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ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | C
Since 2017, MultiCare has been proud to call the Inland Northwest home. It is our privilege to care for the communities in this region — and we look forward to doing so for many years to come. for you.
Use the QR code to download our five-year anniversary report to the community.
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 3 Fight gh ger Fl d relief Afr hupdate
Here at the Inlander, our team gets to live and breathe this stuff day in, day out, so it’s fun to be able to share so much of it in one place here in Annual Manual. But I’ll also let you in on a little se cret: Everyone can become a local expert, or, as we like to call them, an Inlander Insider. You’ll meet eight of them spread throughout the magazine.
IT FEELS SURREAL to even type these words: I’ve been writing about arts and culture in the Inlander for a full decade now. Among the job’s many perks is being the go-to person for all my friends and family to ask “what’s happening” in the Inland Northwest. The hottest new restaurant? Yep, I know of a few. The best one-of-akind, locally made gift? Sure, let me list off a dozen or more shops and makers we’ve covered. What should we do this weekend? Well, what sounds fun? Live music, a farmers market, beer tasting, an art class — take your pick.
4 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
She continues to use film, even developing her own in her second bathroom, which she converted into a darkroom.
Now she has friends calling to have her de velop film at her homegrown Cracked Film Lab (@crackedfilmlab on Instagram); in time, she hopes to turn it into a business, along with her current fine art and commercial photography. Learn more at her website, jaymiebelknap.com, or follow her on Instagram @jaymiebelknap.
And on page 168 you can learn more about Joel Barbour, one of our 2022-23 Inlander In siders. Here’s a teaser: His first graphic design job was with the Inlander
As you flip through these pages, we’ve truly got it all, from 10 amazing regional hikes (page 182) to where to watch the game with fellow fans (page 108). Plan your next night out at the arcade (page 104), at a new brewpub (page 68), with the Spokane Sym phony, at a local theater, the Best of Broadway series and more (pageInside176).this year’s edition, we’ve packed more than 70 stories, guides, data snapshots, profiles, event previews, Q&As — along with lots of beautiful photos from our photography team. Even more, this year’s magazine has an extra special look and feel thanks to a creative partnership with our friends at The Great PNW. Learn more about our collab on page 6.
CHEY SCOTT Manual Editor
Now, sit back, start browsing — and dog-earring the pages when you find something you’ve just got to try — and embark on your journey to becoming a true Inlander Insider.
Self-portrait by Jaymie Belknap
JAYMIE BELKNAP PHOTOS
“Film developing kind of got wiped out during the conversion to digital photography,” she says. “I figured, why don’t I just do it my self? Getting to have that control through the whole process, it ignited my love for photog raphy.“For this project, having Joel say, ‘We want this all to be shot on film’ — to have somebody respect that was just so great.”
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Annual
On the front cover of this year’s Annual Manual, we’re featuring photographer Jaymie Belknap, whose work you’ll also see on the eight section leads in this year’s issue. Belknap was chosen for the Annual Manual x Great PNW collab by Joel Barbour, founder and creative director of The Great PNW, who art directed all of those pages.As a kid growing up just outside Chewelah, and later in Nine Mile Falls, Belknap picked up the film cameras her family had around the house.“I just shot all the time, for no purpose,” recalls Belknap, 23, who now lives in Spokane. “I purely enjoyed capturing life.”
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“At the Inlander, we’re always looking for new ways to collabo rate with the local design community. This year’s special edition of Annual Manual is the latest example. Joel, Josh and everyone else involved with The Great PNW brought new ideas to the ta ble that helped us freshen up our massive glossy magazine. Their creative energy is unparalleled.”
Think about Michael Jordan x Nike — that one turned out pretty good. And they’re only getting cooler (Doritos x Taco Bell — perfection) and more high-concept (North Face x Gucci, which debuted inside the Pokemon GO video game).
— JOEL BARBOUR, Owner and Founder of The Great PNW
STICKER DESIGNS BY THE GREAT PNW 6 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
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ANNUAL REPORT
“The reason I’m so excited about this collab is that it just makes sense. It allows us to take our creativity and mash it together with an absolute humble-powerhouse of a brand that is the Inlander. For us, the Inlander is a true mover when it comes to what’s cool in Spokane. Our values and heart for the region align side by side, and already we’ve worked together for years to make Spokane better.”
“This year’s Annual Manual collab with The Great PNW was a natural fit, as our teams both focus on showcasing and celebrat ing what makes the Inland Northwest such an incredible place to live, work, play and visit. The creative direction from The Great PNW took us a little out of our comfort zone — in a really good way! This year’s magazine has a fresh feel, and it encapsulates the strengths of both teams in storytelling and design.”
…
— JOSH WING, Graphic Artist at The Great PNW
ANNUAL REPORT
DEREK HARRISON, Annual Manual Creative Director PAGE 17 PAGE 47 ANNUAL REPORT PAGE 61 PAGEPAGE103119 PAGE159 PAGE 181 PAGE 211
COLLABS HAVE BEEN COOL FOR A WHILE
For this year’s Annual Manual, we decided to collaborate on design and photography with some of our favorite local design ers, the team at The Great PNW, to see where it would take us. We gathered at their production facility, then at Inlander HQ, spitballed some ideas, settled on the ones we loved most and, with photographer Jaymie Belknap, their team pulled together the front cover and each of our eight section leads.
“Working with the creative professionals at the Inlander and looking at a publication like Annual Manual in a new way was eye opening. Watching it all come together was fun — producing a look that is true to both parties and, most importantly, showing what we do every day at The Great PNW.”
— CHEY SCOTT, Annual Manual Editor
REPORTREPORTANNUAL REPORT
Internal Medicine Residency Director, Spokane Teaching Health Clinic
uw.edu/spokane
Together, the University of Washington and Gonzaga University are growing the next generation of health-care professionals, rooted in our community — and here to stay.
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Family Medical Building 235 E. Rowan, #102, Spokane, WA 99207-1251 www.nswomenshealth.com509-489-2101 Office Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Walk in Lab Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 12:00 pm and 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm We specialize in family oriented pregnancy care and delivery, primarily at Holy Family Hospital whose recently remodeled Labor and Delivery Unit provides an at home birth experience.Dr.LucasDODr.HardyMDDr. McKennaMD Dr.SaraThueringerDOEdgeARNP Sidni ShoemakerARNP Providing obstetrical and gynecological care for women of all ages. EDITORIAL ANNUAL MANUAL EDITOR Chey Scott CREATIVE DIRECTOR Der ek Harrison STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Erick Do xey Y oung Kwak Chiana McInelly COPY CHIEF Chris F risella CONTRIBUTORS Eliza Billingham L eAnn Bjerken E.J . Iannelli W ill Maupin Dan SDanielSeCNaSummerLaurMadisonNailenPearsonenRoddisSandstromteSanfordarrieScozzarothSommerfeldWaltersamanthaWohlfeil ADVERTISINGADVERTISINGDIRECTOR Kristi Gotzian SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Carolyn Padgham A utumn Adrian Potts ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Claire SkSTJeannePriceInmanracyMenascotephanieGrinolsylerStrahl EVENT & SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER Kristina Smith ADVERTISING ASSISTANTS C olleen Bell-Craig McK enna Fuhrman PRODUCTIONPRODUCTIONMANAGER T om Stover CREATIVE LEAD Ali Blackwood SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Derrick King GRAPHIC DESIGNER T odd Goodner BUSINESSOPERATIONSMANAGER DeeAnn Cook ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE Kris tin Wagner CIRCULATION MANAGER Frank DeCaro CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR Travis Beck INLANDPUBLISHERPUBLICATIONS T ed S. McGregor Jr. GENER AL MANAGER J. Jeremy McGregor To submit story ideas, email editor@inlander.com. To request additional copies for recruiting or relocation packets, contact Frankd@inlander.com. For advertising information, contact Advertising@inlander.com ALL CONTENTS OF THIS MAGAZINE ARE COPYRIGHTED @ INLAND PUBLICATIONS, INC. 2022 MANUALANNUAL
10 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 Providing Our Patients with the Quality Care They Need, Want and Deserve
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ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 17
JEFF DREW ILLUSTRATION
ALT HOUSING
In July 2022, Spokane passed a one-year pilot that removed zoning restrictions that effectively banned duplexes, fourplexes and other unique styles of homes from being constructed in Spo kane. The hope is that, in the midst of a hous ing crisis, it will cut down on high rental costs and restore the “missing middle” of housing — allowing young and middle- and lower-income people a better chance to own housing. Here are some of the units being looked at:
Meanwhile, the sprawl Spokane tried to avoid happened anyway — but across the state line. Kootenai County’s housing market ex ploded.Then, COVID-19. Lockdowns temporari ly froze construction. A backlog piled up. Out
In 2008, a different kind of housing cri sis hit: Bad Wall Street bets on the housing market tanked the entire worldwide economy, and the construction industry with it. Building anything got slower. Financing got tougher.Asit emerged from the recession, Spokane’s popula tion began increasing much faster than expected. By 2017, alarms were blar ing: Spokane hardly had any empty apart ments available, and rents were climbing. Leadership did not scram ble to address the emergency.
Coming out of the pandemic, Spokane and the Inland Northwest found themselves facing unprecendented housing challenges
As early as the 1920s, Spokane, like most cities, established “single-family zones” where it was illegal to build even a duplex. As Spo
Then came the questions: Why did the typical rent on Zillow shoot up by over $200 in just a nine-month span in 2021? How did housing prices climb by 60 percent in just two years? How did we come to have only one apartment unit available for every 200 apart ments in the market?
kane grew, it favored the suburbs: It demol ished its streetcar system, and routed an inter state highway through its poor neighborhoods. Fewer houses were spread over a wider space.
At its core, the answer is Economics 101: too much demand, not enough supply.
WHEN THE FEB. 20, 2022, New York Times came off the presses, there was Spokane, front and center. But instead of basking in the glow of national attention for being a hidden gem people should pay more attention to, locals were confronted with this uncomfortable headline: “The Next Affordable City Is Al ready Too Expensive.”
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 19
By the 1990s, Washington state passed a law to crack down on sprawl. It was supposed to drive dense development; instead, Spokane stagnated. Elected officials could have rezoned to create more housing, but why? Neighbors — the kind who already had homes, the kind who attend neighborhood council meetings, the kind who vote — wouldn’t have it.
breaks, COVID safety restrictions and sudden jolts in demand choked supply lines of ma terials. Meanwhile, for those in bigger, more expensive cities like Portland and Seattle, the chance to work from home meant they could work from any home. So why not Spokane?
At the same time, potential homeowners benefited from stimulus checks, higher unem ployment payments and deferred entertain ment expenses. They had a pile of savings — maybe even enough for a down payment. So both new buyers and work-from-home out siders flooded into our housing market at the sameSpokanetime. gots its wish. Suddenly, everyone seemed to want to live here. The only problem was, Spokane never bothered to build them a place to live. The challenge spelled out in that blaring New York Times headline was clear: Wise decisions need to be made, and quickly, to maintain affordability and livability in Spo kane and the Inland Northwest.—DANIEL WALTERS
Homes, also features a lot of these cottages, but in Spokane, they were illegal in most areas of the community until recently.
COTTAGE HOMES
Think either England or Kendall Yards in Spokane. Sherlock Holmes? Typically shown living in a townhouse on Baker Street. A town house is generally a home with multiple sto ries that shares walls with other units. You can see rows of them in the Kendall Yards devel opment in Spokane. But until recently, rules restricting how much space there had to be around houses banned them in most of Spo kane.
They used to be called “mother-in-law apart ments” — which seemed vaguely sexist. Re member on The O.C. when Ryan was living in Seth Cohen’s poolhouse? That’s an exam ple of an alternative dwelling unit, or ADU. It can be anything from a converted garage to a tiny house built in someone’s backyard. Theoretically, they can be one of the fastest ways to densify housing in a region. Home owners who might like a little extra cash could either convert a room or build a small project on their property — but previously they faced a slew of hurdles, including requirements, in some cases, that they be related to the tenant living there. Spokane’s one-year pilot ends that and other restrictions, at least temporarily.
Condos are pretty simple. They’re apartment units you can buy, making for a great entry to homeownership. The problem is that, after the housing crash, many developers largely stopped building them, thanks to a glut of reg ulations that made building them prohibitively expensive. While a lot of those regulations have been struck down, there’s still one huge prob lem left: insurance. Since condo boards — made up of the owners of the condos — were apt to sue condo developers, insurance costs skyrock eted. And that issue still hasn’t been fixed.
Part of the issue, Spokane Home Builders Association President Joel White says, is that with rents still low and the market uncertain, few local developers were eager to risk com mitting the next few years to building a ton of multifamily projects in Spokane.
“Not a lot of people have the resources to invest in 144 units,” White says. “They don’t want to oversaturate the market either.”
Longtime local developer Lanzce Doug lass blames the Washington state business cli mate — a problem he says has only become worse in the last five years.
“We’re in Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene, building some large complexes,” Douglass says.
TOWNHOUSES
ALTERNATIVE-DWELLING UNITS
Spokane’s failure to build enough housing was a disaster even before the COVID-19 pandem ic. There were so few vacant apartment units, vacancies were nearly nonexistent as early as 2017. Yet instead of this crisis sparking a surge in new housing, the number of housing permits was actually lower over the next three years: In 2018, the number of housing units in Spokane County permitted fell to less than 2,260 units — the lowest level in four years.
Indeed, Kootenai County, despite having a much smaller population, actually saw 20 per cent more housing units get permitted in 2020 than in Spokane County. But that’s changing: 2021 figures show Kootenai County develop ment slowing down — and Spokane speeding up. White says the easiest-to-develop land in Kootenai had already been snatched up.
CONDOS
SPOKANE COUNTY REVVING UP
Meanwhile, Spokane County permits rebounded from their 2020 lull by leaping more than 40 percent to end 2021 with 3,400 new housing units permitted. That includes a six-story 139-unit project in Spokane’s Uni versity District; 48 units of Catholic Charities’ supportive housing near Spokane Falls Com munity College; the “Marjorie at Aspen Park” with 226 units on the West Plains; and even a huge project from Douglass — the Quarry Apartments — in Spokane Valley.
— DANIEL WALTERS
Plans for Greenstone’s NoLL development in Liberty Lake. RENDERING COURTESY OF GREENSTONEREACHING FOR
HOME, CONTINUED...
20 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
— DANIEL WALTERS
Another Kendall Yards classic: Cottages are a collection of four or more homes with a sin gle shared yard in the middle. By sharing the yard, residents don’t have to pay for as much property to own the home. The Noll, a new Liberty Lake development from Greenstone
“With the political environment in Wash ington, with the Legislature gutting the land lords’ property rights, there’s not really much incentive to continue to build in Washington,” he says.Why deal with the red tape in Spokane, when he could just hop across the border and build in Kootenai County?
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 21 AVAILABLELOANSFIX&FLIPBRIDGELOANSNEWCONSTRUCTIONLANDDEVELOPMENT 509-926-1755 PMCMONEY.COM
Over the past two or three years, Auld says the resort has seen regular employees leave because they couldn’t afford housing, and some new recruits have been forced to turn down offers because they couldn’t find anywhere to live.
There’s a similar story playing across the American West: A small, picturesque moun tain town gets discovered by wealthy patrons, drawn by natural beauty and opportunities for winter recreation. Those wealthy patrons purchase second homes and short-term rent als that can be used as Airbnbs. Real estate prices skyrocket, and locals get priced out. All of a sudden, the restaurants, ski resorts and other amenities that drew those wealthy patrons can’t find workers, because those workers can’t afford homes.
The expectedApartmentsPonderayaretostart taking tenants by summer of 2023. RENDERING COURTESY OF SCHWEITZER
The story is nothing new for larger mountain towns like Aspen and Vail, which have struggled with exorbitant home prices and a scarce workforce for more than a decade. But it’s only recently that rising rents have forced smaller resorts like Schweitzer to invest in em ployee housing as well, says Scot Auld, human resources director for Schweitzer.
“Out of Reach” is the Inlander’s series investigating the region’s housing crisis — and what we can do about it. Follow the series at inlander.com/housing.
Local leaders in Bonner Coun ty have been exploring a variety of solutions, including Culver’s Cross ing, a proposed affordable housing development designed specifically for locals who have been priced out of the market. In the short term, some businesses have looked to ad dress the problem head on: If your employees can’t find housing, why not just build it for them?
DIY EMPLOYEE HOUSING
22 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
keep an eye out for homes as they become available in that area, Clark says.
“The good news is that right now we’re
Washington also offers free advice to new homebuyers, with the Housing Finance Com mission providing virtual and in-person class es to inform people about the buying process. Those courses can be found online at HereTo Home.org.LisaDeBrock, director of homeowner ship at the commission, says many people also come to them for help through their down payment assistance program, which offers no-interest down payment loans to help bridge the gap and get people into a new home. The commission can also connect people with other agencies if they need help improving their credit score or figuring out a budget.“Noteveryone has mom and dad or some one to help them. We are able to provide that minimum down payment help for them,” De Brock says. “We’re seeing households that are pairing their money with our money to bridge that gap to homeownership because every thing has become incredibly expensive.”
“There’s a lot of interest from other em ployers and recruiters in the Sandpoint area to do something similar because everybody is feeling the same pinch,” Auld says.
— SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL
YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
FROM LEFT: Spokane Association of Realtors’ Tom Clark, Eric Johnson and Darin Watkins.
In 2020, Schweitzer repurposed a former assisted living facility in Sandpoint to cre ate dormitory-style housing for 16 seasonal and full-time employees. In May, the resort announced plans for a $22 million, 84-unit apartment complex that will provide housing, a full-service day care and other amenities for Schweitzer employees and their families.
While the idea of finding a home as a first-time buyer has been fairly daunting over the last year, the housing market had started to slow somewhat by summer 2022. Where homes were often seeing up to 25 offers before, they were down to about five offers by July, which means buyers have a better chance at compet ing, explains Darin Watkins, a Spokane Real tor and director of government affairs for the Spokane Association of Realtors.
Still, the Spokane market could be as far as 25,000 housing units behind what’s needed, Watkins says. When looking to buy a home, he recommends asking people in your social circle to find a Realtor who may be a good fit for you. When it comes to finding a lender, while you may want to start with a financial institution you already work with, shopping around can get you a better deal.
“Narrow down to your needs, wants and desires, and stick with them so you can come to a conclusion at some point,” Clark says. “I see a lot of people look at a house and say, ‘Oh, gee, it doesn’t have this.’ Then they look at another and it beats the one before and has that element, but it’s still not good enough.”
starting to see more homes coming on the market, it’s becoming more buyer friendly,” Watkins says.
“This is about finding someone that works for you,” Watkins says.
Driving through neighborhoods to find where you’d like to live can also help, as you
HOW TO FIND A HOME
Longtime Realtor Tom Clark echoes those tips and also recommends figuring out what you’re looking for.
REACHING FOR HOME, CONTINUED...
— NATE SANFORD
SPOKANE POPULATIONCOUNTYGROWTH
SOURCE: SPOKANE
HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION
RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION
BY THE NUMBERS
SPOKANE COUNTY 2019 2,639 units permit ted 2020 2,413 units 2021 3,404 units
2018 $10.6 billion 2019 $11.5 billion 2020 $11.6 billion 2021 $13.9 billion
SOURCE: WA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
UNEMPLOYMENT
2018 2.1 percent 2019 1.7 percent 2020 1.4 percent 2021 0.5 percent 2022 1.6 percent
RETAIL SALES
SOURCE: SPOKANE TRENDS
KOOTENAI COUNTY 2019 2,295 units permitted 2020 2,9 03 units 2021 2,178 units
SOURCE: SPOKANE TRENDS
As both Kootenai and Spokane County weather a housing crisis, Spokane finally lurches out of a lethargic period of home construction, even as Kootenai County housing begins to slow.
24 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
While it may seem like we’ve been flooded by out-of-towners since the pandemic hit, Spokane County actually had faster population growth before the pandemic.
It took a dozen years of painful recovery for Spokane County to get back down to the 5.3 percent unemployment rate it had in 2007, before the recession. Contrast that with the COVID lockdown in 2020, where the recovery was almost immediate.
2019 5.3 percent 2020 8.4 percent 2021 5.4 percent
Surprisingly, taxable retail sales actually didn’t fall during the pandemic in Spokane County, though it barely grew at all. And after the pandemic, spending skyrocketed — and so, as we all know, did inflation.
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 25 providence.org Thank you for trusting us with your care for more than 135 years. Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children’s Hospital ranked high performing in the following specialties and procedures: Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair; Aortic Valve Surgery; Heart Bypass Surgery; Congestive Heart Failure; Colon Cancer Surgery; COPD; Heart Attack; Hip Replacement; Kidney Failure; Knee Replacement; Lung Cancer Surgery; Ovarian Cancer Surgery; Pneumonia; Prostate Cancer Surgery; Stroke; Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement; Urology. Holy Family Hospital ranked high performing in Kidney Failure.
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Electric vehicle ownership continues to increase across Washington, with the state tracking how many plug-in hybrids (like a Toyota Prius Prime) and fully battery-powered electric vehicles (like a Tesla Model 3) are in each county. While small rural counties still have fewer people who’ve transitioned, there are still a meaningful number of those EVs on the road.
SECOND HARVEST BY THE NUMBERS BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES 52,810 BEVs in King County 1,689 BEVs in Spokane County 365 BEVs in Whitman, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Stevens and Ferry counties combined SOURCE: DATA.WA.GOV — JULY, 2022 PLUG-IN HYBRID VEHICLES 11,642 PHEVs in King County 865 PHEVs in Spokane County 148 PHEVs in Whitman, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Stevens and Ferry counties combined
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26 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 • Newly renovated spaces available free for non-profits or public events • Affordable rates for commercial events spokanelibrary.org HOST YOUR NEXT EVENT at Spokane Public Library CORPORATE EVENTS • WEDDINGS • TRAININGS • AWARDS • PARTIES
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2019 33.6 million pounds 28m meals 2020 52.8m pounds 4 4m meals 2021 39.9m pounds 33.3m meals
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 27
IN 2018, CITY VOTERS approved a $77 million bond, which fund ed plans to renovate four existing Spokane Public Library branches and build three new branches.
ERICK DOXEY PHOTO
ANDBOOKEDBUSY
Without a doubt, the largest project that the bond tackled was renovating the Downtown Library branch, which reopened in sum mer 2022 with a new name, the Central Library. Originally opened in 1996, the building was due for major capital improvements, says Amanda Donovan, director of marketing and communications for the city library system.
With several branches already revamped, Spokane Public Library is finishing up the last of its bond renovations BY MADISON PEARSON
“We’ve ensured that each room in the li brary has an expert of sorts,” Donovan says. “For instance, our business lab has Mark Pond, our business services librarian, who works with entrepreneurs in the community and helps them with market re search and starting their businesses.”
The rebranded Central Library opened in summer 2022.
A new feature called the Social Stair connects the second and third floors of the building, along with an art piece hanging from the ceiling created by Portland-based artist John Rogers, titled “Shimmer.”“It’sjust a unique space where we encourage people to come and hang out,” Donovan says. “There are outlets dabbled through out the steps so you can use your laptop while drinking a coffee and spending time with friends, and we’ll eventually host programming here as well. We installed a projector across from the stair. I definite ly see lectures and movies happening here in the future.”
“We ran polls and asked the public what they wanted to be in cluded in the remodeled branch,” Donovan says. “Many asked for more meeting and study rooms — the previous building only had two meeting rooms. Some requested more computers and upgraded technology.”Theground floor houses 66 computers as well as a Bloomberg computer terminal, which offers access to Bloomberg’s investment data service, news feeds, messaging and trade execution services. The Central Library is one of the only libraries in the country to have this software available to guests; however, all of this cut ting-edge technology can feel a bit daunting.
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The third floor’s most prominent feature is nxʷyxʷyetkʷ Hall. Pronounced inn-whi-whi-ettk, it’s a Salish word that means “life in the water” and another nod to Spokane’s Indigenous peoples and the breathtaking views of the river as seen from the hall.
Plans for the new Spokane Valley branch include all of the usual bells and whistles associated with changing populations and technology: a large community room, an art studio, a children’s area and plenty of new computers and devices. The building comes in at a whopping 28,000 square feet, not including an outdoor ex pansion into nearby Balfour Park.
Jane Baker, Spokane County Library District’s communication and development director, says construction of the branch was paid for by a grant, a loan, a contribution from the city of Spokane Valley, plus library district savings and private donations from community members.
“We’ve had one installed at the West Central Community Cen ter for several years,” she says. “With the help of the bond, we’re able to add three more at various locations that are yet to be deter mined.
The development of a library-park campus opens up oppor tunities for programming that takes place outside, and the implementation of a learning trail that wraps around the library. The trail will have educational signs and activities that children and parents can complete as they stroll through the park.
The oldest library in the Spokane County Library District, the Spo kane Valley branch, is soon to relocate into a spacious new building under construction as of summer 2022. The fate of its current home at 12004 E. Main Ave., built back in 1955, is currently undetermined.
ALL OTHER SPOKANE PUBLIC LIBRARY upgrades funded by the 2018 bond are either complete or underway. The Hive, a non traditional library branch on East Sprague, opened in 2021, hosting art programming and other activities. The expansion of the Shadle Park branch, the relocation of the Hillyard branch and the new Liberty Park branch are completed as well.
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Only two locations are left to be renovated: Indian Trail and the South Hill. Both are currently closed for renovation and set to reopen in Donovan2023.also notes one specific portion of the bond is often overlooked: the 24/7 library kiosks.
THE VALLEY’S VISION
The new media rooms, which consist of a recording studio, video studio and production studio, were implemented for all of the creatives out there. With visibility and accessibility in mind, the library created programs that can help local musicians and me dia folk record, produce and distribute content they create at the library.“For example, guests can book a 40-hour week with our record ing specialist and produce a full EP,” Donovan says. “All we ask in return is that you give 40 hours of your time back to the library in the form of volunteering.”
BOOKED AND BUSY, CONTINUED...
The new library facility is set to open in late spring or early summer 2023.
— MADISON PEARSON
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WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MAIN FACTORS THAT YOU SEE ARE CONTRIBUTING TO OUR HOUSING CRISIS?
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE QUICKEST SOLUTIONS THAT YOU THINK WE COULD IMPLEMENT TO ADDRESS THE HOUSING CRISIS?
BEST COFFEE SHOP Atticus
WHAT ARE TWO OR THREE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES THAT YOU THINK SPOKANE OR THE INLAND NORTHWEST WILL NEED TO ADDRESS OVER THE NEXT YEAR?
INSIDER INSIGHTS PAM PARR
“A hike just challenging enough with the ultimate reward of the amazing view at the top.”
I think it’s a combination of things. One, the influx of people that are moving to our area has significantly increased the demand for rentals. After the downturn in 2008, when peo ple stopped building, we haven’t caught up since then, and then when you add to it the influx of people that are com ing, it’s driving our rents and our prices up. I think those two things are huge contributing factors.
ERICK DOXEY PHOTO
We asked this year’s Inlander Insiders to answer a few questions from our Best Of Readers Poll Ballot. Here are Pam’s picks.
Authority perspective, one of the programs that we run is our Rental Assistance Program, and because rents are so high, it’s making it harder for people who have rental assistance to find units that work. We recently obtained a “Moving to Work” designation. Part of the reason we want that designation is because it provides us with a lot of flexibility around regula tory requirements. Because we now have this designation in 2023, we’ll be able to adjust our payment standards beyond what a normal housing authority would be able to, which will make it easier for people who have vouchers to rent units.
“The combination of mingling with your peers with the oppor tunity to purchase amazing art that benefits VOA is really fun.”
The Spokane Housing Authority’s executive director reflects on housing needs INTERVIEWED BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL
Housing supply is at the top of my list because that’s so im portant. I think some of the other issues that affect us, and this is probably true not just in the Inland Northwest, but it’s probably a national issue, is that our mental health system needs an overhaul. I think until they address the cuts that have happened to behavioral health, we’re never going to solve our homeless issue. We need to remember that home lessness is not the problem, it is a symptom of some other problem, and often, that’s behavioral health.
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“It’s great that you can get cof fee, pastries and greeting cards at the same location.”
I think supply in the long term is the answer. We need to have additional supply, and that’s not an easy fix. From a Housing
32 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
PAM PARR HAS WORKED as the executive director of the Spokane Housing Authority since 2013. Before that, she was the executive director of the Peninsula Housing Authority in Port Angeles for about 20 years. She helps oversee the hous ing authority’s work providing rental assistance and afford able housing rental units. With decades working in the hous ing sector with those most in need, she has unique insights into what could help with the housing crisis.
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 33 Tony Vaughn Real Estate 509.230.3922Broker The investmentbest on Earth is earth.
FOR ADVICE REPRODUCTIVEABOUTHEALTH…
In Washington, contact TANF, the Temporary Assis tance for Needy Families Program. The welfare pro gram gives low-income residents monthly cash pay ments. Call 877-501-2233 for information on eligibility. Idaho residents can call 877-456-1233 to reach the state’s Temporary Assistance Program.
Y
MOBILIT OPTIONS
Times are tough, but help is just a phone call away COMPILED NATE SANFORD
FOR HELP PAYING THE BILLS…
BY
WHO GONNAYOUCALL?
You can text PPNOW to 774636 to chat with a health educator about abortion, birth control, STDs and oth er sexual and reporductive issues. It’s 100 percent confidential.
Residents of any state can apply for Supplemental Nu trition Assistance (SNAP) by calling 877-501-2233. For more immediate help, call the Washington Informa tion Network at 211 for information about food banks and meal programs. Find where to access a local food pantry at foodpantries.org.
FOR HELP WITH FOOD…
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Odyssey Youth Movement offers basic items like food, clothing and hygiene supplies and a variety of programs to support LGBTQ+ youth in the Inland Northwest. Its Perry District center offers youth (13-18) drop-in hours Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 3 to 8 pm, and young adult (18-24) drop-in hours on Thursdays from 5 to 9 pm. Call 509-325-3637 or visit them at 1121 S. Perry Street in Spokane.
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 35
DIGNITY. hospiceofspokane.org509.456.0438COMPASSION.RESPECT.
FOR LGBTQ+ YOUTH SUPPORT…
– Dr. Brian Seppi MeDical Director
Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery in Spokane offers free diapers and baby formula for families in need. The longtime nonprofit also offers 24-hour child care, cri sis counseling and other services. Call 509-535-3155.
For immediate help, call the LGBT National Youth Talkline at 800-246-7743 or the Trevor Project at 866488-7386.
IF YOU’RE FACING EVICTION…
FOR BABY FORMULA AND OTHER CHILD CARE SUPPORT…
IF YOU’RE JUST FEELING STRESSED OUT ABOUT EVERYTHING…
You can call or text Washington Listens at 1-833681-0211, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 9 pm, and weekends 9 am to 6 pm. The hotline was launched in response to COVID-19, but has since expanded to pro vide mental and emotional support for anyone feeling stressed, anxious or overwhelmed about the many crises of the past few years.
It’s not too late. Call 1-833-VAX-HELP (833-829-4357). You can also text your zip code to 438-829 (GET VAX) or 822-862 (VACUNA) to find locations near you.
“AS MEDICAL DIRECTOR, I am honored to work with an amazing team of professionals, all focused on the same goal of helping each patient have the best life they can for as long as they have.”
You can reach Frontier Behavioral Health’s 24/7 crisis line by calling 877-266-1818.
Last year, Washington passed a statewide law granting free legal help to low-income renters facing eviction. Call the Northwest Justice Project’s Eviction Defense Screening Line at 855-657-8387 to find out more.
FOR MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT…
You can reach the CHAS 24/7 regional crisis line at 877-266-1818. CHAS’s nurse advice hotline is 509444-8200. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by just dialing 988 (the former number, 800-273-8255, is also still operable).
The roughly 5,000-seat stadium is a part nership between SPS, the Spokane Public Fa cilities District and the United Soccer League, which will field a new professional team in Spokane starting in 2023.
BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL
In August 2022, Spokane Public Schools will open two new middle schools: Denny Yasuha ra Middle School in the North Foothills area and Pauline Flett Middle School on the old Joe Albi Stadium site.
From brand new classrooms to stadium space, Inland Northwest projects wrap up and get underway
DOWNTOWN STADIUM
excavation of the site was underway.
The two new schools were built starting in 2021 as part of a 2018 voter-approved bond of $495.3 million.
“They’re brand new and an expansion of our facilities,” explains Greg Forsyth, capital projects director for SPS. “Those will have a lot of community amenities — additional ball fields, additional gymnasium spaces, commu nity spaces — they’re adding a lot of value to the neighborhoods.”Theschoolswill initially start with just sixth and seventh graders, and then add eighth graders the year after, Forsyth says.
IN RECENT YEARS, several major projects have been announced, with some major devel opments in 2022. From Spokane Public Schools starting on a new downtown stadium and open ing multiple new middle schools, to the Uni versity of Washington and Gonzaga University opening a medical school building and Premera Blue Cross planning for a new Kendall Yards campus, lots of changes are underway.
The district is also working on a replace ment for Sacajawea Middle School and a brand new Carla Peperzak Middle School, which both will serve the South Hill. Both are expected to open for the 2023-24 school year.
“It’s been a really great collaborative ef fort, and that collaboration will continue in de cision-making as in all construction projects,” Forsyth says. “We appreciate the teamwork that’s been happening in this process.”
A new stadium — plus USL soccer is coming to downtown Spokane.
COURTESY RENDERING
There will likely be a sponsored name for the stadium, but that hasn’t been worked out yet.
Groundbreaking on a new downtown stadium took place in late 2021, and over summer 2022
36 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
“To build the field we actually had to go down about 15 feet from Boone, which meant we had to go through a lot of rock as you can imagine,” Forsyth says. “Our goal is to open late summer, early fall of 2023.”
DEVELOPMENTSREGIONAL
NEW MIDDLE SCHOOLS
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Since July 2022, the University of Washington School of Medicine and Gonzaga University have begun holding classes in a new building for medical students, undergraduate physiol ogy students and others studying the human form and health sciences.
“The medical school courses for the last five years have been held on Gonzaga’s campus in a facility that supported the program, but wasn’t specifically designed for medical education,” Sklut says. “One of the benefits of the new facil ity is enhanced teaching and learning spaces.”
The building has enough space for UW’s two cohorts of 120 total medical students at a time, plus the 500-plus other students working in other disciplines.
Connie Sells Spokane
PREMERA CAMPUS
With designs coming together in summer 2022, it’s not yet clear when the project will start construction or when it is projected to open, but building could get underway in the coming year.
The new 90,000-square-foot building is located at 840 E. Spokane Falls Boulevard. It includes several new labs as well as a new anatomy suite with a cadaver lab, which will enable the medical students to stay in Spokane rather than doing some of their work at the
UW/GU MEDICAL SCHOOL
cadaver lab at Washington State University in Pullman, says John Sklut, executive director of the UW-GU Health Partnership.
38 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
Premera Blue Cross has started designing a new campus for its Spokane employees in Ken dall Yards. The new campus will be built where Monroe meets West Summit Parkway on the north side of the Spokane River, and include parking for the roughly 700 Spokane employ ees who will work out of the new facilities.
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS, CONTINUED...
The MedicineGonzaga-UWpartnership is now 90,000 square feet of glass and steel. COURTESY RENDERING
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PHOTO
This female lynx was the sixth to be released on the Colville Reservation as part of the restoration project.
ERICK DOXEY
Status: Dam removal would require federal policy changes, including action by lawmakers, to happen.
Status: Active project now in second year of trap-and-release efforts.
Last winter, the 12 Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reser vation were able to trap their first nine wild lynx in Canada and relocate the animals to different parts of the Kettle Range in hopes of restoring the animals to the region. Over-trapping and western expansion contributed to the decline of the original population here, and now lynx are rarely seen on this land scape. But if all goes well over the five-year project, which has a goal of relocating 10 lynx per year, scientists with the tribes hope their return will be sustainable.
LYNX RETURN TO THE KETTLE RANGE
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 41 registeredInvestmentvirenandassociates.com509.462.0747SecuritiesofferedthroughLPLFinancial,MemberFINRA/SIPC.AdviceofferedthroughVirenandAssociates,Inc.,ainvestmentadvisorandseparateentityfromLPLFinancial.FinancialPlanning401KPlansEmployeeBenefitsLife&DisabilityInsurance
BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL
STATE OF ENVIRONMENTTHE
THROUGHOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON and North Ida ho, environmental projects and advocacy efforts are bringing attention to concerns with endangered species, lack of water and poor water quality, pollution, and climate change. From attempting to return wildcats to mountains on this side of the Canadian border to addressing toxic pollutants in the waters of North Idaho, the work is as important as ever to repair histori cal damage that’s been done to the local environment.
TARGET ON LOWER SNAKE RIVER DAMS
While Eastern Washington and Idaho residents have long debated whether to remove four Lower Snake River dams to help endangered salmon, the dams became the target of more widespread discussion throughout the Pacific Northwest over the past year. In early 2022, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and Wash ington Gov. Jay Inslee released a draft report looking at what removing the dams would require, including how to replace the power production, how to transport grains that have been able to travel on barges due to the reservoirs the dams create, and how to save the salmon before their runs dwindle out forever. Tribes throughout the region partnered with environmental groups to raise awareness this year and call for environmental justice. Many Native American communities have been nega tively impacted by the loss of salmon throughout the region over the last century.
From returning endangered species to combating pollution and drought, Inland Northwest leaders work to address environmental issues
STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT, CONTINUED...
Status: Projects that will receive funding to be se lected soon.
Despite an unusually dark spring that came with rain and snow, much of Eastern Wash ington was placed on a drought advisory and parts of Spokane County and nearby areas were officially in drought as of June 2022. With less than 75 percent of normal rainfall, the areas in drought are expected to see con tinued impacts from the 2021 drought. Those may “include low soil moisture, dried-out ponds, earlier-than-normal curtailments for irrigators in Colville, the Little Spokane River and Hangman Creek, and low reservoir stor
NORTH IDAHO TOXICS CLEANUP
EVEN WITH LATE SPRING SNOW, RAIN: DROUGHT
To protect and preserve the region’s drink ing water source — the Spokane Valley-Rath drum Prairie Aquifer — the Spokane City Council passed a ban this year on watering lawns during the hottest part of the day in summer months. Spokane water customers use far more water than the national average, and the hope is to reduce wasteful watering practices. The ban did not come with fines, but water hogs could be fined in the future.
age in Okanogan County,” according to the Washington State Department of Ecology.
Status: Much of Central and Eastern Washington remains at risk of drought.
Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene Advisory Committee is looking at phosphorous pollution.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little announced in spring 2022 that the state would provide $80 million in cleanup money for water quality projects throughout the state. Some of that money is expected to help target cleanup in Lake Coeur d’Alene, which is at risk due to nutrient pol lution from things like lawn fertilizers. The lake contains heavy metal contamination that washed downstream from mining practices in the Silver Valley. If phosphorus pollution in the lake affects the dissolved oxygen levels too critically, those toxins could become suspend ed throughout the water column rather than remaining in the sediment at the bottom of the lake. The popular recreational site could com pletely change if that happens, so Little has also called together the Coeur d’Alene Lake Advisory Committee to research options and award grants to the most effective projects.
42 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 Your HealthcareCommunityPartner Inclusive • Local • Patient Led With 20 locations throughout the Inland Northwest to meet your needs, CHAS Health serves patients with private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, or no insurance coverage. Everyone Welcome Call 509.444.8200 for an appointment. chas.org Medical • Dental • Pharmacy • Behavioral Health
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LOOKIN’ GOOD IN THE INLAND NW FOR OUR 2022 BEST OF the Inland Northwest Readers Poll, we asked voters to share their thoughts on “Best Place to Take Out-of-Town Visitors.” Inlander readers gave us tons of great selfie-worthy outings for newbies; here are the Top 10 reader picks, with a few voter comments, too. 1 RIVERFRONT PARK / SPOKANE FALLS “Provides close-up views of Spokane’s one-of-a-kind waterfall. Out-of-town guests cannot get this experience any where else, and they always say so.” — JOHN D. “The park upgrades are FANTASTIC!”—HOLLY M 2 MANITO PARK “A total gem!” — BARRY W. “Gorgeous park with lots of history.”—JUDY P. 3 LAKE COEUR D’ALENE / TUBBS HILL “Love the boat ride up the St. Joe River!” — RICHARD B. “Nature and beauty abound on Tubbs Hill, an easy 2-mile trail.” — JAMIE A. 4 BOWL AND PITCHER / RIVERSIDE STATE PARK 5 DOWNTOWN SPOKANE 6 GREEN BLUFF 7 MOUNT SPOKANE STATE PARK 8 ARBOR CREST WINERY 9 KENDALL YARDS / CENTENNIAL TRAIL 10 ROUTE OF THE HIAWATHA BIKE TRAIL Your friends will love seeing the rehabbed U.S. Pavilion in Riverfront Park. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO OAC. Federally insured by NCUA We’re proud to grow dreams, members & community globalcu.or g Hi ThereCHECKINGCREDITCARDSLOANS
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ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 47
Could the benefits be shared between the crops in the same sea son? Those are the central questions of some of the research being conducted by a team led by University of Idaho’s Zack Kayler, an assis tant professor in the Department of Soil and Water
QUESTIONS,ZACKKAYLER
THINBIGKING
ILLUSTRATIONS BY JEFF DREW
UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO
“We’veSystems.really done a great job of being ef ficient with single species across the field, and we’ve learned to apply nitrogen and phospho rus in any amount so that these plants can pro vide us with the food and energy that we need,”
achievementsareenlightenmentuniversitiesNorthwest’saimfor—heresomeoftheirnotablefrom2021-22
It’s long been a common practice for farmers in the Inland Northwest to alternate between crops that suck nitrogen from the soil, such as wheat or barley, and so-called “pulse” crops that replenish nitrogen, such as lentils or peas. In many areas, growers also regularly apply fertilizers to the soil, as some types of plants continue to pull nutrients from the ground.Butwhat if you grew nitrogen-hun gry crops and ni trogen-giving crops in the same field at the same time?
The Inland
For two years, graduate student Torrey Stephenson helped figure out the benefits of “intercropping,” where you might plant a row of barley, two rows of peas, another row of bar ley, etc. in hopes that the plants will all benefit.
It’s a partnership that benefits everyone, except the hackers. Small municipalities get free student monitoring of their computer networks, while students gain
The students were monitoring the net work as part of the Public Infrastruc ture Security Cyber Education Systems project, or PISCES. The torresourceswhotorsmall,curitygramstate-basedWashingtonpropairscybersestudentswithpublic-secorganizations,oftenlackITtomonianddetectthreats.
— SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL
real-world experience analyzing large quanti ties of data without being held liable if some thing goes wrong.
Meanwhile, demand for cybersecurity experts has grown rapidly, but the workforce is struggling to catch up. In 2022, there were more than 600,000 open cybersecurity po sitions across the country, and the Biden ad ministration has said that filling them is a top national security priority. Steiner hopes East ern Washington University’s rapidly growing Center for Network Computing and Cyber Security can help address the industry’s work force shortage.
Kayler says. “While that served us for a long time, we’re now kind of facing those repercus sions of just producing, producing, producing.”
Meanwhile, undergraduate Paige Martin looked at samples taken to the lab in Moscow, where she and the team were able to test the gases coming off that soil. Martin’s interest was in learning how nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide levels are affected by different water ing schedules.“Wefocus a lot on fossil fuels and what we’re doing as a human race,” Martin says. “I wanted to focus on a small piece of that climate puzzle that could fit into the larger picture and figure out how we can mitigate and adapt to a changing climate.”
In 2021, Eastern Washington University stu dents tasked with monitoring Spokane Valley’s municipal computer networks noticed some thing unusual — repeated pings from Russian IP addresses. Stu Steiner, an assistant professor of computer science at Eastern Washington University, says the hackers were likely trying to find backdoor access to the system so they could install ransomware and steal data. As soon as they noticed what was happening, the students leaped into action.
Russian IP addresses, permanently blocking them from accessing the servers.
Looking at more efficient ways to get plants the nutrients they need without relying on fertilizer may be more important than ever. Supply chain issues and international conflicts like the war in Ukraine have driven up the price of fertilizer and made it harder to get. Ni trogen fertilizer is also commonly made using natural gas, and the world is working to reduce unnecessary reliance on fossil fuels.
