Inlander 01/11/2024

WOLF LIKE ME TO HOWL OR NOT TO HOWL? PAGE 6

SAVING OLD GROWTH NEW RULES AIM TO SAVE ANCIENT FORESTS PAGE 8

SURVIVING DRY JANUARY

SOBER BARTENDERS, MOCKTAILS & HOP WATER PAGE 30

JANUARY 11-17, 2024 | DOUBLE FEATURE OF NEWS AND CULTURE SINCE 1993

SAVING THE

SILVER SCREEN SPOKANE’S ICONIC GARLAND THEATER LANDS A NEW CAST OF OWNERS WITH GRAND VISIONS

By Chey Scott PAGE 22

ALSO: IT’S NOT THE ONLY SINGLE-SCREEN MOVIE THEATER IN THE INLAND NORTHWEST TO SURVIVE DECADES OF CHANGE

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VOL. 31, NO. 14 | COVER ILLUSTRATION: DERRICK KING

COMMENT 5 8 NEWS 16 CULTURE COVER STORY 22

FOOD 30 SCREEN 32 MUSIC 34 EVENTS 38

40 I SAW YOU 44 GREEN ZONE BULLETIN BOARD 47

EDITOR’S NOTE

L

ike most of us, I have fond memories of going to the movies. I remember seeing the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, which I already knew backwards and forwards thanks to the book adaptation I’d gobbled down. My uncle took me, and I’m sure he was pleased with me ruining every scene by telling him how each played out. The first $1 movie I saw was Total Recall in my hometown’s historic single-screen theater. Arnold’s bulging eyes still haunt me.

My favorite memory at the Garland Theater — the subject of this week’s cover, SAVING THE SILVER SCREEN — isn’t even a movie. It came in February 2014, when the theater played that year’s Super Bowl between the Seahawks and Broncos on the big screen. Unfortunately, like a bad movie, the end result was predictable within minutes of kickoff. A complete blowout, but at least it went the local team’s way.

Here, again, we have things going our way. With a new owner and a trio of passionate people taking over the theater, bright days are ahead for the Garland, everyone’s favorite north side theater. But it isn’t alone. The Inland Northwest is home to many historic, single-screen theaters that continue to entertain us. So sit back, grab some popcorn and enjoy the show.

— NICHOLAS DESHAIS, editor

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WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE AT THE GARLAND THEATER? GINA MANTESE

The No. 1 thing I love is classic films. Just anything that isn’t new.

Like what?

I’d love to see The Shining in a theater. They did Silence of the Lambs and Friday the 13th, so why not?

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MICKEL REUTER What I think was cool was when they did March Madness events there.

Do you have a favorite Garland memory?

I took both my parents to see The Robe. That had to be ’54, ’55. I went to North Central, so I had a lot of date nights there, too.

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Maybe some Twilight Zone episodes like “Kick the Can.” Anything else?

Cartoons before the movies. Like Looney Tunes or Spider-Man.

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TYLER SOUTHERLAND I wouldn’t mind seeing newer stuff, along with the old movies they play.

Do you have any favorite memories at the Garland?

I’ve been on a couple of dates there. We saw Silence of the Lambs. We’re still together.

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MIKE MESSINGER I want to see it as a venue: stand-up comedy, small music groups. Maybe even a play. Take advantage of the stage.

Favorite memory there?

I saw Jaws there when it came out. I was young. It scarred me for life.

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JANUARY 11, 2024 INLANDER 5

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Depending on where it’s heard, a wolf’s howl can be a death sentence.

Calling to the Wild The urge — and trepidations — of connecting more deeply with the embattled wolves of the Pacific Northwest

BY CMARIE FUHRMAN

T

his year, I resolve to learn to howl.

My friend Carter says that if I get it right, wolves will howl back. I ache for that kind of communion, connection. To embrace pure wildness. I want to howl with wolves, but I have my fears, too. I’m not afraid of wolves. I

6 INLANDER JANUARY 11, 2024

have been within a stone’s throw. Watched one, shocked and still in awe and disbelief, as she cut the trail in front of us, tail down, purposefully uninterested. What I am afraid of is exposing the wolves.

Because in the state where I live, that kind of song can be deadly. Politics and my own yearnings notwithstanding, the wolves would be safer if they stay quiet. From wolves to rattlesnakes who’ve adapted not to rattle, silence has been a way of survival for millions of years.

“I don’t want anyone to know about my Native blood,” the young poet said. “I don’t want

them to know I am Black.”

I had said something similar in grad school. “But you are a Native woman,” my professor said to me, “you can’t erase that from your life experience any easier than you can hide it from your poetry.”

But like this young poet, I was afraid. I live in a state that has repeatedly proven its disrespect for the female body. Its disdain for Native people, any people of color, has made itself famous, an attraction for those whose blatant prejudice makes Idaho as welcoming as the sundowner cities of the south. Living here, I have learned where I am safe and where I am not, but moreover I have learned that there are times when speaking my truth, speaking up, speaking would be dangerous.

T

wo summers ago, the last time I tried to beckon a howl back, I had cupped my hands to my mouth and let loose something between a domestic yip and a coyote cry. It lacked the soul of the wolf. The depth. That certain loneliness that comes from being sentient and singular in a body that can only share its experience through limited communication. Looking back, I remember the shyness of trying. The early attempts that sounded something like a soundtrack from a bad Western movie, sounds issued from my chest, rather than my depths. I may have been a little nervous, too.

The place where a true howl comes from is deep. Below the belly button and below the surface of mere sound. Finding that place, awakening that source, is no less difficult than trying to find the right words to say to someone beloved. No less terrifying than finally releasing a truth that I had hidden from myself and perhaps another. The howl, were I to finally find it, would, even as it might be returned, make me vulnerable, expose me as only releasing my true self can.

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The place where a true howl comes from is deep.

That honesty is why I write. Why I cross out line after line to look for the right words to express what living in this mixed race female body is like. To connect. “Aren’t you afraid that something you write might bring harm to you?” the same poet asked. I am.

And though I believe art should have some level of provocation, making it should never bring about physical harm or even the newer social harm, the kind that attacks and harms the psyche, that silences the writer through canceling or killing their voice.

T

here may come a day, despite how good my howl becomes and how many wolves walk the ridgelines and forests, when I do not receive a reply. Survival, the desire to live, is perhaps a stronger instinct than the need to communicate.

