery at North Dam Park between noon and 3 pm;

• slingshoting a stuffed pig at the Tropical Pig in Electric City;

• stopping by Saturday Market for a free cookie; and

• playing a round of mini-golf at Sunbanks Lake Resort in Electric City.

Here’s a link to a map of events

For more on the Koulee Kids Fest, see the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce’s website.

Astounding Facts, Events, Soon, To Dos

Welcome Athletes!

Saturday, the area is treated to the display of some of the most amazing, determined seekers of perfection ever, triathletes competing in the three-pronged race that makes good use of hundreds of local miles and awesome scenery.

The Grand Columbian Triathlon’s 10th race in the coulee will bring up to a couple hundred athletes to the swim-bike-run events.

It all starts on Friday night with a spaghetti feed put on by the Rotary Club at the Church of the Nazarene from 4 to 7:30. But that’s the easy part.

The real competition starts at Spring Canyon early Saturday morning. Check out the details inside our special section below.

Events, Soon, To Dos

Harvest Festival offer something for everyone Friday and Saturday

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Fun on a hayride at North Dam Park in 2012

 

Here’s all about the Harvest Festival starting Friday, September 13, 2013.
There’s something for everyone here.

Community-wide yard (park) sale

There’s still time to be a part of the Chamber of Commerce’s community yard sale Friday and Saturday at North Dam Park. You can set up there for a $10 fee good for both days.

It’s one of the features of the two-day fall Harvest Festival.

Bring your own tables and set up for what could become a busy time sharing your pre-owned articles.

Yard sales are one of the community pastimes and the festival should produce plenty of lookers and potentially buyers. You can call the Chamber, 633-3074, for additional details.

 

Hay rides on Saturday

Terry Batterman is providing the team of horses and Janet O’Neil the wagon for Saturday’s hay rides.

The team and wagon will be near the skateboard park area from 10-4 on Saturday. The hosts say that young and old can take part in a good old-fashioned hayride through the park area roads.

The wagon will be loaded with hay bales as seating for the ride.

 

Costumed pet show

Bob Valen, a member of the Chamber Board of Directors, will run the Costumed Pet Show at the skateboard area.

Be creative — and take a chance that your pet will be good natured about it all — and be part of the judged show.

Last year more than a dozen pet owners dressed up their pets and put on quite a show.

Valen said that pets and their owners will show off, and then judges will make awards.

There’s plenty of room to show off your pets, or be a spectator to enjoy the pets, hopefully at their best.

The show is from 11 a.m. Saturday to noon.

 

Bring kids to the petting zoo

Come in to North Dam Park Saturday and meet “Spike,” the bearded dragon lizard. That’s all we are going to say about Spike; you’ll just have to come see for yourself.

It’s all part of the Petting Zoo Saturday from 10-4 at North Dam Park.

Spike will be on hand for only an hour, from noon to 1 p.m., so make your plan now to be there.

The chamber says there will be alpacas, sheep, horses, donkeys and much more. Kids can get close and in most cases touch and pet the animals.

 

Chalk art in the park

This is a good time to show your art skills.

The chamber furnishes the chalk and you furnish the talent. Draw your creations where everyone can enjoy them.

The chalk art opportunity is for young and old alike. It runs from 1-4 Saturday at the skatepark arena.

 

Beer Garden for two days

A beer garden will be set up in the picnic area from 5-10 p.m. Friday and from 3 to 10 p.m. on Saturday. Adults only. Come and have a good time.

 

Rotary to offer a BBQ

The Grand Coulee Dam Rotary Club plans a barbecue at North Dam Park on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Rotarians will have hamburgers and German sausages and side dishes, and cold drinks for festival fans. Bring your appetites.

 

Sponsors

Sponsors for this year’s Harvest Festival in addition to the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce are the Coulee Dam Federal Credit Union, Loepps Furniture & Appliance and the Colville Tribal Casinos. For more information on this year’s Harvest Festival, contact the chamber at 509-633-3074.

 

 

Astounding Facts, Boating, swimming and fishing, Places to See, To Dos

Catch the spectacular spill before it stops

As I write this, the Columbia River is flowing through Grand Coulee Dam at a rate of 195,400 cubic feet per second. And, spectacularly, about 25,000 cubic feet you can see spilling some 300 feet down the face of the dam.

At Niagara Falls you would see about 20,000 cubic feet of water falling about 70 feet.

The spill should keep going all week, adding incentive to anyone thinking about visiting the dam for the annual July 4th celebration.

A tour group leaves the big bus to peer over the edge of the dam as the Columbia roars over the top.
A tour group leaves the big bus to peer over the edge of the dam as the Columbia roars over the top.

If you’d like to check the current amount of water flowing in the river, over the dam or the level of Lake Roosevelt compared to sea level, you can do that here. (But the data fields might not line up well on a small screen of a cell phone.

Lake Roosevelt, behind the dam, is already basically full, well ahead of last year as the chart below shows.

 

chart-2

Events, Places to See, Soon, To Dos

Festival of America set for July 4-6

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fireworksdamIMG_7819
Cell phones and digital cameras try to capture the fireworks, as the moon pops up in the background above Grand Coulee Dam during the 2011 fireworks off the top of the dam.

Celebration planned for 4th of July

Everyone likes a good, old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration.

You can enjoy one this week, the “Festival of America” a three-day affair, right here in the Grand Coulee Dam area.

The celebration kicks off on Thursday, July 4, with music in the park below the Visitor Center.

There’s lots to do. A number of craft booths will offer goods and several food booths will fix a summer-time lunch or dinner for you.

The music will take you right up to the Laser Light Show time. And to cap it all off, about 10:30 p.m., there will be the giant fireworks display right off the top of Grand Coulee Dam on July 4.

elvisseguradamIMG_7630s
Award winning Elvis impersonator Steve Sogura headlines this year’s show, joined by the Cruizers with classic rock, Kathy Boyd & Phoenix Rising with bluegrass and more.

Music in the park continues Friday and Saturday, as do the craft and food booths, with tours of the dam and Laser Light Show adding to the celebration.

The chamber of commerce has added a number of family-friendly games, good for all ages, at this year’s celebration.

Plus, this year the community will see the debut of the sport of roller derby in this area. Teams from around the state will come for a demonstration skrimmage July 5 at North Dam Park in Grand Coulee.

The Festival of America is sponsored by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Coulee Dam Casino, with music arranged for by the town of Coulee Dam.

All the particulars are in a special “Festival of America” celebration section below.