The threat of cyberattacks has risen dra matically in recent years, Steiner says. The Washington State Attorney General’s office reported 150 ransomware attacks in 2021 — more than the total number of ransomware attacks in the previous five years combined
Peas and other pulse crops are able to pull plentiful nitrogen from the air, and microbes in the soil are able to process that to make it avail able to plants. But exactly how that nitrogen travels has been a little unclear. To learn more, Stephenson has used a cutting-edge technology known as stable isotope tracing to track exactly how that nitrogen moves from plant to plant.
EASTERN UNIVERSITYWASHINGTON
STU STEINER
“They analyzed that data, saw it was com ing from Russia, figured out it shouldn’t be com ing from Russia, and then escalated help desk tickets immediately,” Steiner says.
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 49
After seeing those tickets, Spokane Valley authorities were able to quickly blacklist the
— NATE SANFORD
Whitworth University psychology pro fessor Justin Martin was less focused on the cast and more fo cused on the film’s Afro-futurist nation state, Wakanda. Growing up a fan of the Black Panther comics, he felt there was something miss ing in the dialogue around this ofphenomenon.cultural“Thiswasonethefirsttimeswhere
JUSTIN MARTIN
In Black Panther, Wakanda is composed of five tribes and ruled by a king who doubles as the Black Panther. The Black society’s technology surpasses that of any other country on Earth due to its stash of the rare fictional super-mineral vi branium, but Wakandans keep their advances hidden and don’t interfere with world events in order to maintain their own stability. The movie is fertile ground for SDT examination, and using fictional realms like the Marvel Cinematic Universe actually makes broad moral civics
issues easier for children to understand.
“I think it allows for a more unique way to explore issues of justice, harm, authority [and] legality,” says Martin.—SETH SOMMERFELD
Starting in fall 2022, EWU will offer two bachelor’s degrees in cyber operations.
WHITWORTH UNIVERSITY
In November 2021, the National Security Agency designated EWU a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. The school was the first on the east side of the state to earn the designation, and Steiner hopes it will help cement EWU’s status as a regional hub for cyber defense. Steiner says the center hopes to hire six to eight full-time faculty in the next four to five years and plans to offer a master’s in cybersecurity soon.
BIG QUESTIONS, BIG THINKING, CONTINUED... Imagine if an entire community came together to ensure every child has the opportunity — and support — to pursue their career and education of choice. Using a supported promise scholarship as an incentive, LaunchNW is a cross-sector collaboration that catalyzes community prosperity by removing barriers to post-high school education for every child. Get involved at LaunchNW.org 509-624-2606 • @LaunchNWorgincubatedproudlyby
Martin is not advocating explicitly teaching Black Panther to children. He realizes it’s a vio lent PG-13 film, and showing it in a classroom wouldn’t be appropriate. Rather, his paper is targeted at teachers who can design better les son plans by seeing how a pop culture touch stone can generate civics learning.
I watched … a super hero film, where I didn’t have to worry about, like, ‘Oh, how is that one Black character go ing to be portrayed?’” says Martin. “So since
The superhero movies of the Marvel Cinemat ic Universe have become the most successful, omnipresent pop culture entity of our times. And no MCU film showed how that cultur al impact can manifest quite like 2018’s Black Panther. The film was a phenomenon — thanks in large part to the Black community finally feeling seen in a superhero blockbuster.
I didn’t have to worry about that, what is it about the human experience that I think is portrayed in the film? Not thinking about race, but just what is it about Wakanda … that’s common to the human experience?”
50 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
As a psychologist, one of Martin’s main fields of interest is social domain theory, or SDT, which contends that during their devel opmental stages, children interpret interactions among others in three distinct domains: mor al, socio-conventional and personal/psycholog ical. In his paper The Many Ways of Wakanda: Viewpoint Diversity in Black Panther and Its Implications for Civics Ed ucation, Martin argues that the unique fictional civics foun dation of Wakandan society — which he calls “the film’s unofficial main character” — actually offers distinct divisions among SDT domains, making the film a good template for teachers in Grades 2-5 to build upon with their lessons.
Today, we continue
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Washingtonians
the health
COUGS ARE REDEFINING WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A LIFE-CHANGING HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL
WHEN IT COMES TO TEACHER BURNOUT, HAVE STAFFING SHORTAGES BEEN A HUGE ISSUE?
“It has a great local vibe to it; also close to the heart of town [at 20 W. Fifth Ave.], but easy to access.”
The other impact is teacher burnout. It is real. The evi dence is really starting to confirm and catch up to our experi ence. I mean, I’ve been working in and around K-12 education for 25 years, and I’ve never seen a more fatigued, burned-out, stressed-out teacher corps and administrators.
WHAT KIND OF TECHNOLOGY CHANGES DO YOU THINK MIGHT STICK AROUND AND BE POSITIVE?
WHEN IT COMES TO LEARNING LOSS, HOW DO WE FIX THAT?
INSIDER
JOHNINSIGHTSTRAYNOR
YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
A Gonzaga education professor on how COVID has changed schools INTERVIEWED BY NATE SANFORD
“Biggest and baddest terrain.”
It can’t be overstated. It’s been so significant. And part of the reality is we’re still figuring out what those impacts are. The learning loss has been dramatic, unfortunately, for the kids who have historically struggled the most before COVID; the impact of remote learning and just being detached from where other kids are, where the curriculum is, where the teachers are… it’s really hard.
52 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
BEST ALL-AROUND BAR
lift. Whether that’s teachers creating videos, or templates for their students to work through, I think those things will stick around. I think there’s going to be more opportunity for stu dents to consume content and then teachers are in a support role where they’re helping work through that content, work on the skills that are associated with that. And really getting to lean into the kind of personalization and individualization that can be so powerful in schools.
It’s a great question, right? And it’s a perennial one. Learn ing loss has been with us since schooling has been with us, but we typically have only talked about it through the notion of summer. I don’t know, and I think we don’t know. I think another outcome of this moment in time is going to be the opportunity — and the need — to leverage extended learning opportunities.
HOW HAS COVID IMPACTED EDUCATION OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS?
Jack & Dan’s “It just checks so many boxes — great food, incredible people, Zag central.”
We asked this year’s Inlander Insiders to answer a few questions from our Best Of Readers Poll Ballot. Here are John’s picks.
I do think that teachers thinking about how to get content to students without standing up in front of a classroom was a new
JOHN TRAYNOR HAS BEEN TEACHING at Gonzaga Univer sity’s School of Education for almost 19 years. Before that, he spent nine years teaching middle and high school. Part of Tray nor’s current work involves sharing research and collaborating with the Spokane Public Schools district. Lately, the pandemic has turned the world of education upside down. We caught up with Traynor to talk about the challenges — and opportunities — facing schools in a post-COVID world.
I think also just increasing communication: The learning management systems that schools use, that parents can ac cess to find out how their kids are doing — I think that people became more reliant on those systems. I think that’s going to increase the amount of information that families have about how their kids are doing.
Yeah, they’ve had a real hard time getting subs. It’ll be inter esting to see this fall how difficult it’ll be to fill classrooms with certified teachers. I don’t know yet, and I don’t think the schools know.
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On the other side of that, I think technology… that’s going to be one of the good marks that’s left behind from COVID.
BEST PLACE TO SNOWBOARD OR SKI Schweitzer
Growing districts and new state laws bring new buildings, names and mascots to local schools
NEW MASCOTS
Also as part of the new law, Garry Middle School in Spokane changed its mascot name from the Chiefs to the Ravens.
Spokane’s On Track Academy, which offers personalized education for students seeking alternatives to traditional high school, changed its name to the Lisa Mattson On Track Academy as part of a remodel in 2021. Lisa Mattson is the school’s principal. Her name was added to reflect her integral role in establishing the school.
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 53
Denny Yasuhara Middle School and Pauline Flett Middle School will open to
Last year, Washington lawmakers passed House Bill 1356, which bans the use of Na tive American names, symbols and images as public school mascots. While signing the bill in spring 2021, Gov. Jay Inslee said it would “end the disrespectful use of Native American im agery in our public schools.” The ban doesn’t apply to schools located on or near Native American areas — as long as the nearest tribe is consulted and agrees to let the school keep using the name.
After a unanimous vote by Spokane Public Schools’ board, Sheridan Elementary in north
NEW SCHOOLS
NEW NAMES
west Spokane became Frances Scott Elementary. Frances Scott grew up in Spokane and became the city’s first Black female attorney after graduat ing from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1978. She also taught at Rogers High School for three decades and led the local teachers union. The school’s previous namesake was Philip Sheridan, a Civil War veteran who led an infamously inhumane campaign of violence against Native people in the Great Plains.
Thesubmissions.thirdschool, Carla Peperzak Mid dle School, opens in 2023. Its namesake is a 97-year-old Spokane resident who worked as a member of the Dutch resistance during World War II. Peperzak was named Washingtonian of the Year in 2020.
In June 2021, Spokane Public Schools’ board voted unanimously to change the mas cot at North Central High School to the Wolfpack. The new mascot replaces the word “Indians” — a symbol adopted by the school in the 1920s that saw reduced use as a mascot in the years leading up to its removal. The school received a $35,000 donation from the Ameri can Indian Community Center to help pay for new uniforms with the Wolfpack logo.
The three schools are the district’s first new buildings in 25 years. They were designed to be more communal and inviting to students, with large windows and expansive common areas connected to elective or specialty class rooms. Sacajawea Middle School is also on track to be replaced in 2023.
Northeast Spokane’s brand-new Denny Yasuhara Middle School.
The Central Valley School District, mean while, finished construction of Ridgeline High School last summer. The school, located in Liberty Lake, has space for 1,600 students and cost about $96 million to build. It’s the first new high school in Spokane County in 24 years.
To comply with Washington’s new state law, Chief Moses Middle School will be get ting a new mascot and school name. The Mo ses Lake School Board was expected to decide on a new name in mid-2022.
SPOKANE PUBLIC SCHOOLS RENDERING
students in fall 2022. Denny Yashara was a teacher at Lo gan Elementary and Garry Middle School who was also president of the Spokane Coalition for Human Rights and an active member of the Japanese community. Pauline Flett was a Spokane Tribe elder who was a vocal champion of the Salish language. The names were chosen as part of a public process that resulted in more than 1,400 name
BY NATE SANFORD
BUILDINGS, MASCOTS AND NAMES give schools their identity, but after a national reckoning over equity and racial justice, many schools are reevaluating just what that iden tity stands for — and who it should serve. Prompted in part by recent legislation, schools in Spokane and other districts in the Inland Northwest are shaking things up. Read on for a rundown on what’s new, what’s changed and what’s still to come.
Spokane Public Schools is opening three new middle schools to reduce overcrowding and balance class sizes across the district.
THE SCHOOLS THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’
Late last month, the Moses Lake School Board approved several mascot changes af ter the Colville Confederated Tribes denied its request to continue using Native Ameri can names and symbols. Moses Lake High School changed its mascot name the Chiefs to the Mavericks. Frontier Middle School adopted the Spartans to replace its previous mascot, the Warriors.
HARVEY’S HARDLY ALONE. In fall 2020, Washington state lost more than 50,000 stu dents from enrollment in public schools — an almost 5 percent drop. Nearly 2,200 were gone from Spokane Public Schools alone. The number of preschoolers and kindergart ners in Spokane Public Schools fell by more than 30 Thispercent.wasa consequence, not just of the pandemic but of the reaction to it. When the American Enterprise Institute, a conserva tive think-tank, looked at which districts had lost the most students during the pandemic, they found that — with a few exceptions — the states that were the most cautious about COVID, like New York, California, Ore gon and Washington, lost the most students during the pandemic.
“A lot of times I’ve heard that they’re really fearful for their family member’s lives because of the pandemic,” says North Central High School Assistant Principal Jessica Everman. “They go home, and grandma has cancer. Grandma lives with them. If grandma gets it, she’s not gonna make it.”
And when the pandemic hit and they were plunged into the world of online education, what engagement he had became almost im possible.“He wasn’t on Zoom,” Harvey says. “He was on YouTube… he wouldn’t engage. He couldn’t handle the stimulation.”
But for her family, it was a chance to deal with the frustration that had been building for a long time.
JANELL HARVEY’S SON had already been having trouble in public school before the pan demic hit. He’s a great kid, but he has dyslex ia, which can make learning tough sometimes. He was on an individualized education plan. He was horrified, he told his mom, to learn that he’d been “tracked” — stuck with kids who were also struggling in school.
they’re at,” Harvey says, “There’s that one-onone attention. And you have teachers that can work one-on-one with students, and you can also modify the curriculum to their level.”
54 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
“COVID happened and we had an oppor tunity,” Harvey says. “I’m like, ‘We’re out.’”
Family Services at the Mead School District, says that even after school returned to being in person, other COVID measures became a major factor for why students didn’t return.
The pandemic shook enrollment numbers in Washington state, with some parents finding new options that may stick as pandemic restrictions have been lifted BY DANIEL WALTERS
For the school year of 2020-21, she and an other parent homeschooled, splitting tutoring costs.“Our daughter improved two grades of math in three months,” Harvey says.
And the next year, she enrolled her kids in a small fledgling private school, Grace Alliance Christian.“That school focuses on small class sizes, fo cuses on good values and meets students where
North Central High School Principal Tami McCracken says the pandemic was particular ly difficult for low-income students. Sometimes older students were distracted by needing to help out their younger siblings with school. Other times, you had a situation where four kids — all at different grade levels — were all in the same room, all trying to Zoom with differ ent teachers at the same time.
Josh Westermann, director of Student &
WHERE DID ALL THE KIDS GO?
“The biggest reason really was some of the COVID restrictions. That was what we heard, over and over and over. The masking and the testing.”They got hit from both flanks: You had parents who didn’t want their kids to have to deal with all the masking and other restric tions, and then you had students who were worried that attending school in-person would put their loved ones at risk.
The states that opened up schools earli er and got flak for being more cavalier about COVID, like Florida, Texas and the Dakotas, suffered much less loss of student enrollment. As a whole, Idaho’s enrollment numbers were some of the least affected in the nation.
Change in students from 2019: -189 (-1.3%) Students with fewer than two absences: 83.2% Students who graduated in four years: 88% Number of classroom teachers: 884 Students who met math standards: 32.4%
And one county — Okanagan — increased its number of students by more than 50 per
cent in a single year, adding 2,800 students in fall 2020. To that, you can credit the flood of students into an online charter school, the for-profit Washington Virtual Academy, which is hosted by the Omak School District.
Students who met science standards: 44.7%
Students who met science standards: 39.8% Students who met English standards: 46% (-6.8%)
PreK and K: 2,617 students
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 55
7th and 8th grade: 4,342 students
Elementary schools: 11 Middle schools: 3 Developmental preschool: 1
TRADITIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS
WASHINGTON ACHIEVEMENT STATISTICS: Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction school report card data, 2020-21
Attendance rate: 93.5%
Total number of students: 29,082 9th through 12th grade: 8,658 students
Second-largest employer in Kootenai County 6th-largest school district in Idaho
Total number of students: 14,629 9th through 12th grade: 4,535 7th and 8th grade: 2,237 1st through 6th grade: 6,333 PreK and K: 1,524
Total number of students: 10,275 9th through 12th grade: 3,565 7th and 8th grade: 1,661
Enrollment: 10,708
CENTRAL VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT
1st through 6th grade: 4,338
IN THE HIGHER-INCOME Mead School Dis trict, meanwhile, homeschooling exploded by 150 percent in fall 2020.
2
Students who met English standards: 55.9%
PreK and K: 711
STUDENTS WHO GRADUATED IN FOUR YEARS
Find this story at Inlander.com/enrollment and check out our map to see which districts and individual schools had the biggest enrollment drops during the pandemic.
Students who met math standards: 41.4%
Students who met math standards: 28.2%
STUDENTS WHO MET ENGLISH STANDARDS
1st through 6th grade: 13,465 students
Alternative high schools: 1
PUBLICCOEUR92%D’ALENESCHOOLS
K-12 EDUCATION BY THE NUMBERSMEADSCHOOLDISTRICT
COMPILED BY NATE SANFORD
For parents, there are also more in-person public high school options than ever, including Spokane Public Schools’ On Track Academy (see page Stuber,56).meanwhile, expects many of those who have now tried it to keep homeschool ing, even after the pandemic completely fades away.
51.4%
Students with fewer than two absences: 83.7%
Students who met science standards: 57.7%
Number of classroom teachers: 605
CHANGE IN STUDENTS FROM 2019
SPOKANE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Students with fewer than two absences: 83.1% Students who graduated in four years: 89.4% Number of classroom teachers: 1,961
“There were two students specifically that I could drive to their houses without even looking them up anymore because we visited them so often,” McCracken says. “While the counselor and I would say we felt unsuccessful last year, those students [were] in school every day [in 2021-22].”
-2,122
Change in students from 2019: -582 (-5.4%)
“They’re surprised by how easy homes chooling is and how much easier there is than Zoom school,” says Jen Garrison Stuber, with the Washington Homeschool Organization. “They’re surprised by how much they like their kids… you end up spending all this time with your kids, and you end up helping them become better people.”
“We’ve learned from the pandemic that families are interested in a variety of differ ent school options, and that one size doesn’t fit all,” says Adam Swinyard, Spokane Public Schools superintendent. “Distance learning was very impactful for some kids, we also had students who thrived in distance learning. And we have families that really appreciated that model and have a high interest to continue. And that’s why we have created Spokane Vir tual, which is a fully online K-12 school option for students to participate in.”
The school committed to not giving up on those students, McCracken says.
The number of homeschooled students in side the boundaries of Spokane Public Schools precisely doubled from fall 2019 to fall 2020 — from 573 to 1,146 students.
Burke says he’ll often get calls from stu dents or parents who are considering transfer ring to an option school, but are on the fence about whether they should make the switch or just stick it out for the rest of the year.
At On Track Academy, the goal is for students to build a more personal connection with teachers.
PUBLIC, BUT A DIFFERENT TRACK
BY NATE SANFORD
“One of the big things students say they like is that they’re not shuffling between six different classes a day,” Burke says.
On Track Academy, which accepts stu dents in grades 10 through 12, offers con tinuous enrollment. Students will often start the school year at a traditional neighborhood school and realize part way through that they need a different approach. On Track Academy usually starts the school year with around 300 students and ends with closer to 500.
Spokane Public Schools offers more than just traditional options to district high schoolers
tary school students as well.
The school district offers what are known as “option” schools for students who would benefit from a different approach to their learning. For high school students, there’s the Community School, Lisa Mattson On Track Academy (named for the school’s principal) and Pratt Academy. There’s also a newly cre ated Open Doors program — a virtual GED classroom aimed at ages 16-24 who are not expected to graduate. There are various pro grams and alternatives for middle and elemen
CHIANA McINELLY PHOTO
WHILE SOME STUDENTS THRIVE with six periods, a rotating host of teachers and stan dard textbook curricula, others need a differ ent approach. Thankfully, they don’t need to leave Spokane Public Schools to find it.
Chris Burke, assistant principal at On Track Academy, says the school used to be primarily focused on students who are falling behind and at risk of not graduating. It still serves those students, but it’s also expanded to accommodate students who are simply looking at a more individualized approach to learning.Instead of six periods, students at On Track Academy have a block period, often taught by two instructors who co-teach the students. This allows students to build a more personal connection with teachers, who can get to know the students and tailor instruction to their individual needs.
56 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 57 visitnoll.com Located in the fastest growing community in the region, NoLL will be a 40-acre mixed-use towncenter, that covers approximately 20 acres both east and west of Harvard Road with a mix of residential, retail, restaurant, office, and artisan manufacturing. NoLL is home to several different localbased businesses with many more on the way! GATHER. RELAX. EXPLORE. NORTH LIBERTY LAKE 3 NINJAS • HELLO SUGAR • NEW LOVE COFFEE • SWEET ANNIE’S ARTISAN CREAMERY VERSALIA PIZZA • LIBERTY LAKE LASHES • MAVERICK’S MENS HAIR SPOKANE BUSINESS ATTORNEYS • LIBERTY LAKE CHILDRENS ACADEMY
FINDING THE RIGHT FIT
For students seeking an alternative to traditional pub lic K-12 school, the Inland Northwest also has a num ber of private schools.
SPOKANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE offers associ ate degrees, bachelor’s degrees and other cer tifications. Its health sciences division is among the largest among community and technical colleges in Washington state. The campus has computer labs, a fitness center, a health clinic, library and other amenities. Some of its degree programs are well-suited for students hop ing to transfer to a four-year institution, while others can help lead to a high-paying job right out the door. SCC offers a number of vocation al programs for things like nursing, botany and automotive work. See scc.spokane.edu for more.
TRADE SCHOOLS
PUBLIC, BUT A DIFFERENT TRACK, CONTINUED...
An On newinsideastudentTrackmakespresentationtheirbuilding.
An education in the trades can help you land a job fast and spend significantly less money than you would at a traditional college. As much of the country grapples with a labor shortage, the demand for skilled trade workers is higher than ever.
NORTH IDAHO CHRISTIAN SCHOOL Hayden; Christian; 1-12; 208-772-7546 or northidahochristianschool.com
SUMMIT CHRISTIAN ACADEMY Spokane; Christian; K-12; 509-924-4618 or ncek12.com
Coeur d’Alene; Seventh-Day Adventist; K-8; 208-667-0877 or lakecityacademy.org
NORTHWEST CHRISTIAN Spokane; Christian; pre-12; 509-862-4175 or nwcs.org
COURTESY PHOTO
THERAPEUTIC CONNECTIONS
GONZAGA PREPARATORY SCHOOL
LAKE CITY ACADEMY
ENLIGHTIUM ACADEMY Spokane; Christian; K-12; 886-488-4818 or enlightiumacademy.com
Spokane; Catholic; Grades 9-12; 509-483-8511 or gprep.com
Go to spokaneschools.org/domain/173 for more local options
Spokane; Catholic; 9-12; 509-242-3750 or chestertonacademyofnotredame.org
SAINT GEORGE’S SCHOOL Spokane; nondenominational; K-12; 509-466-1636 or sgs.org
SANDPOINT WALDORF SCHOOL Sandpoint; nondenominational; Nursery-8; 208-265-2683 or sandpointwaldorf.org
CHESTERTON ACADEMY OF NOTRE DAME
NORTH IDAHO COLLEGE is a community college on the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene with more than 6,000 students. NIC offers adult education and GED testing, dual credit for high schools, workforce training, career assistance and more. It has more than 80 academic de grees, and career and education certificate pro grams in topics including art, communications, health care, science, technology, engineering, business and more. See nic.edu for more.
To find more trade schools in the Inland Northwest, check out careerschoolnow.org.
option schools were just for kids who are in trouble, but that’s quickly changing. On Track Academy moved into a new building last year, which Burke says allowed them to add more elective programs and more hands-on, project-based classes. There’s a program called Pathway that offers stu dents experience in things like engineering, digital media and art.
There are nine K-12 catholic schools in Spokane and Spokane Valley, including All Saints, Cataldo and St. Thomas More; dioceseofspokane.org/schools
THE OAKS ACADEMY Spokane Valley; Christian; K-12; 509-536-5955 or theoakscca.org
SPOKANE K-12 CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
HORIZON MEDICAL INSTITUTE (Spokane Valley) 509-474-9150 horizonmedicalinstitute.comor
COMMUNITY COLLEGES
ANVIL WELDING INSTRUCTION (Spokane) 509-891-5914 or anvilweldinginstruction.com
SPOKANE ASSISTANTDENTALSCHOOL (Spokane) 509-260-2932 spokanedentalassistant.comor
Burke’s biggest piece of advice for strug gling students: “Don’t be afraid to ask.”
NORTHWEST HVAC/R ASSOCIATION
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
TRAINING CENTER (Spokane) 509-747-8810 or inwhvac.org
SCHOOL OF MASSAGE (Spokane) 509-230-2307 or tcmassageschool.com
Check out privateschoolreview.com for more
Burke says his first piece of advice is for them to get in touch with the school coun selor and see what options might be avail able at their current school. If they think transferring is the best option, the counsel or can help them fill out an online applica tion on the school website. Administrators will look at the student’s transcript and get in touch to talk with them about whether On Track Academy is the right fit.
SPOKANE FALLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE of fers similar amenities. It has 80-plus programs, transfer degrees, flexible online/hybrid classes and expanding applied bachelor’s degree pro grams. High school juniors and seniors looking to get a head start can earn college and high school credit simultaneously through the Run ning Start program. Students can attend full or part time and attend tuition-free for up to 15 credits. See sfcc.spokane.edu for more.
58 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
Burke notes that over the past five years, he’s noticed parents becoming much more open to the idea of alternative educa tion. There used to be a perception that the
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CLINICAL MASSAGE (Post Falls) 208-773-5890 or aicm.edu
First-generation college students: 35%
Washington State University has a huge Greek commu nity. Nearly 25 percent of WSU students are involved in one of the school’s 60-plus fraternity and sorority chapters. Also, the Spokane-based WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine welcomes its sixth class in fall 2022.
Student-to-faculty ratio: 16:1
Student-to-faculty ratio: 11:1
The University of Idaho’s school mascot is called Joe Vandal. The name stems from nearly a century ago, when sportswriters said the school’s basketball team was so ferocious they “vandalized” their opponents.
INLAND NW HIGHER ED
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,534
Along with its widely feared red turf football field, Eastern Washington University is known for its gray squirrel population. The school estimates there are more than 1,000 on campus.
First-generation students: 14% Number of faiths represented on campus: 27
Total enrollment: 11,303
Whitworth is named for George Whitworth, a Pres byterian minister who moved to Washington in the 1800s. The school was originally based in Tacoma, but moved to Spokane in 1913. In 2005, the school changed its name from Whitworth College to Whit worth University.
Fraternities: 16
Student diversity: 29%
Minority student population: 31% First-generation students: 33% International enrollment: 4.7%
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 59
Average GPA: 3.63
Total undergraduate enrollment: 8,631
Graduate programs: 24 Average class size: 23
Total undergraduate enrollment: 16,760
THE INLAND NORTHWEST is an educational hub, with numerous public and private universities offering a variety of programs. Enrollment figures are from fall 2021; the combined enrollment of regional universi ties listed here totals 51,331 students. That’s about the same size as the University of Texas.
Total enrollment: 10,892
Total undergraduate enrollment: 8,439 Average GPA: 3.27
Master’s degrees: 39 Graduate programs: 60
Total enrollment: 19,114
Founded in 1887, Gonzaga is the oldest local university. (WSU dates to 1890.) Gonzaga’s partnership with the University of Washington has created a home for 120 UW medical students in Spokane; the partnership’s Medical School and Health Education Building opened in July 2022.
First-generation students: 29.3%
Sororities: 10
— COMPILED BY NATE SANFORD
WSU Spokane enrollment: 1,625 WSU Spokane undergraduate: 537
Total enrollment: 2,908
Total enrollment: 7,295
Male/female percentage of population: 51% female / 49% male
Minority student population: 19% Graduate programs: 58
Bryan Hall Clock Tower at WSU in Pullman. ERICK DOXEY PHOTO
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,852 Average GPA: 3.69
60 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 wedonthaveone.com/the- elk BROWNE’S ADDITION • LINCOLN HEIGHTS • HAYDEN, ID • COEUR D’ALENE, ID
WHERE the LOCALS
GO
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 61
MORSEL BY RIND AND WHEAT
“We’re not going for something that’s ultra-traditional,” says Casey Garland, operating partner for New 63 and director of operations for SA Group restaurants, which opened New 63 in March 2022. 520 W. Main Ave., Spokane, facebook.com/thenew63socialhouse, 509-598-8922
While Webster had always planned to expand his cheese- and bread-centric shop Rind and Wheat, located at 1516 W. Riverside Ave.,
locals’ appetites for creative and buzzy new spots to add to their list of existing favorite eateries have no limit. In the year since our last edition of Annual Manual was published, these five restau rants made noteworthy debuts and continue to be the talk of the town.
The décor matches an equally eclectic menu, synthesizing American comfort foods and Asian-inspired flavor combinations New 63’s menu ranges from pasta, rice and noodle bowls to salads and pizzas, as well as shareables like the hummus plate and dumplings.
The wings, for example, take a pan-culinary approach with a diverse choice of sauces: Bachan’s barbecue sauce is from Japan; the maple and turmeric sauce leans toward Indian cuisine; and the distinctly red, pep pery Buffalo sauce takes its name from a Buffalo, New York, bar.
NEW 63 SOCIAL HOUSE & EATERY
Just a few months after regional culinary pioneer Fery Haghighi closed her catering company and cafe, the doors of the little building on Cow ley and Fifth were opened again, this time by her successor.
Put these five new local restaurants on your list of must-try spots
Fresh Plates
New 63’s menu includes Asian fusion dishes and more. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
Chef Ricky Webster — known for his friendly demeanor, a handful of network TV baking competition wins and his prowess for baked goods — took over a lease in early 2022 for the former home of Fery’s Catering between Sacred Heart Medical Center and I-90.
BY CHEY SCOTT AND CARRIE SCOZZARO
EVEN AS THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY con tinues to face end-of-pandemic challenges like rising costs and shortages of labor and supplies, local food entrepreneurs are powering onward into the Pandemicfuture.or not, everyone’s gotta eat, and
If walls could talk at The New 63 Social House & Eatery, they’d describe decades as several different movie theaters, and an Italian-inspired eat ery. Located in an historic 1920s building in the heart of downtown Spo kane, New 63 incorporated remnants of its eclectic past into its décor, like the red tin ceiling tiles in a front lounge area, marquee lighting and underlit Italianate stucco trim work in the main dining room.
62 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
While Morsel is significantly larger than Rind and Wheat, al lowing him to expand production capacity for his sourdough bread and pastries, plus a new lunch menu, Webster wanted to create a distinction between the two locations. Cheese and wine remain only available at Rind and Wheat, and that lunch menu of hot and cold sandwiches, soup, salad and sides are only served at Morsel in a takeout format. Webster has also split his pastry selection between the two locations so that each feels like a unique experience for customers. Both locations, however, offer a complete selection of Webster’s sourdough, country-style bread loaves. 421 S. Cowley St., Spokane, rindandwheat.com, 509-609-5239
“We’ve been trying to hustle at Rind and Wheat,” Webster says, “and my original business model entailed more, but we were limit ed” due to space.
Ricky Webster has taken over the legendary Fery’s space, where he’s offering lunch options (top).
YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS
he was unsure of when or how. Then, Haghighi casually mentioned her retirement when the two ran into each other at a local fundraiser.
FRESH PLATES, CONTINUED...
Krista curated the wine list featuring most ly Pacific Northwest wines (they also serve
STYLUS WINE BAR
beer and cider). The Northwest-inspired menu features small plates like baguettes with butter and ham, charcuterie and playful dishes like the Grateful Dead Sundae with French vanil la ice cream, caramel, strawberry sauce, fresh fruit and Cap’n Crunch’s berry cereal.
The interior at Stylus is part of the experience; the inspiredNorthwest-menuis a crowd-pleaser, too. ERICK DOXEY PHOTOS
of Prince’s face, and a library of more than 3,000 of Robby’s records, which he plays on Stylus’ custom sound system.
You might call them the perfect pair. In May 2022, musician Robby French and his wife, Krista French, launched Stylus Wine and Vinyl Bar, combining the North Idaho couple’s two passions. Because he’s a vinyl collector and mu sician and she’s a sommelier, the couple asked themselves: “What can we do that can bring both of what we love together?” Krista says.
64 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
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“On our days off we would play records, and make dinner and drink wine, and that was kind of our date night,” says Krista, who want ed to re-create that feel with Stylus, “like people are coming to our house to hang out.” 2605 N. Fourth St., Suite 105, Coeur d’Alene, facebook.com/ styluswineandvinylbar, 208-601-6602
Stylus features a midcentury modern vibe with brass and black seating and a large green velvet couch in the center of the space. There is original art on the walls, including a mural
Dessert at Francaise could transport you to far-away flavors. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
FRESH PLATES, CONTINUED...
Dishes on the Française menu, which lists French and English titles, feature French classics like pate de campagne or country pâté served with traditional grainy mustard, cornichon pickles and walnuts, and confit de canard a l’orange or slow-cooked duck with or ange sauce. Additional dishes include gnocchi with truffle cheese sauce and sautéed mushrooms, Lyonnaise salad and beignets.
Française features a modest and evolving wine list, plus re gional beer and cider. Guests may dine inside or on the patio in warm weather, or sit at the handsome bar and enjoy a craft cocktail like the signature martini with vodka, crème de cassis and pineapple juice. 928 S. Perry St., Spokane, francaisespokane.com, 509-315-4153
66 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 11AM TO CLOSE (509) 327-5742 808 W. GARLAND AVE • SPOKANE TO GRAB A BEER & A BITE!YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD’S FAVORITE PLACE 8AM to Close • 509.328.1950 804 W Garland Ave
FRANÇAISE
“We want to make it feel like it’s been here for 100 years,” says Adam Hegsted, the region’s nationally known chef, entre preneur and culinary leader whose Eat Good Group company developed and opened Française in spring 2022.
Spokane’s Française restaurant shimmers with special touches, from its menu to its décor and the way it celebrates the build ing’s history. In addition to dark wood floors, exposed brick and rough plank tables with industrial metal bases, the South Perry neighborhood eatery (located in the former home of Casper Fry) features a soothing blue-gray color scheme, art nouveau wallpa per, an entryway filled with plants, and a gallery of gold-framed mirrors and French art prints.
100 N. Hayford Rd., Airway Heights (Northern 509-481-2131northernquest.com,Quest),
EAST PAN ASIAN CUISINE
CHOWDERHEAD
908 N. Howard St., facebook.com/outsiderpnwSpokane,
Local couple Daniel Gonzalez and Monica York finally saw their dream of opening a restaurant together realized when Kismet opened in September 2021 in the heart of northeast Spokane’s historic Hillyard neighborhood.
KASA RESTAURANT & TAPHOUSE
Focusing on Latin and Spanish-influenced cuisine, Kismet’s menu is a combination of Gonzalez’s Mexican and Spanish heritage and his affinity for classic French and Italian cooking techniques.Gonzalez credits his two grandmothers for influencing his culinary creativity and recalls spending time in the kitchen with both as they made tamales while watching Mexican soap operas. Kismet’s version of the dish, served with pork or veggie filling, and its mole sauce are close adaptations of their recipes.
825 N. Monroe St., 509-315-5318chowderheadspokane.com,Spokane,
OUTSIDER
908 N. Howard St., Spokane, kasataphouse.com
THE BAD SEED
BIRRIERIA TIJUANA
1335 W. Summit Pkwy., Spokane, molespokane.com, 509-401-8050
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 67
MOLÉ MEXICAN
TAKARA SUSHI
EVEN MORE NEW MUST-TRY RESTAURANTS!
MOSSUTO’S ITALIAN
309 E. Lakeside Ave., Coeur d’Alene, takarasushicda.com, 208-771-7233
KISMET
2018 N. Hamilton St., 509-487-7700facebook.com/birrieriatijuanawa,Spokane,
Kismet is one of a few new eateries and bars to recently open in Hillyard (the Bad Seed in the old Hillyard library building is also relatively new, and several other projects are in the works) bringing a renewed sense of vitality to the neighborhood that embraces its scrappy local reputation and railyard roots.
“I love the challenge of going to a different spot [than down town Spokane] and trying different things, and just wanting to be a pioneer in the food scene,” Gonzalez says. “And the people in Hillyard have been very receptive and kind. It’s good to have people who care about their neighborhood businesses.” 3020 E. Queen Ave., Spokane, kismetspokane.com, 509-309-2944
415 W. Hastings Rd., mossutositalian.com,Spokane,509-413-1601
2936 E. Olympic Ave., 509-822-7439facebook.com/badseedinhillyard,Spokane,
68 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
Owens and Thudium are just two mem bers of a quickly growing team.
FROM LEFT: Charlie Thudium, Sean Owens and Gary Hughes of Common Language Brewing Company.
Co-owner Dallas Hobbs, a former Wash ington State University football defensive lineman, works as the brewery’s director of marketing and design. He creates its can la bels and has led their early philanthropic ef forts — his first event was a pint night with the Women Helping Women Fund, during which one dollar from each beer sold went to the nonprofit. Taproom manager Gary Hughes manages a weekly trivia night, mug club, live music and brings in food trucks on various days.
“At the end of the year, we’re committed to giving 20 to 25 percent of our profits to or ganizations in town that support LGBTQIA, BIPOC, women and children,” Owens says. “We’re focused on unmet needs for people in the community.”
Common Language unites beer and philanthropy in downtown Spokane, and the Inland Northwest brewing scene continues to grow BY DEREK HARRISON
DEREK HARRISON PHOTO
SEAN OWENS LIKES TO SAY he has a lot of “lofty goals” for Common Language Brewing Company. Beyond being a typical gathering place, Owens wants the brewery to be a leader in supporting marginalized and underrepre sented members of the community.
Owens, a retired veterinarian and pro fessor, is one of six owners and president of Common Language. He’s joined by Charlie Thudium, co-owner and head brewer. Thudi um is a recent graduate from the UC Davis Food Science and Technology program, with an emphasis in brewing science. His Scottish export style ale won the school’s 2020 Iron Brew competition. Before moving to Spokane, he was the lead brewer at Three Mile in Davis, California, for almost a year.
BREWS NEWS
“For me, it’s just about brewing the stuff that I like,” says Thudium. “Kölsch and Czech Pilsner are my absolute favorite beers.”
One way he plans to accomplish this goal: give away a portion of its profits.
SHOP. EAT. DRINK. PLAY. KENDALL YARDS BOBABEST 1227 W SUMMIT PARKWAY KENDALL YARDS • SPOKANE 509-401-8050 1335 W. Summit Parkway, Spokane molespokane.com ASIAN CUISINE, SAKE BAR, HANDCRAFTED COCKTAILS, BEER & WINE SPOKANE’SFAVORITESUSHI VOTED SUSHIBEST 2021 H 1309 W SUMMIT PKWY • KENDALL YARDS Bobalicious! ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 69 versaliapizza.com KENDALL YARDS 1333 W. SUMMIT PKWY Sun-Sat 11a-9p RIVER DISTRICT 20760 E. INDIANA Tue- Sun 11a 9p
The new Uprise Brewing Co. is another Kendall Yards-area attraction.
MORE OPENINGSBREWERYANDUPDATES
70 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
What guests may not see when they first walk in is the well-equipped brewing space. The 10-bar rel brewhouse is joined by four 10-barrel fermen ters and one 20-barrel fermenter. Between tanks sits a small canning line. A lab area in the back is filled with gadgets to calculate alcohol percentages, hop bitterness, pH levels and more. Next to that is a reverse osmosis water system designed by co-owner ChrisAsDurrant.forthe origins of Common Language’s name, Owens says it’s a reference to the fact that people have been gathering around beer for thou sands of “Beeryears.isacommon language,” he says.
THE DOWNTOWN SPOKANE BREWERY is lo cated inside the Chronicle Building, neighboring the Fox Theater and Knitting Factory. Owned by The Spokesman-Review’s Cowles family, it was once home to the printing presses of the Spokane Daily Chronicle
BREWS NEWS, CONTINUED...
The. walls of the vibrant taproom are painted in an array of blue, orange and green. Copper light fixtures hang over a copper bartop. The standard taproom tables and chairs are bordered by two seat ing areas of vintage-style chairs circling coffee tables.
can play music, meet new (or old) friends and de bate over trending topics. He wants to be a hub for the community.“We’vegota lot of lofty goals,” Owens says. “I found that everyone always says you shouldn’t have these lofty goals, but I think by throwing these pas sions out there in the world, people hold you to it.”
DEREK HARRISON PHOTO
His idea was to create a space where people
Perhaps one of the most talked about brewery openings in Spokane, UPRISE BREWING CO. opened its doors the first week of August 2022 near the northwest edge of Kendall Yards, at 617 N. Ash St. The brewery and kitchen is co-owned by local restaurateur Jonathan Sweatt along with brothers Ryan and Brandon Hare, who each respectively managed Sweatt’s Republic Pi and The Flying Goat. The Uprise own ers brought on Riley Elmer as head brewer; he previously was assistant brewer at Perry Street Brewing. The 6,500-square-foot space is now one of the biggest breweries in the region and debuted with a solid lineup of beer: two hazy IPAs, a guava gose and a
8903 E. Greenbluff Rd., Colbert, 509-703-3470
8022 E. Greenbluff Rd., Colbert, wildland.coop, 509-998-9967
Munich Dunkel (a dark German lager).
LONE MOUNTAIN FARMS & BREWERY TAPHOUSE
6607 N. Ash St., Spokane, spokanitebrewing.com
WILDLAND COOPERATIVE
OUTPOST BREWING
“Oktoberfest is my favorite time of year,” Da mon Netz told the Inlander. No Drought’s frequent tap lineup consists mostly of those German beers like Kölsch, schwarzbier, hefeweizen and Pilsner. Along with beer made in-house, the taproom serves cider, kombucha and soda.
208 E. Coeur d’Alene Lake Dr., Coeur d’Alene (opening TBD), vantagepointbrewing.com
EVEN MORE BREWERIES!UP-AND-COMINGNEW
324 W. Lancaster Rd., lonemountainfarms.comHayden,
NEW MAITLAND BREWING
SPOKANITE BREWING
VANTAGE POINT BREWING COMPANY
Sneaking in right at the end of 2021, NO DROUGHT BREWING CO. opened on Dec. 11. Owned by husband-wife duo Damon Netz and Magen Potter-Netz, the brewery and taproom is located in south Spokane Valley, at 10604 E. 16th Ave., sandwiched between a gas station and Northwest Pizza Co. The one-barrel brewhouse is focused on German-style beers.
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 71 the winescapeescapebestis • elegant winemakingexpressive • rural farmstead vibe • south tastinghillroomwinescapewines.com
1710 N. Fourth St., Coeur d’Alene, outpostcda.com, 208-930-1066
A few Spokane-area breweries also shifted around in 2022. Spokane Valley’s NATURAL 20 BREWING CO. expanded to the shuttered Hid den Mother Brewery production and taproom fa cility at 1303 N. Washington St. and continues to operate their taproom at 13216 E. Sprague Ave.
The Golden Handle Project rebranded to GOLDEN HANDLE BREWING CO., re opened in the former Steel Barrel space at 154 S. Madison St., and hired head brewer Rachel Nalley from TTs Old Iron Brewery and BBQ.
ElixirCompanySauce
On a small, family-owned dairy farm in Deer Park, happy Jersey cows are producing the perfect milk to make rich, Mexican-style queso cheese, which Lake Wolf Creamery turns into a variety of products. Try creamy, fresh (fresco) queso, the dryer and shred dable queso cotija, or the unique Oaxacan-style string cheese. And for poutine fans, Lake Wolf also makes and sells cheese curds. lakewolfcreamery.com
72 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
SWEET HEAT COMPANY
LA VITA BELLA OLIVE OIL COMPANY
In 2008, Derek Blumenschein had an excess of jalapeño peppers in his Bonners Ferry, Idaho, garden, which morphed into the ba sis for Sweet Heat. The company’s new line is called Gelee jams with flavors like Monkey Butter (banana, pineapple and coconut) or roasted garlic and rosemary. Find Sweet Heat at The Kitchen Engine in Spokane and other retail outlets. sweetheat.co
Lake Wolf Creamery
You don’t have to go far to find great local food producers in the Inland Northwest
Whatever the recipe calls for, this Spokane-based, small-batch spice importer likely has it, from ashwagandha powder to gumbo filé to white pepper. The company also features specialty items like infused sugars, blends that go over your popcorn — try buffalo ranch — or into your scratch-made sausage, as well as freeze-dried candies. inlandempirespice.com
Inland Empire Spice
LOCAL GOODS
LAKE WOLF CREAMERY
When the finishing oil matters, try La Vita Bella. This Hayden-based importer offers traditional olive oils from infused extra virgin olive oil to Greek, Tunisian and Spanish olive oil, as well as sesame and truffle oils. Owner Jana Heck also offers balsamic vinegar from Modena, Italy, infusing small batches with flavors like cherry or fig. lavitabellaoliveoil.com
INLAND EMPIRE SPICE
ELIXIR SAUCE COMPANY
Putting Elixir’s sauces on your food will not grant you immortality, but it might become spicy or hot enough to wake the dead, espe cially from its smoky ghost and smoky habanero sauces. For a little less heat, try garlic jalapeño, and for sweet, try rum honey haba nero from this Spokane Valley-based company. elixirsauce.com
BY CARRIE SCOZZARO
Discover award-winning restaurants at Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort for all dining occasions and unique cravings. Start your day off at Jackpot Java where you can choose from locally roasted coffee, provided by Cravens, and espressos. Catch your favorite game on one of our many large-screen TV’s while enjoying hearty pub fare at Red Tail Bar and Grill. For a quick bite-onthe-go, our Huckleberry Deli offers a wide selection of hot and cold sandwiches, soups, pizzas and snacks. Located inside the Circling Raven Pro Shop, seasonally-open Twisted Earth offers casual dining with a spectacular view. Looking for something more upscale? Treat yourself to our newly reimagined Chinook Crafted by Adam Hegsted and savor the delectable taste of local products, including salmon, Northwest beef and other chef-selected ingredients.