There may also come a day when I stop trying to get the wolves to howl back, my fear for their safety greater than my desire to hear my call echoed. I don’t want to feel that loneliness in the woods any more than I want to feel it in the words issued by the young poet afraid of the harm their truth brings.

My friend tells me that howling brings a pack together.

Brings a family together, creates safety in the number of those who respond. We are not wolves; we should not fear that singing our deep truths, being vulnerable comes with the risk of being harmed, being silenced. This is why I am resolving to perfect my howl. I want to give that young poet the courage to howl back.

To know he is not alone. To call my people together, that we may protect one another, that we may sing our truths. n CMarie Fuhrman is the author of the collection of poems, Camped Beneath the Dam, and co-editor of two anthologies, Cascadia Field Guide and Native Voices: Indigenous Poetry, Craft, and Conversations. Fuhrman is the associate director of the graduate program in creative writing at Western Colorado University. She resides in West Central Idaho.

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ENVIRONMENT

NEW RULES FOR OLD GROWTH The old growth forest in the Sol Duc section of Washington’s Olympic National Forest.

As the Biden administration takes a historic step to protect old-growth forests, environmental advocates say it’s not enough while industry say it goes too far

BY MARIANNE LAVELLE, INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS

I

n an unprecedented step to preserve and maintain the most carbon-rich elements of U.S. forests in an era of climate change, President Joe Biden’s administration last month proposed to end commercially driven logging of old-growth trees in national forests.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who oversees the U.S. Forest Service, issued a notice of intent to amend the land management plans of all 128 national forests to prioritize old-growth conservation and recognize the oldest trees’ unique role in carbon storage.

It would be the first nationwide amendment to forest plans in the 118-year history of the Forest Service, where local rangers typically have the final word on how to balance forests’ role in watersheds, wildlife and recreation with the agency’s mandate to maintain a “sustained yield” of timber.

“Old-growth forests are a vital part of our ecosystems and a special cultural resource,” Vilsack said in a statement accompanying the notice. “This clear direction will help our old-growth forests thrive across our shared landscape.”

But initial responses from both environmentalists and the logging industry suggest that the plan does not resolve the conflict between the Forest Service’s traditional role of administering the “products and services” of public lands — especially timber — and the challenges the agency now faces due to climate change. National forests hold most of the nation’s mature and old-growth trees, and therefore its greatest stores of forest carbon, but that resource is under growing pressure from wildfire, insects, disease and other impacts of warming.

Views could not be more polarized on how the national forests should be managed in light of the growing risks.

National and local environmental advocates have been urging the Biden administration to adopt a new policy emphasizing preservation in national forests, treating them as a strategic reserve of carbon. Although they praised the

8 INLANDER JANUARY 11, 2024

old-growth proposal as an “historic” step, they want to see protection extended to “mature” forests, those dominated by trees roughly 80 to 150 years old, which are a far larger portion of the national forests. As old-growth trees are lost, which can happen rapidly due to megafires and other assaults, they argue that the Forest Service should be ensuring there are fully developed trees on the landscape to take their place.

On the other hand, timber companies argue that they provide the solutions to the pressures that the national forests face in a warming world. By thinning out overstocked forests, they say they can help reduce wildfire risk and make the forests more climate resilient. They say that instead of forcing national forest managers to consider and incorporate a new national mandate, local rangers should be giving their full focus to hazardous fuels reduction and “treatments” — including thinning and logging — to improve forest health.

The Biden administration’s new proposal seeks to take a middle ground, establishing protection for the oldest trees under its stewardship while allowing exceptions to reduce fuel hazards, protect public health and safety and other purposes. And the Forest Service is seeking public comment through Feb. 2 on the proposal as well as other steps needed to manage its lands to retain mature and old-growth forests over time, particularly in light of climate change.

The National Climate Assessment released by the administration this fall included data underscoring the urgency of the issue: The amount of carbon sequestered by U.S. forest land decreased by 22% from 1990 to 2019 (from 816 to 638 million tons of carbon dioxide) due to a combination of drought, wildfire and disturbances by insects and disease. In webcast presentations this fall on its work to update agency policy, the Forest Service showed that the amount of mature and old-growth forest in national forests

exposed to temperatures in excess of 90 degrees for more than two months a year has doubled compared to the last three decades of the last century. If global carbon emissions continue on a high trajectory, exposure to such extreme temperatures is on track to double again by midcentury and yet again by the end of the 21st century.

“Climate change isn’t knocking at the door,” said Forest Service wildlife biologist Raymond Davis. “It’s got a foot inside the house already.”

P

robably no event better illustrates the opposing views on the future of the national forests than the megafires that ignited over Labor Day weekend 2020 in Oregon, burning 1 million acres across the state — twice its 10-year average. Three separate fires roared across 176,000 acres of Willamette National Forest, destroying both mature and old-growth forest, including critical habitat for the endangered northern spotted owl.

Fire temperatures were so intense that the organic layer of the soil was lost in places, complicating the job of replanting and recovery.

Timber industry groups argue that the destruction undercuts one of the arguments of forest preservationists — that mature and old-growth trees are the most resistant trees to wildfire, and therefore, maintaining them will not increase wildfire risk.

“Go out and look at the Holiday Farm Fire in western Oregon and tell us that large old trees are resilient to wildfire,” said Travis Joseph, president and CEO of the American Forest Resource Council, in an interview last year. “You have massive trees that are burned up and dead because of the forest conditions,” said Joseph, whose group represents Western timber companies. ...continued on page 10

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NEWS | ENVIRONMENT “NEW RULES FOR OLD GROWTH,” CONTINUED...

“Our view is clean up the forest, thin it out, make it more resilient,” he said, adding that prescribed fire as well as thinning was needed. “And of course, it makes sense through proactive science-based management to be protecting those bigger, older trees. But right now, those older, bigger trees are getting burned up, and we’re losing them — not because of logging.”

But in a study of the Oregon fires published in 2022, Forest Service scientists concluded that no amount of thinning could have prevented the destruction given the intensity of the fires that engulfed the forest. They found that forest stands burned at high severity regardless of whether they had low or high levels of biomass. Moreover, they found evidence in paleoecological records that infrequent high-severity fires are a pattern in the mountainous ranges of the Pacific Northwest, occurring when late summer drought is followed by strong east-west winds. Both dryness and winds were extreme in September 2020.

