First Friday Market events in Grand Coulee through October

The first Friday of each month means shopping and entertainment from June through October in a new kind of event for the area. 

On July 1, North Dam Park in Grand Coulee will host a 5-9 p.m. event that includes beer, hotdogs, live music, and vendors.

Beer will be provided from Republic Brewing; hotdogs from Porky’s Hot Dogs, and acoustic musician Rylei Franks will provide tunes and ambiance to the event.

The First Friday Market events are being hosted on the first Friday of each month until October, including June 3, July 1, Aug. 5, Sept. 2, and Oct 7.

The first Friday of each month means shopping and entertainment from June through October in a new kind of event for the area. 

This Friday, June 3, is the first of its kind, and future “First Fridays” will be held on July 1, Aug. 5, Sept 2, and Oct. 7.

Festival of America on July 4 at Grand Coulee Dam

The Festival America takes place on Independence Day, the 4th of July, at the park below the visitor center for the Grand Coulee Dam. 

With the dam, a testament to what Americans can accomplish working together, as a backdrop, those attending the festival can enjoy shopping, music, food, a laser light show, and fireworks to celebrate the founding of the United States of America.

There will be 25 vendors at the festival selling food, crafts, fun and more from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m.

Live music includes funk and rock musician Jerry Lee Raines who takes the stage at 2 p.m.; the Hometown Hooligans who play classic rock covers starting at 5 p.m.; and Jesse Quandt, who plays country rock, starting at 7:30 p.m.

The laser light show titled “One River, Many Voices,” starts at 10 p.m., with lasers projected onto the face of the dam itself telling a story, followed by a fireworks show that will launch over 5,000 shots off of the dam and lighting the face of it.

Lasers to hit dam May 28, 2022

laser light show
The lasers tell the story of the dam and surrounding area and people, drawn with light figures 300 feet tall and up to nearly a mile away.

The famous laser light show on Grand Coulee Dam will begin the season Saturday night, May 28, 2022 at 10 p.m.

And TOURS ARE BACK!

After a couple covid-harried seasons, tours will begin Saturday too, from the pump-generating plant that irrigates half of Eastern Washington. Well, okay, 670,000 acres,— but really that’s impressive. You can learn a lot more on the tour.

The Bureau of Reclamation says the Grand Coulee Dam “One River, Many Voices” laser light show and the John W. Keys III Pump-Generating Plant public tours will come back on May 28.

The light show will run nightly at 10 p.m. Pacific Time through July 31. Beginning Aug. 1, the show will start at 9:30 p.m., and beginning Sept. 1 through Sept. 30, it will start at 8:30 p.m. Start times are subject to change. Tickets are not required to enjoy the light show.

Public tours at the John W. Keys III Pump-Generating Plant will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. PDT, running approximately one hour. Availability is limited and subject to change. Admission is free. For accessible accommodations, call 509-633-9265. 

Reclamation will continue to monitor any changes in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. Tours can be canceled without notice. Additional tour guidelines are available on our website at https://www.usbr.gov/pn/grandcoulee/visit/tour.html.  

The Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT. Admission is free.

Laser show starts tonight

For the first time since the coronavirus shut everything down, the Bureau of Reclamation will open the Visitor Center and display the Laser Light Show at Grand Coulee Dam.

The Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center and laser light show will begin on Saturday in time for Memorial Day weekend. 

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced the re-opening for the visitor center and the “One River, Many Voices” laser light show in a statement May 19.

“To safely re-open the visitor center and return the laser light show, Reclamation will be following the recommended guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” the release states. “Fully vaccinated visitors are no longer required to wear a mask.”

“The health and safety of the public and our employees remains our number one priority,” said Grand Coulee Power Manager Coleman Smith. “We recognize the visitor center and laser light show are important to the Grand Coulee community and beyond. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding with the new safety guidelines we have in place.”

The visitor center will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.

The laser light show will begin at 10 p.m. from May 29 through July 31. Beginning on Aug. 1, it will start at 9:30 p.m., and for the month of September it will start at 8:30 p.m.

Dam tours will not take place this year due to the inability to social distance during parts of the tour.

https://www.grandcoulee.com/story/2021/05/26/news/laser-show-and-visitor-center-open-this-saturday/14205.html

changes coming for Spring Canyon?

Kids jump off the popular swimming platform at Spring Canyon.

You have until the end of the day on May 30, 2020 to comment on potential changes in Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, including Spring Canyon, and on the potential removal of the swim dock, removal of the concession building, and more.

Find out more in this story. There’s a link you can use to comment to the National Park Service on its draft plans.