Hungry yet? Visit cdacasino.com/dining to view all of our extensive menus and find out more information.
Come Taste the Best of the Inland Northwest.
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 73 CASINO | HOTEL | DINING | SPA | CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF 37914 SOUTH NUKWALQW • WORLEY, IDAHO 83876 • 1 800-523-2464 • CDACASINO.COM WELCOME HOME.
Brunch hours: Daily 8:30 am-3 pm
WHATEVER THE CULINARY and historical origins of brunch, American diners have em braced the option-rich meal. Continental pas tries and coffee? Yes, but also bacon and eggs, pancakes, and other comfort classics. In addi tion to coffee or tea, many brunch menus fea ture alcoholic beverages like mimosas, and not just traditional breakfast items, but also typi cal lunch dishes like sandwiches, salads and burgers. Throughout the Inland Northwest, brunch options abound, from lavish affairs to local joints offering their take on this popular morning-to-midday meal.
317 E. Sherman Ave., Coeur d’Alene, 208-930-1514
If your idea of brunch is an expertly pre pared and presented farm-to-table meal in an environment of understated elegance, Italia Trattoria should be on your map. From the tangerine walls and brightly lit interior to the charming heated and covered patio outside and the comfort-focused brunch menu, Ital ia embodies an Old World feel, befitting of chef and co-owner Anna Vogel’s European heritage.Gocontinental
Idaho brunch venues with a full bar. Or brace yourself with stout Roast House coffee. Al though the light-flooded front portion of the dining area is perfect in any weather, brunch on the modest patio means excellent peo ple-watching and a glimpse of Lake Coeur d’Alene. (CARRIE SCOZZARO)
INLAND PACIFIC KITCHEN
304 W. Pacific Ave., Spokane, 509-464-6541
Brunch is comfort at Italia Trattoria.
YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
Brunch hours: Sat-Sun, 9 am-2 pm
made pastries and Alps coffee with hazelnut liqueur or settle into something heartier like the farmer’s meal with cage-free eggs, housemade sausage and a rich white bean and to mato ragu. Vogel and partner Bethe Bowman have created a popular spot so reservations are required and can be done via phone or online. (CARRIE SCOZZARO)
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While known for its creative dinner op tions, Inland Pacific Kitchen’s Sunday brunch is one of the best around. The reasonable pric es compare with many other popular brunch spots, but the creative flavor combinations and twists on old favorites will leave you feeling like you just had a very special gourmet meal. The environment inside the historic Wash ington Cracker Co. Building eatery is classy and well-lit during those morning hours. The menu changes regularly, so be sure to keep an eye out on social media to see if you’ll be in for their take on shrimp and grits, a croque madame, chicken and waffles, steak and eggs, or other creative tasty treats. Reservations are recommended and can be made online in ad vance. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)
HONEY EATERY & SOCIAL CLUB
Brunch hours: Sun, 10 am-2 pm
with a breakfast of scratch-
ITALIA TRATTORIA
Coeur d’Alene is a rather large town geo graphically, but the place to be for dining and scenery is definitely downtown. That’s where you’ll find Honey Eatery & Social Club, lo cated in an historic building with a charming interior that playfully incorporates an apiary theme. The eclectic, comfort-focused menu from James Beard award-winning chef and local restaurateur Adam Hegsted includes both sweet and savory items like scratch-made doughnut coffee cake and brioche cinnamon rolls, as well as assorted eggs Benedict and veggieLeaninghash. more toward lunch, try the Ida ho trout or Honey’s signature fried chicken. For drinks, Honey is one of the few North
144 S. Cannon St., Spokane, 509-459-6000
Six must-try spots for brunch in the Inland Northwest BY INLANDER STAFF
CULINARY COMBO
It’s best to go into Chaps with an open stomach and open mind, because you might have a hard time choosing between the savory breakfast bagel burger and the creamy and sati ating custard oatmeal. If a full brunch isn’t your thing, stop by for a quick coffee and pastry from their bakery. (I recommend the lemon poppy seed cinnamon roll.) Either way, you’re sure to leave (and come back) with a skip in your step and a smile on your face. Chaps doesn’t take reservations, so plan accordingly or plan to wait a bit. It’s worth it. (MADISON PEARSON)
Brunch hours: Daily 9 am-2 pm
Brunch hours: Wed-Sun, 8 am-2 pm
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ELLIOTTS AN URBAN KITCHEN
You don’t have to wait until the weekend to enjoy brunch at Elliotts an Urban Kitchen, which serves daily breakfast dishes like pork belly hash and French toast with local Al pine Bakery ciabatta bread, as well as savory like burgers and green curry chicken yourself at this causal neigh borhood spot, including along the bar, and watch your zesty bloody mary being made. Vintage photos, local art and an eclectic dé cor complete the totally local feel while the food and service makes any visit feel oh-sospecial. (CARRIE SCOZZARO)
Located just a quick drive from downtown Spokane, Chaps pairs a unique atmosphere with classic brunch options that woo locals and out-of-towners alike. The vintage interi or is quirky and rustic, while a large outdoor space that opens during warmer weather is always buzzing with live music and conversa tion — a dichotomy that provides something for every guest’s preference.
YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
over rice. Seat
4237 Cheney-Spokane Rd., Spokane, 509-624-4182
Full bar and 18 taps featuring beer and cider from local breweries OPEN MONDAY 4-8PM • TUESDAY - SATURDAY 11AM-9PM • SUNDAY 11AM-8PM 2721 N. MARKET ST. • SPOKANE • (509) 822-7874 GoodfellaThe GarlicFries Our brickhandcraftedovenpizzasaremadewithfreshingredients,highestqualitycheeses,homemadedough&saucemadein-house DeepDish Salad Bar Our salad bar isperfect for lunch!We also servepizza by the slice Arcade Reminiscent of5 Mile Pizza An arcade PanoramicReservebanquetfamily-stylewithtables!outprivatebanquetroomfor•Birthdays,•Babyshowers,•Parties,etc.viewofourbeautifulcityfromourdiningroom meals
CHAPS DINER AND BAKERY
2209 N. Monroe St., Spokane, 509-866-0850
Eggs, elevated, at Elliotts.
CULINARY COMBO, CONTINUED...
CRIMSON HEARTH
11003 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley, crimsonhearth.com, 509-598-8927
2010 N. Waikiki Rd., Spokane, 509-481-4514
1516 W. Second Ave., Spokane, 509.747-8798 and 10929 N. Newport Hwy, Spokane, 509465-2464, franksdiners.com
1248 W. Summit Pkwy., theyardsbruncheon.com,Spokane,509-290-5952
324 W. Lancaster Rd., Hayden, bellesbrunch.com, 208-758-0600
1011 W. Broadway Ave., bruncheonettespokane.com,Spokane,509-443-5968
EVEN MORE BRUNCH!
HISTORIC DAVENPORT HOTEL
Brunch hours: Sat-Sun, 9 am-2 pm
With sweeping views of a Ponderosa-cov ered golf course out expansive windows lining the dining room, 1898’s vibe is a Northwest retreat in the trees, but it’s only a short trip from most places. The food is also unmatched, whether you’re stopping in for a weekend meal before or after a round, for a special occasion or justChefbecause.Blake
DOWNRIVER GRILL
15 S. Howard St., peopleswaffle.com,Spokane,509-270-1052
FRANK’S DINER
YARDS BRUNCHEON
SATELLITE DINER
BENE’S 24 W. First St., benesamfix.com,Cheney,509-951-5207
501 S. Main St., 208-882-6481thebreakfastclubmoscow.com,Moscow,
PEOPLE’S WAFFLE
BREAKFAST CLUB
726 N. Fourth St., Coeur izzyscomfortkitchen.com,d’Alene,208-930-0930
Kaba’s menu includes tradi tional favorites like huckleberry-loaded Belgian waffles and one of the best takes on biscuits and gravy in the region. There’s also hearty classics like eggs Benedict and several omelet variations. From the bar, build-your-own mi mosa flights (choose four flavors from 10 total juice options) and a bloody mary bar — addons include bacon, pickled green beans and more — are popular accompaniments to the meal. For special events like Easter and Moth er’s Day, 1898 often serves this midday meal family- or buffet-style. Reservations are easily made online or by phone. (CHEY SCOTT)
1100 N. Sullivan Rd., Spokane Valley, maxatmirabeau.com, 509-922-6252
BARK, A RESCUE PUB
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 77
3315 W. Northwest Blvd., Spokane, downrivergrill.com, 509-323-1600
BRUNCHEONETTE
THE BIGGEST LITTLE PARTY SPOT DAILY POSTING OF WEEKLY HAPPENINGS AND A DAILY HAPPY HOUR /CURLEY’S HAUSER JUNCTION • /CURLEYS_BAR WITH EVERY VISIT YOU’LL EXPERIENCE SOMETHING NEW IN OUR ADORNED VINTAGE RUSTICCURLEYS.BIZINTERIOR.•208-773-5816 • 26433 W. HWY 53, HAUSER, ID • 21+ INTERIOR. Outdoor Seating & Stage VolleyballHorseshoesCourt SPACIOUS RUSTIC PATIO Karaoke • Bingo Live Music 3 nights a week PoolandTournamentsMore! WEEKLY EVENTS 21 Taps, WineCocktails,HandcraftedBeer,&MimosaFlights FULL SERVICE BAR We’re a bar establishment with a limited (but fantastic) menu! DELICIOUS BAR EATS in North Idaho! Horseshoes
MAX AT MIRABEAU
425 W. Sprague Ave., Spokane, sattelitediner.com, 509-624-3952
BELLE’S BRUNCH HOUSE
905 N. Washington St., Spokane, barkrescuepub.com, 509-418-2551
1898 PUBLIC HOUSE
10 S. Post St., davenporthotelcollection.com,Spokane, 509-789-6848
IZZY’S COMFORT KITCHEN
2017 Columbia Valley Merlot ($30)
The Butterfields are making some great reds from their PrairieGlenrosewinery.
GRAPE EXPECTATIONS
YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
“Right now, the 2018 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon ($42) is drinking beautifully,” she says. “It’s from Kiona’s Heart of the Hill Vineyard and is a velvet glove. Definitely worthy of a special steak night with friends.”
WINESCAPE WINERY
BY LEANN BJERKEN
She says her recommendation for those new to wine is Wi nescape’s 2017 Columbia Valley merlot, priced at $30.
“That bottle is the magical point for quality and value,” she says. “It just was awarded a gold medal and 93 score in Great Northwest Wines’ recent comparative merlot tasting. The pan el said it has amazing balance, and it does. It’s just a stunning bottle of wine.”
THERE’S A LOT TO LOVE ABOUT WINE, especially wine that’s made locally from grapes grown in some of Washington state’s finest vineyards. If you’re new to the wide world of wine, or on a budget, a good bottle isn’t out of reach. Regional winer ies have plenty of cost-effective, as well as more splurge-worthy options. The latter offers a new avenue of exploration for wine enthusiasts looking for a special bottle or who want to refine their palate. Read on for some recommendations from area winemakers, who share their top picks for a budget-friendly bottle, and what they’d uncork for a more elevated experience.
Former academics Phil and Patricia Butterfield opened Wi nescape Winery in 2017. The winery, which sits on a 14-acre farm in Glenrose southwest of Spokane, produces mostly red wines with a few exceptions.
“Our portfolio is mostly reds, but Phil is making a killer chardonnay and an amazing dry riesling in the white realm,” says Patricia Butterfield.
78 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
Five local winery owners share their top picks, from affordable bottles to special limited releases
For those with more seasoned tastes, Butterfield says Wi nescape has a number of premier wines, all of which are aged in French oak, and featuring hand-picked grapes from some of Washington’s top vineyards.
2018 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon ($42)
BARILI CELLARS
While this might seem intimidating to newbies, the variety makes it more likely that visitors will find a wine to suit their taste.
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Feist describes the wine as a well-made cabernet, with the tradi tional characteristics of this well-known wine, which is full bodied with dark fruit flavors and warm spices like vanilla or licorice.
MARYHILL WINERY
“This is an exclusive bottling we made for Gonzaga, with half the proceeds going to benefit the Gonzaga Alumni Association’s scholarships,” says Feist. “Gary [Hustad] is an alumnus, so it’s a good way to support the university. It also has a unique label that would make a nice keepsake gift for folks with a connection to Gonzaga.”
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 79
While Cranberry Road’s first wines were cranberry and cran berry cinnamon, Tiffany says they began producing red wine in 2013, followed by white wine in 2018.
A blend of malbec, merlot and cabernet, this light red wine is Feist’s recommendation for those looking for a reasonably priced option.“If you’re new to red wines, this one’s for you,” he says. “It’s dry, but easy to drink. It makes a nice summer deck wine, and pairs well with barbecue chicken.”
Red Ass Red ($20); Gonzaga Alumni Red ($50)
For those looking for a more premium option, Leuthold recom mends the winery’s Reserve cabernet.
“It’s a blend of cabernet from several of our premium vineyard sources that varies from year to year depending on what our wine maker thinks is the best that year,” Leuthold says. “It represents what a premium cab from Washington should be like.”
Barili Cellars winemaker Russell Feist, who co-owns the win ery with wife, Marlene, and business partners Gary and Sue Hus tad, says the winery’s Red Ass Red is a favorite for both new and seasoned tasters.
For a more splurge-worthy option, Feist suggests the winery’s Gonzaga Alumni Red.
For those looking for a cost-effective option, Leuthold recom mends the Winemaker’s Red, a blend of cabernet, merlot, syrah, and cabernet Franc. (The Winemaker’s Red can also be found in most local grocery stores for around $15.)
Maryhill owner Craig Leuthold says the winery features one of the area’s largest selections of grape varietals available — more than 35 in all — and has more than 65 distinct bottlings.
“We took our time and really made sure to create a classic cab ernet,” he says. “It pairs well with steak, or pasta dishes.”
CRANBERRY ROAD WINERY
Winemaker Chris Tiffany and his wife, Maria, founded Cran berry Road Winery in Westport, Washington, back in 2009.
“We made the decision to move the business to Idaho last year, and opened our new location in Coeur d’Alene on May 5, 2021,” says Chris Tiffany.
Chardonnay ($28); Cranberry Wine ($29); Syrah ($38)
Winemaker’s Red ($15); Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($52)
“For the novice wine drinkers, we have several sweet white wines like riesling and muscat canelli,” he says. “For new red wine drinkers, we have several easy-drinking merlots to choose from as well as pinot noir and cincaut.”
“The Winemaker’s Red is smooth and easy drinking and can pair with just about anything, or can stand alone,” Leuthold says.
“Our chardonnay is made in stainless steel and finished with American oak, with great fruit notes and a light butter finish. It pairs well with seafood, poultry or pork, and is great for those warm days sitting on the patio,” he says.
GO BIG FOR Birthdays Expires 08/31/23. Limit one (1) coupon per guest. Coupon must be presented at time of purchase. Valid only at the Nothing Bundt Cakes bakery(ies) listed. Valid only on baked goods; not valid on retail items. Must be claimed in bakery during normal business hours. Not valid for online orders. Not valid with any other offer. Discounts applied before tax. Coupon may not be reproduced, transferred or sold. Internet distribution strictly prohibited. No cash value. kBaForery OnlyUse GRAPE EXPECTATIONS, CONTINUED...
“Likewise, our cranberry wines are customer favorites, with tart cranberry taste and a sweet finish. It pairs great with salads and desserts, but also makes an excellent sangria by simply adding fruit.”Tiffany says those looking to splurge should check out Cran berry Road’s syrah ($38).
“It’s fruit-forward with a clean finish,” he says. “It’s my go-to wine when I want to relax and enjoy a great wine. Syrah is a grape that most any red wine drinker can enjoy.”
don’t realize is that you can taste a merlot at 10 different places, and most of them will taste different,” he says. “They don’t understand that climate, soil, type of oak barrel, type of yeast and origin of the grape can change the flavor profile.”
“The petite sirah is new for us, you don’t see too many sirahs around here, and it’s made with grapes from Wahluke Slope which is a great vineyard,” he says.
2022 is the first year Barrister has produced the petite sirah ($39), which features a soft mouth feel and a rich finish.
BARRISTER WINERY
Tiffany advises novice wine drinkers to go to tastings at mul tiple“Whatwineries.people
“There aren’t many that I’d designate as partic ularly splurge-worthy,” he says. “However, for those looking to try something new, I’d recommend our petiteLipskersirah.”says
“We currently have 16 wine varietals and more in the works,” he says. “Our wines range from $26 to $39 a bottle.”
Tiffany recommends either the chardonnay or original cran berry wine for those looking for lower-cost options.
Spokane 2525 E 29th Ave, Suite 1B, Spokane, WA 99223 (509) 535-4864
Rough Justice ($23); Petite Sirah ($39)
Barrister Winery owner Greg Lipsker says Rough Justice, a red blend of eight grape varietals from nine different vineyards, is the winery’s most popular and, at $23, its best value bottle.“It’s a drinkable wine, matching our style of fruit-forward with soft mouth feel and gentle tannins,” he says. “People love it; it’s our best seller.”
Barrister makes pre dominantly red wines, but does offer one white wine, a sauvignon blanc. Lipsker says the winery’s bottles are moderately priced, with most listed between $30 and $40.
scratchpastrieshouse-bakedfrom+Delivereddirectlytoourstoreseveryday Millwood | 1st & Cedar South Hill | Wall St Garland | Space Station rocketspokane.com | @therocketbakery | 509-927-2340 South Hill 1001 W. 25th Ave hiddenbagel.com • thescoopspokane.com Kendall Yards 509.703.7042 • 1238 W Summit South Hill 509.535.7171 • 1001 W 25TH thescoopspokane.com Bubble Waffles (Kendall Yards Location Only) Dole Soft Serve (South Hill Location Only) 21-27, 2022 THE BEST DEAL FOR THE PROSECUTION 8 FUNNY MAN 33 NEW COUNTRY VOICE 42 50 THINGS TO EAT FOR $10 OR LESSPAGE 16 FEBRUARY 24-MARCH FRESH, ALWAYS FREE BEES BUZZ VOLUNTEERS 12 NEW CLASSICS BLACK PLACES FRIGHTENING FOOS SCARES MAY 6-12, 2021 DISTILLING NEWS SINCE 1993 FREE SPEECH CURB EARTH-SHATTERING MAJOR ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT LASTING RESTAURANTS GOINGHARD DRINK LOCALCOCKTAILSISSUEBEERWINE NEWCOMERSEYECANDYSPRINGRELEASES THE RISE OF BOOZY SELTZER TRASHY TIKTOK TREND BOND IS BACK MGK HITS THE PAVILION 22 7-13, 2021 HARD NEWS, SINCE 1993 Chefs take us behind the scenes in their kitchens Bistro FEBRUARY INDULGING THE INLAND SNOWLANDER skiing…consecutiveandcounting SUPER COOPER EWU’s Cooper Kupp the Super page12 Desserts and drinks for Valentine’s Day and beyond Than ever. Music Community Events Home FOOD News Arts More You’ll find it in the 7.5” wide by 2.37” high
NEW LOVE COFFEE
Hutton Settlement’s HOPE Neighborhood Roasters is a win-win. HOPE, which stands for Hutton Opportunities for Professional Exploration, provides education al credit for Hutton’s school-age residents as they learn business and marketing essentials, as well as about the global farmers growing the coffee beans. Proceeds fund vital Hutton programs and are a feel-good for subscribers, who may pick up their coffee on-site or have it shipped to them. Retail coffee is also available during the summer at Millwood and Spokane Valley farmers markets, as well as occasional tasting events on the beautiful grounds of Hutton Settlement. The coffee is tasty, too, roasted to maximize flavor of both light and dark roast using a system designed by Steven Diedrich, founder of Sandpoint’s Diedrich Roasters. 9907 E. Wellesley Ave., Spokane, huttonsettlement.org, 509-926-1027
Inland Northwest locals can put the following new roasters on their java radar, along with several new places to try the next time the mood for coffee strikes.
STEADY GROUNDS
New coffee roasters and cafes continue to diversify and grow the Inland Northwest’s caffeinated culture
Liberty Lake has a new coffee spot in an area of town north of Interstate 90 that continues to see new growth. Located inside the Greenstone Design Center building, New Love features owner Ike Bubna’s carefully curated and blended coffees, plus local baked goods. A second location of New Love is set to arrive in Kendall Yards in late 2022. 21802 E. Indiana Ave., Suite 102, Liberty Lake, newlovecoffee.com
PITOTTI COFFEE ROASTERS
In spring of 2022, Chris Pitotti had an opportunity to turn his small-batch coffee roasting venture into something bigger when the pastor at The Gathering House in Spokane’s Garland District offered Pitotti some space. Now Pitotti, his wife and two sons work together in the small café, which sells Pitotti beverages made with their Countryside Coffee and Angela’s Blend, as well as local scratch-made baked goods. 733 W. Garland Ave. Spokane, pitotticoffee.com, 509-570-8397
Chris Pitotti opened Pitotti Coffee Roasters in the Garland District in spring 2022. CHIANA McINELLY PHOTO
MOST LIKE IT HOT, others iced, especially in warmer weather. And the majority of coffee drinkers — 84 percent — get our jolt of morning joe at home. Nearly half of us are still fine making plain ol’ drip coffee, but single-cup systems are gaining ground, and cold brew and espresso machines tip in nearly 20 percent of the market share, according to a National Coffee Association survey. Wherever and however we consume our favorite brown elixir of energy, we’re doing so in increasing numbers, fueling the specialty coffee industry from grower to roaster, and to our favorite spot to grab America’s drink.
Based in Southern California, Kaffee Meister added a Hayden, Idaho, location in ear ly 2022. It’s owned by Leslie Emmons, whose nickname for husband and co-owner Mike Emmons became the name of the business. Kaffee Meister roasts its own light, medium and dark drip and medium and dark espresso coffees in house. Coffee is available in bulk or in a cup so you can enjoy it on the go, along with assorted freshbaked goods and light bites.
BY CARRIE SCOZZARO
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KAFFEE MEISTER
9212 N. Government Way, Hayden, kaffeemeister.com, 208-329-8325
HOPE NEIGHBORHOOD ROASTERS
EVEN MORE (NEW-ISH) COFFEE SPOTS!
LUNARIUM (INSIDE TWENTY SEVENTH HEAVEN SCRATCH BAKE SHOP)
THE KITCHEN ENGINE (NEW CAFE)
EMMA RUE’S / PEOPLE’S WAFFLE
CORNERSTONE COFFEE & SWEETS
707 W. Fifth Ave., facebook.com/Lebanon509,Spokane, 509-279-2124
LEBANON RESTAURANT & CAFÉ (LEBANESE COFFEE SERVICE)
THE WET WHISTLE
COFFEE CORNER
621 W. Mallon Ave., thekitchenengine.com,Spokane,509-328-3335
600 Cedar St., blackboardmarketplace.com,Wallace, 208-556-5648
THE LOKEY CAFÉ
12703 W. 14th Ave., Airway facebook.com/coffeecorner556,Heights,509-919-4190
210 N. Howard St., Spokane, wet-whistle.com, 509-315-5381
102 S. First Ave., Sandpoint, heartbowls.com, 208-304-7631
1220 S. Grand Blvd., lunariumspokane.comSpokane,
17 S. Howard St., Spokane, emmarues.com, 509-703-7389
814 N. Fourth St., Coeur d’Alene, cornerstonecoffee.com, 208-930-1664
507 S. Howard St. and 1801 E. 11th Ave., Spokane, meetinghousecafes.com
ANCHORED COFFEE & BAKERY
MEETING HOUSE CAFÉ
451 W. Dalton Ave. and 930 W. Ironwood Dr., Coeur d’Alene; 3300 Jet Center Way, Hayden, anchoredcoffeecompany.com
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903 W. Riverside Ave., facebook.com/lokeycafe,Spokane,509-822-7929
VISIT THE NO-LI BEER CAMPUS
TODD’S BOOKSTORE & COFFEE (INSIDE BLACKBOARD MARKETPLACE)
1502 N. Third St., Coeur d’Alene, lindencoffeecda.com, 208-660-7443
LINDEN COFFEE
HEART BOWLS
“It’s the best because of fresh in gredients, creative dishes, authentic sauces and balanced flavor. There is heart and soul there, and it shows in the food.”
Meet chef and restaurateur Juli Norris, owner of two new, innovative restaurants: Kasa Taphouse and Lorén INTERVIEWED BY SUMMER SANDSTROM
We asked this year’s Inlander Insiders to answer a few questions from our Best Of Readers Poll Ballot. Here are Juli’s picks!
JULI NORRIS IS A LOCAL CHEF and restaurateur who’s looking to bring fun and unique restaurant spaces to the region. Born and raised in the area, Norris wants to elevate the dining experience of both locals and out-of-towners and continue to create a buzz around Spokane’s food scene. In addition to operating Downriver Grill, a longtime local favor ite in North Spokane, Norris opened two new restaurants in summer 2022, so we talked to her about those locations, her love of the area and more.
I feel that Spokane has an ever-evolving food identity, and it’s really important for me as a chef to help find that, and to con tinue to elevate the food scene here in Spokane. There’s a lot of really talented chefs and restaurateurs in the area, and we have a great working rapport. And I think that’s all of our goals.
I love the Spokane culture where, even though it’s growing and it feels like aspects of it are starting to feel like a big city, it still has that small-town feel where people really care about each other and people care about their community, and they want to elevate it and build something that’s strong.
“I love how everything I buy from them has a unique and fashionable feel.”
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT WORKING AND LIVING HERE?
INSIDER INSIGHTS
JULI NORRIS
YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
BEST COFFEE SHOP Ladder Coffee
WHAT ARE THE RESTAURANTS THAT YOU’RE WORKING ON OPENING RIGHT NOW?
BEST TACOS Cochinito Taqueria
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“I like Ladder because they started on a local porch and with the help of hard work, neighbors and the lo cal community, have grown into an amazing company. Plus, they have great coffee!”
WHAT MAKES THIS REGION A SPECIAL PLACE?
WHAT IS THE BEST THING TO HAPPEN IN THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY IN RECENT YEARS?
Well, COVID was not good, and so that’s always a challenge. I feel like it made each restaurant and each restaurant owner have to rethink a little bit of the way that they did business. It allowed us to redefine how we saw and took care of our customers. And I feel like restaurants that made it through COVID, we have some battle scars, but we’re also much stronger and much more able to combat things that are thrown at us in the future.
BEST HOME DÉCOR SHOP The Tin Roof
One is called Kasa Restaurant and Taphouse, and that’s on the ground level of the Papillon building (on the north bank of the Spokane River next to Riverfront Park). And then the second location is in the same building; it’s called Lorén, and it’s a French-inspired menu that is built around the restau rant as a social club and speakeasy. It focuses on French-style Walla Walla wines, really good cocktails and French-inspired, killer food. Kasa has folded fusion sandwiches… and we’ll have 16 taps of beer and a couple of taps of single-barrel wine. We’re going to focus on dirty fries, chicken wings and chicken tenders; you know, elevated pub food, served with our folded fusion sandwiches.
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 85 VODKA • GIN • WHISKEY FLAVORED PRODUCTS Local Craft Spirits 509-998-04402LoonsDistillery.com•39503rdAve.,Loon Lake, WA Open HOURS VARY BY SEASON OR BY PLEASEAPPOINTMENT,CALLORTEXT BEST LOCAL DISTILLERY VOTED SPOKANE’S #1 WINERY OPEN DAILY 12-5PM @ARBORCRESTWINE | WWW.ARBORCREST.COM | (509) 927-9463 4705 N. FRUIT HILL RD•SPOKANE, WA 99217 Happy Hour: 2 to 5pm Wed through Fri - $2 Off glasses of wine craftsmanwinery.com | 509.413.2434 | 1194 W. Summit Parkway | Kendall Yards Come enjoy our award winning wines in our cozy and comfortable Stickley-inspired tasting room in Kendall Yards. CHECK OUT OUR WHISKEYTHEPURGATORY.COMCLUB winescapewines.com • elegant winemakingexpressive • rural farmstead vibe • south tastinghillroom
PEACOCK ROOM LOUNGE
While we can’t really call Vieux Carre NOLA Kitchen “new” anymore (it opened mid-2021), the oasis of Big Easy-inspired food and bever age on Broadway still feels a little like a secret. And what better way to celebrate a romantic or fun evening out than by stealing away to a spot a little off the beaten path, especially one that excels in the kitchen and behind the bar? While you can’t go wrong with anything from the menu that includes everything from po’boy sandwiches to muffaletta to a good old-fashioned burger, the fluffy beignets make a perfect dessert, even if you don’t bother with
FIRST, DESSERT
For a place that specializes in craft cocktails and desserts in a luxe, French-inspired setting, Emma Rue’s in downtown Spokane gives any night out a fancy feel. Deep teal-green walls and plush velvet seating with decor accents of bright copper and silver-white marble set the mood for an evening savoring Emma Rue’s menu of mostly sweet, and a few savory, menu choices and housemade libations, including coffee.While the bar’s cocktail menu rotates sea sonally, Emma Rue’s is sure to have plenty of classic cocktails and house creations that pair perfectly with its current dessert menu. Among these treats are plenty of chocolatey choices, and, as of mid-2022, the bar began of fering pastries from local favorite Chaps Bak ery, from scones and mousse cakes to tiramisu and beyond
While Valentine’s Day or a romantic anniver sary are both fine times to stop by Mizuna, one of downtown Spokane’s classiest spots (Dim lighting! Cool art! Intimate corners!), many find their way there year-round for dessert ei ther after a meal or on its own.
a main course. The fluffy deep-fried pastries you’ve seen a million times on TV spots shot at Cafe du Monde are in fine form at Vieux Carre, and when you pair them with the spot’s namesake cocktail — a blend of rye whiskey, cognac, sweet vermouth, Benedictine liqueur and bitters — you have a double-dose of sweet goodness that’s hard to beat.
10 S. Post St., Spokane, 509-789-6848
VIEUX CARRE NOLA KITCHEN
THOUGH IT’S COMMON TO START a meal with a craft cocktail or two, by the time you’ve had appetizers, plus an entree, “room for des sert” might be hard to justify. It doesn’t have to be this way, and going out for dessert alone is a decision we stand by. Thus, we set out to create this guide that pairs decadent desserts with equally delightful cocktails at some of the region’s swankiest spots.
No matter the reason or the season, set aside an evening to enjoy some decadent treats at this downtown lounge inside the Historic Davenport Hotel. Get cozy in a bright red wingback chair and order yourself a delicious duo, the Davenport peanut brittle martini and its popular house dessert called the “Rolo” Dome.The peanut brittle martini is a sweet treat that packs a punch. Absolut vanilla vodka, Go diva white chocolate liqueur and butterscotch schnapps are stirred and poured into a glass decorated with a lattice of peanut butter syrup and pieces of the Davenport’s signature, housemade peanut brittle garnishing the top. Pair the salty and sweet martini with the hotel’s signature “Rolo” Dome. This creative take on the classic chocolate-caramel candy is a thick, chocolate mousse coated in soft chocolate that sits atop a chocolate plate, and the middle is filled with melted, salted caramel. Share or en joy it all to yourself. Chocolate doesn’t judge.
106 N. Main St., Moscow, 208-882-2268
Where to head for date night or just to treat yo’self BY INLANDER STAFF
LODGEPOLE
1403 W. Broadway Ave., Spokane, 509-495-1400
17 S. Howard St., Spokane, 509-703-7389
For those who like their desserts obnox iously large, Mizuna’s diminutive slice of flourless dark chocolate torte may appear in adequate, but looks can be deceiving. Its rich chocolate is charged with ginger inside and an amazing blood orange sauce outside, and it’s perfect for sharing. Pair it with Mizuna’s mez cal Blood and Sand, a smooth, summer-y con coction that deftly blends the smoky mezcal with the sweetness of Luxardo cherry liqueur and blood orange juice.
214 N. Howard St., Spokane, 509-747-2004
Are weekend drives still a thing? If they are, head down to Moscow for a memorable meal at Lodgepole and save room for one of its dec adent seasonal desserts. Lodgepole co-owners Melissa and Alex Barnham try to keep a choc olate-lovers-style dessert in their rotation of seasonal sweets. And they have the perfect pair ing suggestion: Abacela Winery’s Ruby Porto, or if you prefer red wine, Clearwater Canyon Cellars Louis Delsol Cabernet Sauvignon. Sit along the windows for a view to either Main Street or the patio in warmer weather.
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Emma Rue’s chocolate torte and Bohemian cocktail YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
EMMA RUE’S
MIZUNA
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 87 SUN-THU 12PM-11PM FRI-SAT 12PM - 12:30AM 524 W MAIN AVE, DOWNTOWN SPOKANE THEPURGATORY.COM A TRULY EXPERIENCERESTAURANTWHISKEYUNIQUE&ATRULYUNIQUEWHISKEY&RESTAURANTRESTAURANTEXPERIENCE CHECK OUT OUR WHISKEY CLUB OVER 640 WHISKEYS ONWALLTHE WEEKLY WHISKEY FLIGHTS FULL MENU WITH WEEKLY SPECIALS
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Europa owner Aja Engels recommends enjoying this dec adent slice of heaven with a glass of the restaurant’s Myropa red blend, created specially by Coeur d’Alene Cellars. Engels also shares a cute story of how the wine got its name: When her daughter was little, she thought the family’s restaurant was called “Your”-ropa, and thus claiming it as her own, she’d call it “My-ropa.”
THE GILDED UNICORN
Awww!
The Chocolate Sack at Churchill’s
Food news you can use delivered to your inbox every up now
EUROPA
Among its many desserts offered in-house and made to order for whenever and whatever, really, is Europa’s famously popu lar raspberry white chocolate cheesecake. Rich while not overly so, the filling is airy and light yet still creamy, and perfectly bal anced by the tartness of raspberry. A sweet white icing and ruby red raspberry syrup spill down the sides of each slice, down to its chocolate crumble crust.
110 S. Monroe St., Spokane, 509-309-3698
If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed at the Gilded Unicorn, it’s an experience. Crossing the threshold into this cozy local favor ite is like entering a new plane of existence — coziness meets oddity, and that doesn’t stop at the decor. Amid the perfectly cu rated atmosphere float the aromas of constantly rotating dishes that you can’t find anywhere else.
CHURCHILL’S STEAKHOUSE
Thursday Sign
165 S. Post St., Spokane, 509-474-9888
DISTRICTGRANDHOTEL
125 S. Wall St., Spokane, 509-455-4051
404 W. Main Ave, Spokane | ganderandryegrass.com W Main Ave, juneandcospokane.comSpokane
FIRST, DESSERT, CONTINUED...
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The regularly available frozen peanut butter pie is the perfect cap to an intimate dinner and evokes a sense of cozy nostalgia. Smooth peanut butter is tucked between two choco late layers and topped with whipped cream and Oreos… How could you go wrong? Enjoy a house cocktail — or mocktail — between those decadent bites of pie, refreshing your palate so that you can keep going back for more, even when you claim you’re stuffed.
Bring someone — maybe even more than one other someone — with you to enjoy a longtime favorite dessert at Churchill’s, the ultra decadent, made-to-be-shared Chocolate Sack. It’s a leg endary menu item at Churchill’s, where you can cozy up in the swanky basement lounge or get classy at white linen-covered tables in the main dining room. This chocolate vessel is over flowing with pieces of house-made cake, fresh berries, chocolate mousse and whipped cream, with a drizzle of raspberry liqueur on top. It pairs perfectly with pretty much anything from Chur chill’s extensive collection of wine, spirits and champagne, or try the house-made bourbon Bramble cocktail with hints of muddled orange and cherry.
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 89 A NATTY DINER AND LIQUOR BAR FEATURING A CURATED MENU OF NORTHWESTINSPIRED CONTEMPORARY AND CLASSIC AMERICAN FARE, CRAFTED COCKTAILS, AND SPOKANE’S BEST WHISKEYS HOURS: LUNCH: 11:30-4 TUES-SAT DINNER: 4-10 BAR ‘TIL 11P, TUES-THURS & 4-11P, BAR ‘TIL 12AM, FRI-SAT RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED 415 WEST MAIN AVENUE SPOKANE DURKINSLIQUORBAR.COM 509.863.9501 Classic French Pastry • Casual Dining • Espresso • Beer • Wine Award winning pastry, breakfast & lunch served daily. DINE-IN, TAKE-OUT AVAILABLE • Tuesday-Sunday 8am-2pm 415 W. Main Ave. • (509) 624-2253 • CafeMadeleines.com
10 OUTTA 10
BY INLANDER STAFF
EACH YEAR, THE INLANDER publishes a budget-friendly dining issue called Cheap Eats. In 2022, that issue’s theme was “50 dishes for $10 or less,” highlighting the best bud get-friendly eats from restaurants around the Inland Northwest. Readers can find the com plete list in our digital archives at Inlander.com, but here’s a preview of some of those items featured, for days when you’re looking for a snack that’s tasty and won’t sting your wallet.
Frugals Express, 1229 N. Hamilton St.
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An enticing gimmick for bargain hunters and burger lovers alike, Frugals boasts that you can order its entire Spokane location’s menu for under $25. It’s no lie!
CHEDDAR BURGER, $3.95
From quesadillas to wontons; French toast to bagels, these 10 dishes all under $10 will please both your belly and budget
This Western Washington-based chain recently took over the diminutive former home of Wolffy’s near Gonzaga’s campus, offering penny-pinching students and locals a place to grab a fast, filling and fresh bite to-go. Frugal’s never-fro zen, quarter-pound cheddar burger (standard orders come with mayo, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, pickles and diced onions) was fresh and perfectly prepared, and ranks highly among drive-thru burgers in the region.
The traffic circle in Browne’s Addition is a cornerstone of gastronomic delight, but don’t sleep on El Que, an intimate, local spot just off the roundabout for traditional Mexican food and house-infused tequila. If you need a few carbs to soak up your cocktails, grab some chips and salsa or a quesadilla. But don’t expect yellow cheese or floppy flour tortillas — this quesadilla is made with white, tangy queso fresco and some aged cotija cheese, laced with onions and cilantro and then fried between two white corn tortillas. Sprinkled with lime juice, it’s salty and creamy but somehow refreshing. Add beef for a dollar if you’re sampling more than a few specialty tequila shots.
There was a time when Ding How was one of only a handful of pan-Asian restaurants serving dishes from China, Japan, Thailand, Korea, etc., and it’s still a go-to for Liberty Lake-area diners. Crab cheese wontons are one of the few items on the large menu under 10 bucks, and although they’re more cheese than crab, you get five of them and enough sweet dipping sauce for several orders.
VEGGIE TEMPURA, $7
Chan’s is tucked away on the bottom floor of the Flour Mill. It’s small and un assuming, but don’t let the size fool you. The flavors are massive. Their spicy wontons are so, so good. Each wonton is about the size of a plum, which makes them a great one-bite snack. They’re drenched in mouthwatering spicy soy sauce and sprinkled with greens. If you’re hesitant to try foods with “spicy” in the name, you should still give these a shot. There’s just enough spice to keep things interesting without overpowering your taste buds.
CRAB CHEESE WONTONS, $9
Elevated Yet Approachable Comfort Food BISTRO | PRIVATE PARTIES | CATERING 726 N 4TH ST, COEUR D’ALENE, ID • (208) 930 0930 IZZYSCOMFORTKITCHEN.COM WED/THU 11 TO 5:30PM | FRI/SAT 11 TO 9PM | SUN 9 TO 3PM BRUNCH SERVICE CheddarFrugals’ Burger YOUNG KWAK PHOTO Noodlesareour language.love 877.871.6772NORTHERNQUEST.COM|SPOKANE, WA
Ding How, 332 N. Liberty Lake Rd., Liberty Lake
El Que, 141 S. Cannon St., Spokane
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 93
SPICY WONTONS, $8.50
The Wave Island Sports Grill and Sushi Bar, 525 W. First Ave., Spokane
This swanky spot wants you to trade in game day wings for sushi and sake. Flat-screen TVs broadcast the latest sporting events in a coolly lit, modern, streamlined venue. But before noshing on some specialty rolls, get your vi tamins in and hit up the veggie tempura. By far the most fun way to eat veg etables, these thick medallions of carrots, zucchini and onions are dipped in tempura batter and fried until golden. Think a classier, more colorful, more adult version of fries with an island twist.
Chan’s Noodle House, 621 W. Mallon Ave., Spokane
QUESADILLA, $5
CINNAMON ROLL PANCAKE, $5
The Bad Seed, 2936 E. Olympic Ave., Spokane
A must-stop for breakfast when you’re on the Palouse, Moscow’s Breakfast Club has more than two decades under its belt delivering unique morning eats like breakfast sliders and the French Toast Benny. The space is huge, and has a menu to match, and even when you keep it simple you’ll walk out full. Case in point: The cinnamon roll pancake that will make you walk away from simple buttermilk pancakes forever. If a lemon poppy seed pancake is more your taste, you can get one at the same price, but why decide? Get one of each.
112 N SPOKANE ST, POST FALLS, ID • POSTFALLSBREWING.COM • (208) 773-7301 115 W. PACIFIC, SPOKANE, WA 99201 509-363-1353 | 888-4CLARET TastingHours:Room Appointment12pm2pmFridaysto4pmSaturdaysto4pmOrBy
Atilano’s Idaho Fries young kwak photo
10 OUTTA 10, CONTINUED...
This relatively new Hillyard spot housed in a former library brings a decid edly hip vibe to the working-class neighborhood, from the saucy art on the walls to the craft cocktails to the Tex-Mex-leaning menu. And while you can’t go wrong with the entrees full of smoked meat goodness, it’s easy to make a meal out of the appetizer menu. The queso is a must, loaded with Lakewolf Creamery Oaxacan cheese and served with giant tostada chips you have to break up into bites yourself. It’s a perfect dish for sharing, but you might not want to. If you want to sample something beefier, try the tejas pork — smoked pork tenderloin bites served with a killer cilantro chimichurri.
IDAHO FRIES $8.99
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QUESO, $8
Breakfast Club, 501 S. Main, Moscow
Serving delicious and affordable Mexican food since 2009 and known for crave-worthy California-style burritos, Atilano’s is the perfect spot for latenight bites, hangover cures and everything in between. The Idaho Fries — tater tots doused in meat, beans, guacamole, sour cream, cheese and pico de gallo — are something everyone should try at least once. With flavor to spare and a heaping pile of all-around good food, the best part is that the tots somehow remain crispy until the very end.
Atilano’s Mexican Food, various locations
BAGEL AND SCHMEAR, $3.50
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Dave’s Bar & Grill, 2124 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley
The Hidden Bagel, 1001 W. 25th Ave., Spokane
CHIANA McINELLY PHOTO
BISCUITS & GRAVY, $8.99
Go seek this bagel, at Hidden Bagel.
As brightly colored and welcoming as the beloved neighborhood ice cream shop it shares a space with, The Hidden Bagel is still a bit of a hidden gem. Opened in late 2021 by The Scoop’s Jennifer Davis, The Hidden Bagel has since proved itself a premier ba gel shop, something the South Hill had been lacking. Its deliciously chewy and flavorful bagels have a crunchy exterior, making the creamy house-made schmear all the more delightful. Smiling faces from employees and customers alike, as well as an excellent selection of fresh bagels and schmear, confirm it’s the right place to start your day.
It can be easy to pass by Dave’s Bar & Grill amid the surrounding commercial haze of that stretch of Sprague in the Valley, but don’t zoom by if you’re looking for a filling breakfast staple. The cozy dive’s version of this classic fills the plate with two de lightfully chewy biscuits, a slathering of gravy and a mound of sausage (which can be kicked up in flavor with a little Fletcher’s or Cholula hot sauce), and it’s delivered to your table or bar seat with blazing quick service.
10 OUTTA 10, CONTINUED...
WEEKRESTAURANT february 23march 4 2023 10 DELICIOUS DAYS | 100+ RESTAURANTS | 3 COURSE MEALS InlanderRestaurantWeek.com
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 97 EAT. DRINK. REPEAT.