“Our findings reinforce that the Labor Day fires were fundamentally a weather-driven event,” the Forest Service scientists wrote. “The influence of forest management on fire severity was minimal and variation in forest structure or fuels played relatively little role.”

Lending support to that conclusion is the fact, disclosed in public reports to shareholders, that private forests managed for timber production, like those belonging to forest giant Weyerhaeuser, also sustained major losses in the 2020 Oregon fires, as did the reserves within Willamette National Forest where logging was restricted to preserve old-growth and the habitat of the spotted owl.

Environmentalists say the Oregon fires underscore why, in addition to taking important steps for nationwide protection of old-growth, they want to see the Forest Service extend protection to mature forests.

“These old-growth trees will eventually die, just like all living things on the planet,” said Randi Spivak, director of the public lands program for the Center for Biological Diversity. “These forests cannot do their important jobs of pulling carbon from the air, and protecting biodiversity and watersheds, if we don’t restore the amount of old-growth across the landscape, and that is mature forest.

They are our future old growth.”

If the Forest Service were to put in place nationwide protections for both mature and old-growth forests, it would close off about two-thirds of the national forests to logging. In an inventory concluded earlier this year in response to a Biden executive order, the Forest Service found that 24.7 million acres, or 17%, of its 144.3 million acres of forest are old-growth, while 68.1 million acres, or 47%, are mature.

L

ike all federal agencies, the Forest Service is grappling with climate change with little direction from Congress. The agency’s primary governing statutes, which date back to 1960 and 1976, did not contemplate climate change. Although the 1976 National Forest Management Act put a greater emphasis on environmental protection than the earlier timber harvest-focused law, the agency’s mandate remained to manage national forests “under principles of multiple use and to produce a sustained yield of products and services.”

Congress never told the Forest Service which of the multiple uses — timber, water and wildlife, recreation — should take priority, leaving decision-making to local managers based on local needs and conditions. In more recent years, as wildfire risk and forest health have become more pressing problems, Congress has allocated money and authorized the Forest Service to enter into agreements with outside groups for assistance. In some cases, critics have argued those outside contracts have helped perpetu-

10 INLANDER JANUARY 11, 2024

ate logging projects. ing and energy development) were given protected status.

Before last week’s announcement by Vilsack, a coaliSince then, the Biden administration has instituted tion of more than 120 national and local environmental new protections in special areas — for example, in the groups, the Climate Forests Campaign, had identified at world’s largest intact temperate rainforest in the Tongass least 20 logging projects planned or underway that target National Forest in Alaska — but the Forest Service is still 370,000 acres of mature and old-growth trees in national grappling with how to address both climate resilience and forests. Local rangers have a range of reasons for these mature and old-growth forest protection on the majority projects, not only wildfire risk of the lands it manages. reduction, but restoration of The agency sees the biggest certain species, like oak, as threats to older trees as wildfire, well as creation of “young” forwhich has consumed 2.6 million Old-growth forests once dominated the Northest. Money that Congress has acres of mature and 689,000 western landscape. From California to Alaska, the allocated to the Forest Service acres of old-growth forest on region was home to vast tracts of mighty conifer for “hazardous fuels reducpublic lands since 2000, and trees like Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, noble fir, tion” in spending bills like the insects and disease, which have western hemlock, western red cedar and Pacific 2021 bipartisan Infrastructure destroyed 1.9 million acres silver fir, some with trunks as wide as houses and Investment and Jobs Act shows of mature and 134,000 acres lifespans of 1,000 years or more. But since the time that lawmakers want these of old-growth in that time. In of European settlement, about 72% of the original logging projects to take place, contrast, logging on public lands old-growth conifer forest is gone, due to logging in the view of timber industry — much reduced since the peak and other developments. advocates. years of the 1970s and 1980s — The remaining parcels are few and far “Congress has made it has removed 244,500 acres of between, but Washington state boasts millions of clear that job one is reducing mature forest and 9,300 acres of acres of old growth, from Olympic National Park to the threat of catastrophic fires old-growth.

Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. by thinning our national forAnd the agency, which still Yet it’s not just the coastal lands that harbor ests, something our industry is evaluates performance based old growth. Kootenai National Forest in Montana more than capable of doing,” in part on timber targets, made includes more than 400 acres of old growth that’s said Bill Imbergamo, exclear it sees logging as integral to at risk of logging through the Black Ram Project, ecutive director of the Federal climate resilience in its webcast which was halted by a judge in August. And Idaho’s Forest Resource Coalition. presentation this fall. It included Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests host the Gi“Instead, the same staff who among the threats to mature and ant Cedar Grove and its “Champion Tree of Idaho,” should be planning fuels treatold-growth forests a “lack of mill which is more than 18 feet in diameter, as well as ments are going to be engaged capacity” in some areas. In other many other groves of old-growth cedar trees. in a rushed, top-down effort words, the agency’s view is that — NICHOLAS DESHAIS to amend every forest plan to it can’t properly maintain forests restrict management options without facilities to process on even more acres of national chopped down trees. forests.”

“Are they looking at the chainsaw as their only But not all members of Congress interpret the laws tool?” asked Blaine Miller-McFeeley, a senior lobbyist for that way. In a letter to the lands management agencies, a Earthjustice, which has taken the Forest Service to court group of Democratic members from Oregon, including over logging plans. “That’s taking a pretty narrow and poboth of the state’s senators, said the infrastructure law’s intentially predetermined tent was to enhance protection of mature and old-growth view of what the soluLETTERS forests as well as reduce hazardous fuels.“Oregonians tions are for addressing Send comments to know all too well the impact of the climate crisis on our threats.” editor@inlander.com. forests that are held dear as places of work as well as Greg Aplet, senior places of refuge,” Oregon U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said scientist for the Wilderin an email. “They’ve feared for their health and safety ness Society, believes the main barrier to change in Forest as bigger and more intense wildfires have hit our state, Service practices is cultural, in that the agency has prided watched entire towns leveled to ash and choked on itself on its roles in providing wood for society and proharmful wildfire smoke. As ecosystems adapt to climate tecting citizens from wildfire. Over time, prodded by polichange, so too must forest management.” cies like endangered species protection, the Forest Service But how should forest management change? has set aside protected areas. But Aplet argues that’s not Wyden said, in his email, that active management and enough, given the challenges of climate change. conservation “need not be mutually exclusive,” and that “The old paradigm that has governed the National they should be guided by science as well as Indigenous Forest System since its founding is the purpose of the knowledge. (Vilsack’s new policy includes a provision national forests is to produce timber,” Aplet said. “And to “more clearly recognize and incorporate Indigenous if you want to do anything other than that, you better knowledge and tribal rights and interests in managing for designate it for some other use, like wilderness or roadless old-growth forest conditions.”) areas, or old-growth reserves. And what you don’t desigSome argue that national forests should play a large nate, you manage for timber.” role in meeting Biden’s goal, set out in his first week in But events in the national forests over at least the past office, of conserving at least 30% of U.S. lands by 2030 decade have shown that climate change doesn’t recognize as part of the nation’s plan to mitigate climate change. A such designations. “We can’t assign anything to a par2021 analysis by the nonprofit think tank Resources for ticular state forever, and expect it to stay that way,” Aplet the Future showed that only 14.2% of U.S. land could be said. “The system is just too dynamic.” n categorized as protected. But the U.S. could meet the 30% goal immediately if all extractive lands held by the Forest This article originally appeared on Inside Climate Service and the Bureau of Land Management (which News, a nonprofit, independent news organization manages some forests as well as rangeland used for grazthat covers climate, energy and the environment.

LOCAL OLD GROWTH

NEWS | BRIEFS

Brown’s Hires

No need to use your inside voice.

The new mayor fills her ranks. Plus, lawmakers consider more changes to housing rules; and what to expect this legislative session.

Raise the roof with new acts at Northern Questʼs Pend Oreille Pavilion.

BY INLANDER STAFF

S

pokane Mayor Lisa Brown — who took office on Jan. 1 — is bringing together a team of new and familiar faces to helm her executive leadership team at City Hall. Brown appointed Alex Scott, who previously worked as a federal policy specialist for the state Commerce Department, as her chief of staff in a newly created position. Under Nadine Woodward’s administration, the chief of staff role was informally held by Brian Coddington, her spokesperson. Brown is replacing Coddington with Erin Hut, who has experience as a local broadcast journalist and most recently did communications work with the state Democratic Party. Brown appointed Dawn Kinder to lead the city’s Neighborhood, Housing and Human Services division. Kinder previously worked with the city department before moving to Catholic Charities. Brown has also promoted Assistant City Attorney Mike Piccolo to the role of city attorney and elevated the city’s Office of Civil Rights, Equity and Inclusion to a Cabinetlevel position. Brown still needs to hire a police chief following former Chief Craig Meidl’s decision to resign shortly after the election. Maggie Yates, who unsuccessfully ran for Spokane County commissioner last year, is being brought on by Brown as assistant city administrator, and will help lead the search for a new chief.

(NATE SANFORD)

BOARDING HOUSE REDUX

On Monday, Washington state lawmakers heard testimony about House Bill 1998, which would require cities and counties to allow co-living housing in their multifamily and mixed-use zones. Co-living, where tenants rent their own lockable bedroom and share kitchen and living space (including bathrooms, depending on the setup) with other residents, used to be popular in the early 1900s but fell by the wayside midcentury, in some cases because zoning banned it. Ben Stuckart, executive director of the Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium, which includes more than 25 local nonprofits, credit unions and low-income housing providers, testified in support of the bill. He says that Spokane’s affordable housing providers have more people on their waiting lists — a combined 8,000, but it’s not clear if there are duplications — than the number of affordable units they have to offer. Also testifying in support of the bill was AARP, because the lack of affordable housing options also dramatically impacts seniors. Co-living offers community and a chance to age in place for those who don’t need assisted living yet.

The bill could get a vote to move out of committee on Jan. 11. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)

POLITICAL PREVIEW

It may soon be safer to be a sports official for school athletics. In December, Rep. Suzanne Schmidt, R-Spokane Valley, along with Reps. Leonard Christian, R-Spokane Valley, and Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, filed two House bills — HB 2078 and 2079 — that would add more penalties for threats of force or violence at schools and school-related athletic activities. “The legislature finds that the values engendered in athletic activities are being undermined by participants and spectators who do not respect the commitment of these officials. Increasingly, these people are expressing their dissatisfaction through inappropriate verbal abuse and behavior directed at the officials,” HB 2078 states. If passed, an adult who violates the bills would be charged with a Class C felony, which would be a step up from current law that considers these violations to be gross misdemeanors. For a closer look at some of the other bills our local legislators hope to pass this session, go to Inlander. com. (COLTON RASANEN) n

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NEWS | GOVERNMENT

One-Party Rule What affects my energy bill in winter?

During the winter, your energy bill can differ from one month to the next for a lot of reasons.

A sudden cold snap may occur which requires your heating system to run more frequently. Fewer daylight hours mean your lights are on for longer periods. Having kids at home for school vacations and guests stay over the holidays can affect the amount of energy you use each month, as well.

Learn what else impacts your winter bill and better manage your costs using our helpful online tools.

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12 INLANDER JANUARY 11, 2024

Idaho allows people to secretly record their own conversations — even if they’re the Kootenai County assessor who’s been accused of creating a toxic work environment

BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL

J

ust days after Christmas, Kootenai County’s Board of County Commissioners met with county Treasurer Steve Matheson to discuss his recent discovery: Assessor Béla Kovacs had been secretly recording his conversations with treasurer’s office staff, and had likely recorded other county staff and officials.

On Dec. 28, Matheson told the three commissioners about his efforts “exposing this unseemly activity, as well as uncovering some of the actual recordings,” which he requested from Kovacs as public records.

Kovacs sent Matheson 15 recordings, which included two recordings from one executive session — an official and confidential meeting that the public is not allowed to attend.

Matheson was present at the executive session in question. Those closed-door meetings enable government bodies to discuss issues such as whether to hire or fire someone, or to discuss pending litigation with their attorney. No minutes are kept, Assessor Béla Kovacs although government officials are bound by Idaho state law not to take any final votes, with deliberation and final action to take place during a public meeting.

Commissioner Leslie Duncan notes that their attorney sometimes reminds attendees that executive session conversations are not to be shared.

Kovacs’ recordings also raised another major question for the commissioners: Is it OK to do something that’s legal, even if others would find it unethical?