Presented By
Emerson-Garfield Farmers Market Fridays from 3-7 pm, June 3 through Sept. 30. At the IEL Adult Education Center, 2310 N. Monroe St., Spokane. market.emersongarfield.org
Clayton Farmers Market Sundays from 11-4 pm, June 5 through Sept. 25 (except during the county fair). At the Clayton Fairgrounds, 4616 Wall bridge Rd. Facebook: Clayton Farm ers Market and Small Farm Animals
98 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 Casual Country Comfort Food! harvestmoonsaloon.com BREAKFAST BURGERS, BASKETS & MORE The Historic Harvest Moon has been a small-town friendly dining establishment for over 50+ years serving great scratch-made food to the surrounding farming & agricultural communities & people passing through. VISIT OUR GIFT SHOP!PIZZAOpen Monday-Saturday 8am – 9pm | Sundays 8am – 8pm 20 S. First St, Rockford, WA
Kosmic Dreams Night Market Sec ond Friday of the month from 5:309:30 pm, June 10-Oct. 14. Located at Coeur d’Alene Bike Co., 314 N. Third St. thewavybunch.com
Fairwood Farmers Market Tuesdays
FRESH FINDS
COMPILED BY MADISON PEARSON
Bonners Ferry Farmers Market Saturdays from 8 am-1 pm, April 30 through Oct. 1. At Highway 95 and Kootenai Street (next to the Visitors Center). bonnersferryfarmersmarket. org
from 3-7 pm, May 17 through Oct. 11. At the Fairwood Shopping Cen ter, 319 W. Hastings Rd., Spokane. fairwoodfarmersmarket.org
Athol Farmers Market Fridays from 2-6 pm; May 6 through Sept. 30. At 30355 Third St. (next to community center and library). facebook.com/ Atholfarmersmarket
1018 W Francis, Spokane (509) theswingingdoors.com326-6794 Meet, Eat Breakfast and Have Fun Happy 3pm-6pmHourEveryday
Fresh produce, gourmet goods, flowers, fun and more at the region’s many farmers markets
Kootenai Farmers Market Saturdays from 9 am-1:30 pm, May 7 through Oct. 29 (Highway 95 and Prairie, Hayden) and Wednesdays from 4-7 pm, May 4 through Sept. 28 (Fifth and Sherman, downtown Coeur d’Alene). kootenaifarmersmarkets.org
Chewelah Farmers Market Fridays from 11 am-3:30 pm, May 13 through Oct. 14. At Chewelah City Park. chewelahfarmersmarket.com
Hillyard Farmers Market Mondays from 3-7 pm, June 6 through Oct. 3. At 4001 N. Cook St., Spokane. book.com/hillyardfarmersmarketface
Kendall Yards Night Market Wednesdays from 5-8 pm, May 25 through Sept. 21. On West Summit Parkway between Cedar Street and Adams Alley, downtown Spokane. kendallnightmarket.org
The Deer Park Market First Satur days from 9 am-3 pm, June through Sept. At Perrins Field, 14 Arnim Ave., Deer Park. thedeerparkmarket.com
Garland Summer Market Tuesdays from 3:30-7:30 pm, May 24 through Sept. 13. Located at Garland and Post (parking lot), Spokane. com/garlandsummermarketfacebook.
877.871.6772NORTHERNQUEST.COM|SPOKANE, WA
Spirit Lake Farmers & Flea Mar ket Thursdays from 3-6 pm, May 13 through SepT. 16. At 82 Industrial Park (Spirit Valley Christian Fellow ship). ersandfleamarketfacebook.com/spiritlakefarm
Liberty Lake Farmers Market Satur days from 9 am-1 pm, May 14 through Oct. 8. At Town Square Park, 1421 N. Meadowwood Ln. llfarmersmarket. com
Moscow Farmers Market Saturdays from 8 am-1 pm, May 1 through Oct. 30. At Friendship Square, Fourth Ave. and Main St., Moscow. cow.id.us/197/Farmers-Marketwww.ci.mos
Newport Farmers Market Saturdays from 9 am-1 pm, May 1 through Oct. 29. At 236 S. Union Ave., Newport. Facebook: NewportFarmersMarket
West End Market Mondays from 5-9 pm, June 6 through Sept. 26. At Brick West Brewing Co., 1318 W. First Ave., Spokane. estEndMarketfacebook.com/SpokaneW
Pullman Farmers Market Wednes days from 3:30-6:30 pm, May 18 through Oct. 12. At Brelsford WSU Visitors Center, 150 E. Spring St., Pull man. marketfacebook.com/pullmanfarmers
Spokane Farmers Market Saturdays from 8 am-1 pm, May 14 through Oct. 29; Wednesdays from 8 am-1 pm, June 8 through Oct. 26. At 20 W. Fifth Ave., downtown Spokane. spo kanefarmersmarket.org
Medical Lake Farmers Market First and third Saturday of the month from 8 am-noon, June 4 through Oct. 1. At 111 S. Lefevre St. (parking lot), Med ical Lake. lakefarmersmarketinstagram.com/medical
South Perry Thursday Market Thurs days from 3-7 pm, May 5 through Oct. 27. At Perry St. and Tenth Ave., Spo kane. thursdaymarket.org
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N.E.W. Farmers Market Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9 am-1 pm, May 4 through Oct. 29. At 121 E. Astor St., Colville. newfarmersmarket.org
West Central Farmers Market Tues days from 4-7 pm, June 14 through Sept. 20. At the West Central Ab bey, 1832 W. Dean Ave., Spokane. westcentralabbey.org
North Indian Trail Night Market Sat urdays from 4-8 pm, May 21 through Sept. 30. At 9025 N. Indian Trail Rd., Spokane. nightmarketfacebook.com/nindiantrail
Millwood Farmers Market Wednes days from 3-7 pm, May 25 through Sept. 28. At Millwood Park, 9103 E. Frederick Ave., Millwood. farmers market.millwoodnow.org
Sandpoint Farmers Market Satur days from 9 am-1 pm and Wednes days from 3-5:30 pm, April 30 through Oct. 15. At Farmin Park, Third and Main. sandpointfarmersmarket. com
Wonder Weekend Market SatSun from 9:30 am-2 pm, May 14 through Oct. 23. At the Wonder Building, 835 N. Post St., Spokane. wondermarketspokane.com
Northwest Plant & Art Market WedSun from 11 am-7 pm, year-round. At Wildland Cooperative, 8022 E. Green Bluff Rd., Colbert. wildland.coop
BOOK meltingpot.comONLINE: 707 W MAIN AVE, 2ND FLOOR SPOKANE, WA (509) 926-8000 HOW DO YOU FONDUE? Kendall Yards Night Market YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
A screen bigenough to rivalyour appetite.
Spokane Valley Farmers Market Fridays from 4-8 pm, June 3 through Sept. 16. At CenterPlace Regional Event Center (near Dis covery Playground), 2426 N. Dis covery Place, Spokane Valley. spokanevalleyfarmersmarket.org
Rathdrum Craft and Farmers Mar ket Saturdays from 9 am-2 pm, May 7 through Sept. 24. At 8037 W. Montana St., Rathdrum. comcraftandfarmersmarket.blogspot.rathdrum
WHEN: Nov. 18, 2022
SPRING RELEASE WEEKEND
WHERE: Participating locations throughout Spokane and North Idaho INFO: inlanderrestaurantweek.com
WHEN: July 13-15, 2023
WHERE: Participating locations throughout Spokane area INFO: spokanewineries.com
BY CARRIE SCOZZARO
COURTHOUSEDISTRICT
Leave it to a big name in the local food scene to create a huge annual food event. Adam Hegsted is a nationally recognized chef, restaurateur and founder of Eat Good Group, who created Crave! NW in 2017. The three-day outdoor food festival showcases many Eat Good Group restaurants, as well as several region ally and nationally known chefs. Your ticket to this 21+ event allows you to sam ple everything, as much as you want, including local craft beer, wine and spirits.
WHEN: May 12-14, 2023
IN GOOD TASTE
WHEN: Feb. 23-March 4, 2023
EPICUREAN DELIGHT
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These annual events showcase the best bites and sips of the Inland Northwest
WHERE: Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd., Spokane INFO: epicureandelight.org
INLANDER RESTAURANT WEEK
Right around the time we’re all going a little stir-crazy from being inside all winter, Inlander Restaurant Week has us getting out and about in the region’s dynamic culinary landscape. There are no tickets to buy or complicated in structions: Simply check out the 100 or more participating restaurants, make reservations as needed, and enjoy the three-course, fixed-price menu at your chosen spots. Menus are available in advance, so you can decide which area, cuisine or price point works best for you.
Two reasons to look forward to the second weekend in May: Mother’s Day and Spring Release Weekend, when more than a dozen of the region’s wineries celebrate their latest releases. The Spokane Winery Association, which coor dinates the three-day event, makes it easy to participate. Simply check out the event map and decide where to go first. From Latah Creek Wine Cellars in Spokane Valley to Maryhill Winery in Kendall Yards, there are plenty of great wineries and tastes to try.
WHERE: CenterPlace, 2426 N. Discovery Place, Spokane Valley INFO: cravenw.com
Foodies unite at the multi-day culinary showcase Crave! NW. BEST BRUNCH 2021 OPEN DAILY 7AM-2PM 1011 W. Broadway Ave • 509-443-5968 2021
Being helpful never tasted so good as Epicurean Delight, which this year cele brates 40 years. Sample dishes prepared by local chefs in a friendly competition for best appetizer, entrée, dessert and more. Enjoy local wine, beer, cider and spirits as well as live music and dancing for an unforgettable evening to benefit the Blood Center Foundation and Vitalant, a national blood service organization.
CRAVE! NW
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 101 a neighborhood pub bringing together traditional Irish and American fare, draft beers and good times. 719 N MONROE ST. • SPOKANE • 509326-7251 Come in and enjoy our Irish Hospitality & delicious food ~ 45-seat meeting room available ~ LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED SPOKANE’S New Orlea EXPERIENCE vieuxcarrespokane.com | 509.495.1400 | 1403 w broadway ave | spokane, wa PICK UP YOUR COPY TODAY at an Inlander Community Center in your favorite local grocery store A yearly dining, breakfast and happy hour guide for the Inland Northwest. ON STANDS EVERY APRIL
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SOME THINGS ARE BEST LEFT to childhood, like cur fews and getting grounded. But don’t abandon the good stuff when you grow up. Arcades are objectively a blast, and there’s no reason to let kids have all the fun. Check out these sentimental and hip spots. Plan a super cool date night, play with family or meet new friends next time you’ve got a free, curfew-less evening.
Where to beat the high score and relish some old-school video game nostalgia BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM
G NE
This place has everything you loved about arcades as a kid, minus cringey animatronic mice. Play classic ar cade machines or modern virtual reality games, earn tickets that are redeemable for things you’d actually
the lights on. 5908 E. Broadway Ave., Spokane Valley, spokanearcade.com
GAMERS ARCADE BAR
Serving up IPAs and nostalgia, this cozy downtown venue combines vintage arcade games with craft beers and specialty cocktails, which both hit well for kids from the ’70s and ’80s. Open from the afternoon to the early hours of the morning, it’s a great spot to hit up before or after catching a comedy show at the club next door. You’re sure to spend the night with good laughs and good company. 321 W. Sprague Ave., Spo kane, facebook.com/gamersarcadebar, 509-381-5131
want, and order off a menu that offers subs, coffee, boba and beer. Both families and serious gamers feel comfortable here. Leagues offer legit competition for next level players, and it’s a sleek hangout spot for fun grown ups. 1020 W. Francis Ave., Spokane, chaosarcade.com, 509-866-7417
CHAOS ARCADE
TRIPLE PLAY
JEDI ALLIANCE
This North Idaho recreation oasis offers a huge range of fun, including a high-tech arcade. Games for every skill level consistently cycle through so you can al ways try something new. Load your card with value, earn electronic tickets on SpongeBob, Jurassic Park or virtual reality games, then redeem those tickets at the prize center. The arcade offers so many options, you’ll need to come back a separate day to check out the indoor water park, ax throwing, bowling, laser tag or Hologate arena. 175 W. Orchard Ave, Hayden, 3play.com, 208-762-7529
In their original residential building zoned as a church, founders of Jedi Alliance erected a “Church of Pop Culture,” half museum, half arcade, and all fun. While owner Tyler Arnold moved the arcade to a bigger spot in Spokane Valley back in 2020, not much else has changed. Look through collections of rare Star Wars toys and movie props, then head back to play vintage pinball, Pac Man and Pole Position, plus dozens of oth er rare arcade games. All games are set to free play — Jedi Alliance just asks for a cover donation to keep GAMING
ABOVE: Gamers Arcade Bar in downtown Spokane YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
ZEPPOZ
Somewhere between an arcade and a board game cafe, this spot will power up your favorite style of gam ing, whatever it may be. Choose among classic arcade games, a library of over 100 board games and Ninten do entertainment systems built straight into the bar. Quest with a group of friends or meet new teammates over beer, wine, cider and espresso. No matter what, you can’t lose. 1903 E. Sherman Ave., Coeur d’Alene, theblueshellcda.com, 208-930-1008
CYBER QUEST
THE BLUE SHELL
FAMILYWONDERLANDFUNCENTER
This arcade zone at Northern Quest Resort and Ca sino offers games for all skill levels. You also won’t find any violent games here. Keep testing new skills with an endlessly rotating supply of video games, plus classic sports competitions like skee ball and mini basketball hoops. Bright lights, cosmic colors and fun prizes make it a great spot for youngsters and adults alike. 100 N. Hayford Rd., Airway Heights, northernquest.com, 509-481-4804
If the weather’s no good for mini golf and the line is too long for go-karts, don’t forget that this 5-acre fun land offers over 80 games and a prize center in its arcade. The park is open year-round and admission is free, so treat the kids to a daytrip anytime they need to get out of the house. Snag a pizza for the kids, a beer for the chaperones, and give everyone a great time. Look into birthday party packages if you need a low-effort, high-reward celebration. 10515 N. Division St., Spokane, wonderlandspokane.com, 509-468-4386
FACING PAGE: Chaos Arcade in North Spokane ALYSSA HUGHES PHOTO
Take a break from bowling and bop over to the ar cade for Fruit Ninja, Wheel of Fortune, Mario Kart or air hockey. Over 15 games let you win points toward prizes. You can even register your name on a game card and rack up points for later! Re deem them whenever you want for classic green army men, wiffle ball sets, a Monopoly board or even a night drone. 780 S.E. Bishop Blvd., Pullman, zeppos.com, 509-334-7101
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THE INLAND NORTHWEST is home to nu merous Indigenous communities, many of whom have created a wealth of casino and resort facilities that offer places to eat, meet, work and play
Quest is also betting big on Gon zaga University basketball with a new collab oration featuring players in its advertising and promotions. The innovative new program is a win-win, compensating players for use of their name, image or likeness, as well as connecting audiences to the popular Bulldogs basketball program.TheSpokane Tribe of Indians own two casinos, both of which continue to expand.
In North Idaho, COEUR D’ALENE CASINO RESORT & HOTEL, which cel ebrates 30 years in March 2023, has also been busy with upgrades. In May 2022, it added a “discovery den,” which offered players the op portunity to try out the latest-and-greatest vid eo gaming machines on a regular basis. And in 2022, its Circling Raven Golf Club joined the Epson tour, a qualifier for Ladies Professional Golf Association competition.
In February 2022, Spokane Tribe Casino also added a sports book. It partnered with Caesars Entertainment to offer wagering on sporting events, as well as revamping its quick-service food venue called Grill & Bar. These complement two existing dining ven ues, Three Peaks Kitchen + Bar for casual fine dining and Speelya’s Den for coffee and light bites.Upgrades and expansions at the Spokane Tribe’s CHEWELAH CASINO are also on going, including the new 69-bed Mistequa Ho tel, which will also feature a conference center, indoor pool and event space.
Northern Quest has also made consider able changes to its culinary lineup. East Pan Asian Cuisine opened in April 2022, offering a range of Asian-inspired cuisine in an upscale dining environment, yet at affordable price points. Scratch-made noodles are a central feature of the new menu at the lunch-throughlate-night venue, with dishes representing such culinary traditions as Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino and Hawaiian.
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HAVEWOULDLUCKASIT
Fittingly for a casino, East Pan Asian Cuisine inside Northern Quest Resort & Casino features a wall of Japanese lucky cats. ERICK DOXEY PHOTO
The Kalispel Tribe’s NORTHERN QUEST RESORT & CASINO, which cele brated 20 years in 2021, is nearing the end of construction for its new luxury-forward hotel. The new hotel features 190 additional rooms and is linked to the existing hotel via a skyway. It consists of five connected buildings follow ing a gentle S-curve and is modeled after an Indigenous fish weir or enclosure.
Neon Pizza opened in summer 2022 with pizza by the pie or slice and a retro 1980s dé cor theme. More dining changes and additions are planned, including EPIC Sports Bar’s new
Area casinos continue to expand food, attractions and entertainments options BY CARRIE SCOZZARO
On the gaming side, Northern Quest opened Turf Club Sports Book in 2021, bring ing Las Vegas-style wagering to the casino with large-screen televisions, recliners and full bar in one spot. Turf Book kiosks are also lo cated inside EPIC Sports Bar Turf Club, so no one has to choose between getting a bite and placing a Northernbet.
menu, ladies’ night every Thursday through out the casino and the new Highball Speak easy. Riverbank Taphouse, meanwhile, is go ing country, including a rideable mechanical bison, a new menu, and live performances by up-and-coming country and Western musi cians. By the end of 2022, look for the former Fai’s Noodle House space reimagined to serve tailgate-type foods like house-made corn dogs and ice cream sandwiches.
The SPOKANE TRIBE CASINO in Airway Heights completed phase two of a multiyear expansion in fall 2021, which added 20,000 square feet of gaming space.
VISITSPOKANE.COM
Here’s the thing about Spokane. It has everything you expect a city in the Northwest to have. Killer restaurants and venues. A diverse nightlife. Breathtaking nature. And it’s all packed into a 1920s industrial downtown where everything is within walking distance.
Spokane has been a western boomtown, a vital railroad hub, the cultural center of a fascinating region, and the smallest city to ever host a world’s fair. Each phase of our growth left rich layers of history, culture and pride. Today’s Spokanites have used those as foundation for what’s next: a place where warmth, pride and kindness collide with ambition, creativity and community. People come to Spokane and it feels familiar, but they discover things they never expected to find, because we’re not quite like anywhere else.
and We’re Not what you expect
WE ARE SPOKANE
SPIKE’S PHILLYS & MORE
Located in a street-level storefront in a three-story building on North Monroe, Hi Neighbor is a blinkand-you’ll-miss-it kind of place. True to its name, it’s
Local sports bars for fans of all shapes and sizes
Besides the Philly cheesesteaks, the thing Spike’s is best known for are the fights. This northeast Spokane spot becomes a gathering place for UFC fans
BY WILL MAUPIN
For 90 years now, the “P.I.” has served as a living and dining room for a broad cross-section of Spo kane society. The oldest restaurant on record in the city, this place is a lot more than just a sports bar. Though just as it does with its pizza, fried chicken and drink prices, the P.I. does the sports bar thing as well as anyplace. It may be a hole-in-the-wall, but it’s no secret. You might want to show up early if the Seahawks or Cougars are playing. 103 W. Ninth Ave., Spokane, parkinnspokane.com, 509-624-8111
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parts of the country take the ice. Sure, Kraken memo rabilia now lines the walls and hangs from the ceiling, but it’s not just a Kraken bar. The Hub was a hockey bar here before it was cool, and it’s still a hockey bar now that it is. 2926 N. Monroe St., Spokane, facebook.com/ TheHubTavern, 509-326-7447
whenever a big fight night rolls around. Spike’s shows every UFC pay-per-view card, and the events have become popular enough that they’re now on a firstcome, first-served reservation basis. 718 E. Francis Ave., Spokane, spikesspokane.com, 509-489-3647
THE HUB
ROOT TOGETHER
WATCHING THE BIG game calls for the best en vironment you can find, and if you can’t be there in person, a sports bar is likely to be your next best bet. Whether you’re looking for a community of specific fans or just want to catch all the action, whatever the sport and whoever’s playing, the Inland Northwest is loaded with options.
Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover. Walking into Capone’s, one’s entire field of vision is flooded, immediately, with sports. And not just on the TVs. Rows of catcher’s mitts and hockey sticks hang from the ceiling, trading cards cover the tabletops, and just about every square inch of wall is covered with memorabilia of one sort or another. It’s a quintessential sports bar, and it has no qualms about that. Expansion has brought locations to Hayden and Post Falls, but Coeur d’Alene is home to the original. 751 N. Fourth St., Coeur d’Alene, caponespub.com, 208-667-4843
PARK INN
Hockey culture in the Inland Northwest has taken off in the year-plus since the Seattle Kraken entered the NHL, but prior to that our region’s die-hard fans regularly got together on North Monroe to watch teams from other
LOGAN TAVERN
HI NEIGHBOR
CAPONE’S PUB & GRILL
A varied menu with adventurous — and delicious — takes on traditional bar food makes Logan Tavern a destination whether or not there’s a game on, but it becomes the destination when the men or women of the United States national soccer team are on the pitch. It’s the home bar for the Spokane chapter of the American Outlaws, a supporter group for the na tional teams. With two World Cups coming up — the men starting in November and the women in July — you’ll have plenty of chances to root for the red, white and blue with our area’s most passionate fans of the beautiful game. 1305 N. Hamilton St., Spokane, logan tavernspokane.com, 509-474-0584
If it’s a sporting event, and it’s on TV, you can bet it will be on one of the more than 50 screens at this North Side landmark. Serving Spokane sports fans for 40-plus years, Swinging Doors long ago estab lished itself as one of the area’s premier sports bars. Their commitment to quality includes subscriptions to out-of-market sports packages for almost every major sport or league. You might not be able to get the game at home, but if it’s on TV, Swinging Doors almost certainly can. 1018 W. Francis Ave., Spokane, theswingingdoors.com, 509-326-6794
It’s the youngest sports bar on the list, but the timing was right to include it. Named for the Lord Stanley of Preston, who gave his name to the NHL’s champion ship trophy, the Stanley Cup, Lord Stanley’s opened just one month before the Seattle Kraken took to the ice for their inaugural NHL season. The downtown bar quickly became a go-to spot on Kraken and Spokane Chiefs game days. 380 W. Riverside Ave., Spokane, lordstanleysspokane.com, 509-321-7458
EPIC
POOLE’S PUBLIC HOUSE 12310 N. Ruby Rd., Spokane and 5620 S. Regal St., poolespublichouse.comSpokane
MORTY’S TAP AND GRILLE 5517 S. Regal St., 509-443-9123mortystapandgrille.comSpokane
THE SWINGING DOORS
a classic neighborhood bar where regulars gather and names are known. It’s also become something of a clubhouse for Mariners fans around Spokane. The quaint exterior belies the quality of the craft beer, cocktails and community located within. 2201 N. Mon roe St., Spokane, 509-325-9079
If you’re going to watch a big game, shouldn’t you watch it on a big screen? EPIC at Northern Quest Casino features a 30-foot-wide TV above the bar, which means there’s not a bad seat in the house. If you’re a betting fan, check out the Turf Club Sports Book, where visitors
THE REF 14208 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley 509-315-9637facebook.com/therefsportsbar
EVEN MORE SPORTS BARS!
JACK & DAN’S
24 TAPS BURGERS & BREWS 825 W. Riverside Ave., Spokane 24taps.com 509-309-3103
The Hub on North Monroe has been a hockey bar since way before the Kraken. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 109
In 1961, Dan Crowley and Jack Stockton bought a bar just off Gonzaga’s campus. In 1962, Jack’s son, John, was born. Jack & Dan’s is as much a part of Zag lore as are the handful of Stocktons who have played for the team over the years. Whether it’s on the way to or from The Kennel, or catching the game from the bar, a stop at Jack & Dan’s needs to be at the top of every Zags fan’s bucket list. 1226 N. Hamilton St., Spokane, jackanddans.com, 509-487-6546
LORD STANLEY’S
get a chance to get in on the action with a wager. EPIC’s menu features traditional pub fare but, as is the case with the TV, there’s a bit of an epic twist. 100 N. Hayford Rd., Airway Heights, northernquest.com, 509-481-2122
IRON HORSE (CDA) facebook.com/IronHorse.CdA.1972
from world music standouts, famed songwriters, and tributes to beloved pop and rock music. 901 W. Sprague Ave., bingcrosbytheater.com
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NORTHERN QUEST RESORT & CASINO northernquest.com
COEUR D’ALENE CASINO cdacasino.com
BYSURROUNDEDSOUND
PEND D’OREILLE WINERY (SANDPOINT) powine.com
BERSERK facebook.com/berserkbarspokane
SPOKANE ARENA spokanearena.com
RED ROOM LOUNGE instagram.com/red_room_lounge_spokane
NASHVILLE NORTH (STATELINE) thenashvillenorth.com
WHEN WE SAY MUSIC VENUE, what do you think of? Is it a grand hall for symphonic music? A cool club with the hippest modern acts? An arena for touring superstars? A dive bar where up-and-coming local or cover bands play? There’s no one right answer, but Spokane and the surrounding area can fit everyone’s needs.This isn’t a comprehensive cataloging of every where you can hear music in the Inland Northwest, but that’s the beauty of this place. There’s sound all around. Hopefully this guide can help you find some.
BY SETH SOMMERFELD
BIG DIPPER
NYNE BAR nynebar.com
POST FALLS BREWING COMPANY postfallsbrewing.com
BABY BAR instagram.com/neato.babybar
RIVERFRONT PAVILION spokanepavilion.com
GORGE AMPHITHEATER livenation.com
Some of the area’s top spots to catch live music
The historic downtown theater caters to an older mu sic-loving set, filling its century-old hall with sounds
The Knitting Factory offers a catch-all spot for nation ally touring acts to stop in Spokane. It’s the spot for up-and-coming artists and established favorites re gardless of the genre: pop, rock, country, EDM, punk, and pretty much anything else that can draw a crowd. 919 W. Sprague Ave., sp.knittingfactory.com
FIRST CENTERINTERSTATEFORTHEARTS
A staple for decades, this downtown dive has re mained a go-to spot for metal and punk bands. As an all-ages venue, it’s a huge cog in the Spokane scene, giving locals a place to play that’s accessible to every one. 171 S. Washington St., bigdipperevents.com
ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS arborcrest.com
MOOSE LOUNGE (CDA) moosecda.com
EVEN MORE VENUES!
CURLEY’S HAUSER JUNCTION curleys.biz
KNITTING FACTORY
BOLO’S BAR & GRILL bolosbarandgrill.com
BING CROSBY THEATER
In addition to housing touring Broadway produc tions, First Interstate also makes a great spot for big-name headliners, large kiddie concerts and more. After recently hosting Bob Dylan, the ven ue has a diverse upcoming slate including mod ern folk heroes, classic rockers, country stars and Disney concerts. 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd., firstinterstatecenter.org
ZOLA
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LUCKY YOU LOUNGE
MARTIN THEATERWOLDSONATTHEFOX
With weekly rotations of local singer-songwriters and cover acts, Zola offers a casual downtown Spo kane chic that few spots can match. 22 W. Main Ave., zolainspokane.com
Balonely performs at the Big Dipper in 2019. ERICK DOXEY PHOTO
While best known as the home of the Spokane Sym phony, the Fox also excels at concerts of the non-clas sical variety. Singer-songwriters, country troubadours, traveling big bands, and even musical comedy acts all find sonic comfort in the venue’s warm confines. 1001 W. Sprague Ave., foxtheaterspokane.org
Perhaps the hippest local music spot, Lucky You hosts musical events both in its upstairs and downstairs spaces. While the venue’s booking leans heavily to folky and blues rock sounds, there’s also room for the occasional hip-hop, indie rock and EDM shows, too. 1801 W. Sunset Blvd., luckyyoulounge.com
We are currently working on Purple in Spokane 2, which is a sequel to the project that I started when I first got to Spokane, which was Purple in Spokane. When I got to Spokane, the landscape of Spokane’s music scene didn’t seem very friendly to hip-hop because of just the negative perception hip-hop had, so it was kind of cool to come in with Purple in Spokane and it was a pretty lyrical project. That’s the biggest project we’re working on right now. And on the community side, we’re work ing a lot with Spark Central right now. Hopefully to do more stuff for the kids here, whether it be teaching kids song production, beat production.
T.S. THE SOLUTION
BEST LIVE MUSIC VENUE Lucky You Lounge
INSIDER INSIGHTS
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT WORKING AND LIVING IN SPOKANE?
“They have a lot of delicious choices, very relaxing space, and professional cooks from the culture. There is no bad choice on the menu, especially with their sushi.”
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Meet T.S. the Solution, a dreamer, optimist, hip-hop engineer and studio owner INTERVIEWED BY SUMMER SANDSTROM
WHAT’S ONE OF PROJECTS YOU’RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
WHEN YOU’RE NOT WORKING, WHAT CAN PEOPLE FIND YOU DOING?
I love that there’s a community feel. It’s like a big city with small town vibes, which I kind of like. The people are great. I think people out here are open to change, for sure, which makes what we’re doing a lot easier, because I do think that we’re bringing something that will impact the area. We want to be able to bring in dustry to Spokane — I think there’s so much room for it. It’s not oversaturated. Everybody’s not doing the same thing; there’s just so much room for growth and development in Spokane.
They can definitely find me at home. I love working, so it’s tough. And then when I’m not working, I’m with the kids because they’ll be the first ones to say, “Dad, you’re working too much,” and I’m like, “OK, I’ve got to stop working.” If it’s not that, I try to attend as many shows as possible. I think it’s super import ant that, especially as a music community, that we support one another.
BEST BARBER SHOP Local Legendz
BEST SUSHI Toro Sushi
TO T.S. THE SOLUTION, Spokane is a great place for creating a diverse and robust music scene. His creative moniker directly connects him to what he wants to be — the solution — and his latest projects are a reflection of that goal. Currently, that work involves creating his own music and working with other musicians to foster a community of hard-working creatives with a passion for music. We talked to T.S. the Solution about his re cent projects, goals for the local music scene and more.
“The barbers in there are very skilled. They can talk to every client they have while providing a great service. It is a family environment so my son and I can both get a haircut.”
YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
We asked this year’s Inlander Insiders to answer a few questions from our Best Of Readers Poll Ballot. Here are T.S. the Solution’s picks!
“This is the only venue I see pushing the music community forward. They host a multitude of events including music panels and livestreamed shows during COVID. The food and drinks are delicious, the staff are knowledgeable and friendly, and the owners genuinely love this city!”
Kaleb J: Selling Happy
EVEN MORE (RECENT) LOCAL ALBUMS!
The latest collection from Spokane’s biggest musical star finds the golden-voiced R&B/ soul crooner stripping things down to the basics for an all acoustic album.
SPOKANE SOUND
Backed by sunny and upbeat production, the local rapper shoots his shot (“Klay Thomp son”) and shows off his sweet side (“Mochi”) on an LP that goes down super smooth.
Stubborn Will: Contempt
The Spokane scene isn’t known for being that funky, but this MC’s blend of rapping and singing certainly tries to get the party started.
THE SWEEPLINGS: DEBRIS
Arguably the most unique local sound, Cer quone’s vibraphone pop creates an airy dreamscape of chiming notes and vocal har monies. It’s a refreshing and invigorating ex perience to hear songs with a melodic sensibil ity set against such atypical instrumentation.
Led by local scenemaker Norman Robbins, the indie rock group’s latest shapeshifting record mixes mellow wailing guitars, low-key disco vibes, the slacker hoedown picking and somber downbeat singer-songwriter feels to reflect on relationships that grow distant.
Windoe: Meditations on Grief
Scott Ingersoll: Black Hole Dispatch
DARIO RÉ: HOLY MOON
Trego: Trego
Odyssey: Venomous Rhetoric
Bad Motivator: Protocol
The Pink Socks: Still Waiting…
Spokanite Cami Bradley and her musical partner Whitney Dean cope with the emo tional wreckage of losses via song in this folk record. Tender lyrics, beautiful melodies and a stripped-back production style help communicate that there’s still musical beau ty to be found in that profound sadness.
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ROSIE CERQUONE: THE HOW & THE WHY
Kadabra: Ultra
Andy Rumsey: Rah! Rah! Jingo! Jingo!
The latest from the punk duo certainly has a less full-throttle aggro vibe, but it still goes hard compared to most local acts. From melodic musings on mental health to fangsout social commentary, G.O.V.T. Graffiti is the Smokes’ most accessible album to date.
ALL DAY TREY: STAY AFLOAT
Heat Speak frontman Dario Ré shows off his folk-poetry songwriting with the help of restrained guitar and piano backing; tunes that feel like soft romantic odes drift ing on the wind of starlit summer nights.
Matt Mitchell Co.: Captive of the Mind
JINX UNIVERSE: MAKE IT LOOK GOOD
THE SMOKES: G.O.V.T. GRAFFITI
ALLEN STONE: APART
August to August: Lantern
BALON ELY: THANK YOU, I’M SORRY
Wildcard: Shadow Work
Some of the best local music released since the start of 2021 BY SETH SOMMERFELD
Myles Kennedy: The Ides of March
For metalheads, Iron Maiden’s upcoming “The Legacy of the Beast” tour should be a glorious nightmare. The legendary English rockers have been near the top of metal’s pantheon for almost 50 years now, and this career-spanning, two-hour spectacle concert features extravagant set pieces, pyrotechnics and, of course, representations of the band’s zombie-esque mascot, Eddie. Aged necks might not be ideal for headbang ing, but fans can certainly throw up their devil horns.
We all went to some dark places in COVID times, but few artistically utilized that mindset like Scottish synth-pop trio CHVRCHES. The group made its excel lent 2021 album Screen Violence at a pandemic dis tance, but the band’s haunting melodic melancholy and youthful yearnings feel fully cohesive. Singer Lau ren Mayberry’s fears of a world centered on screens and the alienation that fosters are laid bare over an ar ray of catchy pop tracks. Expect a jubilant — if slightly dark — dance party when CHVRCHES holds mass at the Knitting Factory.
IRON MAIDEN
CHVRCHES
WHEN: Fri, Sept. 30 at 7:30 pm
LIGHT UP THE NIGHT
A sampling of the best upcoming concerts and comedy shows in the year to come BY SETH SOMMERFELD
WHEN: Sun, Oct. 2 at 8 pm
CHVRCHES
WHERE: Spokane Arena, spokanearena.com
WHERE: Knitting Factory, sp.knittingfactory.com
WHEN: Sat, Oct. 15 at 7 pm
Iron Maiden
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WHERE: Bing Crosby Theater, bingcrosbytheater.com
Last Call
It’s always heartening to see just how much humor tran scends our conventional notions of borders that alleged ly separate cultures. Comedian Vir Das is proof positive of this. He was born in India, raised in Nigeria and went to college in Illinois before starting a standup career in India, then transitioning to acting in Bollywood and, finally, carving out a niche on American TV as an actor and comedian (including five Netflix comedy specials). Basically, Das finds a way to succeed and be funny wher ever he happens to be while never losing touch with his Indian roots (even if he’s using them for joke fodder).
VIR DAS
YOU DREAM IT, WE BUILD IT. IT’S THAT SIMPLE. Lights | Sound | Staging | Rigging | Video info@vippnw.com1-800-801-4804
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JUDY COLLINS
WHEN: Tue, Oct. 18 at 8 pm
It’s hard to contextualize the true breadth of Judy Collins’ career, but here’s a tidbit: The folk icon earned a Grammy nomination for her 2017 album Silver Blue Skies… which came 42 years after her most recent pri or Grammy nomination… which she earned 26 years into her career. Her soaring voice has made hits out of songs by Joni Mitchell and Stephen Sondheim and her version of “Amazing Grace” has been preserved by the Library of Congress. Collins’ voice is still ringing true at age 83, garnering almost universally positive reviews with the 2022 release of her 29th album, Spellbound
WHERE: Bing Crosby bingcrosbytheater.comTheater,
LIGHT UP THE NIGHT, CONTINUED...
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 117 24 ROTATING CRAFT BEERS INCLUDING LOCAL, REGIONAL, & GLOBAL IMPORTS GREAT PUB-STYLE MENU HAND-CRAFTED COCKTAILS 1221 N. Stevens • Spokane • 326-6241 SpokaneViking.com $1 OFF ALL PINTS $2 OFF ALL PITCHERS $5 COCKTAIL LIST HAPPY 2PM-6PMHOURYOURNIGHT JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT TASTIER! BARBESTFORBEERBESTHOTWINGS BEST AROUNDALLBAR 2021 SMASHING PUMPKINS & JANE’S ADDICTION
The late-’80s/early-’90s alt-rock boom still survives, as this double bill makes evi dently clear. Led by the mercurial Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins created some of the era’s most indelible hits that still completely hold up decades later (“1979,” “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” “Tonight Tonight,” etc.). Jane’s Addiction started out as edgy outsider artists only to take that freaky style mainstream with the Lollapalooza festival and tunes like “Jane Says” and “Been Caught Stealing.” (Make sure to show up early, as the show’s opener, Poppy, serves up a sugar-coated metalcore spectacle.)
SCRIPTLESSSCARED
WHERE: Spokane Arena, spokanearena.com
Even if you feel like Walker Hayes’ smash hit “Feels Like” (aka “The Applebee’s Song”)... ummm… feels like the nadir of hyper-consumer ist country with its name-checking of Applebee’s menu items, for Hayes’ many fans, his stop at Spokane Arena is sure to be a country-fried party.
WHEN: Fri, Jan. 13, 2023 at 7:30 pm
WHEN: Wed, Nov. 9 at 6:30 pm
Submit your I Saw You, Cheers or Jeers for a chance to see it printed in the paper, for free! TELL THE WORLD HOW YOU FEEL TELL THE WORLD HOW YOU FEEL CONNECT WITH CRUSHYOUR VENT ALLRAGEYOUR SHARE JOY & THANKSGIVE Inlander.com/ISawYou
WHERE: Spokane Arena, spokanearena.com
Going to see improv com edy is always somewhat of a risk because even the performers don’t know what will happen next. That said, being in the hands of skilled professionals cer tainly lessens the risk of disaster. Enter Scared Scriptless. The duo of Whose Line Is It Anyway? veterans Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood brings its improv comedy expertise to town for a one-of-a-kind night of hilarious unpredictability. Expect wild scenes and songs based on audience suggestions.
WHERE: Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, foxtheaterspokane.org
WHEN: Thu, Nov. 10 at 7 pm
WALKER HAYES
118 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 Rediscover. Relish. Refresh. DOWNTOWN SPOKANE AT MAIN & POST RIVERPARKSQUARE.COM NORDSTROM • APPLE • LUSH • AMC 20 THEATRES WITH IMAX • POTTERY BARN • WILLIAMS-SONOMA • WHIZ KIDS • TWIGS URBAN OUTFITTERS • SEPHORA • THE NORTH FACE • FREE PEOPLE • NIKE • ANTHROPOLOGIE • BEN BRIDGE JEWELERS • FROM HERE PANDORA • SOMA • TEA’S COMPANY • FLATSTICK PUB • POLKA DOT POTTERY • BANANA REPUBLIC • WHIM WINE BAR • P.F. CHANG’S
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Her knack for furniture restoration was quickly proven with sale after sale via online marketplaces, and Jones Home Decor was born. Fast forward a couple years, and her hus band, Mike, also quit his job to focus on the business based out of their Deer Park home.
When a medical emergency forced Haley Jones to leave a prior career in event planning, she had no inkling her next calling was lying in wait at a local yard sale. Heading out to ga rage and estate sales with her thrifty mother,
pieces in our closets and homes with sub stance, story and character. Meet four of them here, then plan an outing to see what they and the rest of the region’s vintage purveyors have to offer.
THE VINTAGE VOCATION THE VINTAGE VOCATION
BY CHEY SCOTT CLOCKWISE: Mike, Haley and Kaydence Jones of Jones Home Decor inside Chic & Shab on North Monroe. YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS
The Inland Northwest is home to dozens upon dozens of vintage and antique sellers and shops that nurture and feed a longing for more
TRENDS IN FASHION AND FURNITURE are fast and fleeting, but for many, an appreciation for the styles of yesteryear never fully fades.
JONES HOME DECOR
“People were just loving what we were doing,” Haley says. “Finding treasures — and even just a piece that I have a vision for, but other people can’t see — setting it up, staging it
Jones soon discovered an innate talent to see the hidden potential in other people’s old stuff.
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As an antidote to our fast-paced lives and constant connectedness, this collective surge of nostalgia for simpler times has, perhaps, never been stronger. Enter the vintage lifestyle indus try, from one-of-a-kind retro outfits to sturdy furniture built to outlast generations.
Meet four local curators of vintage and antique wares who are making old stuff shine again
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per-thin T-shirts, old military and sports uni form pieces, snap-back baseball hats and more.
Mother-daughter duo Kathy Walker and Jen nifer Pluid — perhaps better known by their shop’s name, Unexpected Necessities — real ized they’d struck gold after being invited to participate in The Farm Chicks Vintage & Handmade Fair by its founder herself, local vintage legend Serena Thompson.
WORN CULTURE
For the past two years, Jayne has been slinging that “old stuff” — mostly clothing — at various vintage shops in the region, transition ing in summer 2022 to his own space inside Coeur d’Alene’s sleek and historic Rockford Building (504 E. Lakeside Ave.).
Jayne’s space at the Rockford — which houses several other creatives including art ists and designers — is a small, museum-like collection of his best finds, carefully curated to evoke a working-class, retro aesthetic. He says the store is essentially an extension of his personal vintage closet, which focuses on classic pieces from the 1950s (his favorite style decade) and older, like short-sleeve button ups, original Converse sneakers and heavy-duty denim made to outlast the toughest jobs.
While many of Jones’ pieces are midcentu ry modern or have a bohemian vibe, not all of the couple’s found furniture has been repaint ed — only the pieces that really need it, usually due to damage. Dressers are a top seller, they say. And each piece of large furniture in the space is staged with what Haley calls “smalls,” like throw pillows, vintage barware, baskets and wall art, so customers can envision what a piece could look like in their own space.
and making it look gorgeous.”
space, Mike’s main skill is repairing each piece of found furniture for its next life cycle.
“We try to honor each piece as much as possible,” he says.
Jones Home Decor has established itself as a go-to for refurbished home decor in the re gion, selling both directly to customers online, mainly via Instagram (@jones.homedecor) and its main vendor space inside Chic & Shab in Spokane’s North Monroe Business District. The couple has also participated in big vintage sales like The Farm Chicks Show and Vintage Market Days in Coeur d’Alene.
Inside Chic & Shab, Jones Home Decor’s space stands out with its warm-hued collec tion of natural wood, wicker and brass. Pops of color here and there, like Haley’s favorite emerald green accent paint color, balance the earthy textures and tones.
Through his brand Worn Culture, Jayne collects and resells old-school Americana pieces, like worn-in denim (the more handsewn repairs or fade lines the better), beat-up workwear like coveralls and chore jackets, pa
Another signature Worn Culture ware is Jayne’s leather-handled tote bags made from old U.S. Navy canvas duffle bags, often with patches from old cotton feed sacks stitched on for flair. Other one-of-a-kind pieces include denim jackets with vintage textiles sewn on as large patches across the back or shoulders.
UNEXPECTED NECESSITIES
Like many vintage enthusiasts, Alex Jayne’s love of old things started young. Growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Coeur d’Alene trans plant recalls dumpster diving with his parents and grandparents to find furniture, clothing and other goods worth saving.
While Haley has the “eye” for styling a
Worn Culture also sells some clothing across the hall at fellow Coeur d’Alene vintage purveyor, Gas & Grain. Vintage lovers can also shop Worn Culture online, at worncul ture.com, and via Jayne’s Instagram feed, @ worn_culture.
“We didn’t buy anything new, it was al ways hand-me-downs and what we could find,” Jayne says. “I think that’s just always been ingrained in me. I just love old stuff.”
While furniture, both original and repur posed, can be found in Unexpected Necessi ties’ corner, smaller pieces such as cloth-cov ered antique books, glass jars, vintage recipe boxes, tchotchkes and artwork of all kinds are hallmark pieces for the two vendors. The over all vibe leans toward feminine and homey, and in the realm of the “cottage core” aesthetic. During the holiday season, Unexpected Ne cessities is a vintage Christmas decor lovers’ dream.“We just buy what we love,” Pluid says. “We buy things that we’re attracted to that we have in our own homes.”
“We started off doing craft shows at high schools, just little shows where we could find them,” says Pluid, the daughter half of the duo. “[Serena came by our booth and] put down her business card and said, ‘Would you be interested in doing more shows?’ And we’ve done it every year up until two years ago.”