Idaho law requires “one-party consent” to make an audio recording, meaning if you are talking to someone you’re allowed to record without asking their permission. That’s different from Washington’s law, which requires consent from all parties, meaning you need to ask everyone involved before recording a conversation.

“As we all know, Idaho is a single-party consent state, and I’m not exactly sure how to proceed with this information,” Matheson told the commissioners. “This is my attempt to simply let everyone know what I have discovered.”

Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney Stanley Mortensen told the commission the recordings would be considered documents subject to public records requests and should be saved and stored on county hardware.

Matheson asked: How many recordings are there? Have members of the public been recorded? Where are the recordings stored? How can they be expeditiously released to the public? And are they being stored in accordance with the county’s document retention policy?

The first question from Kovacs, who was present at the meeting, was, “Do I have an attorney representing me here?”

He said he made the recordings based on his understanding of what can be considered personal notes.

“I have done it with the intent of capturing essence of information,” Kovacs said. “Actions of the commissioners — and I’m not referring to you Bruce — and other elected officials have given me cause for concern as to whether or not the conduct and the actions have all been narrowly legal.”

Kovacs said he didn’t know how many recordings he’d made, and that he didn’t want to say more because he’s requested an investigation from the Idaho State Tax Commission.

“My intentions and my plans are to make this part of that investigation,” Kovacs says. “I don’t want to do anything that would inhibit or compromise the investigation.”

Matheson questioned whether an investigation had actually been opened, citing an email from the tax commission that said Kovacs’ complaint from late 2023 was too broad. Matheson has since requested an investigation from the commission.

Commissioner Bruce Mattare told Kovacs that in the future, he should consider asking three questions Mattare heard from an attorney who worked under the Reagan administration. “‘Is it right?’ ‘How will it look in the papers?’ and ‘Is it against the law?’ And depending on the sequence that you ask those questions tells a lot about the kind of person you are,” Mattare said. “If you ask ‘Is it right?’ and the answer is ‘No,’ then you don’t have to worry about the other two questions.”

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BROKEN TRUST

Kovacs has faced repeated criticism from elected officials and employees who work in his office since he was appointed to fill the role in May 2020 after the death of the previous assessor.

Since then, multiple important deadlines have been missed that impact how taxes are collected in the county. Staffers say that Kovacs has created a toxic work environment, and several experienced employees have quit or retired early since he started.

Half of the roughly 60 assessor’s staff members asked Kovacs not to run to keep his seat in 2022. The commissioners and other elected officials asked him to step down that year. After he refused, the commissioners slashed his salary from $90,000 to $45,000 in August 2022. A judge later required the commissioners to reinstate Kovacs’ full pay.

Before he was re-elected in November 2022, Kovacs hired an attorney to attempt to block the release of public records from his time working as the purchasing director for Spokane County.

In February 2023, months after his success at the ballot box, the Inlander received those records, which showed he’d resigned in lieu of termination after an investigation into similar issues reported by his employees in Spokane.

Kovacs did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.

During public comment at the Dec. 28 meeting, Jill Smith, chief deputy treasurer for Kootenai County, told Kovacs how disappointed she was.

“While what you have done is legal, in my opinion, and this is just my opinion, it’s not moral, it’s not ethical, it’s not respectful, and it does nothing to establish or rebuild trust with the departments and the people that you work with,” Smith said.

Matheson says he wonders if the recordings match what Kovacs has written in emails about specific meetings or staff conduct.

“There’s a lot of people that have chosen to leave the assessor’s office since he’s been in office,” Matheson says. “Many of those decisions were supported by written correspondence or language he shared with his staff. I’m wondering if the public records that are audio recordings of these interactions corroborate that.”

Commissioner Bill Brooks says he’s concerned about Kovacs’ behavior.

“This is outrageous. How dare he,” Brooks says. “This goes to fundamental trust. He has violated that nine ways from Sunday.

There’s no way you can trust this man. I would not want to be one of his employees, and he has pretty much destroyed the morale in that office.”

Brooks is also doubtful that Kovacs will truthfully provide a list of the recordings — potentially including many more than the 15 conversations involving treasurer’s staff, but possibly no more from executive sessions since Kovacs insisted he didn’t record multiple sessions — and fulfill requests. The assessor’s office is handling the Inlander’s public records requests concerning the recordings.

“If your character is such that you were recording executive sessions, you’d be the last to rely on to tell anybody how many were made and where they are now,” Brooks says. n samanthaw@inlander.com

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NEWS | GOVERNMENT

New Year, New Laws Regulations taking effect in Olympia and Boise aim to impact the workforce, change voter registration requirements and update gun buying processes

BY COLTON RASANEN

T

welve years ago, Washington voters made history by legalizing recreational cannabis. The state was ahead of the game on cannabis legalization — after Washington’s 2012 decision, roughly half the nation followed suit — but folks weren’t able to start buying it until 2014.

Yet, a decade later, the Legislature is still updating laws to eliminate contradictions caused by cannabis’ legal status. For example, one of Washington’s newest laws — which took effect on Jan. 1 — prohibits employers from disqualifying job candidates for using cannabis outside

the workplace.

Similarly to alcohol though, employers will still be allowed to test an employee for cannabis use if they suspect an employee is under the influence.

If you ask Ira Amstadter, the co-owner of Spokane’s Express Employment franchise — a global staff recruitment company — this change came far later for Washington employees than it should have.

“When you look at this new law in Washington, it seems late to the game,” he says. “But, you know, the government is known to move pretty slow.”

Amstadter has been working to connect employers with prospective candidates in Spokane County for the past three decades. And while he says this law won’t have much impact on the company’s day-to-day work, he thinks it could free up part of the workforce that was affected by cannabis testing requirements.

“Some jobs will never loosen their marijuana restrictions,” he says. “So we’ll have to move forward on a case-by-case basis.”

This law, however, does not apply unilaterally. Those working in public safety occupations, like law enforcement, firefighters and first responders, or any other job where “impairment while working presents a substantial risk of death,” will still be tested.

Federal employees will also be excluded as long as cannabis has yet to receive a nationwide stamp of approval. Recreational cannabis is legal at the state level, but the federal government still considers it as dangerous as drugs like heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

“I’m 70 years old, and I thought we would be done with marijuana as a [Schedule I] drug 20 years ago,” Amstadter says.

VOTER REGISTRATION

When one door opens, another closes … or at least that’s how the saying goes for Idaho legislators making decisions on voter registration.

In April 2023, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 340 into state law, which amended existing law by revising and strengthening provisions relating to voter identification and proof of residence. As part of this bill though, the state began offering a four-year, no-fee ID card to registered voters who were 18 years or older and did not have a current driver’s license for at least

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six months prior. These ID cards would otherwise cost between $10 and $15, according to HB 340.

In the same legislative session, state representatives also passed HB 124 — prohibiting student ID cards from being used to register to vote — removing one of the five methods for identification at the polls. Now Idaho’s student voters will need to be registered with their state ID card, a passport, a tribal ID card or a concealed carry firearm permit.

This law went into effect at the start of the year, and while this leaves the state of voter registration fairly neutral (one barrier was removed and another was added), it may have a negative impact.

“Any additional barrier when registering to vote will definitely affect voter turnout,” says Travis Hagner, a political science professor at North Idaho College.

With an estimated 150,000 voters between the ages of 18 and 29 in Idaho, and an upcoming presidential election, the effects of HB 124 on voter turnout will become clearer at the end of the year.

Some other laws that took effect in the New Year include a new Washington state minimum wage increase to $16.28 per hour (that’s more than double the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour), and increased safety protocols when buying a firearm. Washington House Bill 1143, which passed largely along party lines, adds a 10day waiting period after a federal and state background check before someone can receive a gun they purchased.

Under this law, buyers must also provide proof that they’ve completed firearm safety training in the past five years to be eligible for purchase.

By contrast, to buy a gun in Idaho, you only need an ID card and to pass an instant background check. n coltonr@inlander.com

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ARTS

A Crafty Stash Thanks to a librarian’s love for quilting, Spokane Public Library branches launch free yarn and fabric exchange

BY CARRIE SHRIVER

T

he used wrapping paper in the recycling bin has been carted off, signaling the end of another holiday season. Craft enthusiasts everywhere have set aside their needles and hooks, taking a breather from work on the special gifts they create. Year after year, this labor of love can accumulate a large remnant stock. What happens if these pieces don’t match with new projects?

They wait, unused, for their day in the sun.

Lisa Cox, an avid quilter and clerk at the Shadle Park Library, however, has a solution.

When vacationing throughout the country, Cox enjoys checking out other local libraries. At one, she discovered a craft exchange stocked with everything a maker could want, from fabric to zippers, and she never forgot the idea.

When she thought more about Spokane Public Library’s recently launched “Be Your Best Self” campaign encouraging patrons to learn something new, Cox realized she could put all the miscellany she’d acquired for her own past quilting projects to good use.

Shadle Park Library’s yarn and fabric exchange debuted in November 2023, proving so successful that two other branches, Indian Trail and South Hill, have since also made space for free textile supplies.

Knitters, quilters and fabric artisans of all types can access these treasure troves of materials alongside all the crafting books, magazines and sewing machines available

16 INLANDER JANUARY 11, 2024

for borrowing. Likewise, makers can leave and exchange leftover yarn skeins, fabric squares and various sewing notions. (Sharp objects like crochet hooks and needles, and small items like buttons or beads, however, are not accepted due to the nearby kids’ play area.)

The craft exchange complements Spokane Public Library’s “Library of Things,” which ranges from musical instruments and telescopes to camping and sports equipment that patrons can check out. The main difference is that craft supplies, of course, don’t need to be returned.

And while donating back to the exchange is encouraged of those who take something, it’s not required and leaving supplies at another time is also fine.

The exchange also helps increase access to the often costly materials needed for quilting and other fiber arts.

Sharing leftover supplies helps stretch dollars makers have already spent, and it’s a great way to participate in sustainable living as odds and ends are used instead of being tossed into the trash. Crafters win all the way around.

Shadle Park’s craft exchange is housed in a tall shelving unit with nooks on all four sides brimming with supplies. Skeins of yarn in a plush, caramel brown and narrow sky blue are stacked atop each other. Remnants of patterned fabric and other pieces of leftover materials are sorted and grouped by size.

These materials move fast, but donations to the

Lisa Cox kickstarted Spokane Public Library’s craft exchange. ERICK DOXEY PHOTOS exchange are also increasing. One day Cox added a new stash of yarn — by the next day more than half had been carried off to new homes.

Patrons often make remarks like, “This is great, now I can work on a project I’ve been thinking about,” or “Thanks for having this available,” Cox says.

C

ox fell in love with quilting at age 13. At the time, she was raising rabbits for a 4-H project and exhibiting them at the county fair. While roaming the exhibition buildings she found the quilts on display and decided it was a craft she wanted to create. She learned how to quilt without help.

“I was the first one in my family, and my grandmother picked it up later,” she says. “When I see a pattern that I like I usually try to make my own spin on it. So, I don’t usually follow a pattern, I just go with the flow of ‘this color goes here’ and how I want to make the quilt.”

While the COVID shutdown was in effect, the time Cox spent quilting had a bonus effect.

“I found out that I like to hand quilt, where you sew… designs onto your quilt,” she says. “I found that to be very meditative, and so that really helped.

“I just wanted the library to be a meeting place for the community of crafters,” she continues, noting that while hobbies can be a great solitary art, crafting with friends adds an extra benefit.

This quilt by the Sisters in Stitches quilting group hangs near the exchange shelves.

“With the quilting group [Washington State Quilters] that I am a member of, it’s nice to have people come together and work on projects,” Cox says. “I think it’s a great way to build community.”

The quilting group Sisters in Stitches meets regularly at the Shadle branch and donated a beautiful quilt to the library. The design features bookshelves loaded with bright books and a few curios, and the Spokane Public Library’s framed logo on the top shelf. Adjacent to the exchange shelves, the quilt ties together books and craft supplies.

Kiona Dvorak, a frequent library patron, thinks exchanging craft materials is “pretty amazing.” Dvorak likes the idea because when people bring their overabundant materials into the library, everyone can find something they want.

“I hope they [patrons] find projects to work on… supplies that they need,” Cox says, smiling as she gestures to a customer eagerly perusing the fabric squares. “It’s been fun to watch what they pick out.”

Word about the Shadle craft exchange spread quickly, and not just among patrons. Before the end of 2023, the South Hill and Indian Trail libraries also set up craft exchanges with some help from Cox, who shared overflow materials with both.