For inspiration on how to incorporate piec es from different eras into daily outfits from tame to the edgy, Ripley calls upon the talent of local models to showcase Red Leaf’s new ar rivals on her Instagram feed, @redleafvintage.
in one. Walk er’s half takes up the front portion, nearest the front counter inside Bou levard, and Pluid’s is set up behind, and de lineated by a “wall” of large pieces. Shoppers can figure out which of the two women they’re buying from, as each pink tag has a “K” or “J” so cashiers know who to give sale credit.
A common thread for vintage enthusiasts, Fay Ripley’s interest in the styles of yesteryear start ed out as a personal hobby, collecting 1920s-era clothing and textiles. As is also often the case for vintage collectors, her personal collection quick ly ballooned. Ripley had no choice but to begin selling many of the pieces she’d scooped up over the years, lest she, too, become a hoarder like some of the folks she often buys from to stock her thriving local business, Red Leaf Vintage.
Buying and selling vintage is a full-time job for the Canadian transplant (her shop’s name is an homage to Canada’s maple leaf emblem) who currently sells her wares at three area vintage shops: Boulevard Mercantile and Tele port Vintage + Co. in Spokane, and Midtown Market in Coeur d’Alene, the latter of which she expanded to in summer 2022.
Due to her own deep appreciation for old clothing, Ripley sometimes spends hours at a big buy chatting with the collector who’s passing their items on through her to the next generation.Ripley also strives to use vintage fashion as a platform to promote body positivity, sus tainable consumerism, local artists and an ap preciation for simply wearing what makes you feel
“There are no rules” to wearing vintage, she says.
“Igood.try to push vintage mixing, which pulls things together from different decades and feels more in style,” she says, adding that “any thing [purchased new] is not new [style], it’s been done before in some way, shape or form” throughout the fashion timeline.
RED LEAF VINTAGE
The Unexpected Necessities booth inside Boulevard Mercantile. CHEY SCOTT PHOTO
Ripley has become a major player in the region’s vintage clothing scene, having found ed Red Leaf Vintage six years ago to share her love of funky, fun and well-made fashions of the past, from the 1950s to the ’90s.
To keep those three spaces stocked with fresh finds for her customers, Ripley is con stantly on the go, heading to estate sales and making insider connections across the region with folks who have hoards of old clothing ly ing around.“It’svery time consuming, it’s a 24/7 thing,” she notes. “Someone might text me at 8 in the evening and say, ‘Hey, I’m at this house, and it’s insane.’ I have some crazy stories. I get a lot of enjoyment out of it, and there is a lot of history behind it.”
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THE VINTAGE VOCATION, CONTINUED...
Unexpected Necessities hasn’t sold at Farm Chicks since 2019 (the event was canceled in 2020 and rescheduled in 2021, but is now back to its normal early June schedule), but has had a permanent home inside Boulevard Mercan tile since the shop first opened in its original location at Northwest Boulevard and Monroe back in 2015.
“It’s the best place to be,” Pluid says. “The owners are Unexpectedamazing.”Necessities’ inventory can be defined exactly as its name suggests — stuff you didn’t know you needed, but have to get. The duo scours thrift stores, estate sales and more to find odds and ends to stock their space, which Pluid says is actually two spaces
112 S. Cedar St., doitwithsoul.com,Spokane,509-270-9661
Chic & Shab
104 S. Lefevre St., Medical Lake, farmsalvation.com, 509-993-1723
2504 N. Fourth St., Coeur facebook.com/dixieandcompanyUSAd’Alene,
Black Sheep Vintage
7 W. Main Ave., Spokane, instagram. com/chosenvintage509, 509-443-3602
109 N. 14th St., Coeur d’Alene, lavendersuncda.com, 208-704-5531
Greenacres Vendor Mall
Found Barn Farm
Veda Lux
2003 W. Northwest Blvd., Spokane, lemonsalvage.com, 509-570-3606
1919 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane, bluecatvintage.com, 509-655-1611
Teleport Vintage + Co. 917 W. Broadway Ave., 509-290-6545instagram.com/teleportvintageandco,Spokane,
30 S. First St., Rockford, 509-291-4077hurdmercantileandcompany,facebook.com/
1009 N. Washington St., Spokane, 4amct.com
Two Women Vintage Goods
Gas & Grain
Lucky Vintage & Pretty Things
101 W. Lincoln Ave., Chewelah, 509-936-2824book.com/blacksheepvintageshop,face
3036 N. Monroe St., Spokane, paintinmyhair.com, 509-326-6999
CLOTHING FURNITURE DECOR / ART HANDMADE & NEW ITEMS
Chosen Vintage
Do It With Soul
Salvage 7
Midtown Market
1012 N. Washington St., 509-327-7547instagram.com/boulevardmercantile,Spokane,
Dixie & Co.
16814 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley, theplacetoflea.com, 509-309-3236
Lavender Sun
2607 N. Monroe St., Spokane, 509-325-2607book.com/tossedandfoundspokane,face
treatments enhanced by nature. Plus, you can earn and redeem your Camas Rewards points with every purchase. Makethemostofyourmetime. NORTHERNQUEST.COM877.871.6772SPOKANE,WA EVEN MORE VINTAGE!
2321 N. Monroe St., Spokane, chicandshab.com, 509-381-5168
Farm Salvation
1106 S. Perry St., Spokane, vedalux.com, 509-475-1674
Market Street Antiques
4085 W. Riverbend Ave., Post Falls, 208-773-4041
504 E. Lakeside Ave., Coeur instagram.com/gasandgraind’Alene,
Spokane Vintage
220 N. Main St., facebook.com/bullyforyoucolfaxColfax,
4am Spokane
4912 N. Market St., Spokane, 509-482-2066com/MarketStAntiquesHillyard,facebook.
2012 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane, two 509-womenvintagegoods.com,624-4322
1406 S. Inland Empire Way, 509-321-7230facebook.com/luckyvintagespokane,Spokane,
1003 N. Fourth St., Coeur 208-952-2927facebook.com/midtownmarketcda,d’Alene,
Boulevard Mercantile
2824 N. Monroe 1889salvageco.com,St., 509-315-4485
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Hurd Mercantile
Lemon Salvage
Rebel Junk
Tossed & Found
2424 N. Fourth St., Coeur d’Alene; 4102 S. Bowdish Rd., Spokane Valley; 15409 N. Newport Hwy., Spokane, rebeljunk.com
719 W. Garland Ave., instagram.com/spokane_vintageSpokane,
Paint In My Hair
1889 Salvage Co.
17501 N. Sands Rd., foundbarnfarm.com,Mead,509-230-0201
Bully For You: Vintage & Found
Blue Cat Vintage
1306 N. Mullan Rd., Spokane Valley, dragonparlorgames.com, 509-404-3111
DRAGON PARLOR GAMES
EVEN MORE GAME SHOPS!
3808 N. Monroe St., Spokane, ggspokane.com, 509-862-4650
GHOST QUARTER GAMES
GAME ON!
MERLYN’S
With three locations (Spokane Valley, central Spokane and inside NorthTown Mall) the Comic Book Shop is a hub for much more than comics. From Japanese man ga to cosplay outfits; fun toys and accessories to card games, this locally owned outfit also has board games, collectible figurines, T-shirts, dice sets — the works, really — and plenty of tables to drop in for a game session. CBS also hosts regular how-to-play sessions and tournaments; check its online events calendar for details. 1402 N. Division St. and 4750 N. Division St., Spokane; 11510 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley, thecomicbookshop.net
This local stalwart has been helping fellow nerds fulfill their needs for comic books, miniatures, trading card games and much more for four decades and counting! From its storefront on downtown Spokane’s east end, Merlyn’s is a friendly place for gamers of all interests to meet and share their passion for everything from Dun geons & Dragons and Warhammer 40,000 to comic books and beyond. 15 W. Main Ave., Spokane, merlyns. biz, 509-624-0957
12622 W. Sunset Hwy., Airway Heights, ghostquartergames.com, 509-309-3867
THE GAMER’S HAVEN
Another longtime local leader in the gaming sphere, Uncle’s offers far more than games. Notably, both of its area locations stock an impressive selection of jig saw puzzles, which recently had a massive resurgence in popularity. Uncle’s also offers consignment for gen tly used puzzle and board games, so keep that in mind when you’re done with your next 1,000-piece chal lenge. Even more, customers can demo — and learn to play — popular games before they buy. 404 W. Main Ave., Spokane and 14700 E. Indiana Ave., Spokane Val ley, unclesgames.com
I’M NOT SHY ABOUT IT: I’m a nerd. I’ve been play ing and collecting Magic: The Gathering for eight-plus years. Helping feed and nurture this and many other personal fandoms are friendly LGS — that’s nerdspeak for “local game stores.” Here’s where to go to find your next favorite game, comic or other geek hobby.
2525 E. 29th Ave., 509-863-9290bsideboardgamesandpuzzles.com,Spokane,
124 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
Steven Beaudry plays The Age of Sigmar at Gamer’s Haven. CHIANA McINELLY PHOTO
UNCLE’S GAMES
GAMING GROTTO
2928 N. Nevada St., monkeybizspokane.com,Spokane,509-242-3500
Since making the move from Spokane Valley to the northwest edge of Kendall Yards in summer 2020, The Gamer’s Haven has settled in nicely at its new digs, which boast a large second-floor game room to host regularly scheduled tournaments in popular miniatures and card games including Warhammer, Star Wars Armada and Magic. In the main-floor retail space, find the latest board and role-playing game re leases, along with a huge supply of paint and more
MONKEY BIZ
From board games to trading cards, and space for like-minded hobbyists to meet, these local shops have it all
THE MANA POOL SHOP
THE COMIC BOOK SHOP
BY CHEY SCOTT
for customizing miniatures. 1403 W. Broadway Ave., thegamershaven.net, 509-443-5992
For gamers in the Gem State who play Magic, Pokemon, Flesh & Blood or Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop role-playing games, The Mana Pool is a welcoming hub. Don’t be deceived when you walk in the door of this unassuming strip mall storefront; it seems small, but a massive free-to-play gaming room in the back is obscured by the front counter display. With impeccably organized cases of cards, plus an al phabetized inventory of backstock, players can walk in and easily request cards needed to finish their latest deck build. 2946 N. Government Way, Coeur d’Alene, themanapoolshop.com, 208-966-4175
B SIDE GAMES
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ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 125 CASINO | HOTEL | DINING | SPA | CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF 37914 SOUTH NUKWALQW • WORLEY, IDAHO 83876 • 1 800-523-2464 • CDACASINO.COM
Also inside Boulevard Mercantile, 1012 N. Washington St., Spokane Open Mon-Sat 10 am-6 pm 124 N. Main St., Colfax Open Sun/Wed 11 am-4 pm; Thu-Sat 11 am-6 pm amodernplantsman.com, 208-717-1106
Green DominicguruVillareal CHIANA McINELLY PHOTO
126 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
cuses on making sure that when people come in, they’re not just shopping,” he says, “but they’re a part of the business, and that they can get their hands dirty doing a workshop or be ing a part of the club and meeting other people that are also interested in plants.”
RETAIL TRENDS COME AND GO, but house plant shops are here to stay awhile.
One of the region’s newest additions to the industry is A Modern Plantsman. Originat ing at a shop in Colfax in 2019, the business expanded to downtown Spokane’s West End District in late 2021 with a retail space near Hotel Indigo. The shop also has a booth inside Boulevard Mercantile.
A Modern Plantsman nurtures an appreciation of house plants and welcomes all BY SUMMER SANDSTROM
COMMUNITYPLANTING
SHOP LOCAL!
When he started getting into houseplants, opening a plant store wasn’t the goal of Vil lareal’s new interest. That step happened by accident.“Atthe time, I had been working at a job in tech support for about five years, and it kind of was just chipping away at me,” he says.
“It’s a community-based business that fo
Owner Dominic Villareal says his business is more than the typical plant shop; it’s also a botany club and workshop.
A MODERN PLANTSMAN
110 S. Madison St., Spokane Open Thu-Sat 11 am-6 pm; Sun 11 am-4 pm
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 127 New! Sandpoint Design Studio 120 S 2nd Ave, 208-254-4060Sandpoint FB @tinroofsandpointTinRooffurniture.com Main Showroom 1727 E Sprague Ave, Spokane 509-535-1111 @tinrooffurniture FURNISHINGS + RUGS + LIGHTING + ART + DECOR + DESIGN SERVICE SCAN TO BROWSE OUR WEBSITE
RITTER’S GARDEN & GIFT
“I just built everything myself because I thought, I cannot possibly afford to buy this, especially if I wanted it to be custom, like our plant wall, for example,” he says. “I designed that for myself because I thought there’s noth ing that exists like this, and if I build it, maybe it’ll be more unique and capture more people’s attention.”AtAModern Plantsman, Villareal wants to provide fellow plant hobbyists with a warm, welcoming place to get involved in the hobby.
1844 N. Government Way, Coeur d’Alene, facebook.com/VanhoffGC, 208-930-4424
10120 N. Division St., Spokane, 4ritter.com, 509-467-5258
JUDY’S ENCHANTED GARDEN
1526 W. Riverside Ave. and 309 W. Second Ave., Spokane; 211 E. Lakeside Ave., Coeur d’Alene, fernplantshop.com
In addition to sprouting and nurturing some of the plants filling A Modern Plants man’s space, Villareal made all of the shelv ing, tables and other wood items in the store using wood salvaged from remodeling his Colfax home.
EVEN PLANTMORESHOPS!
While taking a leave of absence from that job, Villareal stumbled upon another local plant shop and decided he wanted to open his own.
1611 N. Ash St., lilaccityblooms.com,Spokane,509-960-7131
LAVENDER SUN
THE CHOP SHOP PLANTS & ODDITIES
THE PLANT FARM
109 N. 14th St., Coeur d’Alene, lavendersuncda.com, 208-704-5531
LIBERTY PARK FLORIST & GREENHOUSE
“As a gay man of color, I really want peo ple to know that this is a safe space that exists to make sure everybody knows that they’re welcome,” he adds.
“I just kind of thought, ‘What if I created a space that was nurturing to my soul and I would be able to do art there and spend time with my plants?’” he says. “And we kind of caught a wave in terms of timing when people were just starting to get interested in [houseplants].”
FERN PLANT SHOP
SCULPTURED GARDENS
14208 E. Fourth Ave., Spokane Valley, spokaneplantfarm.com, 509-926-9397
2808 N. Monroe St., Spokane, facebook. com/chopshopspokane, 509-290-5816
PLANTING COMMUNITY, CONTINUED...
A Modern Plantsman’s airy space near Hotel Indigo on South Madison. CHIANA McINELLY PHOTO
2628 W. Northwest Blvd., Spokane, 509-325-1081
128 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
15614 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley, sculptured-gardens.com, 509-290-6866
5320 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley, plantedplantco.com, 509-290-6289
PLANTED PLANT CO.
LILAC CITY BLOOMS
1401 E. Newark Ave., libertyparkflorist.com,Spokane,509-534-9381
VANHOFF’S GARDEN CENTER
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 129 @bideandburgeon509-536-1764 BideandBurgeon.com1730ESpragueAve An inspired collection of stylish and affordable furniture & decor. scan to browse our website
Dainty Bean
For the home decorator who can never settle on just one set of throw pillows for any room in the house, Jennifer McManus has a solution: pillow covers. When the founder of Cotton & Co. realized her own pillow stash was getting out of hand, she started sewing high-qual ity, washable covers in standard sizes to make refreshing any home easy, affordable and sustainable. cottonandcospokane.com
Handmade in Spokane, Dainty Bean’s bags are for families on the go, and not just moms always hauling everyone’s stuff around. Kids can tote their own treasures and snacks in Dainty Bean’s “tiny packs,” and moms stay organized and hands-free with its wristlet wallets, plus accessories like lanyards and zipper pouches. Each piece is made from sturdy, washable fabric, including a faux leath er base, and can also be customized. Find Dainty Bean’s goods at Lemon Salvage in North Spokane and on Etsy. daintybean.etsy.com
Cotton & Co.
With funky, modern geometric shapes and in color combos from muted neutrals to bright pops, Aster & June’s handmade clay ear rings can jazz up any outfit, from casual to fancy. This North Ida ho-based jewelry collection is sold at several shops in the Coeur d’Alene area, including Lavender Sun, Mix It Up, and Alabaster Baby. instagram.com/asterandjune
Launched in 2022, dom+bomb is a Spokane-based, Black- and queer-owned fashion company that wants everyone to wear what they want, and to feel good doing so. At launch, the brand’s capsule collection of sustainable, made-to-last pieces includes a skirt, crop top, boatneck tee and its “Deity” body chain. All of dom+bomb’s gender-neutral pieces are offered in sizes 5LX to XS. Other services offered are personal styling, custom clothing, tailoring, mending and upcycling. domandbomb.com
COTTON & CO.
Jewelry, clothing, accessories and home decor from five need-to-know local brands BY CHEY SCOTT
ASTER & JUNE
LOCAL GOODS
DAINTY BEAN
Aster & June
DOM+BOMB
130 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
LORRAINE FINE JEWELRY
For a piece of jewelry that makes its wearer stand out from the crowd, consider this longtime fine jeweler based in Liberty Lake specializing in conflict-free color gemstones like tourmaline, sap phire, emerald, amethyst and more. Owners Naim and Lorraine Tun ca bring decades of expertise to their business, founded in 1999. Its artisans create both breathtaking ready-to-wear and custom pieces to fit a range of budgets. lorrainefinejewelry.com
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 131 35 W. Main, Spokane | Mon-Sat 10-5:30 (509) 464-7677 • ShopKizuri.com FAIR TRADE • HANDMADE • LOCAL GIFTS • CLOTHING • ACCESSORIES • HOME GOODS 319 west second avenue • spokane • 509.747.2867 • Monday-Saturday 11-5:30p • lolospokane.com Step into lolo and discover your new favorite thing: fashions, gifts, and locally made goods that take boutique shopping in Spokane to the next level. ORDER ONLiNE TODAY! MOMSJEWELRY.COM Body JewelryforEvery BodyBody JewelryforEvery Body 1226 West Summit Parkway, Spokane WA North Annex: 429 E Main St, Chewelah WA 509-426-4465 momstattoo.com momsofspokane momscustomtattooWishingTreeBookstore.com GrowingcommunitySpokane’sofreaders.So.PerryDistrict THINK LOCAL • LIVE LOCAL
132 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THINK LOCAL • LIVE LOCAL Find what you need in spices and seasonings at our Spokane store or online at: SpokaneSpice.com130N.Stone St., Spokane, WA one block west of Altamont, two blocks north of Sprague 509-624-1490 • spokanespice.com Locally Owned and Operated for 70+ years! Voted Best Gift Store 513 E. Sherman Avenue ~ Downtown CDA MixItUpHome.com 2 LOCATIONS 2422 E. Sprague 534.0694 7302 N. Division NWSEED.COM484.7387 Lawn, Garden, Pets, Fish, Ponds, House Plants & Wild Birds Customer Appreciation Day Every Wednesday! Save 10% on all regular priced merchandise The best selection in Spokane for all your pet and garden needs! 402 W Main Ave, Spokane • auntiesbooks.com Favorite!Spokane's 404 W Main, Spokane 14700 E Indiana Ave #2128, Spokane Valley unclesgames.com Merlyn's Comics & Games 15 W Main Ave, Spokane merlyns.biz YOUR LOCAL SHOPPINGNEIGHBORHOOD GUIDE ON INLANDER STANDS THIS NOVEMBER
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 133 FURNITURE • HOME • DECOR • GIFTS • JEWELRY 50+ LOCAL ARTISTS Come Visit Us Today • Two Locations: 12019 E Sprague Ave. Spokane Valley | 509.496.1859 7503 N Division St. North Spokane | 509.474.1526
In addition to entering the shop from in side the Flour Mill, patrons can enter via an exterior door facing the parking lot. That, Frickle says, opens up possibilities like outdoor cooking classes and al fresco dining.
THE KITCHEN ENGINE 621 W. Mallon, Spokane inside the Flour Mill Open Sun 11 am-5 pm, Mon-Fri 9 am-8 pm 509-328-3335thekitchenengine.com,
KITCHEN KRAFT
With its newly expanded footprint, The Kitchen Engine has space for more of everything.
The Kitchen Engine’s recent expansion brings more retail options, cooking classes and a new café BY CARRIE SCOZZARO
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THE CULINARY STONE
2129 N. Main St. (The Village at Riverstone), Coeur d’Alene, culinarystone.com, 208-277-4116
WILLIAMS-SONOMA
POWERFUL PLACE
EVEN CULINARYMORESTORES!
223 W. Boone Ave., bargreen.com/en-us,Spokane,509-324-2939
1326 Baldy Mountain Rd., 208-263-9446millerscountrystoresandpoint.com,Sandpoint,
MILLER’S COUNTRY STORE
YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
5915 S. Regal St., Suite 105, Spokane, kitchenkraftspokane.com, 509-606-0600
velopment at The Kitchen Engine: an expand ed teaching facility and private event space.
THE KITCHEN ENGINE has been a driving force behind the continued popularity of Spo kane’s Flour Mill, a 127-year-old building near Riverfront Park’s revamped North Bank area that houses mostly retail and food businesses.
AMPERSAND OIL & VINEGAR TAP HOUSE
The café shares a wall with another new de
In the larger retail area, the culinary shop now sports an expanded section of local food items, as well as a new custom cutlery section with high-end knives sold in sets or individually.
BARGREEN RESTAURANTELLINGSONSUPPLY& DESIGN
The new kitchen replaces a smaller facili ty formerly tucked into a corner of the store’s retail area. In it, a roughly 5-by-24-foot, count er-height island comfortably accommodates 18 participants. Overhead, two TV screens relay what the chef is doing, while a wireless micro phone helps students know when to rough chop and when to chiffonade.
808 W. Main Ave. (River Park Square), williams-sonoma.com, 509-455-3438
“My goal with the food offerings in the cafe was going to be obviously something that went well with coffee,” Frickle says. “But also just something quick for lunch that doesn’t ex ist in the Flour Mill already so I’m not stepping on anybody’s toes [but] giving people who walk in another option.”
Brightly lit, well-stocked and featuring every manner of kitchen tool — all items are available to buy in the store — the new facility is separated from the retail store by glass-panel doors. That means The Kitchen Engine can now serve wine and beer, and can also host more and different events like private parties, company team-building activities, wine and beer pairing dinners, pop-up restaurants, even photoTheshoots.Kitchen Engine plans to offer two classes daily, varying in types of cuisine from an expanded roster of chefs. The culinary ed ucation program is overseen by chef-instructor Jamie Aquino, who’s taught mostly vegetarian and vegan cooking classes there for the past 10 years.“Ihave a really big vision for the future,” Aquino says.
SHOP LOCAL!
519 Main St., ampersandoil.com,Moscow,208-883-3866
Founded by Eric Frickle and family mem bers in 2006, The Kitchen Engine expanded both its footprint and services in summer 2022.
Also new is the café, featuring local DOMA coffee, grab-and-go items from Spokane’s Rind and Wheat bakery and cafe, and, when the weather cools, soup and wraps made on-site.
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 135 Select Furniture Available for Immediate Delivery 303 Spokane Ave, Cd’A | 208 664 2131 rungefurniture.com WITH RUNGE’S RELAXED YET PROFESSIONAL ATMOSPHERE, WHY SHOP ANYWHERE ELSE? 76 Years NORTH IDAHO’S FAVORITE FURNITURE, MATTRESS AND APPLIANCE STORE EVERY ROOM, EVERY STYLE, EVERY BUDGET
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“People don’t come in looking for anything,” Drake says, “but they walk away with something.”
FINNBOYBOOKSRECORDS,&CURIO
Drake is a reader, writer and linguist who’s spent years studying and teaching in France, honing his taste in the classics, travel literature and cookbooks.
finnboy.net, 509-315-9946
The pair opened for business in November 2021, af ter settling on Caputo’s pup Finn as a namesake and a mascot. Caputo stocked his records along the outer walls of one room, while Drake started with two shelves of clas sic literature in the adjacent room. Now there’s a whole island of records in the middle of Caputo’s space, and Drake has filled several large bookshelves with gorgeous hardbacks. But they intentionally keep the growth slow.
“We’re kind of particular about adding stuff that we like,” Drake explains.
“No other records store was selling books,” Caputo says. “I thought it would be great to have all that other culture stuff in here.”
Spokane’s FinnBoy Records goes way beyond vinyl BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM
SHOP LOCAL!
Darcy Caputo (right) and Bobb Drake ERICK DOXEY PHOTOS
Drake and Caputo met years ago, while working for a language company but mostly lost touch after de parting jobs there. Then, they bumped into each other at Baby Bar in downtown Spokane. Caputo was mull ing over the idea of opening a record store. Drake was already a vendor at a few vintage spots in the area, plus he’d previously owned the local Monkeyboy Books with his ex-wife. The idea came naturally.
620 N. Monroe St., Spokane Open Tue-Sat 11 am-6 pm; Sun 10 am-4 pm
136 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
THINK BIGGER THAN RECORDS. Think lifestyle.
FinnBoy Records, Books and Curio is a carefully curated collection of culture, from local Spokane histo ry to international influences. Co-owners Darcy Caputo and Bobb Drake showcase their taste in music, art, lit erature, barware and decor in an eclectic treasure trove. Through one archway, records are sorted by genre, from rock to folk to R&B to global, guarded by a Clint Eastwood poster in Italian. In the next room, beautiful copies of Hemingway, Salinger and Montagné’s Larous se Gastronomique accompany high-end local and vintage barware.Caputo has collected records since childhood, mail ordering punk rock albums not stocked by local music shops. The Italian-American dual citizen has also spent over 15 summers in the motherland.
Caputo goes on, “A lot of people will remark, ‘There’s not a lot of dreck in here!’ You can tell some one went to the trouble to get specific types of books [andFinnBoyrecords].”also collects and sells other idiosyncratic accoutrements, some highbrow and some not. Souve nirs from world travelers are given new life and orga nized by region, like Santa Fe or Central America or the Serengeti. Drake imagines bolstering his children’s book collection with a whole shelf of Shel Silverstein. On the walls, icons of Mary and Miller Lite and Bob Ross bless shoppers with the unexpected.
People find a part of themselves in the shop. An al bum that takes them back to the first time they heard it. A cocktail glass that’s the perfect combination of hip and “Wetimeless.sell two things,” Drake says. “Nostalgia and aspirations.”
RECORDSRESURRECTION
PARADISE RIDGE CDS & TAPES 117 E. Third St., letsboogie.com,Moscow,208-882-1670
& RECORD
4000 HOLES 1610 N. Monroe St., 509-325-1914facebook.com/Bob4000Angel,Spokane,
1927 W. Northwest Blvd., Spokane, getresurrected.com, 509-414-1429
VINTAGE
GO!RECORDS 635 W. Garland 509-443-3184gorecordsspokane.com,Ave.,
RECORDED MEMORIES 1902 N. Hamilton St., 509-483-4753richardsrecordedmemories.com,Spokane,
ATOM HEART MUSIC 255 NE Olsen St., atomheartmusic.com,Pullman,509-332-1113
GROOVE MERCHANTS 905 W. Garland Ave., 509-328-2327groovemerchantsspokane.com,Spokane,
THE LONG EAR 1620 N. Government Way, Coeur d’Alene, longear.com, 208-765-3472
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 137
7B GROOVES 502 Cedar St., 208-263-2544facebook.com/7BGrooves,Sandpoint,
RECORDSTRASH&SOUND 1601 W. Pacific Ave., 509-995-5977totaltrashrecords.com,Spokane, Music Community Food Events Home Comment Northwest People Film You’ll find it in the ON STANDS EVERY THURSDAY To advertise: 509.325.0634Advertising@Inlander.comext.215 CULTURE News Arts More MARCH 31-APRIL 2022 POETRY ON THE PAGE SINCE 1993 JANUARY 13-19, 2022 TIMELESS JOURNALISM SCREEN asks, “Do you like scary sequels?” SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2021 FAMILY OWNED. COMMUNITY FOCUSED. RURAL RESOURCEFUL& Keeping creativity alive in the GEEK OUT creates community in the Garland AWE-INSPIRING Regional college galleries feature incredible exhibits this fall Food Events Than ever. EVEN MORE RECORD SHOPS! Vinyl aplenty at FinnBoy!
REVOLVER BOUTIQUE STORE 309 S. Main St., 208-310-1425revolvercultureco.com,Moscow, TOTAL
138 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 Weddings 509.482.3556 · beaconhillevents.com · @beaconhillcateringandevents photos by jennifer debarros photography & ifong chen photography weddings | reunions | retreats | music 1808 Cider Rd • Athol, ID • cidermountainweddings@gmail.com Start Your Forever HILL'SWWW.HILLSRESORT.COMRESORT cortney gilbert photography
140 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 Join us for a one-of-a-kind experience because LOVE is worth celebrating BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT TODAY! thebridalcollections.com | 509-838-1210 | 3131 N Division St
LET YOURCATERCATERUSYOURNEXTEVENT 412 N. Haycraft Ave., CdA | 208.277.0000 cosmiccowboy.com SCAN ME weddings@foxtheaterspokane.com | martinwoldsontheater.com/weddings WEDDINGSFOXatthe
HEART FOR THE HOME
IF MEGALITH DEPARTMENT stores are fast becoming a relic of the past, then hyper-local, multi-vendor shops like The Bohemian are the now, and the Describedfuture.byco-owner Danielle Golay as a “local-based co-op,” the Bohemian’s two Spo kane-area stores are each home to dozens of creative, small local businesses that offer items to bring warmth and personality to one’s home.
YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS
Sunshine Home Health Sunshine Health And Rehab Sunshine Adult Family Homes Sunshine Memory Care Sunshine Terrace And Behavioral Health 10410 E 9TH AVE | SPOKANE VALLEY | 509.926.3547 | SHFI.COM Patient Centered Care in Spokane County for over 50 years. Our campus of care can meet all of your elder care needs. WE’RE HIRING!! See our career opportunities at www.shfi.com and join the Sunshine team! 7.5” wide by 2.37” high
“Everything has a repurpose in it,” says Bohemian owner Danielle Golay.
Check out page 142 for our guide to local vintage shops, many of which also offer artwork, furniture and other one-of-a-kind pieces to customize your space.
In 2018, Golay and her husband, Riley, opened the Bohemian’s first store in Spokane
142 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
“I’ve always been a crafter at heart,” Golay says. “Everything has a repurpose in it, and so things did start out as a hobby that escalated into a business.”Whilemany of the Bohemian’s vendors, the Golays included, focus on upcycled furniture and decor, from framed artwork to small pieces that can outfit a shelf, the store also offers a cu rated selection of new items. Throw pillows and
The Bohemian 12019 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley; 7503 N. Division St., Spokane Open Mon-Sat 10 am-5:30 pm, Sun 11 am-4 pm thebohemianspokane.com
A second North Side location expands The Bohemian’s reach to more shoppers and local businesses BY CHEY SCOTT
“We have over 50 artists, and they all hand make or repurpose” items sold there, Golay says. “In terms of the styles, it’s boho, midcentury, modern, farmhouse and more.”
Valley, quickly growing to fill the entirety of the 7,600-square-foot building it’s located in. Real izing the business could expand further while more conveniently reaching customers on Spo kane’s sprawling North Side, the couple opened the Bohemian’s second location in spring 2022.
SHOP LOCAL!
BIDE & BURGEON
1730 E. Sprague Ave., bideandburgeon.com,Spokane,509-536-1764
Short biographies of each seller are hung near their booths at the store so customers can meet creators as they browse. These meet-your-maker stories are also shared on the Bohemian’s website.
“There’s a ton of amazing artists out there, and we wanted to give them a home base where they can really showcase all their work,” Golay
114 W. Pacific Ave., 1900houseandhome.comSpokane,
THE TIN ROOF
Most of the shop’s varied vendors are small makers who aren’t producing on a large enough scale to fill their own storefront, yet they’re able to reach customers year-round inside the Bohemian. Candlemakers, jewelry artists, sign makers and even an offshoot of Jema Lane women’s boutique, based in Spokane Valley, are counted among them. Handmade soaps, macrame, ceramics, jour nals, hand-turned wood pieces, quilts and more are also found among its many makers’ wares.
10 S. Post St., 509-789-7222davenporthome.myshopify.com,Spokane,
says. “And we’re always bringing in new people, which is fun. I just get blown away by people’s creativity.”While the styles and products from individ ual vendors at each location widely varies, Go lay’s goal is to make a shopping trip feel like a co hesive experience, in which customers may not even notice they’ve transitioned from one artist’s space to the next.
MADISON HOME 2826 N. Ruby St., madisonhomenw.com,Spokane,509-325-1815
303 E. Spokane Ave., Coeur d’Alene, rungefurniture.com, 208-664-2131
In addition to the wide selection of home decor, furniture, gifts, clothing and artwork, the Bohemian also offers custom furniture refinish ing services and interior decorating services for any “We’rebudget.kind of, really, a one-stop shop for ev erything,” Golay says. “You need a gift, you need decor — we try and have it all under our roof.”
EVEN HOMEMOREDECOR!
KLOVER FINE INTERIORS
DAVENPORT HOME STORE
RUNGE FURNITURE
“We try and put them all together collective ly, where it just blends,” she explains. “It’s more welcoming, but it also just really shows how you can mix-and-match styles as well.”
1900 HOUSE & HOME
1727 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane and 120 E. Second Ave., tinrooffurniture.com,Sandpoint,509-535-1111
accent chairs are some examples of those new pieces customers can find to complement, say, a repainted vintage dresser or dining room table from another vendor.
504 E. Lakeside Ave., Coeur d’Alene, kloverfineinteriors.com, 208-659-0508
“Great gifts and good guaranteed!”times, 7.5” wide by 2.37” high
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 143
She wants her customers to have a special, personalized experience at Pink Fern. Leinen prides herself on knowing most of her custom
144 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
BOUTIQUEBLISS
Pink Fern owner Roisheen Leinen considers her boutique’s customers close friends BY LAUREN RODDIS
ers by name, as well as a little bit about them. She likes offering people a drink or snack when they come in and hearing about the va cation they just went on. She often has items in the store she picked out with specific people in mind.“Iwant to provide an experience when people come,” Leinen says. “It feels good when somebody knows your name and they know what you like.”
“Here [in Spokane], everybody’s so nice, and I get that here at the store,” Leinen says.
AS CUSTOMERS WALK through the door of Pink Fern, they’re greeted with the waft ing aroma of a sweet-smelling candle, a kind smile, and an array of fun women’s clothes and accessories that are begging to be worn and Theloved.kind smile belongs to owner and Bay Area native Roisheen Leinen, who visited Spokane on a whim one weekend in 2019 and ended up buying a house that same trip.
However, you don’t have to be a repeat cus tomer at Pink Fern to get this sweet treatment. Leinen is confident in her abilities to know what a customer might like when they come through the door, so newcomers and regulars
For 12 years, Spokane’s trendy Swank Boutique has been providing women a heavenly fashion experience, one with incomparable customer service, affordable prices and styles not found anywhere else. Swank is the perfect spot to find your favorite new modern fashion pieces and not break the bank in the process. 4727 N. Division St., Spokane, swankboutique.net, 509-655-5007
“I want people to say, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so cute, and it was a really good price point,’” Leinen
Chic muted tones and down-to-earth styles define Roses & Thread Boutique, a recent new addition to downtown Spokane’s shopping scene. Comfort and quality are key at this spot, and its stylists emphasize that confidence is the best outfit one can wear. Here find, among much more, a new staple piece that sets you apart from the crowd. 1407 W. First Ave., Spokane, rosesthreadbou tique.com, 509-990-0949
REECE BOUTIQUE
On top of Pink Fern’s attentive customer service and its inventory of brightly colored, fun fashion are its accessible prices. The store is stocked with on-trend and quality pieces that don’t break the bank, often a rarity at small clothing boutiques.
BOUTIQUE BLEU
In Coeur d’Alene, Marmalade’s collection of spunky and on-trend pieces span generations, making it a destination for modern and vintage fashion enthusiasts alike. With a passion for fashion from a young age, owner Marie Widmyer is committed to celebrating individuality and making fashion fun. 308 E. Sherman Ave., Coeur d’Alene, marmaladefresh clothing.com, 208-819-9455
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 145
Spokane Valley’s Jema Lane Boutique is the welcome warm hug of boutiques. Shoppers rave about its excellent customer service, like-home feeling, and beautiful selection of size-accessible clothes and accessories that decorate its interior. Owner Jani Davis wants all customers to have the personalized shopping experience of their dreams, and to leave with a smile. 323 S. Pines Rd., Spokane Valley, jemalane.com, 509-321-2330
VELVET HAMMER
Lila Beauty in Liberty Lake has cultivated a safe environment where women feel confident to truly be their best, most authentic selves and buy the clothes that make them feel as such. In store, Lila Beauty has your new favorite graph ic tee along with your next cute and comfy dress to be styled with both heels and sneakers. 23801 E. Appleway Ave., Liberty Lake, beautyatlila.myshopify. com, 509-413-2308
EVEN MORE BOUTIQUES!
JEMA LANE
From cute and comfy graphic tees to fun sundresses and stylish accessories, Reece Boutique has a great selection of everyday items for the fashion-forward
AUDREY’S BOUTIQUE
Fromsays.adorable items and great prices to a passionate owner with a fashion-forward eye for everyone, customers leave Pink Fern with a smile, knowing they’ll soon be back for more.
MARMALADE
With over 50 years under its belt, locally beloved Audrey’s Boutique has every thing from a casual and comfy coffee run outfit, professional attire and even formalwear. Basically, even if you don’t know what you’re looking for, Audrey’s has the right addition for any fashion lover’s closet. 3131 N. Division St., Spo kane, 509-324-8612facebook.com/audreysaboutique,
SHOP LOCAL! PINK FERN 1107 W. First Ave., Spokane, Open Tue-Sat 10 am-5 pm shoppinkfern.com509-315-8014 Bay Area transplant and Pink Fern owner Roisheen Leinen, with some of her wares. CHIANA McINELLY PHOTOS
ROSES & THREAD
LILA BEAUTY
SWANK
woman. With affordable pieces galore and a commitment to providing an excellent customer experience, this is a shop where women can feel confident, empowered and excited to come back. 12501 N. Division St. Spokane, reecebou tique.com, 509-790-4353
Inside River Park Square downtown, Velvet Hammer has your next cute sun dress, chic leather pants and everything in between. From vibrant floral patterns to muted winter sweaters, this boutique has something for all women looking to spice up their wardrobe. 707 W. Main Ave., Spokane, velvethammerboutique. com, 509-242-3295
alike feel welcome and valued as customers.
Staff at Kendall Yards’s Boutique Bleu believe you’re at your most confident when you’re wearing something you love, and their rotating array of classic and unique clothes and accessories reflect that. Whether you’re preparing for a fun girls night out or a more casual game night, Boutique Bleu has you cov ered. 1184 W. Summit Pkwy., Spokane, boutiquebleuonline.com, 509-473-9341
UNITEBOOKWORMS
on a consignment basis and hosts a toddler storytime every Tuesday morning. 2174 N. Hamilton St., Spo kane, facebook.com/page42spokane, 509-202-2551
Have you ever dreamed of a bookstore, soda fountain and ice cream shop combined? That’s exactly what you can expect to find at Corner Door Fountain and Books in Millwood. Corner Door sells new and used books across all genres, but specializes in books about local history and titles from local authors and publish ers. Also find a quirky collection of puppets and mari onettes, and CDs in genres ranging from Renaissance composers to world music. 3301 N. Argonne Rd., Mill wood, cornerdoor.com, 509-921-9253
Where to find the latest bestsellers, kid’s literature, bargain books, gifts and more BY SUMMER SANDSTROM
235 E. Main St., Pullman, facebook.com/ brusedbooks, 509-334-7898
EVEN MORE BOOKS!
FINN BOY RECORDS, BOOKS & CURIO
620 N. Monroe St., finnboy.net, 509-315-9946 (read more on page 158)
CORNER FOUNTAINDOOR&BOOKS
Giant Nerd Books YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
BOOKISHLY HAPPY
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BRUSED BOOKS
I’VE ALWAYS LOVED READING. Every time I got the chance to go to a local bookstore as a kid, I’d have to stop myself from spending every cent of my allow ance. Even now, I can’t resist spending a large chunk of my paycheck on new books every time I enter one of the amazing bookstores the Inland Northwest has to offer, the following included.
THE WELL-READ MOOSE
2415 N. Government Way, Coeur d’Alene, bookishlyhappy.com, 208-765-8596
GIANT NERD BOOKS
BOOK TRADERS
At the former location of Cal’s Books in Spokane’s Logan Neighborhood, Page 42 rearranged shelves in 2019 with a collection of used books, video games and movies. Most of its inventory is $3 or less, making this a great place to visit to restock your home library without breaking the bank. In addition to its in-store business, Page 42 also sells books to local nonprofits
Auntie’s is a Spokane landmark, attracting newcom ers and lifelong residents for over 40 years. With its endless collection of books from every genre, fun knickknacks and book-lover decor, it’s not hard to see why. Its location in the historic Liberty Building makes Auntie’s an ideal stop after a walk in Riverfront Park or after grabbing a meal at one of many downtown restaurants. In addition to frequent book readings and events, Auntie’s also hosts monthly book clubs; check out its website for more. 402 W. Main Ave., Spokane, auntiesbooks.com, 509-838-0206
PAGE 42
2ND LOOK BOOKS
Janelle Smith made her lifelong dreams a reality by opening Wishing Tree Books in 2019. While it focus es on children’s literature, there are also shelves lined with fiction and novels for adults, making it the perfect place when searching for new books for everyone in the family. Attached to the store is the Tree House,
This two-story used bookstore is a haven for any avid reader. It’s been locally and independently owned since 1982. In addition to a large collection of reason ably priced books, 2nd Look offers a trade-in program; bring your own titles for in-store credit. 2829 E. 29th Ave., Spokane, 2ndlookbooks.com, 509-535-6464
907 W. Garland Ave., booksrockmysocksoff,facebook.com/509-326-7653
Some bookstores specialize in collecting and sell ing a certain genre, but that’s not the case at Giant Nerd Books. Every time you walk through the doors, you’ll find something different in its large collection of unique and eclectic books. The store was founded in 2005 with a goal of housing rare and uncommon books alongside comics, esoteric titles, and displays of unique oddities and artwork. 607 W. Garland Ave., Spokane, giantnerdbooks.com, 509-868-0420
WISHING TREE BOOKS
It’s been nine years since Melissa DeMotte first opened the doors of The Well-Read Moose in Coeur d’Alene. Not only does the store currently house over 9,000 titles, it also sells gifts and knickknacks ideal for any bookworm. With three book clubs that meet monthly, plus events highlighting local authors and artists, as well as book fairs and events that make reading fun for kids, there’s always something to do at The Well-Read Moose. 2048 N. Main St., Coeur d’Alene, wellread moose.com, 208-215-2265
AUNTIE’S BOOKSTORE
Wishing Tree’s event space that can be rented for par ties, poetry or book readings, art classes, and more. 1410 E. 11th Ave., Spokane, wishingtreebookstore.com, 509-315-9875
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FRINGE & FRAY in downtown Spokane offers more of a trade-in model. Book an ap pointment online, and, if your items are ac cepted, opt for 35 percent of the resell price in cash or 50 percent in store credit.
The ever-popular AUNTIE’S BOOK STORE offers a used book trade-in system, for which folks can bring in titles they’re done with and receive 20 percent of the original price. Check online for current trade-in guide lines.
CHILDREN’S ITEMS
Located on North Division Street and car rying a myriad of items for outdoor activities — camping, rock climbing, skiing/snowboarding and much more — RAMBLERAVEN GEAR
Sometimes a price tag can be the most daunt ing part of parenthood. However, the region is home to many consignment options that take some of the weight off this almighty stressor. Spokane Valley’s ONCE UPON A CHILD buys and sells gently used children’s items such as clothing, furniture, shoes and toys.
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Garland Resale
ENTERTAINMENT
portunities for the many outdoor enthusiasts who make up its population. However, gear to partake in some of these activities is often on the expensive side. Luckily, there are also many places selling discount gear to prepare you for your next adventure.
ECHO BOUTIQUE in downtown Spokane encourages people wishing to consign clothing or accessory items that are less than four years old to call and make an appointment. Echo takes both men’s and women’s pieces in new or like-new condition, and sellers earn 40 percent of proceeds once a piece is purchased.
Spokane’s location of REI CO-OP lets members bring in or ship their used gear with lots of life left to an REI store for a gift card in return. Members can also shop for used items in-store and online, as well as during REI’s popular “garage sale” member events.
Speaking of sweet, Spokane Valley is also home to SWEET REPEAT MATERNITY & KIDS, a consignment store specializing in all things mama and baby with a traditional consignment method. North Spokane is also home to a locally owned franchise of OTHER MOTHERS.
FURNITURE
Located just blocks from Echo Boutique is GARLAND RESALE, which has a similar consignment model and sales split.
CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES
TRADER operates on both a traditional con signment model and a sell-trade model.
The Inland Northwest has so much more to offer in the clothing and accessories realm of consignment, and these four shops are just the tip of the iceberg.
From books to games to records, people are al ways finding new bits of culture to collect and consume. The Inland Northwest has tons of spots to buy, sell or trade niche comics, games and more that haven’t been touched in a while.
The Inland Northwest holds spectacular op
For record collectors, 4000 HOLES and FINNBOY RECORDS, BOOKS & CU RIO, both located on North Monroe Street in Spokane, also offer cash or store credit for used records. Music lovers should also watch for THE SPOKANE RECORD SALE, an annual, springtime fundraising event host ed by Spokane Public Radio; meanwhile, the SPOKANE RECORD EXPO benefits KYRS radio.
The Inland Northwest is home to consignment shops specializing in recreation, clothing and children’s items, plus more BY LAUREN RODDIS
THE COMIC BOOK SHOP, with three locations, also takes trades, offering cash or credit depending on the material, condition or item’s rarity. Similarly, UNCLE’S GAMES operates a traditional consignment program for board games and puzzles (make sure all the pieces are there!), while GAME WORLD takes video games, DVDs and more for cash or store credit.
Yet, many places in the greater Spokane area offer consignment, so you can make back some money to put toward something new. BLUE CAT VINTAGE in the Sprague Union District has a pretty traditional consign ment method, and features a wide selection of furniture and decor, both contemporary and vintage. Liberty Lake’s CONSIGN FURNI TURE boasts the largest collection of con signment furniture in the area. The one-stop discount furniture shop takes care of all of the heavy lifting, making for an easy consignment experience.
When it’s been a year and you still haven’t worn that pricey sweater you bought a little im pulsively, you may find solace in consignment.
Looking for more? The region also offers several local events geared toward bargain hunters and those looking to offload unneeded gear while making some cash to upgrade. The Spokane Fair and Expo Center hosts the MT. SPOKANE SKI SWAP each fall, as well as the SPOKANE BIKE SWAP in spring.
Meanwhile, DEARLY, a consignment bridal shop in Spokane, takes both bridal and bridesmaid gowns, and in turn sells designer gowns in excellent condition for up to 70 per cent off retail. Prospective sellers can book an appointment online, and if your gown is ac cepted and ultimately sold, you’ll receive 50 percent of the sale.
RECREATION
Furniture is an aspect of the home that’s hard to skimp on. Finding nice, quality stuff for cheap is a chore — maybe even a myth — mak ing it hard to part with a well-built piece when it’s time to revamp the living room.
CONVENIENCECONSIGNMENT’S
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 149 3131 N. DIVISION ST. SPOKANE, WA 99207 | 509-324-8612 | MON-FRI 10 AM -5 PM SAT 10 AM -4 PM BEST BOUTIQUE VALLEY 1215 N. McDonald Rd, #203, Spokane Valley, WA • 509-924-2866 NORTH 6817 N. Cedar Rd, Suite 201, Spokane, WA • 509-326-8170 SOUTH HILL 2607 S. Southeast Blvd, B210, Spokane, WA • 509-242-3078 smilesourcespokane.com General SleepDentalOrthodonticsCosmeticDentistryImplantsApneaTreatment We can help you achieve long lasting smiles that help you enjoy your life and feel confident in your oral health! Call now to see what we can do for your smile! Where your beautiful smile begins SPOKANE
In 2021, Jessica Garza took over as its owner, and has continued to provide services to make any ordinary occasion more luxurious, extra special and truly unfor gettable. popuppicnicspokane.com
Food and drink are pretty crucial to an event, so why not have it served out of an awesome vintage camp trailer? If you’re sharing cocktails, desserts or snacks with guests, The Wander Bar is fully equipped to serve all of the above, and more. The Wander Bar also adds a unique backdrop to any event, and setup and cleanup are taken care of so party planners can sit back and enjoy some stress-free time. thewanderbar.com
of Sugar & Branch’s beautiful, treat-laden carts makes an appearance at their event. Specializing in gourmet and customizable cotton candy and popcorn, Sugar & Branch was started in 2021 by Lilly Jamieson and has since catered and provided take-home treats at a myr iad of events. Jamieson’s wide selection of toppings and flavors allows guests to customize their cravings for any occasion. From weddings to sorority bid day parties and anything in between, Sugar & Branch can make any event a little extra special, and a whole lot sweeter. sugarandbranch.com
BY LAUREN RODDIS
Pop Up Picnic sets a beautiful table.
Kids at heart and sweets lovers will rejoice when one
If you lack that creative, DIY eye but want to go all out on your next event, Pop Up Picnic Spokane has you covered. Founded by creative outdoor enthusiast Rachel Killpack in 2019, Pop Up Picnic Spokane has continually delivered beautiful settings that amplify any date, bridal shower, family reunion or gathering.
TAP TRUCK SPOKANE
With Tap Truck Spokane, parties of all sizes and ages can enjoy the unique experience of enjoy ing a drink right from the side of a vintage pan el truck. The truck’s taps can serve drinks of any kind, including beer, wine, sparkling wine, tea, cof fee, soda and premade cocktails so that everyone can drink what they please. Tap Truck provides all drinks, bartenders and gets the truck to/from your location, so hosts and guests alike can relish the hassle-free and no stress party they all deserve. taptruckspokane.com
GOING THE EXTRA MILE for a special occasion, whether it be a big celebration or a small get-together, is easier said than done. However, the Inland Northwest is home to many services that offer a unique touch to set your event apart. Sit back, relax, and let the party plan itself with these awesome event services.
POP UP PICNIC SPOKANE
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These unique local services help add something extra special to any event
YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
THE WANDER BAR
SUGAR AND BRANCH
CELEBRATION STATION
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 151 your purchase helps build a ordable homes DID YOU KNOW? Habitat Homeowners: receive financial education help build their houses alongside volunteers buy their homes and pay an a ordable mortgage shop + donate + volunteer Open 9am-5pm, Mon-Sat | 1805 E. Trent Ave. - Spokane WA | habitat-spokane.org | (509) 535-9517 shop new & gently used building materials + appliances + home improvement items + furniture + so much more!
the park, you’ll receive the picnic of your dreams. Beautiful tablescapes adorned with flowers and artistic place settings, as well as color-coordinat ed pillows and blankets, are set up in the pictur esque local setting of your choosing, making for the perfect date, bridal shower or occasion of any kind. Complete with a charcuterie board, water and fresh homemade lemonade, Luxury Picnic en sures a dreamlike experience and lasting memories. luxurypicnicspokane.com
MOONLIT MOVIES CO.
CARD MY YARD
When you schedule a pop-up picnic with Luxury Picnic Spokane, you won’t receive just a blanket in
Hopeless romantics, have hope, for Moonlit Movies Co. makes all your date night dreams come true. This lo cal service provides clients with luxurious movie-night setups, complete with a projector and screen, comfy pillows and blankets, and so much more. Packages are offered for picnics and events, with a variety of add-ons to choose from like popcorn machines, wine tasting kits and fondue to personalize the night to your liking, and make it one to remember. moonlitmoviesco.com
Dreams really do come true when a slumber party is graced by Modern Dreamers Slumber Co. Spo kane moms and business partners Lili Klein and Njal Lundberg are revitalizing traditional slumber parties by bringing fun, themed sleepover setups to homes around the region. Each sleepover guest gets an air mattress outfitted with fun pillows, a canopy and twinkle lights, making for an unforgettable night. Recently, the duo was tapped by Kim Kardashian to design a slumber party for her daughter North West, going to show just how booming this business has been. moderndreamersco.com
ALPHA-LIT
POP! BALLOON BAR
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Don’t underestimate the little joys in life. Card My Yard’s simple, yet creative, and far from subtle busi ness model adds a special touch to big milestones like birthdays, graduation, a baby shower and more. With three local franchisees in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area, Card My Yard’s colorful and glittery, uplifting messages come in a variety of designs, so your custom surprise surely brings a smile to the recipient’s face. cardmyyard.com/spokane
sidered a dry bar, so event planners are in charge of purchasing and supplying alcohol, which makes the service a great way to customize an event and keep things affordable. sipneasy.com
With two horse trailers-turned-mobile-bars and endless innovation, Sip n’ Easy has established itself as a premier mobile event bar service in the Spo kane-Coeur d’Alene area. Its offerings include at least four hours of bar service, decor to match your event’s theme, and one to three bartenders. Sip n’ Easy is con
COURTESY PHOTOS
On the hunt for a picture-perfect photo backdrop to complete your next event? Look no further! Pop! Bal loon Bar, founded by local event planner Hayley Lydig in 2020, brings beautiful, “Insta-worthy” balloon cre ations to any event — baby showers, weddings, grand openings, graduation parties and any other occasion — and adds a touch of creativity that gets people talking. Pop! offers custom balloon garlands, arches, bouquets and even gender-reveal kits, and fresh ideas are always welcome. popballoonbar.com
MODERN DREAMERS SLUMBER CO.
SIP N’ EASY
LUXURY PICNIC SPOKANE
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Make your next event extra special with help from Pop! Balloon Bar, Modern Dreamers and the Wander Bar.
CELEBRATION STATION, CONTINUED...
Fun signage can easily elevate any party from drab to fab, and Alpha-Lit Spokane’s wide selection of marquee letters does just that. Started in Dal las, Texas, in 2019, Alpha-Lit has since expanded via more than 100 franchises across the U.S., de livering marquee letters to events of all different kinds. Spokane franchise owners Joe and Hannah Dahl are passionate about celebrating life’s big and small moments, so whether it be birthdays, graduations or even sporting events, Alpha-Lit has something to make any moment a little bit brighter. alphalitletters.com/spokane
Proudly 621 W. Mallon Across from the Arena Please visit our new website :: flourmillspokane.com Flour Mill shop | dine | discover On the banks of the Spokane River The Historic Clinkerdagger, where great memories are made. W. 621 Mallon St | 509.328.5965 | clinkerdagger.com dailyHAPPYHOUR3-6 CLASS SCHEDULE Mention this ad and receive 20% off one item or bead purchase 621 W. Mallon • In the Flour Mill • 509-325-2867 Wonders BEAD SHOP Beads, Finding, Incense, Sage & Scarves Jewelry • Beads • Artifacts • Sculptures • Minerals • Fossils Meteorites • Ethnic Art • Chimes • Candles • Collectibles • Toys 20% Off Any one item or total purchase.bead Bring in this ad or a photo of this ad on your phone for In the Flour Mill | 621 W. Mallon, Spokane, WA 99201 | 509 328 6890 WONDERS OF THE WORLD One of a kind world import shop A million things to see from 25¢ to $25,000!
Insiders to answer a few questions from our Best Of Readers Poll Ballot.
Here are Gina’s picks!
WHAT MAKES THE INLAND NORTHWEST A GREAT PLACE TO DO WHAT YOU DO?
INSIDER GINAINSIGHTSCAMPBELL
Emerson Garfield Farmers Market
BEST PIZZA
BEST PLACE TO TAKE OUT-OF-TOWN VISITORS Riverfront Park
GINA CAMPBELL IS ONE OF the region’s best small business cheerleaders. Born and raised in Spokane, Campbell owns 1889 Salvage Co. in the North Monroe Business District, where she collaborates with about a dozen other vendors to repurpose, rework and rehome vintage and antiques, from books to clothing to furniture. With degrees from Eastern Washington University and Gonzaga University, Campbell’s life before becom ing a full-time vintage goods purveyor six years ago was in tourism marketing and event planning. We chatted with her about running a small business, the region’s thriving vintage scene and more.
“It’s easy to take Riverfront Park for grant ed, but it really has EVERYTHING! Riv er views, playgrounds, Centennial Trail, marmots, events and the Looff Carrousel. That’s just scratching the surface. But, don’t forget Manito and all the other amaz ing parks! Spokane is so lucky to have the parks system that we do.”
BEST FARMERS MARKET
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I think people who live here take it for granted and don’t realize the amount of things we have right here. And so when people come here, they’re like, “What? Oh my gosh, I had no idea Spokane was so cool,” and then peo ple from Spokane will be like, “We’re not cool.” But oh, we areWe’recool.also a frugal community. We’re not all rolling in dough, so I think people look to vintage and look to secondhand, and with the recent supply chain issues in the world, people are also thinking about vintage anew. And I think the whole shop local movement has really gained a groundswell, too. It makes a difference when you walk into a small business, if you buy something and even if you don’t buy something.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT YOUR JOB?
We asked this year’s Inlander
I have a podcast called Makin’ It In Spokane, and it’s sort
WHEN YOU’RE NOT AT THE STORE, WHERE WOULD PEOPLE FIND YOU?
YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
The Fairview at the Flying Goat
Meet the small-business champion and owner of 1889 Salvage Co. vintage shop
“It’s not the biggest market, but it’s grass roots, community-based, and it’s so acces sible to everyone. Lots of fresh produce and goods made by the people selling them.”
WHAT’S A RECENT PROJECT YOU’VE BEEN WORKING ON?
of a play on words — “making it” like makers, creators, but also making it [in life]. And I’m fascinated by the idea of being able to live a creative life and to make a living doing creative things. I get to do the very thing I love, and so I thought it would be interesting to have conver sations about that with different people. It’s really about people out there doing jobs that they love and being able to give back and make a living, too.
“I always think I’m going to try something else, but then I cave and have to have the Fairview. The sliced pear and gorgonzola is a combo you just have to taste to understand!”
INTERVIEWED BY CHEY SCOTT
[Past guests include philanthropist, playwright and radio DJ Molly Allen; artist Chris Bovey; and animal res cue advocate Jamie McAtee of Rescue4All Listen on ma jor podcast services.]
What I am best at is bringing together people who are jazzed about what they do and who do it really well, and do something different than me. My very first experience with vintage was really, really bad, and I made a pact with myself that if I was gonna open a business and do this, that I was going to find joy in it. And if that wasn’t happening, I might as well, you know, go stamp widgets. So every day I’m trying to find joy and give away joy.
Well, if I’m not out scouring for stuff — because that’s the thing, you kind of always have to be looking — and I’m at home, I’m probably fostering kittens. I foster cats and kittens for SCRAPS, and that is another huge, huge joy. I absolutely love it. And I live in a fixer-upper, so I’m either talking about doing a project in my house or doing a project.
CHIANA McINELLY PHOTO
Nelson hopes the younger generations continue to take the lead on reducing plastic consumption, considering that climate protec tion is a growing concern among young peo ple. As they become parents, they often start to shift their families’ expectations.
REDUCE, REUSE, REFILL
Spokane herself. She started with a pop-up at The Plant Project, then opened her own brick and mortar shop in April 2022.
MOST PEOPLE KNOW what a brewery is, or a winery, bakery, creamery, or even a nunnery. But what about a refillery?
of flexibility is especially attrac tive to local college students who may not be able to use up a huge bottle of laundry de tergent or hand soap in a semester. For some transfer students coming to Spokane from places like Boise or Los Angeles, refilleries are a system they’ve come to expect. (Liquor bot tles are the most popular refill containers for hip college students.)
The premise is simple. Bring any clean container, weigh it, fill it with the product you want, and pay for the exact amount you need. No extra plastic packaging necessary.
“The fact that you’re reducing your plastic and helping the environment is good,” Nelson says, and regardless of a widespread impact, she says her customers “just like the idea of not wasting.”
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SHOP LOCAL!
BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM
At Spokane Refillery in downtown Spo kane, wooden shelves line the back wall, hold ing large glass drums with tall spouts. Each is la beled: rosemary peppermint laundry detergent, olive oil wood cleaner, hand soap that smells like the first snow. To the right, a chalk sign: “Take a container, leave a container.” There are some empty tomato sauce jars currently avail able, a vodka bottle and an orange-colored gin bottle, plus some green olive oil jugs.
“I see a lot of people come in here with their kids to teach [them] how to do this,” says Nelson, who grew up watching her parents buy certain dry goods, like beans, in bulk. When she got older, she followed suit. She hopes children who see their parents refilling reusable containers with cleaning goods also form healthy habits for generations.
Hannah Nelson’s Spokane Refillery is cutting down waste, one bottle at a time.
CUSTOMERS CAN BUY AS MUCH or as lit tle product as they need. Fill up extra yogurt containers with dish soap at the same price per ounce as any other eco-friendly brand. Buy a single laundry detergent pod with some spare change if you need to do one more load before leavingThistown.kind
“We get a lot of new customers weekly,” Nelson says. “It’s a whole new concept for them.”
“We used to do it like this, a long, long time ago,” Nelson says. “I think plastic just be cameWithconvenient.”growing concerns about plastic pol lution and the common sense of buying only what you need, she hopes refilleries surpass the convenience of mass-produced products and Spokanepackaging.Refillery also stocks other eco-friendly, plastic-free goods to help mini mize waste. Bamboo dish brushes, metal lint rollers and wool dryer balls can replace dispos ableForalternatives.now,alot of the buzz around Spo kane Refillery is that it’s local and new. But for many, the conviction is deeper.
Reduce plastic waste and save money on household products at the eco-chic Spokane Refillery
“I didn’t like throwing a big plastic jug of laundry soap away,” says Spokane Refillery owner Hannah Nelson. “I thought it was stu pid. It’s a good bottle! We should just be able to refillNelsonit.” discovered refilleries on BuzzFeed as they became popular in California. She thought it would take years, maybe a decade, for a refillery to catch on in Spokane. But when her cousin opened one in Michigan, and Nelson noticed similar shops popping up in Se attle, she decided to introduce the concept to
SPOKANE REFILLERY 1105 W. First Ave., 509-722-2329spokanerefillery.comSpokane
156 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 SelfCare CLUB PILATES SOUTH SPOKANE Free In o Class! PLUS HALF OFF ENROLLMENT FEE & 10% OFF Memb ships Scan the QR Code to reserve your Special Offer! Valid at Club Pilates Spokane South and Club Pilates Spokane North Only CLUB PILATES NORTH SPOKANE 9502 N Newport Hwy | www.clubpilates.com/northspokane509.934.0154 509.443.3594 | craftedbeautyspokane.com | @craftedbeauty Dermal Fillers Botox & SculptraDysport&PRPMicroneedling Skin ChemicalConsultsPeelsCryotherapyIPL&RF Rejuvenate your summer skin. 227 W Riverside Suite C, thehouseofpop.com(509)Spokane443-5353CUT,COLOR, BLOWOUTS your look handcrafted THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
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Bazaar: Every June. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
WHEN: March 24-26, 2023 and fall 2023 (dates TBA)
JUST BETWEEN FRIENDS SPOKANE
INFO: thefarmchicks.com
BY CHEY SCOTT
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WHERE: Spokane County Fair & Expo Center, 404 N. Havana St.
BAZAAR
WHEN: June 3-4, 2023
SHOPPING SPREE
WHERE: Spokane Community College, 1810 N. Greene St.
THE INLAND EMPIRE GARDENERS’ GARDEN EXPO
WHERE: Spokane County Fair & Expo Center, 404 N. Havana St.
WHEN: Mid-June 2023
WHEN: May 13, 2023
INFO: tieg.org
Kids grow fast, and keeping up with those spurts adds up on bank statements just as quickly. That’s where this twice-annual, family-focused event comes in, offering parents a chance to get great deals on gently used clothing, toys, shoes, books, baby gear and much more, all consigned for the event by families in the region.
WHERE: Downtown Spokane INFO: terrainspokane.com
Four annual events to save up some cash for and mark on the calendar every year
THE FARM CHICKS SHOW
INFO: spokane.jbfsale.com
Just in time for the growing season (and held during Mother’s Day weekend), the Inland Empire Gardners put on one of the biggest events of the year for green thumbs of all skill levels. Bring a wagon or garden cart, and stock up on plants of all types, plus yard art and much more. Stop in to one of many expert presentations throughout the day, and grab a bite to eat from a local food truck.
For almost a decade now (minus a 2020 hiatus), Spokane arts nonprofit Terrain has been inviting local artists, makers and creatives to partake in its one-day, local shopping extravaganza. Offering everything from fine art to clothing, accessories and housewares, Bazaar also hosts live music, a beer garden and more. Each year, the event results in tens of thousands of dollars spent in sup port of small local businesses.
Always held the first full weekend of June, the Farm Chicks Show is a must-go mecca for any lover of vintage vibes. Offering everything from clothing to jew elry; handcrafted goods to found finds evoking a timeless, rustic-chic look, the Farm Chicks is an event locals and visitors alike anticipate each year, tote bags and rolling carts in tow, for 20 years and counting.
158 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 Your Museum. Your Art. Your Culture. Dancing with Life Mexican Masks American Impressionism Treasures from the Daywood Collections Gift of a Moment Lila Girvin Plateau Pictorial Beadwork The Fred L. Mitchell Collection Ubuhle Women Beadwork and the Art of Independence Humaira Abid Searching for Home 2316 West 1st Avenue Spokane, Washington 99201 (509) 456-3931 The MAC 2022-2023
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SPOKANE SHAKESPEARE SOCIETY
The Spokane Shakespeare Society, often abbreviated as S3, was found
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Audiences and actors alike are benefiting from a spate of new regional theater organizations BY E.J. IANNELLI
ANY PERFORMING ARTS SCENE rests on the pillars of its long-stand ing veteran institutions, and among the Inland Northwest’s mainstays are the Spokane Civic Theatre, Best of Broadway and Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre. But the health of that scene can also be measured by the number of new venues and organizations emerging at any given time, because, with a little luck, a lot of talent and even more grit, these newcomers will eventually go on to serve as additional pillars alongside the more established ones.
To wit: It was only a few years ago that Stage Left Theater was a scrappy up-and-comer. Yet today, it’s a dramatic dynamo of regional de buts, original works and topical contemporary plays. The same upward trajectory applies to Spokane Valley Summer Theatre, which grew from
the new kid on the block to the powerhouse that’s currently busy laying the groundwork for the ambitious $36 million Spokane Valley Perform ing Arts Center.
And right now, despite COVID’s many feints and rug pulls, the In land Northwest’s theater community is experiencing something of a cre ative boom. Here’s a roundup detailing some of the organizations that are new to the scene and how they’re working to provide the region’s actors with even more opportunities while offering audiences more va riety than ever.
THESETTINGSTAGE
ed by husband-and-wife team Amanda and R. Scott Cantrell at the height of the pandemic in early 2021. The couple was new to the area, but brought with them extensive theatrical résumés. The group’s inaugural production, an outdoor performance of A Mid summer Night’s Dream in Spokane’s Riverfront Park, took place that same summer, quickly followed by a production of the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s frenetically funny The Complete Works of Wil liam Shakespeare (Abridged). This past summer, S3 returned to River front with a production of Romeo & Juliet that was designed from the point of view of the two young lovers.
Along with giving audiences a steady supply of the Bard’s works, S3 also makes a point of remunerating its performers, which helps cultivate a local pool of professional and semi-pro actors. The nonprofit does so through grants and a pay-what-you-can model. Audience members can therefore donate as much as they like, but admission fees aren’t required. Visit spokaneshakespearesociety.org to see what S3 is up to now and in the coming months.
Chad Herrmann and Sarah Plumb rehearse the Spokane Shakespeare Society’s 2021 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
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SPOKANE ENSEMBLE THEATRE
DRAWN TOGETHER ARTS
SETTING THE STAGE, CONTINUED...
BELOW: The Opera Truck debuted at the MAC in August, 2021. DON HAMILTON PHOTO
When actor Duncan Clark Menzies moved back to the Inland North west and began working at the Art Spirit Gallery in Coeur d’Alene, he struck up a conversation with gallery owner Blair Williams about ways to use the space for more than just inanimate objects. Why not introduce live performances that would enhance or engage with the work that was already on display? Thus Drawn Together Arts was born. Menzies calls this approach “intersectionality” — that is, an intentional melding of dif ferent disciplines that don’t always make for obvious pairings.
SPOKANE PLAYWRIGHTS LABORATORY
It’s one thing to stage and workshop new scripts from emerging play wrights, but it’s another thing altogether when those playwrights come from within your very own community. Scott Doughty, formerly of the Seven Devils New Play Foundry in McCall, Idaho, established the Spo kane Playwrights Laboratory in 2021 along with local actor and director Dahveed Bullis in an effort to champion the estimated 400 playwrights living in the Inland Northwest.
Thanks to Spokane Arts Grand Award (SAGA) funding and a host of submissions from that largely untapped creative pool, the Playwrights Laboratory was able to present and, with the help of audience feedback, refine its initial round of plays in the autumn of that year. While the organization is emphatically not a full-scale theater company, it is very much about getting plays out of writers’ brains and onto the stage. See what plays are currently being workshopped — and maybe even submit your own — at spokaneplaywrightslaboratory.com.
True to Spokane Ensemble Theatre’s spirit of collaboration, it’s not unusual to find its name in conjunction with several others on a post er or playbill. Between its two summer performances, the organization partnered with the local luxury fashion brand Birds in the Coast for an evening of Broadway favorites with “Spokane Sings Sondheim.” Even more recently, the group worked with Stage Left Theater on a new pro duction of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Visit spokaneensembletheatre.com for upcoming events and more info.
LEFT: The team behind Inland Northwest Opera’s Opera Truck: (from left) Arthur Heaton, Melody Chang, Dawn Wolski, Mateusz Wolski and Justin Schmidt. Dawn Wolski is also the group’s artistic director. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
Fittingly, one of Drawn Together’s first productions was a staged reading of Picasso at the Lapin Agile, a play by Steve Martin (yes, that Steve Martin) that imagines a chance meeting between a pre-fame Pablo Picasso and a young Albert Einstein in a Parisian bar. The group has since gone on to stage holiday-themed cabaret and other works that exist in dialogue with the visual art that surrounds them. Check out drawntogetherarts.com to find out more.
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Much like the Spokane Shakespeare Society, Spokane Ensemble The atre was founded mid-pandemic with the aim of remunerating its actors. And it, too, launched in 2021 with an outdoor Shakespeare production, choosing Twelfth Night as its play and the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture’s amphitheater as its venue. The theater group returned to the same spot in summer 2022 with a version of Much Ado About Nothing that featured nontraditional casting and an updated local setting.
OCTOBER
One of the most popular of these initiatives has been the Opera Truck, a heavily modded Ford Econoline that transforms into a full-featured performance space. This mobile stage is enabling In land Northwest Opera to take opera directly to audiences all over the region, although those outings still take place in addition to traditional — yet remarkably affordable — performances featuring national and international talent such as Giuseppe Verdi’s La Travi ata, staged in early September 2022 at the Fox Theater. Check out inlandnwopera.com for an event calendar, tickets, volunteer oppor tunities and much more.
While not exactly as new as some of the other organizations listed here, Inland Northwest Opera certainly has all the energy and enthu siasm of a fledgling arts organization that’s out to leave its mark. The group’s history properly dates back to 2000, but it was in 2018 that it rebranded under its current name, regrouped, expanded its scope of operations and then set about implementing a number of fun and bold initiatives, many of which even took place during the pandemic.
is kick off Arts Month with us at the AR TS A WA RDS o n Septe mbe r 24th for programs&events, visit: spokanearts.org/artsmonth/
Spokane Ensemble Theater Director Chelsea DuVall during rehearsals for Twelfth Night YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
INLAND NORTHWEST OPERA
SPOKANE THEATER ARTS COUNCIL
The Spokane Theater Arts Council (STAC) has had quite a bit of overlap with Spokane Ensemble Theatre, as highly engaged ac tor-directors such as Josephine Keefe and Rio Alberto play key roles in both outfits. But you can think of STAC as more of an education and advocacy organization than a performance troupe.
The group originally coalesced in response to calls for more diversity on local stages and has since worked to equip theaters with resources and opportunities to reach goals along those lines. That has so far involved activities like organizing roundtables, hosting panel discussions and arranging guest speakers, many of which took place via Zoom during the pandemic. So while you might not be able to catch a STAC production per se, you could very well experi ence the results of their efforts on stages across Spokane.
Share the Unforgettable Experience of Live Broadway Entertainment Book your seats now for the magic of Broadway in the Inland Northwest. With songs to lift your spirit, stories to make you smile, and spectacular live performances to keep you on the edge of your seat, Broadway entertainment offers something for everyone! OCTOBER 28-30, 2022 NOVEMBER 14-15, 2022 MARCH 14-19, 2023 MAY 13-14, 2023
Tickets and Show Information: YOU CAN’T STOP THE BEAT JANUARY 11-16, 2022DECEMBER 17, 2022 JANUARY 17-22, 2023 MAY 26-28, 2023 JUNE 27-JULY 2, 2023 SEPTEMBER 20-25, 2022
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“We’re actually booked out for two years, if you can believe it,” Ewing says. “It’s so exciting to be able to start using this space in significant ways after all of the work that our team has put into it these past four months. We can’t wait to show Spokane what we’ve been up to and what we have planned.”
BY MADISON PEARSON
The possibilities are endless with Terrain’s new gallery space
A BLANK CANVAS
“This building had been sitting empty during COVID,” Ewing says. “That’s something Terrain loves to do — occupy vacant spaces and bring them to life with art and creativity. Everything aligned and now here we Alongare.”with Terrain, a new book arts center occupies
“This new space sort of fell into our lap surrepti tiously,” says Ginger Ewing, executive director and co-founder of Terrain.
“Our space in the Washington Cracker Building served us well, but we’re really at a stage of organiza tional growth where we really wanted a couple of dif ferent things out of a space, and one of those was more visibility.”Andvisibility is what Terrain has achieved. Driving down Monroe Street just north of the downtown core, it’s hard to miss the bright white “T” in the window across from Cedar Coffee.
WHILE WE WERE ALL GOING ABOUT our daily lives, the movers and shakers over at Terrain were cook ing up something special — a new home for its gallery — for art lovers of the Inland Northwest.
the same space. Ashley Reese, founder of the Center for Children’s Book Arts, reached out to Ewing asking to partner on a space.
Before Terrain took over, the building housed a sa lon. Ewing and her husband, Luke Baumgarten, gutted the interior, exposing beautiful, hidden brickwork and painted walls during a four-month renovation. With the new gallery finally open and ready for visitors as of spring 2022, Ewing already has big plans.
SUPPORT LOCAL!
TERRAIN GALLERY
Open Thu-Sat from 4-7 pm 628 N. Monroe St., terrainspokane.comSpokane
Entering the space transports visitors to a world of extraordinary creativity and wonder, sheltered from the bustling street outside. To the right of the entrance sits Terrain’s space and to the left are walls lined with hun dreds of diverse children’s books. Traversing to the back of the room reveals a workspace shared by the two or ganizations for book art projects and artist workshops.
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 167 BOX OFFICE 509 624 1200 SPOKANESYMPHONY.ORG • FOXTHEATERSPOKANE.ORG 5 POPS POPS 4 Cirque Musica Symphonic The Music of Harry Potter and Other Halloween Favorites MASTERWORKS 1 AND YOUR FAVORITES MASTERWORKS 9 NutcrackerTheJurassicPark POPS 5 SPOKANE SYMPHONY 20 22-2023 SEASON 9 MASTERWORKS Beethoven’sEveYear’sNew 9 th PACKAGES START AT $105 SINGLE TICKETS ON SALE NOW POPS 3 THE ART SPIRIT GALLERY 415 Sherman Ave., Coeur d’Alene 208-765-6006theartspiritgallery.com CHASE GALLERY 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. Spokane, spokanearts.org EMERGE 119 N. Second St., Coeur d’Alene emergecda.com, 208-930-1876 KOLVA-SULLIVAN GALLERY 115 S. Adams St., Spokane 509-458-5517 MARMOT ART SPACE 1202 W. Summit Pkwy., Spokane 509-270-5804marmotartspace.com NEW MOON ART GALLERY 1326 E. Sprague Ave., 509-413-9101manicmoonandmore.comSpokane PEND OREILLE ARTS COUNCIL GALLERY 110 Main St., artinsandpoint.org,Sandpoint208-263-6139 SARANAC ART PROJECTS 25 W. Main Ave., Spokane sapgallery.com THIRD STREET GALLERY 206 W. Third St., Street-Gallery,www.ci.moscow.id.us/230/Third-Moscow208-883-7036 TRACKSIDE STUDIO CERAMIC ART GALLERY 115 S. Adams 509-863-9904tracksidestudio.netSt. TRAILS END GALLERY 204 E. Main St., Chewelah 509-936-9181 YES IS A FEELING 159 S. Lincoln St., facebook.com/yesisafeelingSpokane EVEN MORE GALLERIES! Scenes from Terrain’s new gallery on North Monroe. ERICK DOXEY PHOTOS
BEST MUSIC VENUE Lucky You Lounge
We don’t do enough. It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come — more murals, more art galleries. It’s great. I think the trajectory is there, but investing more in arts is a huge piece that’s missing. What has made Spokane cool is that we’ve been embracing the arts more and more. That’s why people are staying.
Degree in hand, Barbour hit the pavement and in 2007 was hired as a designer by the Inlander. Now he’s leading a collab on this very Inlander Annual Manual
— and to see a lot of my creative friends do that, too. They stayed here to make things happen. The Inland Northwest, it’s such a good size, what you do matters; stuff doesn’t get lost like it might in Seattle or Portland. And Spokane will rally behind you. It’s been so great to see our creative community say, “This is home, and I don’t have to leave here to do cool shit.”
INSIDER INSIGHTS JOEL BARBOUR
In 2013, The Great PNW was born. Today, they have their own production facility, 14 employees and, in No vember, a shop in Kendall Yards. Their made-in-Spo kane designs are available in 100 stores across the PNW — and they ship their goods across the planet.
It’s been so great to be able to make change in Spokane
BEST NONPROFIT Terrain
“I always run into people I know at Lucky You, so if I’m looking for great conversa tion, it’s my go-to. I love the food, too — their dumplings, their fish and chips…”
“I still remember when Jer [McGregor] called to let me know,” Barbour recalls, “It was a dream come true. I was honestly counting down the days to my first day because I was so excited to get to work!”
BEST FINE DINING Durkin’s
“Me and my wife Emily’s favorite. For me, they have the best burger I’ve ever had. Their steaks… sometimes I just have to order two because they’re so good.”
A lot of our customers assume we’re from Seattle or Portland. Maybe around 2018, I wanted to start mak ing it known that we are a Spokane brand. And you know, Spokane is kind of smack-dab in the middle of the PNW; we have the best of all of it right here. And we get so much love from this area that I want to do everything I can to give it back and make this a more enjoyable place to live.
“Terrain has moved the needle more than any organization I know as far as progressing arts in Spokane — allowing artists to dream big and start business es. We got our first wholesale account, Atticus, because of Bazaar.”
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MIKE MILLER PHOTO
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO STAY AND BUILD YOUR GREAT PNW EMPIRE HERE IN SPOKANE?
HOW DO YOU THINK OUR REGION COULD DO BETTER TO EMBRACE THE ARTS AS A KEY PART OF OUR IDENTITY?
DO YOU VIEW THE INLAND NW AS A PLACE FRIENDLY TO CREATIVES?
You know his shirts and hoodies, now meet the man born and raised smack-dab in the middle of the Great PNW INTERVIEWED BY TED S. McGREGOR JR.
We asked this year’s Inlander Insiders to answer a few questions from our Best Of Readers Poll Ballot. Here are Joel’s picks!
FROM AN EARLY AGE, Joel Barbour knew art would be his life’s passion. Growing up in Hillyard until middle school, then Mead after that, he spent hours in his grandmother Dee’s home art studio. Dee’s a painter, but she exposed Joel to all different media, signing him up for classes at Spokane Art School. Every Wednesday while studying graphic design at SFCC, it was lunch at grandma’s with a little time in the studio.
Later, Barbour had moved on to other firms and his side hustle of making cool T-shirts for small clients was taking off. “I realized there was not a cool Northwest brand, it was all just kind of gift-shoppy stuff.”
On the heels of his 2020 Spokane-set novel The Cold Millions, Jess Walter is back with a new short story collection of 12 separate yet thematically connected tales. Many of the included stories were previously published, while others are new, including the title es say that complements Walter’s 2012 bestseller, Beau tiful Ruins. Taken as a whole, The Angel of Rome is a thrilling showcase of Walter’s signature dark humor and colorful characters.
Following her highly original and entertaining 2017 short story collection, I’m Fine, But You Appear To Be Sinking, Spokane’s Leyna Krow published her first full-length novel in mid-2022. Fire Season centers on the pivotal historic event of Spokane’s Great Fire of 1889, yet Krow takes supernatural liberty with some of its characters, whose lives and schemes intertwine like wisps of smoke in the fire’s wake.
CLOSE-UP ON WAR: THE STORY OF PIONEERING PHOTOJOURNALIST CATHERINE LEROY IN VIETNAM Journalist-turned-children’s author Mary Cronk Farrell in spring 2022 published this biography for young readers about Catherine Leroy, who cut her teeth in the unforgiving jungles of Vietnam. Using primary re sources such as Leroy’s letters home to her parents, Farrell crafts a captivating portrait of a young woman who risked everything to capture the horrific truths of war during a time when few women had such access.
THE ANGEL OF ROME
NANCE VAN WINCKEL
BY CHEY SCOTT
MARK ANDERSON SCARECROW ORACLE
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From true crime to poetry, add these eight new books by local writers to your reading list
Former Inlander staffer Leah Sottile, now a widely published freelance journalist based in Portland, has put together a deeply reported examination of the complex events surrounding the murder of two Idaho children, and the extreme religious and political be liefs of their mother and her husband. More than the typical true-crime account, Sottile digs deep into the roots of Western extremism, religious conspiracies and anti-government sentiments.
Leyna Krow YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
WHEN THE MOON TURNS TO BLOOD: LORI VALLOW, CHAD DAYBELL AND A STORY OF MURDER, WILD FAITH AND END TIMES
Spokane poetry luminary Mark Anderson in 2022 celebrated the release of his debut poetry collec tion, a compendium of both familiar and new works penned over the past decade. Anderson is known for co-founding Neato Burrito’s long-running, weekly spoken-word series, Broken Mic, and served as Spo kane’s third poet laureate from 2017-19.
LEAH SOTTILE
CHELSEA MARTIN TELL ME I’M AN ARTIST
Another 2022 novel debut, this humorous and re latable story from the always-entertaining Chelsea Martin follows a young art school student in San Fran cisco. Joey has a bad case of imposter syndrome and is trying to escape her dysfunctional family back at home, while questioning if all those student loans are going to be worth it in the end.
JESS WALTER
LEYNA KROW FIRE SEASON
THE WRITE STUFF
PSYCHIANA MAN: A MAIL-ORDER PROPHET, HIS FOL LOWERS, AND THE POWER OF BELIEF IN HARD TIMES This nonfiction work by Pullman’s Brandon R. Schrand chronicles the wild life of Frank Robinson, who, in the late 1920s, founded a mail-order religion in Moscow, Idaho. Psychiana was hugely (and unsurprisingly) propaganda-driven, and Robinson leveraged the in stability of the Great Depression to recruit followers who’d grown disenfranchised with traditional institu tions and government.
BRANDON R. SCHRAND
MARY CRONK FARRELL
THE MANY BEDS OF MARTHA WASHINGTON In September 2021, prolific and award-winning Spo kane poet Nance Van Winckel saw the release of her ninth poetry collection. The Many Beds of Martha Washington is yet another dazzling Winckel anthology of beautifully crafted reflections on life that feel utterly relevant and even omniscient to the reader, no matter their circumstance.
KARLI INGERSOLL ART
CJ Morrison is a puzzle master when it comes to her mosaic-like coasters, shelves, trays, tabletops and wall art. Her designs feature Pacific Northwest-inspired landscapes, mandalas, feathers, tessella tions and geometric patterns using repurposed wood and finished with translucent and opaque stains. Morrison sells her work at From Here in River Park Square and online. roamingroots.co
Fifty years as a ceramic artist shows in every piece of Mardis Nen no’s artworks. Her narrative, earth-toned sculptural works remind of ancient civilizations with textured surfaces and the distinct mark of smoke and fire created during specialized finishing called a so da-fire. Nenno’s functional ware is more whimsical, featuring na ture-inspired designs on mugs, covered bowls, pitchers and more, with a color palette that includes lustrous greens, blues and reds. mardisnenno.com
Karli Ingersoll is a well-known name to regional music fans, and is also an accomplished visual artist. Ingersoll’s commercial work includes the logos for Boots Bakery and Durkin’s Liquor Bar and her murals grace the walls of The Chop Shop, People’s Waffle and Lucky You Lounge, an entertainment venue she co-owns. Ingersoll’s graphic style incorporates bold color and abstracted shapes, as well as text. Find her cards and prints at From Here inside River Park Square. karliingersoll.com
BY CARRIE SCOZZARO
When it comes to decorating your home, outdoor spaces benefit from a little attention, too. Brighten up any space with artfully com posed “flowers” made of repurposed glass, china and crystal. Carol Baxter and her sister Louise Baxter are the talent behind Forever Flowers, which can be hung on a fence or wall or placed on a garden stake. The pieces are drilled through the center and secured, versus glued, so they’re durable enough to live outside — or inside. forev erflowersbycarol.com
Local artists and artisans offer the goods to make your home feel uniquely Northwest
Ashley Beal and her staff custom-build every order Light Factory’s playful-yet-elegant chandeliers and pendant lights featuring handblown glass bubbles in cloud-shaped and cascading configurations. Glass finishes range from clear and iridescent to frosted, smoky gray, chrome and assorted colors, with corresponding choice of cord and mounting components. thelightfactory.net
Light Factory
LIGHT FACTORY
Roaming Roots
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LOCAL GOODS
Karli Ingersoll Art
FOREVER FLOWERS & MORE
MARDIS NENNO POTTERY
ROAMING ROOTS
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 171 WE ARE YOUR OPERA BodyJewelryforEvery BodyBodyJewelryforEvery Body 1226 West Summit Parkway, Spokane WA North Annex: 429 E Main St, Chewelah WA 509-426-4465 momstattoo.com momsofspokane momscustomtattoo GET LISTED! Inlander.com/GetListed Deadline is one week prior to publication SUBMIT YOUR EVENT DETAILS for listings in the print & online editions of the Inlander.
She works in a range of media, including watercolor, oil and acrylic, but also collage and pen to create works with strong graphic elements like bold lines balanced against the delicacy and unpredictability of watercolor.
Lately, Sanchez has been painting onto older canvases, nudging the imagery into new directions. Some have become increasingly ab stract yet still narrative, with typically faceless figures acting out some unknown narrative amidst familiar objects like houses, trees and chairs. Some of Sanchez’ pieces remind of Picas so’s Cubist works from the 1920s, in which the artist attempted to articulate motion, capturing figures with graphic shapes and bold lines.
Fisch is classically trained. She originally apprenticed to a contemporary artist in Ar gentina, where she was born. Upon returning to the United States, she added a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Cornish College of the Arts, spe cializing in intaglio printmaking.
Meet six rising artists in the Inland Northwest
AMALIA FISCH (opposite page, right)
“I enjoy works that are both vivid and tonal, realistic and abstract,” she says. “I care about design, color harmony, lines and edges, atmosphere and shadows. There is beauty all around us, and I like to document it.” Visit amaliafischart.com
ERIC SANCHEZ (lower left)
The walls of Eric Sanchez’s South Hill home are covered with his paintings. He’s also filled the closet of his studio there with drawings, prints and mixed media pieces. Although he’s shown twice at Terrain and other small ven ues around Spokane, Sanchez is less interested in exhibiting than in experimenting with both content and Sanchez,technique.whosefirst love growing up in Southern California was music, also creates elaborate marker drawings of almost Escherlike scenes. He began them to counterbalance his early career working in mental health and other social services.
BY CARRIE SCOZZARO
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THE INLAND NORTHWEST ARTS COMMUNITY is dynamic, with new artists emerging all the time. Some are recent arrivals, while others are only recently exhibiting their work. Com bined, these six creatives span the gamut in technique, medium, style and experience, paint ing a compelling portrait of the local art scene.