“It’s a nice time to curl up with a hobby and learn something new,” Cox says. “Just take that first step. You might fall in love with it.” n

JANUARY 11, 2024 INLANDER 17

CULTURE | LITERATURE

A Mother’s Love & Whales Moscow author Tara Karr Roberts’ new novel explores a minor Moby Dick character’s life, and the women who succeed her

BY MADISON PEARSON

C

all me Ishmael.

The first line in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick has become distinctly and instantly recognizable since its publication in 1851.

It’s a line composed of only three words, yet those three words have had an immense impact on the literary world and what comes in the novel’s 700 remaining pages.

In Chapter 15 of Melville’s magnum opus, readers meet an innkeeper on Nantucket named Mrs. Hussey who makes delicious chowder. She sticks around for a few chapters, causing a bit of commotion and acts as comedic relief until Ishmael and his friend Queequeg depart to continue on their voyage.

But what happened to Mrs. Hussey? Was she left to live a life dedicated to making chowder on Nantucket?

Or did something greater await her and the women who came after her?

Moscow-based writer Tara Karr Roberts’ debut novel Wild and Distant Seas seeks to give Mrs. Hussey more than just a few chapters worth of characterbuilding with a magical twist that spans generations and continents while also exploring the power of a name.

The idea for Wild and Distant Seas came to Roberts Tara Karr Roberts (who’s also a regular columnist for the Inlander) while taking a class on 19th-century novels at the University of Idaho for her master’s degree in English.

“We were assigned Moby Dick, and I had never read it before,” Roberts says. “I was so pleasantly surprised by it though. I got very attached to this innkeeper and convinced my professor to let me write a short story instead of an essay for this one particular assignment.”

That short story eventually became part one of Wild and Distant Seas, in which Roberts gives Mrs. Hussey the first name Evangeline and therefore an identity all her own.

“She is the only female character in Moby Dick with any kind of extensive speaking part,” Roberts says. “Even her husband, Hosea Hussey, gets a first name despite not

18 INLANDER JANUARY 11, 2024

being in the book at all.”

It’s in the very first chapter of her book that Roberts gives the innkeeper her name.

After asking Ishmael and Queequeg whether they want clam or cod chowder and receiving no reply, Ishmael says: “I confess I’d missed your meaning at first, Mrs. Hussey. Clam or cod chowder, of course!

The mystery is solved.”

The widowed innkeeper replies with nothing but three words: “Call me Evangeline,” mimicking Melville’s iconic opener.

“I chose that name right away,” Roberts says. “Its Greek translation means ‘good news.’ From the very beginning, it was so important for me to tell the story of the voice that is missing in Moby Dick. She doesn’t even get a name. She gets to do silly things and yell about chowder, but she doesn’t get to have a story. Now she does.”

A

s the story progresses, the choices Evangeline makes and the things she tries to do to protect herself end up having decades of consequences for her family.

Each of the four female protagonists in Wild and Distant Seas has a magical quirk about them. Evangeline and her daughter Rachel can mold the memories of people around them with a simple phrase. Rachel’s daughter Mara can remember every moment of her life and see the lives of others, and Mara’s daughter Antonia can see the paths that people have taken throughout their lives.

These gifts aid in a multigenerational search for the elusive Ishmael that all of the women embark on and carry out through their lifetimes. Roberts’ writing is lush and heartfelt, with love and care dripping from each line. The book’s characters are complex and stubborn, but each daughter has love instilled in her heart by her mother before her.

“Writing about generations of women is something that I’m very interested in,” Roberts says. “I come from a very matrilineal family. I grew up knowing my greatgreat-grandmother and my great-grandmother and living near them. So, the idea of ties among women is really important to me as well as the way families tell stories and how they change over time.”

The last woman in the familial line, Antonia, finds herself in Moscow, Idaho, but yearns to leave the small town and continue the quest for Ishmael.

“It’s a really important place to me,” Roberts says.

“It’s a complicated place, but I identify so strongly with being an Idahoan that I couldn’t imagine writing a novel that wasn’t tied here in some way.”

In 2020, Roberts received a grant from the Idaho Commission on the Arts to go to Massachusetts for research. After the original trip was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Roberts finally set out for Boston and Nantucket in 2021.

Along with the trip to Massachusetts, long nights of online research, poring through library archives and watching plenty of whale videos on YouTube, Roberts says she couldn’t have written Wild and Distant Seas without her own life experience of raising two children.

“I started writing this when my kids were in kindergarten and third grade,” she says. “Now they’re in sixth and ninth grade. For me, having that experience of raising children — in all of its complexity — was absolutely necessary to writing this novel. I don’t think it’s necessary for every writer, but for me it was really essential, and I’m really proud of having explored that complexity of being a parent because it’s wonderful and it’s awful and everything in between.” n Tara Karr Roberts: Wild and Distant Seas • Wed, Jan. 17 at 7 pm • Free • All ages • 1912 Center • 412 E. Third St., Moscow • bookpeopleofmoscow.com

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CULTURE | DIGEST

THE BUZZ BIN

Fox’s My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance was, well, obnoxious.

REALITY TV OF 2004 Think reality TV is bad now? It’s nothing compared to the dreck of 20 years ago

BY BILL FROST

W

e’re finally here: Actual reality is worse than reality TV. Shows like The Masked Singer, America’s Got Talent, and The Golden Bachelor may be garbage, but they’re still an improvement over what TV was hacking up in, say, 2004. Let’s take a look back at reality TV of 20 years ago. None of these shows are available outside of grainy YouTube clips, as they’ve all been rightfully relegated to the dustbin of history.

MY BIG FAT OBNOXIOUS FIANCE

In the early 2000s, Fox was the king of sadistic reality competition shows, and My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance was the network’s finest/worstest hour. The setup: If Randi and Steve can convince their families that they’re going to get married, each will win $250,000. The twist: “Steve” was an actor out to sabotage the game with John Belushi-lite zeal. After putting Randi through psychological torture for six episodes, the ruse was revealed and she won $1 million.

THE REBEL BILLIONAIRE

The Rebel Billionaire: Branson’s Quest for the Best was a Fox ripoff of another rich guy’s reality competition show — more on that later — with a dash of Fear Factor. In addition to subjecting aspiring entrepreneurs to business challenges, Branson would also take them skydiving and hot-air ballooning because … rebel? The ultimate “prize” was to win $1 million and become the acting president of Branson’s Virgin Group for about five minutes (rounded up). Not Fox’s dumbest show, but up there.