Though she’s been making art for a long time, Amalia Fisch’s plein air and imagined land scapes and mixed media floral paintings are only recently becoming better known in the Spokane area. In addition to her own website, Fisch has exhibited at and is represented by Trails End Gallery in Chewelah.
Growing up, Andrew Parker was rarely with out a sketchbook, and pursued he photogra phy and architecture while attending Montana State University. Architecture won out, howev er, when Parker seized the opportunity to in tern at an architectural firm in Korea, followed by a master’s in architecture from the Univer sity of AfterHouston.relocating to Spokane, where his wife is from, Parker joined local firm NAC Ar
chitecture, but also began drawing and paint ing again.Parker’s abstract works involve the in terplay of structured repetition and sponta neous mark making. He often employs circle templates to create grids, drawing the shapes and filling them in or sometimes cutting out circles from the various scraps of paper he’s saved. The resulting paintings with titles like “As Darkness Goes” or “Clouds From Both Sides” are richly layered compositions open to the viewer’s Althoughinterpretation.Parkerisstill involved with ar chitecture — he’s the executive director of Spo kane’s American Institute of Architects chapter — he pursues his art full time. Early exhibitions included Emerge gallery in Coeur d’Alene and Dean Davis Photography in Spokane, as well as at Terrain’s annual pop-up show. Parker re cently joined The Art Spirit Gallery’s roster of artists. Visit andrewparkerstudio.com
Her interests are varied, says Fisch, who likes change and growing as an artist.
ANDREW PARKER (center left)
NEW ON THE SCENE
cy Poindexter-Canton moves fluidly between the two forms of language in her work and her “Inart. general, my purpose or style is meld ing visual and literary images together, but the subject I gravitate toward is the Black American experience, often portraiture,” says Poindexter-Canton, who earned her bache lor’s in English literature and creative writing from Seattle University and her master’s at Gonzaga University in communication and leadership studies.
TRACY POINDEXTER-CANTON
“Part of me is kind of feeling like I’m pret ty happy as things are,” says Sanchez, who incorporates art into his special education cur riculum at the project-based Spokane Valley High School. Visit instagram.com/givemeahifive
ty Library District, Spokane’s Immaculate Heart Retreat Center, and Sorensen Magnet School of the Arts and Humanities in Coeur d’Alene. Visit hannahcharltonarts.com
(opposite page, upper left)
Making a living with words and images, Tra
Now that Vo is completing her doctorate in pharmacy, she has less time to paint but is committed to doing so, she says, listing the many reasons birds appeal to her as an ideal subject.They’re found everywhere, even in more urban areas, yet are often overlooked, she says. And they “possess many endearing traits and qualities similar to humans” that she tries to capture in her realistic gouache paintings. Vo is also interested in capturing the ecological im portance of these unassuming creatures.
She is often inspired by literature, says Poindexter-Canton, such as the works of Toni Morrison, which informed her series called “To SpokaneShalimar.”Public Library has three pieces from “To Shalimar” in its collection and has also exhibited Poindexter-Canton’s work. She has also exhibited at Terrain Gallery, Gonza ga University Urban Arts Center and the Lib erty Gallery, all in Spokane, as well as Wash ington State University’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.
“Mixed media can be very freeing,” says Poindexter-Canton, who has facilitated work shops at Art Salvage, Spokane Art School and Northeast Washington Educational Service District 101, where she currently directs com munications and grant services.
Though she chose science over art, Karen Vo continued to paint while pursuing bache lor’s degrees in biochemistry and molecular biology from Washington State University. Vo painted landscapes, animals, still lifes and more. During her senior year, she homed in on birds specifically when the pandemic shut down gave her an opportunity to observe the avian community in her own backyard.
HANNAH CHARLTON (above left)
“Workingpractice.in miniature is physically de manding,” says Charlton, whose paintings typ ically measure no larger than 9 by 12 inches, “so I honestly appreciate doing it part time.”
“My goal is to showcase how beautiful and complex these animals are to grab the au dience’s attention and compel them to act in support of preserving natural spaces,” Vo says. Visit karenvo.com
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Hannah Charlton is an old-school artist — like, Middle Ages old school — who is breathing new life into the illuminated manuscript art form using the opaque watercolor medium gouache, with ink and gold pigment on sim ulated parchment. While her style is based on the 1250 BC Morgan Bible, Charlton’s content comes from both history and contemporary culture, including Game of Thrones’ source ma terial, the series A Song of Ice and Fire.
When she’s not illustrating lords, ladies, dragons and epic battle scenes, Charlton works as a part-time paraprofessional educator for Spokane Public Schools.
Charlton also teaches numerous work shops on her technique, which she developed after an internship at the Grünewald Guild near Leavenworth, where she studied stained glass, icon writing and calligraphy. She has been artist-in-residence for the Spokane Coun
“I create like you would as a kid.” Visit tra cypoindexter-canton.com
A Whitworth University graduate with a concentration in graphic design, Charlton has parlayed her interests in art and education into a dual career, something she’s heard called a hybrid
Her medium is typically paper, such as magazines, Xerox paper and scrapbook pag es, but anything is fair game: beads, feathers, paint, pastel, found objects.
KAREN VO (above center)
WHEN: Oct. 7, 2022-Feb. 12, 2023
Maybe you’ve stopped by the Jundt Art Museum on Gonzaga’s campus before, or maybe not. Either way, its current exhibit “New to You” is for all museum visitors, old and new. The show features pieces from the Jundt’s collection that have never been on display before. Even though the museum has been open since 1995, its vast collection of art is seemingly never ending, teeming with surprises in every gallery.
Make sure to check out New to You and Facing Fire at Gonzaga’s Jundt Art Museum. ERICK DOXEY PHOTO
The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture is dedicated to bringing local artists to light, and its fall exhibition is no different. Lila Girvin has been living and working in Spokane since 1958. She creates vibrant paintings inspired by the expansiveness of nature and showcases the figurative space in which the artist and audience meet. The show is sure to give insight into the creative process of the artist as well as the emotions felt by the attendees admiring Girvin’s vast oil paintings.
JUVENTINO ARANDA: ESPERÉ MUCHO TIEMPO PA VER
It’s safe to say that John Williams’ movie scores were a defining part of childhood for millions around the world, and his compositions are widely praised. In celebration of his 90th birthday, the Spokane Symphony is bringing Williams’ scores to life by per forming selections from his most popular movie soundtracks. Allow yourself to be transported to the fantasy world of Harry Potter, revisit the ice planet of Hoth with selections from Star Wars, and imagine yourself as Indiana Jones as the Symphony pays tribute to the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark
Get your fill of art at these gallery shows, concerts and more happening over the next year
WHEN: Through Jan. 7, 2023
NEW TO YOU
SPOKANE SYMPHONY POPS 2: JOHN WILLIAMS’ 90TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
WHEN: Through March 11, 2023
BY MADISON PEARSON
WHERE: Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, 2316 W. First Ave., Spokane
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WHEN: Nov. 5, 2022
WHERE: Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, 1001 W. Sprague Ave., Spokane
TAKING ART TO HEART
Aranda, an Eastern Washington University alum and second generation “American,” expresses his search for identity at the intersection of Mexico and America in his new exhibition, which translates to “I have waited a long time to see.” Influenced by the likes of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, Aranda’s art explores themes of social aspiration and reflections of vulnerability veiled in humor that is meant to disarm. Aranda is a mixed media artist, showcasing these themes through paintings, sculpture and more.
WHERE: Jundt Art Museum, 200 E. Desmet Ave., Spokane
LILA GIRVIN: GIFT OF A MOMENT
WHERE: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU, 1535 N.E. Wilson Rd., Pullman
Lila Girvin’s Spokane career goes back to 1958; her work is on display at The MAC starting Oct. 7, 2022.
Residents of the Inland Northwest are all too familiar with fire season or, as the rest of the country likes to call it, summer — and we all have stories from the smoke-filled days of summers past. The Jundt is hosting a traveling exhibition that showcases fire as an omen, as an elemental force and as a personal experience. The show features artists such as Noah Berger, Anna Mayer, Benoit Malphettes, Stuart Palley and 13 others who bring work from active fire lines, burn zones and the aftermath of devastating wildfires on the West Coast.
WHEN: Jan. 21-May 13, 2023
It’s Dickens’ classic holiday tale! Join the miserable Ebenezer Scrooge as three ghosts guide him through the wrongdoings of his life and where his path is leading. We won’t spoil the ending, but let’s just say Scrooge becomes less and less grouchy. It’s the perfect show to see with the family. Bah humbug!
WHERE: Jundt Art Museum, 200 E. Desmet Ave,. Spokane
TEACHING SPOKANE SINCE SPOKANEPOTTERSGUILD.ORG1998JOINUS!509.532.8225Ournon-profitteachingstudiosharesknowledgeoftheceramicartsthroughquarterlyclasses
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
WHEN: Nov. 25-Dec. 18, 2022
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WHERE: Spokane Civic Theatre, 1020 N. Howard St., Spokane
FACING FIRE: ART, WILDFIRE, AND THE END OF NATURE IN THE NEW WEST
THE BOOK OF MORMON (OCT. 28-30, 2022)
BY E.J. IANNELLI
HAIRSPRAY (SEPT. 20-25, 2022)
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A little serious, a little satirical and a little soulful, Best of Broadway’s mix of musicals has something for everyone
Tracy Turnblad and her dream of dancing on The Corny Collins Show first came to the Spokane stage 15 years ago. But this particular production has been fully revamped by key members of the same creative team that launched the original back in 2002.
Originally booked for 2020, The Book of Mormon is returning to the Best of Broad way schedule as a special engagement with the brand-new nationally touring pro duction. Brought to you by the irreverent creators of South Park and Avenue Q, this critically acclaimed musical follows a pair of Mormon missionaries as they attempt to proselytize in a remote Ugandan village. And though it delights in poking fun at the sacrosanct, The Book of Mormon’s message is ultimately an uplifting one.
Hairspray is back for the first time in 15 years. JEREMY DANIEL PHOTO
NOW THAT HIGHLY anticipated, award-winning smash hits like Hamilton, Come from Away and Hadestown have recently come and gone, you might think that the current STCU Best of Broadway season would be winding down. But the truth is, it’s only just getting started. There are still four popular upcoming shows in the 2022-23 lineup, and special engagements like The Book of Mormon are being added all the time.
MOTOWNMORMONS,AND MAGIC
Amid a season packed with musicals that are either direct from Broadway or appear ing locally for the first time ever, Hairspray is a mix of both the fresh and the familiar. Based on the eponymous John Waters film from 1988, this ’60s-inspired musical about
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 177 www.cytspokane.orgformoredetails,visitTHEATERARTSTRAINING • classes, shows and camps • November 4th - 13th Bing Crosby Theater SPOKANE in beautiful Sandpoint, Idaho Get all the info www.VisitSandpoint.comat: Come, appreciate our music , theater , art galleries , craft beers and fine cuisine ... year-round!
Ain’t Too Proud is hard to resist.
Aladdin, one of the biggest Broadway hits of the past decade, is finally coming to Spokane.
DEEN VAN MEER PHOTO
EMILIO MADRID PHOTO
AIN’T TOO PROUD – THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TEMPTATIONS (JAN. 17-22, 2023)
Thanks to hits like “My Girl,” “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” and “I Wish It Would Rain,” the Temptations were one of the biggest acts of the 1960s, but their innovation and influence spanned decades. In many ways, they embody the success and evolution of the Motown sound, and this jukebox musical shines a light on their backstory.“
Ain’t Too Proud was one of the hotter shows in New York before the pan demic,” says Justin Kobluk, president of WestCoast Entertainment, the company behind the Best of Broadway series. “It really hooked me. The story behind it is a lot of fun, and the music is phenomenal.”
DEAR EVAN HANSEN (MARCH 14-19, 2023)
ALADDIN (JUNE 27-JULY 2, 2023)
More special engagements are in the works. Be sure to check the Best of Broadway website (broadwayspokane.com) and social media regularly for up dates and announcements.
Does the wildly successful musical adaptation of Disney’s Aladdin need any in troduction? Featuring earworms from the 1992 animated film (“A Whole New World”), plus several songs that appear only in the musical, this magical tale of lovebirds, baddies and one ultra-charismatic genie has been an audience favor ite ever since it debuted on Broadway in 2014.
178 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 artsandculturecda.org | cda.artsalliance•ARTWALK•ARTISTSSTUDIO TOUR • ARTS BUZZ • RIVERSTONE SUMMER CONCERT SERIES • KIDS ARCHITECTUREDRAW • MUSIC FOR THE WISE • ALI & CALLIE AN ARTCAST For more information, visit artsandculturecda.org Enjoy the Coeur d’Alene art scene and be inspired year-round! Be part of the creative community
Winner of six Tony awards, Dear Evan Hansen is coming in March, 2023.
A socially awkward teenager writes therapeutic, self-affirming letters to himself. Later one of those letters is found, misread and assumed to be evidence of a close friendship between that teenager and his troubled high-school classmate who has died by suicide. Touching on the fears, anxieties and struggles of young adults, Dear Evan Hansen tells the story of how one small misunderstanding can grow into a complex deception and a hard-won lesson in self-acceptance. This contemporary musical took home six Tony Awards in 2017 and won a Grammy the following year.
MORMONS, MOTOWN AND MAGIC, CONTINUED...
MATTHEW MURPHY PHOTO
“Aladdin is one of the most popular shows in the world right now,” says Kobluk. “We try to put something for everybody on our program — something new, something traditional, something edgy, something family oriented. And we really hit that mix this year.”
WHERE: Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, 2316 W. First Ave., Spokane
This interactive printmaking event encourages community members to come create relief-style art together. In addition to the opportunity to make art, at tendees can buy directly from local artists, enjoy live music from local bands, and sample selections from various food trucks and the beer garden. Mas sive-scale printmaking using an asphalt roller is also a can’t-miss highlight.
For more JoinOpeningwww.icsvpac.cominformation:2024!usaswecometogethertobuildtheIdahoCentralSpokaneValleyPerformingArtsCenter.
INFO: emergecda.com
Eastern Washington University’s annual literary festival celebrates 25 years of gathering students, bookworms and writers for four days of fun-filled activi ties in 2023. Typical programming during the four-day festival includes writ ing workshops, panels, author readings and many more book-related activities throughout the duration of the event at various locations throughout the Spo kane area.
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Emerge’s annual INK! Print Rally returns in September.
WHEN: Sept. 10, 2022 and Sept. 2023
Get your art on with these four annual events for the creative community
INFO: artonthegreencda.com
For over 54 years, Art on the Green has been the premier summer art event in Coeur d’Alene. The festival features hundreds of artists selling their wares, along with live bands, food vendors and a juried show for which artists can submit work to win prizes. The highly anticipated event allows for art appreciators and artists to connect, relax and enjoy the summer sun while surrounded by art.
WHEN: April 20-23, 2023
MAC ARTFEST
ART ON THE GREEN
WHERE: Spokane, locations vary
WHEN: Early June 2023
For many creatives in the area, ArtFest unofficially marks the start of summer in the Inland Northwest (even though the weather might lag behind for a few weeks). The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture has been hosting ArtFest for 37 years now and the event is continually jam-packed with live music, food trucks, activities for the entire family and, of course, a wide variety of wares created by local artisans and makers that’s all available for purchase.
WHERE: North Idaho College, 1000 W. Garden Ave., Coeur d’Alene
INFO: getlitfestival.org
INFO: northwestmuseum.org
EMERGE’S INK! PRINT RALLY
BY MADISON PEARSON
GETLIT!
WHERE: Emerge, 119 N. Second St., Coeur d’Alene
ARTSY ADVENTURES
WHEN: Aug. 4-6, 2023
Join our local fight against cancer at CommunityCancerFund.org
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This is Jade. She’s battling Wilms Tumor, the most common type of kidney cancer in children. Your donations help Community Cancer Fund support local programs and Inland Northwest organizations providing tremendous care and critical support to patients like Jade and
TOGETHER, WE MAKE A CANDIFFERENCECER
so many others. We are committed to investing donated funds in local programs that benefit cancer patients, their families, and the Inland Northwest organizations that serve them.
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Extending 130 miles from Fish Lake, outside of Cheney, to Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River, just upstream from the Tri-Cities, the Co lumbia Plateau Trail can be as easy or as difficult as you want it to be. The first roughly 4 miles from Fish Lake is paved with asphalt, and the next 19 are crushed gravel. These portions pass through Turnbull Na tional Wildlife Refuge and the forested Channeled Scablands scoured
by enormous Ice Age floods. Proximity to Spo kane and the services along the trail make this section perfect for recreational hikers looking to spend a few hours out in nature. The rest of the trail, however, is unimproved, isolated and better suited to experienced long-distance hikers.
COLUMBIA PLATEAU TRAIL
MARY WEATHERS PHOTO
You see for miles at the Rocks of Sharon.
THE INLAND NORTHWEST IS HOME to so many trails that hiking them all might take multiple lifetimes. From grueling long-haul routes in the wilderness to simple but scenic escapes near the city, there are op tions for hikers of all ages and experience levels. Here are 10 bucket-list hikes that show off the diversity of our region’s natural environment. Whether you’re new to the region or you’ve hiked all of these before, you can’t go wrong with a walk along any of these routes.
TUBBS HILL
Ten outdoor excursions in the Inland Northwest, from easy to intermediate BY WILL MAUPIN TAKE HIKEA
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Few places exhibit our region’s proximity to nature like Tubbs Hill on Lake Coeur d’Alene, a peninsula that rises 400 feet above the silver waters of the lake below, which surround it on three sides. The park is crisscrossed by trails, with some ascending to the summit and a 2-mile loop that winds its way around the base. Traveling along the loop, hikers are treated to views of forest, water, mountains in the distance and the skyline of downtown Coeur d’Alene, which is located just two blocks to
can
DISHMAN HILLS AND ROCKS OF SHARON
Making its way along a babbling brook through verdant North Idaho forest, the Pulaski Tunnel Trail near Wallace, Idaho, passes through an area of the Rocky Mountains known as the “wet belt,” part of the largest inland temperate rainforest in the world. The history of this trail, however, dates to a time when the region was plagued by a lack of water. Hikers are taken to an abandoned mine tunnel — though there is no access inside the tunnel itself — where Forest Service Ranger Ed Pulaski and his crew were forced to shelter for safety during the Great Fire of 1910. The trail is 4 miles out-and-back with interpretive signs detailing the history along the way.
A collection of conservation areas covering more than 3,200 acres, Dish man Hills and the Rocks of Sharon are something of an island of nature surrounded by the sprawl of the city. The conservation area is part of a wildlife corridor, allowing animals safe passage between the Palouse in the south and the mountains in the north.
ing, trails become more difficult as one climbs higher from the valley floor. The Rocks of Sharon, along the crest of the ridge, are massive granite monoliths that are popular with climbers.
PULASKI TUNNEL TRAIL
the north. The area is very popular during summer, with swimmers and sunbathers taking advantage of its beaches, and can get quite crowded during those months.
Climbing from the floor of the Spokane Valley up to one of the southernmost ridges in the Selkirk Range, the conservation area en compasses numerous ecosystems. There are trails that wind around granite outcrops, along heavily forested mountain streams and across windswept ridgelines that provide spectacular vistas. Generally speak
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With picnic areas and restrooms, the Roo sevelt Grove area is kid-friendly, though the hike itself is considered to be moderately dif ficult. More difficult trails extend out in other directions from the trailhead at Stagger Inn, for those who are looking for a challenge.
Deep Creek Canyon in Riverside State Park.
TAKE A HIKE, CONTINUED...
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ROOSEVELT GROVE OF ANCIENT CEDARS
popular with snowshoers. The roughly 6-mile out-and-back trail gains nearly 1,400 feet of elevation.
Hikers on this 5.4-mile loop quickly realize how Deep Creek is worthy of its name. Lo cated in Riverside State Park near Seven Mile, the loop passes along both rims of the canyon and dips down to the Spokane River along the mouth of the creek. Scenic overlooks provide a look down into the canyon at points along the improved trail, but more adventurous hikers may choose to traverse into the creekbed itself, where the path requires some scrambling over boulders. There are areas within the canyon that are far deeper than they are wide, giving it the appearance of a basalt slot canyon.
DEEP CREEK CANYON
Mount Spokane State Park is home to dozens of trails and hiking routes, some of which are quite long and strenuous. Among them, the Mount Kit Carson Trail is somewhere in the middle when it comes to difficulty. Switching back and forth as it rises up the drainage of Burping Brook, hikers ascend the forested slopes to an elevation of 5,250 feet at the sum mit of Mount Kit Carson. Sparsely forested and bald sections at the top reward those who make the trek with sweeping views of the foot hills radiating out from the massif.
painted on rock faces. It is also the flattest of the trails in the area. Other, longer trails through the area climb and descend the steep ridges that rise above the Little Spokane River, so be pre pared for a serious leg workout if you choose to tackle those trails. The views of the meandering river in the valley below make it all worth it.
MOUNT KIT CARSON
Lying along the lower reaches of the Little Spo kane River just north of the city, hikers of all experience levels can enjoy the riparian wild life on display across the natural area’s network of trails. The shortest and easiest of them, the Indian Painted Rocks Trail, spans 3.3 miles out-and-back and passes by ancient pictographs
YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
Located atop the second-highest peak in Spokane County, the area develops a signifi cant snowpack during the winter and is quite
LITTLE SPOKANE RIVER NATURAL AREA
The scenic Priest Lake area is a summertime hotspot for recreating on the water, but the slopes along its shores are not to be over looked. If you’re itching to spend a couple of hours on dry land, a quick trek along North Fork Granite Creek and past its pair of water falls will bring you hundreds, even thousands of years back in time. The 4-mile out-and-back trail leads to a grove of cedar trees up to 12 feet in diameter with an average age of 800 years — though the oldest have been estimated between 2,000 and 3,000 years old.
HILLSIDEOPTIONSTRAM Come Visit Our New Showroom! Locally Owned & Operated • Financing Available Installation • Service • Maintenance License # VERTIOL890O3 VOElevator.com732NNapaSt,Spokane509-951-6416 MORE HIKING TIPS AND INFO! TRAILSWASHINGTONASSOCIATION wta.org WASHINGTON STATE PARKS & RECREATION parks.wa.gov DISHMAN CONSERVANCYHILLS dishmanhills.org IDAHO NATIONALPANHANDLEFOREST fs.usda.gov U.S. BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT blm.gov Just a tad shorter than Mount Spokane, Mount Kit Carson rewards with territorial views up top. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
Hiking is a way to commune with nature, to get off the grid for a moment. At Miner al Ridge along Lake Coeur d’Alene, though, you won’t be judged if you take a moment to pose for a selfie. The viewpoint at the crest of the trail is a popular portrait location with the stunning backdrop of Wolf Lodge Bay as it winds between mountains toward the larger main basin of the lake in the distance.
TWIN RECREATIONLAKES AREA
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Not every hike around Spokane has to involve traipsing through the trees. If you’re looking to get out in the sun, the Twin Lakes Recreation Area west of Harrington, about an hour and a half from Spokane, is a great spot to do it. The 9-mile loop trail traverses a broad, open area of the Columbia Plateau pockmarked by small lakes and ponds. Traveling around the loop, hikers are presented with a look into the geological past. The exposed basalt along the route was scoured by catastrophic floods during the most recent Ice Age, which created its unique Channeled Scablands topography. The semiarid plateau has an almost desert-like appearance, but it comes to life in the spring time when wildflower blooms take over the landscape.
The 3-mile loop gradually ascends from the trailhead before turning back toward the lake as it follows the ridgeline to the view point. From there, a series of switchbacks de scend back to the trailhead. It is popular and well-maintained, but the elevation gain makes it moderately difficult.
MINERAL RIDGE
starting at Value Village north of the Spokane Arena.
By definition, a scooter is a two-wheeled trans port with a floorboard to place your feet, versus the straddle-style seat of a motorcycle. Forming a friendly local scooter gang — by all accounts the city’s only such congregation; North Idaho, meanwhile has the Two Percent Scooters — was a dream long envisioned by both“Wefounders.livedclose to each other over in West Cen tral, and knew each other beforehand just from the local art scene,” Villarreal says. “But then we would see each other around on our scooters, and I was like, man, it would be so cool to start a little scooter gang.”
WHIZZING THROUGH WEST CENTRAL SPOKANE on the back of a scooter, the wind whipping around your face, offers a new perspective to getting around town.
Founded by Spokane artists and scooter enthu siasts Tiffany Patterson and Ruben Villarreal, the Mild Riders are a small but passionate group of scooter owners who meet (as of press time) for weekly rides
Patterson also discovered scooters during a sig nificant period of transition, after going through can cer treatments and ending a long-term relationship. Her first scooter, “Darla,” is a 1980s-era cotton-candy pink Honda Elite she bought for just $250.
SCOOTIN’ ON THROUGH
Unobstructed views and the euphoric feeling of zooming through the air at 30 miles an hour are fa miliar sensations to anyone who rides a bike — pedal, electric or gas-powered — motorcycle, or, heck, even a Lime scooter or a skateboard.
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For their one-year anniversary ride in spring 2022, I tagged along with the Mild Riders to see what the local “scooter gang” is all about.
Both artists had been riding for several years prior to the Mild Riders’ inception. Villarreal bought his first
scooter (which was unfortunately stolen in summer 2022, but replaced after the Riders and his friends pooled money for a new one) not long after he quit drinking, and realized how much money he’d saved by not going out to bars.
“Somehow it got in my head, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, a scooter would be so fun’ — summertimes in Spokane, zipping around,” he says. “So I found one on Craigslist from a retired firefighter in Coeur d’Alene.”
“I started immediately commuting on her all the
Meet the Mild Riders, Spokane’s growing local scooter gang BY CHEY SCOTT
ANY AND ALL SCOOTER RIDERS are invited to join the Mild Riders Mondays at 6 pm — updates on week ly rides are posted on the group’s Instagram, @mild. riders.spokane. Getting the word out and recruiting riders has been a gradual but steady process. Weekly rides have seen anywhere from a couple to more than a dozen riders show up, depending on the weather.
cool and then just left immediately once we started.”
“We’re just cruising the whole time,” Villarreal says. “Some of the rides we’ve been on have been so awesome, finding and exploring roads around town that I never knew were here.”
time,” Patterson recalls. “And I’d see Ruben, and he told me about the scooter gang [idea] and I was like, ‘We totally need to do that!’”
The first requirement is having a cup holder on your“Thescooter.first time Ruben and I were riding together, we pulled up at a stoplight and he just, like, pulls out a LaCroix and cracks it open and takes a drink and puts it back,” Patterson says. “And I was like, ‘this is magic,’ so we decided one of the rules to becoming a patched member is that you have to have a cup holder.”
“I don’t know how I came up with Mild Riders,” Villarreal says. “We’re just taking it easy, not going too fast. Chill. Mild Riders.”
“I really wanted some of those traditions because when I went to Portland and saw scooter culture — which I didn’t know existed before then — I was like, ‘holy shit, this is amazing, how do we not have this?’” Patterson says.
“The first ride that we did, I made flyers and we posted them everywhere and we somehow got it onto some motorcycle forums,” Patterson says. “So there were all these, like, sport bikes that showed up. And we definitely had a Harley guy who was kind of playing it
Since many scooters in the group have a max speed of 35 to 40 mph, the group picks routes that are less trafficked by cars and usually offer scenic views. Recent rides have taken them up north to the Little Spokane River area along Rutter Parkway, and south around the Latah Valley. Last summer when the region experienced a record-breaking heatwave, the Mild Riders met after dark and made a pit stop at Boulder Beach in Spokane Valley to cool off in the river.
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The Mild Riders meet Mon days at 6 pm at Value Village in Spokane, at 708 W. Boone Ave. Stay up-to-date on Insta gram, @mild.riders.spokane
RIDE ALONG
Find out more about the Two Percent Scooters, an invite-only, vintage scooter club based in North Idaho, at twopercentscooters.com.
TO BECOME AN “OFFICIAL” MEMBER of the Mild Riders, Patterson and Villarreal came up with a short list of initiation tasks, inspired by quirky rites of pas sage for other scooter gangs in the Pacific Northwest,
ERICK DOXEY PHOTO
Other prerequisites include owning your own scooter, doing a non-romantic good deed for a strang er, and, once you’ve been given a fabric patch with the group’s logo, it has to be sewn onto something like a jacket or bag.
and even hardcore motorcycle gangs.
The Mild Riders roll down North Summit Boulevard.
ERICK DOXEY PHOTO
“There’s a lot of kindness just in general, riding scooters,” Villarreal says. “Everybody’s pretty kind and welcoming and it’s fun.”
“I just think Spokane doesn’t know what that re ally looks like, and for the most part [we] kind of got skipped over with scooter gangs. And we pass people on scooters all the time,” she continues.
Riding in a staggered pack through town, the Mild Riders definitely turn heads and get plenty of waves, honks and hollers from onlookers marveling at the group’s novelty. The gang’s members themselves are a diverse mix, too, in their backgrounds and their style of scooters, from sporty-looking to retro-inspired models, even some that more closely resemble motor cycles or dirt bikes.
For the most part, Patterson and Villarreal say they’ve not had many issues, personally or as a group, with inconsiderate or inattentive drivers. They do, however, encourage fellow scooter riders to remain cautious in heavy traffic. Riding in a group offers more visibility — it’s hard to miss a half-a-dozen or more scooters in pack formation.
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“You absolutely cannot have a bad time riding a scooter,” Patterson says. “I think if people tried it once, there would be a lot more people on scooters.”
SCOOTIN’ ON THROUGH, CONTINUED...
www.CatTales.org • (509) 238-4126 17020 N Newport Hwy, Mead WA 99021 Visitors Welcome • Open All Year Spokane’s Own Wildlife Rescue and Sanctuary
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 189 Visit Sandpoint, Idaho this year and discover amazing treasures 95 57 95 2 TO CDA & SPOKANE FARRAGUTSTATEPARK PRIESTLAKE TO MONTANA PRIESTLAKESTATEPARK PRIESTRIVER SANDPOINT ROUNDSTATELAKEPARK TO SPOKANE LUNCHSCOTCHMANPEAKPEAKLOOKOUT BRUSH WESTERNBONNERSTRAILSLAKESECTION16TRAILSFERRYPLEASUREGUESTRANCHROMANNOSELOOKOUTMOUNTAIN CHIMNEYROCK KOOTENAIWILDLIFEREFUGE SCHWEITZER PACKDELTARIVER GOLD HILL JOHNSONCREEK PINEWOODSSTREET HARRISONLAKE 200 ROOSEVELT GROVE ANCIENT CEDARS UPPER LAKESHORETHOROFAREPRIESTPRIESTRIVERTRAIL FORESTENCHANTEDTRAILS Hike • Bike • paddle ride • view • enjoy! www.VisitSandpoint.com800-800-2106 Treasure Map – to –Outdoor Adventure in beautiful Sandpoint, Idaho less than 90 minutes from Spokane!
FOR RENT
ARRIVE OUTDOORS
You don’t have to go far from the urban core to have fun on the water. Fun Unlimited offers all sorts of wa
LONG DRIFT OUTFITTERS
REI
This well-known national outdoor retailer also rents some of its equipment to new explorers. Most of REI’s camp rentals are bigger items that will make your experience more comfortable, like chairs, tables, sleeping bags and sleeping mats. Test stuff out to decide if it’s what you need to make sleeping outdoors your most rewarding ex perience. Available equipment varies from store to store, so make sure to check out what’s avail able to pick up at your local REI. Beyond camping, REI also offers rental options for cycling, climbing, skiing and kayaking. 1125 N. Monroe St., Spokane, rei.com/stores/spokane, 509-328-9900
If you’re looking for something a little faster, Fun Unlimited also rents boats and jet skis in Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene. For cheaper than a nice dinner, you can reimagine date night and watch the sunset on the Spokane River. Or you can take advantage of all the fun a day on the lake can offer without the long-term responsibility of boat ownership. The fun really is lim itless. cdasports.com, 208-620-9050
If you’re flying somewhere, don’t bother stashing sleeping bags or tents in your luggage — a simple reservation and shipping system means all supplies arrive at your hotel ahead of your big adventure. Free return labels to send things back are also included. arriveoutdoors.com
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Don’t fill up your garage with abandoned gear; let these local outfitters equip you for a new adventure without breaking the bank BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM
Sometimes it takes expert guidance to find those local pockets of undisturbed beauty. Long Drift Outfitters based in Sandpoint specializes in floating, paddle boarding and fly fishing trips down the Kootenai River. They pride themselves on fish, not crowds. By pro viding great day trips that minimize your prep, Long Drift maximizes a stress-free experience, the perfect setting to learn casting or paddling. Guides accompa ny small groups along the river near the Idaho-Mon tana border and take care of everything — inflatable rafts, fly fishing rods and reels, and even a stream side lunch. All you need to bring is your sunscreen. longdriftoutfitters.com, 303-917-2822
ter sport rentals at its three regional locations in Spo kane, Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene. Rent a stand-up paddleboard or kayak right in downtown Spokane for a few hours or up to the whole week.
CAMPING
WATER SPORTS
THE INLAND NORTHWEST’S diverse seasons and landscapes constantly offer new activities to try. But a new sport usually means new equipment, and sometimes a hefty initial purchase is too intimidating. What if I buy a great hiking pack, then realize I’d rather spend my weekends downtown? Will I really use those climbing shoes Fortunately,enough?being finicky doesn’t exclude you from the fun. Renting is an affordable way to scratch that itch to try something new, or test out high-end gear before investing in an upgrade. Wherever you are in your dedication to a certain activity or sport, here are ways to get involved and become the adventurer of your dreams.
FUN UNLIMITED
Want to enjoy the region’s many parks? Washing ton State Parks and Recreation recommends renting high-quality gear from Arrive Outdoors. This nation wide online outfitter rents individual pieces of equip ment — tents, camp chairs, hammocks, camp stoves and everything else — as well as curated packs of camping gear. Choose a backpacking set for one or two people, or a camping set for up to four people, each designed by experts.
BACKYARD FUN
COLLEGE STUDENTS
WINTER IN THE BACKCOUNTRY
Snow sports are some of the most expensive hobbies to get into, so we’re grateful for more accessible options for beginners looking to get out in the snow. Rambleraven is a local gear trader that sells new and used equip ment, along with renting out high-quality gear for days at a time. Choose between snowshoes, snowboards, freestyle skis and Hoks, a unique cross over between a snowshoe and a ski. The skis and snowboard rentals don’t come with boots, however, so this may be a better option for someone looking to shift or upgrade gear. Or, if you’re pretty sure you’ll be cruis ing through the backwoods most of the winter, buy a pair of boots and rent out skis until you know what you want. 3220 N. Division St., Spokane, rambleraven.com, 509-327-2050
The library is no longer just for indoor bookworms. The next time your friends gather for a picnic, check out Spokane Public Library’s “Library of Things,” where you can rent from a whole collection of cool stuff. With just your library card, you can borrow equipment for disc golf, bocce ball, croquet, volleyball and badminton while also checking out your next read. If you’re planning a trip farther than your local park, borrow a Washington backpack filled with hiking essentials and a Discover Pass for a week of free entry into Washing ton’s state parks. You can even rent a pair of snowshoes from your local library! spokanelibrary.org
If you’re affiliated with one of the region’s universities, gear rental options are available to you, too. Gonzaga University, Washington State University, Eastern Washington University and the University of Idaho all have outdoor recreation gear available for students and faculty to borrow. Take advantage of this spe cial time in your life to get outdoors with new friends for great memories, or as an important mental health break to destress from campus life.
SPOKANE PUBLIC LIBRARY
RAMBLERAVEN
FITNESS FANATICS
SPOKANE ALPINE HAUS
If you’re looking to ski this winter, it may be worth it to rent your gear by the season. Spokane Alpine Haus offers season-long lease packages of used or new gear for youths and adults. It’s great for children who will outgrow their skis and poles in a year, or for adults taking it one winter at a time. Make sure to sign up early for the best selection. And, at the end of the season, if you decide you really can’t bear to part with the now-familiar gear you’ve been borrowing, options to purchase are available. 2925 S. Regal St., Spokane, thespokanealpinehaus.com, 509-534-5445
SVRGAS.COM SOMEWHERE BETWEEN WA&MT Zipline BikePark 208-556-1690 svrgas bike park
When you rent, enjoying the outdoors doesn’t have to cost a lot. COURTESY PHOTO
Glide across Mount Spokane on classic cross-country skis, skate skis or snow shoes. Fitness Fanatics offers child and adult rentals for a day or a weekend at a time. Rentals are available in-store in Spokane Valley, as well as up on the mountain. It’s a perfect activity when entertaining out-of-town guests, or for those just starting to explore Nordic skiing. If you don’t know the difference between classic skis and skate skis, or feel like a baby giraffe on the snow, don’t fret — Fitness Fanatics also offers private lessons by certified ski instructors who are eager to get you comfortable and classy on the trails. fitfanatics.com, 509-922-6080
EVEN MORE YOGA STUDIOS!
SANCTUARY
fun in the process. With two locations in Spokane, downtown on West First Avenue and another up on North Division Street, The Union offers many types of yoga — note their “Booty Werk” class — as well as spin and TRX classes. Yoga classes range from cardio-driven, high-intensity sweat sessions to those focused on mindful meditation. Newcomers get their first class free, and The Union also offers cor porate, student, health care and military discounts. 1309 W. First Ave. and 7704 N. Division St., Spokane, thisistheunion.com
SANDPOINT HOT YOGA
2605 N. Fourth St., Coeur d’Alene, alignyogacda.com, 208-691-7409
21651 E. Country Vista Dr., Liberty Lake, themat.info, 509-998-8342
BEYOUTIFUL HOT YOGA
BY LAUREN RODDIS
In Spokane Valley, Mellow Monkey Yoga owner Sara Teal is passionate about nurturing a yoga community. To promote this, the studio hosts annual retreats. All instructors at Mellow Monkey are well-trained, and offer all of their classes via Zoom, meaning students’ yoga practice is easily accessible from home and on the road. From its all-level flow and gentle/restor ative classes to a class called “Yoga for Well Being,” Mellow Monkey has something for experienced and less-flexible yogis alike. 9017 E. Euclid Ave., Millwood, mellowmonkeyyoga.net, 509-270-0001
CHIANA McINELLY PHOTO
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ALIGN YOGA STUDIO
YOGA FOR ALL!
540 E. Main St., sanctuarypullman.com,Pullman,509-332-2977
As the heat increases, so do yoga’s benefits. At least, that’s what hot yoga fans say and what keeps them coming back to Beyoutiful Hot Yoga. With four area locations — three in Spokane and one in Coeur d’Alene — its family-owned studios welcome those willing to get sweaty and work hard. All of Beyoutiful’s classes are hot (except Yin, which is warm), and range from traditional hatha to challenging power yoga, and even an “Inferno Hot” Pilates class. 1437 N. Argonne Rd., Spokane Valley; 410 E. Holland Ave. and 3017 S. Grand Blvd., Spokane; 212 W. Ironwood Dr., Coeur d’Alene, beyoutifulhotyoga.com
THE UNION
The Union’s young-at-heart, upbeat style welcomes all who are ready to sweat it out and have a lot of
SHALA LIVING YOGA
THE MAT
YASODHARA YOGA SPOKANE
406 S. Coeur d’Alene St., Spokane, yasodharayoga.org, 509-838-3575
At Shala Living Yoga, owners Ara Lyman and Jon Swanstrom have cultivated a community-driven, men tal and physical health-forward, and down-to-earth atmosphere. With a variety of class styles, from be ginner to the more esoteric kundalini-style yoga, and even a class specializing in loss and life’s transitions, this popular Spokane studio offers something for ev eryone. Shala’s team of accomplished and profession al teachers, as well as its desire to support yogis at all levels, makes this studio an excellent choice to begin or further one’s personal yoga journey. 412 W. Boone Ave., Spokane, shalalivingyoga.com, 509-919-9940.
2018 N. Main St., Coeur d’Alene, cdapoweryoga.com, 208-290-5777
1512 N. Monroe St., 509-443-3606fatgirlyogaspokane.com,Spokane,
CDA POWER YOGA
Since 1999, Spokane’s Harmony Yoga has emphasized the connection between mind and body, and how yoga deepens it. Offering a wide range of classes — all accessible via Zoom and in person — this studio wel comes all. Harmony also has classes targeted at prena tal and birth prep, stress relief, and even some Pilates classes. Participants don’t need prior yoga knowledge or specialized spaces, so anyone can gain the benefits of the practice, anytime and anywhere. It’s Harmony’s mission to “create a capable and strong body, clari ty of mind, and a contented being” that makes this local studio so inviting. 1717 W. Sixth Ave., Spokane, harmonyspokane.com, 509-856-8946
Local studios allow people from flexible to stiff, young to old, to begin or continue their yoga journey
3209 E. 57th Ave., eclipsepoweryoga.com,Spokane,509-598-8938
FAT GIRL YOGA
YOGA’S POSITIVE HEALTH EFFECTS span the mental and physical realms into a healthy habit many practitioners of the exercise just can’t get enough of. Our region houses a welcoming community of yogis, allowing students to feel comfortable starting their journey at any time. These local studios are each com mitted to offering quality classes and instructors, and emphasize accessibility to all.
HARMONY YOGA
ECLIPSE POWER YOGA
1243 Michigan St., sandpointhotyoga.com,Sandpoint,208-946-7646
MELLOW MONKEY YOGA
An early morning hot Vinyasa flow class at Yoga Shala.
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 193 CASINO | HOTEL | DINING | SPA | CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF 37914 SOUTH NUKWALQW • WORLEY, IDAHO 83876 • 1 800-523-2464 • CDACASINO.COM WELCOME HOME.
Circling Raven Golf Club
Home of the Circling Raven Championship
BE PART OF THE FAME AND GLO RY OF THE EPSON TOUR | AUGUST 2023
The best North Idaho golf course is Circling Raven Golf Club at Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort. Voted as the #1 Golf Course in Idaho by Golfweek Magazine, Circling Raven is nestled among 620 acres of wetlands, woodlands and Palouse grasses. You’ll admire the aesthetics almost as much as the play. Ready to conquer the most enthralling golf course in Idaho? Let’s go!
The event will feature a full field of competitors vying for their piece of the $200,000 purse!
BOOK YOUR TEE TIME!
We asked this year’s Inlander Insiders to answer a few questions from our Best Of Readers Poll Ballot. Here are Jeff’s picks!
Hudson’s Hamburgers
JEFF YATES IS A JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES when it comes to the world of outdoor sports and recreation. Currently, his passion is for the world of kitesurfing, but he’s done his fair share of snowboarding, wakeboarding and mountain biking. While Yates isn’t a full-time action sport athlete, he’s spent years accruing knowledge and expertise on enhancing your action sports experiences. We talked with Yates about the world of active water sports, and how to make things like wakeboard ing and kitesurfing more accessible and fun for everyone.
I think it would be cool to have dedicated launches and land ings [for kitesurfing]. I think if there were launches and land ings for these places, it could definitely make it a lot more user-friendly for the rider and a lot safer for people hanging out. And more chairlifts. I think it’s incredible what Lookout [Ski Resort]’s done. And I think it’s something to brag about, the affordability of Lookout and how close it is.
I think it would be the evolution of the hydrofoil [a style of wake and/or surfboard that uses a foil to propel the rider through the water, with the board elevated above the sur face] and how much it’s just become more efficient and a lot friendlier to people that are learning. The way that it has taken off in the past five years, it’s really allowed a lot of people to do it. You don’t have to be super athletic to do it. In the old days they were kind of — I don’t want to say dan gerous — but they just weren’t as friendly as they are now.
BEST COFFEE SHOP
WHAT’S ONE OF THE BEST THINGS THAT’S HAPPENED IN ACTIVE SPORTS IN THE LAST THREE TO FIVE YEARS?
Hospice of North Idaho
INSIDER INSIGHTS
I look at Coeur d’Alene shorelines as being great for recreat ing and what I would call almost nonactive sports. I mean, you have Tubbs Hill, which is a great hike, you’ve got the en tire city and NIC volleyball [courts], but there’s no real place to get offshore and onshore with some of these sports that we do on the water. And the neat thing about Sandpoint is the direction of the wind and the size of the beaches. I think that Sandpoint has a lot more friendly shorelines for the watersports that are kind of up and coming these past few years.
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JEFF YATES
INTERVIEWED BY SUMMER SANDSTROM
WHAT’S SOMETHING YOU HOPE TO SEE HAPPEN FOR OUR REGION’S OUTDOOR REC COMMUNITY?
WHAT MAKES THE INLAND NORTHWEST A GREAT PLACE TO DO WHAT YOU DO?
BEST BURGERS
“There’s no doubt that the best hamburger is Hudson’s Hamburgers in Coeur d’Alene. Bring cash. There’s no fries, it’s burgers, milk, pop, and you can get a slice of pie. That’s it.”
BEST NONPROFIT
“Hospice of North Idaho is some thing that’s always been dear to my heart.”
“Such a hidden gem, and those guys are really cool. They were big-time in Sandpoint and brought it down [to Spokane and Coeur d’Alene], and it’s just a really chill coffee shop.”
HOWARD STODDARD PHOTO
Meet an action sports lover and true outdoorsman of the Pacific Northwest
Evans Brothers Coffee
Ribby the mascot greets Maisy and Finley Brown as they enter the stadium. ERICK DOXEY PHOTO
Of course, even if you don’t love America’s pas time, there’s plenty of fun to be had at the ballpark during the games. Regular fireworks nights are pop ular, of course, as are themed events like Star Wars Night, Storybook Princess Night and a few Bark in the Park games when you can bring your dog along for nine innings.
BY DAN NAILEN
And honestly, just being on hand to watch one of the team’s mascots, Ribby the Redband Trout, do his funky dance is worth the price of admission.
At the Spokane Indians’ Avista Stadium, the action just keeps getting better
full-season baseball, meaning a first pitch for a home game in early May instead of mid-June as it’s been for decades.“Itmeans that we’re going to be seeing a better brand of baseball here, with older, bigger, better, faster, stronger players,” Otto Klein, the team’s se nior vice president, told the Inlander
“We’re going to see players more developed in their skills in baseball, and they will not be first-year professionals like we’ve seen in the past. It will prob ably be more of the seasoned players who have a year or two under their belt in professional baseball.”
MINOR-LEAGUE BASEBALL IN SPOKANE goes back well over 100 years, and there’s been a ball club playing with the name Spokane Indians ever since 1903.Granted, a lot has changed since, as the team’s rotated through different leagues, baseball’s adapt ed new rules to the game, and the squad moved around the region pretty regularly before landing at its current home in 1958. At that time it was called Fairground Recreational Park, which we now know as Avista Stadium, and entering the grounds feels a little like walking back in time.
The Spokane Indians boast several creative partnerships in the community, including one with the Spokane Tribe of Indians that raises money for tribal causes while educating non-Indigenous baseball fans about the tribe’s history. Another is with Fairchild Air Force Base called “Operation Fly Together,” which shines a spotlight on the local base’s history while raising money for local veterans and veterans-support groups.
PLAY BALL!
What does that mean? Basically, the team moved up a couple levels in competition in the minor-league hierarchy, and they’re now playing
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For people living in the Inland Northwest, games at Avista are a prime part of summer. And beginning in the summer of 2021, there have been twice as many Spokane Indians games on the schedule as there were just two years ago, thanks to the team jumping in classification from “Short-Season A” to “High-A” for the Colorado Rockies organization.
Visit spokaneindians.com for all things Spokane Indians.
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BEGINNER-FRIENDLY ESMERALDA GOLF COURSE
towering ponderosa pines, only to turn their head to the side and see a vista of the down town skyline just over 2 miles away.
WORTH THE DRIVE
SCENIC
CIRCLING RAVEN GOLF CLUB
COEUR D’ALENE CASINO PHOTO
3933 E. Courtland Ave., Spokane 509-487-6291, my.spokanecity.org/golf
13700 N. Wandermere Rd., Spokane 509-466-8023, wandermere.com Nestled in the valley of the Little Spokane River just north of town, but easily accessible due to its location where Division Street meets the North Spokane Corridor, Wandermere is where golfers go to get the most bang for their buck. The regular adult 18 hole rate of $34 is as good as it gets. Founded in 1929, when the Wandermere area was way out in the woods, the course’s neighborhood has changed over the years, but its reputation for high-quality, good-value golf has not.
LATAH CREEK GOLF COURSE
Circling Raven Golf Club in Worley, Idaho
TOP-SHELF
INDIAN CANYON GOLF COURSE
Designed by Jack Nicklaus, The Idaho Club is located in a beautiful natural setting along the meandering lower reaches of the Pack Riv er, just above its mouth at Lake Pend Oreille. At over 7,000 yards in length with a slope rat ing of 148, The Idaho Club is a challenging course. The challenge and setting are enough to make it worth the drive, but neighboring
WANDERMERE GOLF COURSE
WITH A STRONG OFFERING of municipal courses and dozens of public options within a short drive, the Inland Northwest is truly a golfer’s paradise. Whether you’re new to the area, new to the game, or simply looking to branch out, there’s a perfect course for you just waiting to be played. We’re here to an swer the question, “so you’re looking for a course that is…”
GREAT VALUE
CHALLENGING
.
151 Clubhouse Way, Sandpoint 208-265-2345, theidahoclub.com
Located at least 25 miles from the nearest suburban sprawl, where the rolling hills of the Palouse rise into the forested slopes of the Coeur d’Alene Mountains, along the banks and wetlands of the North Fork Rock Creek, Circling Raven at the Coeur d’Alene Casino offers high quality golf in a serene setting. The course consistently takes home top honors among North Idaho courses in Inlander’s an nual Best Of Readers Poll, and in 2021 was named the best public golf course in Idaho by USA Today
A SURE SWING
The most-played municipal course in the city, Esmeralda advertises itself as “where the ob session starts.” Esmeralda’s relatively flat ter rain and well-maintained fairways offer little when it comes to intimidation factor for novice golfers. Aside from the tree-lined fairways, the course is largely free of hazards. With a par 70 — the lowest of the city-owned courses — over its 6,331 yards, Esmeralda is perfect for begin ners looking to break 100 for the first time.
37914 S. Nukwalqw St., Worley, Idaho 800-523-2464, cdacasino.com/golf
1001 S. Assembly Rd., Spokane 509-747-5353, my.spokanecity.org/golf Scenic is a word you can use to describe just about every course in the region, but if you had to pick just one, you can’t go wrong with Indian Canyon. The Spokane area’s connec tion to nature is on full display at this cityowned course on the slopes of Sunset Hill in west Spokane. Golfers can feel like they’re deep in the forest one moment, surrounded by
Six regional golf courses that are beginner-, budget- and daytrip-friendly, and then some BY WILL MAUPIN
2210 E. Hangman Valley Rd., Spokane 509-448-1212, spokanecounty.org/1141/Latah-Creek Pockmarked by bunkers and surrounded by pines, this undulating course in the valley of the eponymous Latah Creek presents chal lenges for golfers of all skill levels on every hole, and that’s without taking into consider ation the meandering creek that cuts through the course. With a length of 6,865 yards from the back tees, Latah Creek is also one of the longer courses in the region. Originally de signed in 1969, the course was updated in 2008, and the clubhouse and restaurant were remodeled in 2022.
THE IDAHO CLUB
Sandpoint is the cherry on top. Getting there from the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area means driving through Sandpoint, 10 miles to the west, on your way in and out. Play 18, then stay all day exploring and eating your way through one of our region’s most vibrant small towns. Plan in advance, though, as The Idaho Club is not always open to the public.
Starting in October! CONNECT BY SPOKANE TRANSIT CONNECT BY SPOKANE TRANSIT ✔ New and improved fare cards and an STA mobile app for iOS and Android ✔ Contactless payment tools ✔ Online fare management ✔ New reduced and zero-fare categories ✔ Money-saving features like fare capping Learn more about STA’s new Connect fare system at spokanetransit.com/connect MORE BETTERACCESS,VALUE
“When you first enter a climbing facility the walls can look intimidating, however there is something for everyone to climb,” Sanders says. “Unlike other forms of exercise, rock climbing is quite fun with friends. Everyone has different strengths and abilities. A big part of climbing is learning from others.”
In addition to classes and different levels and types of climbing, indoor facilities like Wild Walls, and other venues such as Eastern Washington University’s student rec center or the region’s YMCA facilities, have the needed equipment so you don’t have to buy your own.
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Rock climbing is a way to get in some excit ing, full-body exercise, and while climbing outdoors can be fun and invigorating, it’s very dependent on terrain conditions and weather.
But sometimes (maybe even a lot of the time), neither the time of year nor the weather conditions are conducive to leaping into an out door pool or scaling a granite outcrop. And in recent years, smoke from summer wildfires has wafted into town, forcing most to stay indoors.
ROCK CLIMBING
YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
BRINGING OUTDOORSTHEIN
For those who aren’t sure if they want to commit to a class, or spend time and money on rock climbing, there are other options, too.
“Bouldering, a type of climbing that in
How to extend seasonal recreation when weather and conditions don’t allow BY SUMMER SANDSTROM
According to Philip Sanders from WILD WALLS GYM (wildwalls.com) in Spokane, an absence of these favorable factors is partly what makes indoor rock climbing such a great activity.Sanders also says that indoor rock climb ing facilities make climbing easier for begin ners and climbers of different abilities, while also making climbing accessible to a wider range of
IN THE INLAND NORTHWEST, getting out side and interacting with nature is a key com ponent of life for many.
Hannah Tolson works the wall at Bloc Yard.
BLOC YARD BOULDERING GYM (blocyardgym.com) in North Spokane also offers year-round access to over 4,500 square feet of climbing terrain that’s always changing.
volves no equipment and a short trip up a 16foot wall [with] thick pads on the floor, lets you try a wide variety of climbing skills without the use of any equipment or previous climbing knowledge,” Sanders says.
“Indoorpeople.rock climbing facilities have all the equipment already set up and ready to use, not to mention they are well air-conditioned. A quick trip to the indoor climbing gym could have you set up and done with a decent work out in as little as an hour,” he says. “With only a single beginner class, you can be running laps up the wall in no time.”
All of this considered, it can be helpful to have indoor alternatives to your favorite recre ational activities so the fun doesn’t end if, or when, the sun stops shining. Fortunately, there are plenty of indoor alternatives for those who enjoy rock climbing, golf, swimming, and even archery.
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“You are also not having to compete and fight with finding beach space, lathering up the sunscreen, and we have water fea tures that aren’t found outdoors like waterslides and lazy rivers.”
SPOKANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE also has an aquat ics center that’s easily accessible to students and community mem bers. And indoor water parks that are packed with unique water features, such as SILVER RAPIDS WATERPARK at Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg, Idaho, and RAPTOR REEF, inside the Triple Play Resort in Hayden, Idaho, offer year-round opportu nities to get in the water within the comfort of the indoors. (509) 684-5973
similar to a video game, these venues offer experience and practice otherwise gained from playing a game of golf at an outdoor range.
Out at Northern Quest Resort & Casino, inside its EPIC sports bar, tee up at the TOPGOLF SWING SUITE to work on your drive. Topgolf’s two bays, which offer play for up to eight people, also feature other interactive sports like hockey, baseball and even classic carnival games.
“Being indoors, we have a bit more control over water tempera ture and the air climate around the water,” says Janae Smith, Valley YMCA’s aquatics director.
Come visit Historic Colville Tour the artist’s sculptures Just 70 miles North of Spokane, surrounded by National Forest and minutes from Lake Roosevelt. 27 Campgrounds at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area • Camping • Hunting • Road cycling • Fishing • Hiking 986 South Main St, Ste B Colville, WA 99114
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At SCARLETT’S GOLF EXPERIENCE (scarlettgolf.com) in Post Falls, along with FLYING SQUIRREL’S Top Golf Swing Suite (flyingsquirrelsports.us) and X-GOLF (playxgolf.com), both in Spokane Valley, golfers can practice swinging their clubs yearround, while watching their balls fly across a virtual course on screen. Inside Lilac Lanes bowling alley in North Spokane, golf ers of all levels also can practice at ELITE SPORTS SUITE (elitesportssuite.com).Whileitmayseem
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Indoor golfing may bring to mind the classic game of minigolf, especially since the sport traditionally requires a lot of space. But when technology and sports collide, the possibilities are nearly endless. There’s no excuse to let your swing get rusty between sea sons with the myriad golf simulators around the region.
GOLF
“Offering more than greens and fairways, X-Golf provides the ability to play in a high-tech, fun environment without losing balls, getting rained out, snowed in or simply to play in air conditioning on a hot day,” says Lauren Harrison, the company’s vice president of marketing.According to Harrison, indoor golf also removes a lot of the anxiety beginner golfers may experience when they first step onto the green.“Indoor golf…is one of the most effective ways to enhance any one’s game,” she says. “By tracking all areas of performance, players can hone in on their skills with measured areas of improvement.”
Hot summer days are a chance to enjoy outdoor water sports and activities, one of the most popular being swimming. With munici pal pools and access to so many lakes and rivers, it’s an easy way to cool down and have fun. But swimming doesn’t have to end with summer.AtYMCA OF THE INLAND NORTHWEST’S five area facilities in Spokane and Sandpoint, a range of membership op tions and day passes mean your swimming skills can continue to improve during the cold months.
SWIMMING
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For those looking to get some practice in to determine wheth er archery is an enjoyable pastime worth investing in, and to get advice on equipment to take your archery skills one step further, these local venues provide many such opportunities. Expert
North 40 also offers bow, string and arrow services, and, if you’re looking to join an archery league, that’s also an option at certain locations.
Evan Schalock Realtor/Managing Broker Windermere Chewelah N. 113 Park St. Chewelah, WA CELL: (509) evan@windermere.com954-3887 Your Real Estate
theChewelahin&InlandNW!
While some may think of archery as an exclusively outdoor activ ity, there are facilities in the Inland Northwest where visitors can learn the basics at an indoor range.
ARCHERY
At NORTH 40 OUTFITTERS in Coeur d’Alene, customers can access a 20-yard indoor range for $5 an hour to get some valu able shooting practice.
In the Greenacres area, SPOKANE VALLEY ARCHERY of fers tons of amenities for beginning and experienced archers alike. While there are some indoor lanes for target practice and class instruction, the venue’s outdoor range is expansive, and there’s a full-service archery shop on site.
You can slip, slide — all after full day on the slopes — at Silver Rapids Waterpark in Kellogg.
SILVER MOUNTAIN RESORT PHOTO
202 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 BRINGING CREATIVES + COMMUNITY TOGETHER Please ChewelahCreativeDistrict.orgvisit to learn more about how we support our creative community and the businesses that support them Hold your next celebration or meeting in our beautiful club! 509-935-6807 ext 4 or rustyputter@chewelahgolf.com Stevens C nty’s L gest Patio! Open EVERY DAY APRIL- OCTOBER Check website for off season restaurant hours Local BREWS ON TAP Full S vice BAR Great CofFeE, Nice Folks. 309 East Main, 509.936.9253Chewelah 301 E Main Ave, Chewelah | 509.935.8585 Supplies & Fun For All Seasons. ServingSinceChewelah1965 Join us on the app 7OpenAM-2PM Weds-Sun 404 E Main Ave, (509)Chewelah936-9142 Scratch-Made,Farm-FreshBreakfast&Lunch! Chewelah washington
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 203 Follow us on & for events & vendors Fridays in Chewelah Park May - October 11-3:30 Great Food, Fresh Produce, Local Meat & Handcrafted Items • 27 HOLES • GOLF LESSONS • 4 SETS OF TEE BOXES • FULL SERVICE PRO SHOP • MEN’S & LEAGUESLADIES • FULLRESTAURANTSERVICE & BAR • PICKLEBALL & TENNIS COURTS • RV PARK WITH 27 FULL HOOKUPS 2537 Sand Canyon Road, Chewelah, WA Book your tee time today at 509-935-6807 or visit chewelahgolf.com OPENTOTHEPUBLIC Just 53 miles north of Spokane! 105 W. Main, Chewelah, WA Tap Room:QuartziteBrewCo509.936.3686 Shop, Sip & Savor McCunn GALLERY Located in beautiful Chewelah, WA at 508 E. Maingather.livelifewell
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Docks - New, Rebuild & Removal Pile Driving • Waterfront Enhancement
206 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 Making plans for LakeRooseveltandMore.com Vacation?Itdoesn’tgetmuchbetterthanthis! 7.5” wide by 2.37” high HAYDEN LAKE CANADA IDAHO Spokane COEUR d’ALENE WASHINGTONMONTANA SandpointCHEWELAH KETTLE FALLS Priest LakeLAKEOREILLEPEND ROLAKEOSEVELT Lake Coeur d’Alene
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 207 Breath easy. This is lake living. Christine Brochier 208 964 cbrochier@johnlscott.com2136 Using your smartphone camera, scan this QR code to learn more. Your lakefront and lake view specialist IdahoBayview,Beautiful Shop the area’s largest inventory of fishing and pontoon boats. www.marksmarineinc.com | (208) 772-9038 | (888) 821-2200 Your place at the LAKE Lakeshore Vacation Rental Cabins • Complimentary Paddle Boards and Kayaks • 31 Sleeps Cabin Lane, Sagle Idaho • 208-255-2122 • SleepsCabins.com – Call for Last Minute Discounts and Upgrades –LAKE for all seasons!
Annual EVENTS 11NOV+122022 LIVE MUSIC SKI & WINTERPARTY.INLANDER.COMMEGASNOWBOARDSALE OCTOBER is spokanearts.org/artsmonth/ SPOKANE FOLKLORE SOCIETY SAT, NOV. 12 SUN, NOV. 13 FREE ADMISSION FREE PARKING www.spokanefolkfestival.orgYears27 Celebratingof DiversityCulturalOur SPOKANE COUNTY FAIR & EXPO CENTER $10 unlimited admission Children 10 & under FREE OCTOBER 14, 15 & 16, 2022 44th ANNUAL QUILT SHOW wsqspokane.orgFri&Sat10 AM-6PM • Sun 10AM-4PM JANUARY 17-22 BroadwaySpokane.com SEPTEMBER 20-25 BroadwaySpokane.com JORDAN SCHNITZER MUSEUM OF ART WSU VISIT museum.wsu.eduTODAY! 208 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 209 READY. SET. BLOOM! The Course. The People. The Memories. 20 23SUNDAY, MAY BLOOMSDAYRUN.ORG7TH SAVEDATETHE MAY 19, 2023 DAVENPORT GRAND HOTEL Please email events@cceasternwa.org for more information. in beautiful Sandpoint, Idaho FESTIVAL AT SANDPOINT July 27-Aug 6, 2023 www.VisitSandpoint.com TOURS DEPART EVERY 30 MIN & LAST 1 HR AND 15 MIN MAY-SEPT-OCT 10 TO 2 • JUNE-JULY-AUG 10 TO 4 509208-752-5151CedarSt,Wallace, IDSilverMineTour.orgOpen7Days a week May 1st - Oct 15th Visit us at SpokaneBoatShow.com First Week of February 2023In-Person Show is Back! at the Spokane County Fairgounds JUNE 27-JULY 2 BroadwaySpokane.com MARCH 14-19 BroadwaySpokane.com Experience the Tradition All Year Long! Visit w ww.cdacasino.com /cultural-tourism/ f or m ore d etails a bout ou r u pcoming C ultural T ours and e vents WORLEY, IDAHO 1 800-523-2464 Presented By RESTAURANT WEEK InlanderRestaurantWeek.com 10 Delicious Days | 100+ Restaurants 3-Course Meals for a Fixed Price FEBRUARY 23 - MARCH 4, 2023 HOLIDAY SALE DECEMBER • 2022 SPOKANEPOTTERSGUILD.ORGJOINUS!509.532.8225
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If there was a huge downside to all this legalization, the public hasn’t been convinced: Public opinion has lurched dramatically in marijuana’s direction, leaping from about half the country supporting legalization to almost two-thirds.Theonly thing Bennatt’s really surprised by is that legalization hasn’t happened every where
“We’reyet. all kind of waiting with bated breath,” Bennatt says. “I kind of expected United States-wide legalization to happen by now.”But the verdict on legalization has been a lot messier than advocates imply.
10 YEARS
Less than 3 percent of the windfall in 2021 went to local governments, though Washing ton state Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig says the Legislature has since refined the fund ing formulas.
“It was a real boon for the state budget, not so much for the county,” Spokane County Commissioner Al French says. “The state de cided they wanted to keep the money.”
Now, he says, he can offer strains for every kind of mood and personality, and Green Leaf has 80 different kinds of edibles — savory ed ibles, sweet edibles, chocolate edibles, gummy edibles, drinkable edibles.
IT’S BEEN MORE than eight years since July 2014, when Todd Bennatt, an environmental engineer at Kaiser Aluminum, and his partner opened the doors at Spokane Green Leaf. It was the first recreational marijuana retail shop in Spokane County, and may have been the first legal recreational marijuana retail shop in the entire state. Outside of Colorado, it was one of the first legal recreational weed dispen saries in the whole nation.
right now,” Inslee said back in 2012.
A decade ago, in 2012, voters in Washing ton state and Colorado approved ballot initia tives approving the legalization of marijuana. It cut across political lines in unpredictable ways.
“I’m a parent, I’m just not comfortable
By now, 16 other states have followed Washington and Colorado’s example and le galized recreational marijuana. Medical mar ijuana is legal in 39 states. And the industry has transformed. When Bennatt started out, he only had two strains of weed. It took six months to stock edibles, and the only kind available were cookies.
Today Inslee spokeswoman Jaime Smith recalls the candidate wrestling with his con flicted feelings.
A decade after the vote, has Washington’s experience with cannabis paid off?
Even the Spokesman-Review editorial sec tion — which typically endorses Republicans — supported the measure, proclaiming that legalizing weed would free up vast amounts of law enforcement resources for more serious tasks, and eventually “the nation might final ly free itself from the costly, irrational yoke of prohibition.”Butgubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee ex plained that he was voting against it.
Yes, cannabis did raise more than a half-bil lion dollars annually in tax revenue, more than double what liquor taxes raised. But local governments were given just crumbs.
“Some of our friends in Spokane were really shocked that both of us went into this industry,” Bennatt says.
BY DANIEL WALTERS
“It was like, nobody else had ever done this,” Smith says, “Nobody knew the impacts for youth.”Flashforward six years later, after being elected, and Inslee’s bragging on Real Time with Bill Maher that Washington state could “hon estly say we’ve got the best weed in the United States of America.” His uncertainty is gone.
“Even after eight years, I’m amazed when I see something new come out,” he says. “It’s like, ‘Wow, how did they think of this?’”
And what about the children?
“I’d say, ‘What’s easier to get? A bottle of vodka or marijuana?’ And it was always mari juana,” Billig says. “People aren’t selling vodka on the side, right? You couldn’t go to some
Insurveyed.2021,only 16 percent of high school se niors, 7 percent for sophomores, and a scant 3 percent of eighth graders reported recent mar ijuana
Other parts of the survey show that there’s been a slow, but noticeable, shift in youth cul ture, starting long before the pandemic. Fewer high school seniors are reporting ever having had sex. There hasn’t been as much drinking. It’s not an entirely happy story — depression and anxiety have increased.
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 213
It wasn’t like Inslee’s concerns about underage youth using marijuana went away after recre ational marijuana was legalized for those over 21. Those concerns drove public awareness campaigns and restrictions on a wide variety of advertisements.Everytwoyears, a sample of middle and high school students in Washington state are given the “Healthy Youth Survey,” where they’re anonymously asked questions about, say, whether they drink alcohol, have sex or smoke marijuana. In 2012, 9 percent of eighth graders, 19 percent of high school sophomores and 27 percent of high school seniors said they’d smoked marijuana in the past month.
But after COVID hit, the number of stu dents reporting recent marijuana usage didn’t just hold steady — it plummeted in every grade level
“I kind of expected United States-wide legalization to happen by now.”
Replace the black market with a regulat ed one, he believed, and it actually wouldn’t be easier for students to get their hands on weed.
OF WEED
Danuse.Barth,
Cannabis growers, local retailers, law en forcement, the state Liquor and Cannabis Board, and local governments have all had to grapple with a thicket of shifting regulations and looming questions — some that still don’t have definitive answers.
What about banking? How do they reg ulate pesticides in the industry? How about the smells coming from big grow operations? What do cops do with drug-sniffing dogs that are primarily trained to smell marijuana? Has all this raised or lowered crime?
But legalization had the chance to radical ly change that: Starting in 2014, marijuana be came a lot more like beer. Theoretically, kids didn’t need a dealer, just an older brother — or anyone over 21, really — willing to go to a dis pensary and pick some up for them.
It didn’t surprise Billig. It’s what he predict ed. When he’d talk to groups of high school students before the law passed, he says, he al ways asked them the same question.
body’s garage and buy vodka.”
leader of the Spokane Coun ty COVID-19 Behavioral Task Force, says his contacts floated a few theories. Maybe the sur vey administered electronically this time was skewed. Maybe with schools closed and fewer parties being thrown, students had less access to restricted drugs. Emergency room physi cians, he says, saw increases in the number of kids abusing substances like caffeine pills and bath salts, the kinds of things they could more easily obtain at gas stations.
THE KIDS ARE… ALRIGHT?
Instead, something astonishing happened: Nothing. It was almost eerie: In 2014, 2016 and 2018, the percentage of students — middle schoolers, sophomores and seniors — saying they’d recently used marijuana didn’t move at all outside the margin of error.
same as they were from other states that didn’t legalize,” Willits says.
And it looks like there has been an increase in fatal DUI accidents. On average, the num ber of fatal vehicle accidents with impaired drivers in Washington state is about 18 percent higher than it was three years before the new law took effect.
10 YEARS OF WEED, CONTINUED... EXCLUDES ALCOHOL & TOBACCO PRODUCTS During Phase 3, we will ask you practice social distancing. There may be a small wait. Thank you for your understanding. WE ARE OPEN! OPEN MONSUN 9AM9PM 1515 S LYONS R D . A IRWAY H EIGHTS S UITE 509-244-8363BDAILY DEALS ALWAYS 20% OFF GLASS & KRATOM CHECK OUT OUR WEB PAGE FOR DAILY DEALS THE ACCESSORYPERFECT COMES FROM 50% OFF SELECTION 7.5” wide by 2.37” high
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Incarceration has decreased, but it’s dif ficult for experts to separate the legalization from all the other factors that have contributed to falling jail populations in the state. Racial disparities due to marijuana-related arrests fell, but officials have now identified another kind of racial disparity: the lack of racial minorities represented in the cannabis retailer business.
Some observers worried that the big increase in access to marijuana was increasing crime. Before he became a virulent anti-vaxxer, au thor Alex Berenson was arguing Washington state’s drug experiment laws had triggered a bloodbath in murders and aggravated assaults.
Yet for adults, there was the opposite trend. Barth says he saw alcohol and mari juana usage go way up. People were trapped sitting at home, other coping strategies — like going to the gym — were locked down, while Inslee declared both liquor stores and canna bis dispensaries “essential businesses” immune from“Thelockdown.microroutines that we manage our stresses were removed from us,” says Barth. “There was an obscene amount thrown at the human condition over the last couple years.” Marijuana sales soared. From 2019 to 2021, cannabis tax revenue spiked by over 42 percent.“People were looking for ways to destress,” Bennatt says. “Marijuana tends to have the effect: to relax you and make things easier to deal with.”
Mike Boyer dressed the part to become Spokane’s first legal pot buyer at Spokane Green Leaf in 2014.
TRACKING STATS
Still, Willits cautions that it could take years — even decades — for the full impact of legalization to come into focus.
YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
But more careful evaluations found noth ing of the sort. Washington State University criminal justice researcher Dale Willits me thodically compared three years before mari juana legalization was implemented in Wash ington and Colorado to three years after and found that, while there was an initial impact on property crimes in Colorado, there weren’t any apparent long-term effects on major crimes in either“Whatstate.we’re really saying, the trends for crime for Washington and Colorado were the
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But there’s no question that, bit by bit, the stigma against canna bis has changed, he says.
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It remains unclear exactly how much the legal cannabis business has replaced the illegal market.
But most of that increase didn’t come from DUI accidents in volving only cannabis. Instead, the big increase came from those who were both drunk and high at the time. Of fatal accidents in Washing ton involving drivers impaired by marijuana, about three-quarters of them were also on another substance, typically alcohol.
But that’s more a symptom of cannabis not being legal enough With marijuana still technically banned at the federal level, banks and credit card companies have been wary of providing services to cannabis retailers at all. The U.S. House of Representatives has ap proved a legislative fix to the banking problem six different times — and has even voted to decriminalize marijuana twice. But the Senate won’t
“See, we told you,” Bennatt tells them. “Isn’t it nice to have a little gummy at the end of the long week?”
But that’s why it still feels absurd: The federal government wants to have it both ways.
“Alcohol seems to be a much larger issue for traffic safety,” Willits says.
“I definitely don’t think we are going in the right direction,” says Sgt. Ryan Raymond with the Washington State Patrol.
But without as many arrests and raids, the black market has become much more opaque. Brian Smith, spokesman for the state’s Liquor and Cannabis Board, says that experts expect ed about a quarter of the illegal market to remain no matter what the legal market does. And the black market in neighboring Oregon, according to a recent Politico exposé, is thriving.
“Over the years, many people that we knew that were totally against it are now regular customers,” he says.
“We’re paymentsyoursurebutfederallysomethingdoingthat’sillegal,youdamnbettermakeIRSquarterlyontime.”
He allows himself a little bit of gloating.
This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgement. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. For use only by adults twenty-one and older. Keep out of the reach of children. Open Mon-Sun 8am-12am 2720 E 29th Ave, Spokane thevaultcannabis.com/spokane509.315.9262 A WITHFRIENDWEEDISAFRIENDINDEED
Much more recently, there’s been one area where crime is connected to marijuana dis pensaries — they’ve become victims of armed robberies. In Western Washington, there have been about 70 armed robberies of cannabis dispensaries in 2022 alone. Two employees have been shot.
“The retailers are very afraid,” Smith says. “They have really stepped up armed security.”
“We’re doing something that’s federally illegal, but you damn sure better make your IRS quarterly payments on time,” Bennatt says.
PROGRESS, BUT STILL WORK TO DO
It’sbudge.notas much of an issue in Spokane, where Bennatt says mul tiple credit unions are willing to work with dispensaries, and Bennatt stresses that he can take debit cards.
“You can get an eighth of flower for $15,” Bennatt, the Spokane Green Leaf owner, said in June of 2022. “How does the black market compete with that?”
10 YEARS OF WEED, CONTINUED...
THIS PRODUCT HAS INTOXICATION EFFECTS AND MAY BE HABIT-FORMING. CANNABIS CAN IMPAIR CONCENTRATION, COORDINATION, AND JUDGMENT. DO NOT OPERATE A VEHICLE OR MACHINERY UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THIS DRUG. THERE MAY BE HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CONSUMPTION OF THIS PRODUCT. FOR USE ONLY BY ADULTS TWENTY-ONE AND OLDER. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. ALL DISCOUNTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. DISCOUNTS ARE FOR REGULAR-PRICED ITEMS ONLY. NO ADDITIONAL OR STACKING OF DISCOUNTS. SOME RESTRICTIONS / EXCLUSIONS MAY APPLY. ALL DISCOUNTS ARE APPLIED IN-STORE AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE. PLEASE CONTACT OUR STORE FOR FURTHER DETAILS. T THE SCANHERE 10% OFF ALL ONLINE ORDERSNOW ACCEPTING DEBIT CARDS MENU CASE OF THE MONDAYS10%offany ONE edible or drink product 20% off when you buy 2 or more edibles or drinks 20% off dabs paraphernaliaand TERPY TUESDAY GET OVER THE HUMP-DAY 20% off cartridges and batteries MIX AND MATCH THURSDAY 20% off mix & match flower of the same size (��5� � 1��)� PHAT FRIDAY 20% off all Phat Panda brands and a��essories� NWCS SATURDAY 20% off all NorthWest Cannabis Solutions brands and accessories SELF-CARE & SENIOR SUNDAY 20% off topicals & joints 10% off for seniors 55+ (must have valid ID)
218 | THE INLANDER ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 $1.49 billion Washington’s statewide consumer spending on cannabis in fiscal 2021 $226.85 Average price for an ounce of high-quality flower in Spokane June 2022 This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgement. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. For use only by adults twenty-one and older. Keep out of the reach of children. Order Online @ PomCannabis.com THE MOST UP-TO-DATE ONLINE CANNABIS MENU AROUND DAILY DISCOUNTS UP TO 25% OFF NORTH SPOKANE 9301 N. DIVISION ST (509) OPEN703-7191DAILY8AM-10PM SOUTH SPOKANE 2804 E. 30TH AVE (509) OPEN315-8185DAILY8AM-11PM BY THE NUMBERS Taking stock of Washington’s recreational cannabis industry COMPILED BY WILL MAUPIN $164 million Spokane County consumer spending on cannabis in fiscal 2021 $533.9 million Statewide excise tax collected in fiscal 2021 $60.6 million Spokane County excise tax collected in fiscal 2021 33 Licensed cannabis retailers in Spokane County Sources: Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (lcb.wa.gov), 502data.com, leafly.com, priceofweed.com $9.5 billion Statewide consumer spending on cannabis since legalization $336 million Total sales for Spokane County’s top producer-processor since opening $44 million Total sales for Spokane County’s top retailer since opening 22,516 Employed in cannabis industry in Washington 5 NG /ML Blood-THC limit to operate a vehicle in Washington A Bi-Monthly Magazine • Available FREE on Inlander stands throughout the Inland Northwest Health HomeFood Family People APRIL-MAY 2022 Reimagining your childhood homePage22 Home Again CVR_HH_040522.indd SUPPLEMENT INLANDER AUGUST SEPTEMBER 2022 ASpokanehomeincorporatesclassicdesignelementsformodernfamilyfour 28ALSO:FOOD Healthy and Delish! 42 The PTOs PEOPLE 46 Massoud Emami Page classicdesignelementsformodernfamilyfour APerfectFit HOME Adaptable CVR_HH_080122.indd FREEOCTOBER NOVEMBER 2021 A withnature-mindedhomeisinfusedtheartoftwoSpokanelegendsPage Blending Art and E Earth arth ALSO INSIDE: Health 10 The Healing Power of VR Food Everybody Loves Pie! CVR_HH_100421.indd
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 219 EST. 2014 CANNABIS CANNABIS OPEN DAILY 9AM-8PM 509-413-2169 Warning: This product has intoxication effects and may be habit forming. Smoking is hazardous to your health. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. This product should not be used by women that are pregnant or breast feeding. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgement. Do not operate a vehicl e or machinery while under the influence of this drug. For use only by adults twenty-one and older. Keep out of reach of children. 21+ WWW.TREEHOUSECLUB.BUZZ WWW.TREEHOUSECLUB.BUZZ SAVE TIME - ORDER ONLINE SAVE TIME - ORDER ONLINE 14421 E. TRENT AVE SPOKANE VALLEY, WA FULL SERVICE STORE KNOWLEDGABLE BUDTENDERS WIDE VARIETY OF PRODUCTS PROMOTIONS & DAILY SPECIALS LOYALTY REWARDS PROGRAM MEDICALLY ENDORSED WARNING: This product has intoxicating affects and may be habit forming. Smoking is hazardous to your health. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. Should not be used by women that are pregnant or breast feeding. Marijuana products may be purchased or possessed only by persons 21 years of age or older. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination and judgement. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. LARGEST SELECTION of Dabs • Vape Carts & Edibles find the BEST BRANDS at Spokane Green LeafDAILYSPECIALS&PriceMatches 9107 N Country Homes Blvd spokangreenleaf.com509.919.3467#13 OPEN DAILY Mon-Sat 8am-11pm, Sun 8am-10pm
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Priest Lake
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Peterson was first introduced to the world of cannabis fol lowing her father’s diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Her re search into the plant and its benefits, plus seeing how much it helped her father, inspired Peterson to open her own shop. We talked with her about that business, the Inland Northwest and her hopes for the legal cannabis industry.
Terraza Waterfront Cafe
I am a bit more of a committed worker than is probably good for anyone. In great part, this is because I love what I do and am deeply invested in the people I work with in
BEST TASTING ROOM
our shops and behind the scenes to make the shops the best they can be. My favorite parts are seeing the growth we each have as we learn more about cannabis, ourselves, and the way we communicate and work together and with our customers.
FOR STACEY PETERSON, creating a welcoming and safe environment for customers and the community has always been a main goal of operating her business, Apex Cannabis.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT LIVING AND WORKING HERE?
ERICK DOXEY PHOTO
“A fun destination setting on a cliff above the Spokane River.”
WHAT MAKES THE REGION A GREAT PLACE FOR YOU TO DO WHAT YOU DO?
“For the adventuresome canoe, kayak or boat, the thoroughfare from Priest Lake to Upper Priest Lake is beautiful and completely undeveloped. You will not be disappointed! For another adventure, bring a plastic garbage bag and take the 1.5-mile hike near Lion’s Head to find natural rock slides. Fun and free!”
One of my favorite “best things” to happen in the cannabis industry is the continual lessening of the stigma and the growing acceptance of responsible adult cannabis con sumption, and, most importantly, acknowledgment of the value of cannabis for medical patients. This has also led to the vast majority of people respecting our industry. We are a safe, highly regulated, heavily taxed industry that em ploys many and gives back to our community.
“The best new restaurant to open in Coeur d’Alene in the last couple years — amazing food and a large riverfront patio, say no more!”
The Inland Northwest is a special place for anyone! The great outdoors we experience here cannot be beat, and our state has made wise decisions regarding increasing the safe cannabis choices our community can have for meet ing recreational consumers and medical patients’ needs and desires. The people of the Inland Northwest are simply good people, which makes this a great place for most peo ple to do what they do.
INSIDER
Meet the owner of Apex Cannabis, a local hub for all things cannabis INTERVIEWED BY SUMMER SANDSTROM
BEST LAKE FOR RECREATION
WHAT’S SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN IN YOUR INDUSTRY GOING FORWARD?
There’s more red tape than anyone could imagine in our business… and some of it makes life less safe and unnec essarily complicated. I hope that our politicians continue to do their duties with diligence and make decisions that make our work safer and less complicated than it needs to be. And I think they are doing their best to do so.
WHAT’S ONE OF THE BEST THINGS TO HAPPEN IN THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY HERE IN THE PAST THREE TO FIVE YEARS?
We asked this year’s Inlander Insiders to answer a few questions from our Best Of Readers Poll Ballot. Here are Stacey’s picks!
STACEYINSIGHTSPETERSON
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Can CBD ease pain, stress and more in cats and dogs? Sometimes, but the science is still very new
Aquila Brown, owner of the north Spokane pet supply shop the Yuppy Puppy, has many stories about how CBD has helped her
EVEN PETS CAN RELIEFNEED
BY CHEY SCOTT
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AS THE VARIETY OF CANNABIS-DERIVED supplements made for pets has grown over the past decade, more owners may find them selves asking: Is CBD a safe or effective option for my cat or dog? The answer, unfortunately, is not clear. Scientific research on how CBD affects pets — specifically dogs and cats — remains largely insufficient. At the same time, there’s anecdotal evidence that CDB helps reduce stress, anxiety and inflammation in animals, among otherCBD,conditions.orcannabidiol, is a nonpsychoactive chemical compo nent of cannabis plants, specifically derived from hemp, which contains trace amounts of THC. (Marijuana, on the other hand, has a significant amount of THC, which is toxic and even lethal to cats and dogs.)
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“It really helped with his appetite, and because he could eat better, he got better nutrition,” Brown says. “He was initially given two months to live but lived for two more years.”
own dogs and those of countless clients. TheYuppy Puppy offers everything from CBD-infused dog treats to flavored broth, drop per-applied oils and rub-on balms.
“Although the veterinary profession is working to understand how CBD works in dogs and cats and what conditions it can help through scientific studies, research is lacking,” says Dr. Raelynn Farnsworth, chief medical officer of Washington State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Pullman.
“Until more research is done in these areas and safe doses have been determined, most veterinarians are not comfortable using it,” Farnsworth continues. “We are watching carefully when and if FDA approval [for CBD] comes, and to what products, so that we can prescribe them safely to our patients.”
Research on how CBD affects animals is still in its infancy. And because CBD products for animals aren’t federally regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, many veterinarians are hesi tant to recommend it.
Dosing dogs with CBD is increasingly common.
Warning: This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming. Smoking is hazardous to your health. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. Should not be used by women that are pregnant or breast feeding. Marijuana products may be purchased or possessed only by persons 21 years of age or older. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination and judgement. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. MUNCHIE MONDAYS 20% OFF EDIBLES TWISTED TUESDAYS 20% OFF NON-INFUSED JOINTS WAXY WEDNESDAY 20% OFF THIRSTYCONCENTRATESTHURSDAY 20% OFF ALL DRINKS FIRE FRIDAY 20% OFF SUPERBUDTENDERSELECTCHOICESAVERSATURDAY 25% OFF ONE REGULAR PRICED ITEM DOUBLE DIP SUNDAY 2X ROYALTY POINTS SomethingSomethingF Everyone Let our experienced budtenders help guide you to the perfect experience! WE LOVE OUR CUSTOMERS. VIEW MENU: TOKERFRIENDLYSPOKANE.COM & LEAFLY.COM 1515 S. LYONS RD • AIRWAY HEIGHTS • (509) 244-8728 MON-SAT 8AM-MIDNIGHT • SUNDAY 8AM-11PM CHECK OUT & FOR NEW PRODUCT AND UPCOMING DEALS
While CBD success stories may prompt fellow dog and cat owners to try it, they should first be aware of why uncertainty about the substance exists among veterinary pros.
For pet owners seeking more on CBD, the American Veterinary Medical Association offers a guide on its website, avma.org.
Brown is quick to point out that she was, until recently, ex tremely skeptical of CBD’s potential benefits. Her view changed when one of her beloved furry family members was diagnosed with terminal cancer and then stopped eating. She’d exhausted nearly all other options to stimulate the dog’s appetite and improve its quality of life for as long as possible… except for CBD.
Five regionally produced cannabis products made to sweeten and soothe BY CHEY SCOTT
Made from cannabis grown near Chewelah’s Klaritie Farms, Skuared Edibles are high-end, chocolate edibles that give Willy Wonka himself a run for his money. Flavors range from classic peanut butter to a rasp berry PB&J, not to mention dark chocolate mocha and vanilla espresso for coffee lovers. Some flavors, like Rocky Road, are even topped with extra goodies like mini marshmallows and pecans; raspberry cheese cake has a graham cracker crust crumble. skuarededibles.com
Ray’s Lemonade
BATH BY BEX CBD SKIN CARE
Phat Panda’s line of Hot Sugar edibles are a sweet tooth’s dream. Its THC-infused sugars — in flavors like pumpkin spice, blue raspberry, vanilla and more — can add an extra something to anything, from beverages to dessert. But that’s not all. Hot Sugar also makes fruity chews, caramels, hard candies and chocolates — truly something for everyone. Each sugar packet or individual candy (sold in packages of 10) is infused with 10 milligrams of THC. hotsugar.com
Made locally by Blue Roots Cannabis based out of Airway Heights, these specialty pre-rolls are more than meets the eye. Each features 100 percent house-grown flower that’s infused with sugar crystals and a flavor distillate, in fruity varieties like peaches and cream, blue rasp berry and mango. Each is tightly rolled inside a Cordia leaf and capped off with a flavor-filled filter. bluerootscannabis.com
SKUARED EDIBLES
Started by a local couple who discovered for themselves the myriad benefits of CBD products, Bath By Bex operates online and at a brickand-mortar storefront in Spokane Valley. Among its diverse product lineup, which ranges from pet supplements to whole-body skin care — bath bombs, oils, lotion, soaps, balms and more — customers love the company’s CBD-infused Muscle Stick, which is easy to apply and works wonders for soreness and inflammation. bathbybex.com
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Local producer Dogtown Pioneers’ infused beverage brand Ray’s Lem onade is a staple on dispensary shelves around the region. They’re perfect when enjoyed alone, as well as when mixed with other bever ages — cannabis cocktails, anyone? — thanks to a broad range of fla vors, from classics like strawberry, regional favorites like huckleberry, adventurous tastes like tiger’s blood and, of course, the traditional, plain old lemonade. rayslemonade.com
CANNATELLA CRUSH
RAY’S LEMONADE
Hot Sugar Edibles
HOT SUGAR EDIBLES
LOCAL GOODS
Bath By Bex
ANNUAL MANUAL 2022-2023 THE INLANDER | 225 FOR YOUR HIGHNESS ROYALSCANNABIS.COM/ORDERONLINE509.808.2098 • 7115 N DIVISION QUALITY CANNABIS WITH THE ROYAL TREATMENT. STOP BY TODAY, YOUR BUDTENDER AWAITS. This product has intoxicating e ects and may be habit forming. Marijuana can pair concentration, coordination, and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. For use only by adults twenty-one and older. Keep out of the reach of children.
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