BATTLE FOR OZZFEST

The prize of $1 million was the standard of 2000s reality TV, but not on MTV’s Battle for Ozzfest — no way was Sharon Osbourne giving away a dime. One member of eight painfully obscure metalcore bands would compete in challenges and general nonsense in order to win a noon slot on a flatbed trailer by the port-a-potties at Ozzfest. By the fourth episode, Ozzy was making contestants wear bondage masks and bite the heads off of “bats” through a glory hole.

THE PLAYER

If a reality show aired on UPN in the 2000s, did it ever

20 INLANDER JANUARY 11, 2024

really exist? (UPN was a TV network, kids.) Despite its obscurity, The Player could be a player today: 13 spiky-haired himbos competed to seduce a hot model (Dawn Olivieri, who went on to start in House of Lies and 1823) against the douchey backdrop of South Beach, Miami. The Player is so trash-timeless, it’s shocking that Paramount+ hasn’t rebooted it completely with Dawn’s dismissal phrase, “Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” Get on it, P+.

SUPERSTAR USA

By 2004, American Idol was the reality TV show, and the country’s infatuation with the insufferable Ryan Seacrest was well underway. The WB inexplicably countered American Idol with Superstar USA, a spoof singing competition that rejected talented singers and advanced tone-deaf caterwaulers. To keep the audience from laughing during the finale, the producer told them the singers were terminally ill “One Wish Foundation” kids. Yeah, 2004 went hard.

THE CASINO

It had a theme song written by Bono and the Edge, was created by reality TV king Mark Burnett, and set in the flashiest city in America: Las Vegas. And yet, The Casino couldn’t attract enough eyeballs to even finish its 13-episode Fox run in summer 2004. The problem: The show starred a pair of millionaires with the combined charisma of a plastic palm tree. The other problem: It was filmed at the Golden Nugget on Fremont Street, which may as well have been in Mesquite.

THE APPRENTICE

The root cause of everything terrible now in the 2020s, as NBC’s The Apprentice yanked one Donald J. Trump from the edge of celebrity oblivion and made him a household TV star on Jan. 7, 2004. The “Business Survivor” series was notable in that it spent more time raking over the losers than celebrating the winners, a Trump tactic that has, exhaustingly, spanned the ages.

It’ll be so awkward if NBC, and the rest of the Liberal Media, are shut down by again-President Trump in 2025 with a wheezing, “You’re fired.” n

FREE FICTION Page 42 Bookstore in the Logan neighborhood has been all about granting access to literature to the community from the very beginning. That mission continues with its new Book Passport and Third Annual Free Book Fair. The Book Passport grants the cardholder a free book of up to $10 every month of 2024 for only $42! Every avid book hoarder… er, I mean… book collector will tell you that makes the books basically free. (Reader math!) Just purchase the passport and then handpick your book each month from Page 42’s selection of thousands of books in stock. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for Jan. 12 and 13, when the bookstore hosts its free book fair at Northeast Community Center with over 17,000 books for all readers. There’s no excuse to not grab a free book!

(MADISON PEARSON)

READING & REFLECTION Was one of your New Year’s resolutions to read more? Maybe you made a resolution to take more time to reflect in 2024. If so, you might want to participate in the Spokane County Library District’s “Where We Come From” Winter Reading Challenge. Participants are challenged to read for 300 minutes during the month of January and log their minutes in the Beanstack app. The recommended title is Where We Come From, a poetic picture book crafted by John Coy, Shannon Gibney, Sun Yung Shin and Diane Wilson with illustrations by Dion MBD. The authors explore where they each come from — literally and metaphorically. Though the challenge is aimed at younger readers, all are welcome to reflect on their own personal stories and experiences through the challenge. For more information, head to scld.beanstack.org/reader365.

(MADISON PEARSON) THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST Noteworthy new music arriving in stores and online on Jan. 12.

KALI UCHIS, ORQUÍDEAS. The Grammy-winning neo R&B artist draws inspiration from Colombian orchids on her second album fully sung in Spanish.

HEAT SPEAK, DE BOUQUET OK. The local chamber pop outfit led by Dario Ré recorded its latest lush album at Spokane Central Library’s recording studios. (For more info, read our story on p. TK.) ¥$, VULTURES. Ye (fka Kanye West) and Ty Dolla Sign team up to drop their debut album as a hip-hop super duo, which has rumored guest features from Lil Baby, Future, Kid Cudi, Lil Wayne and more to further up the star power. (SETH SOMMERFELD)

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JANUARY 11, 2024 INLANDER 21

DRAMAT TRANSFORM After nearly 80 years, the Garland Theater enters a new era with new ownership, new ideas and new apartments

By Chey Scott

S

cattered trails of popcorn still litter the Garland Theater’s dark and empty aisles, remnants of the final moments before a new year — and a new act — for the historic Spokane venue unfolds.

In the vacant parking lot outside, a man in an orange safety vest moves a surveying tripod from one corner to the other as zippy traffic on North Monroe Street bounces over the tire-rutted intersection.

Instead of movie times on the towering, neon-lit marquee, there’s this message: “To be continued” and “Thank you Spokane.”

Inside, Chris Bovey lifts a retractable measuring tape over his head toward the lobby’s neon-purple illuminated ceiling. Past him and the propped-open doors of the theater’s attached bar, Bon Bon, Jasmine Barnes is unloading dozens of liquor bottles onto the serpentine bar top for cleaning and inventory. Soon joining them to take stock of all that needs to be added to a growing to-do list before the Garland can reopen — ideally next month — is Tyler Arnold, who completes the trio who’ve just become the theater’s latest operators.

The three share a grand vision to revitalize the 78-year-old, singlescreen theater and entice community members to leave the comfort of their couches at home. Their plans include bringing back weekly $1 movies geared toward families, themed events like last year’s sold-out Return of the Jedi 40th anniversary screening, and sprucing up the place to give it more of a special, nostalgic feel. They’ll continue to show second-run movies with a focus on titles more likely to draw a crowd versus showing every single release, along with throwback screenings of popular older movies.

Bovey, whose workshop and store Vintage Print + Neon is just a couple doors down, will restore and add to the Garland’s neon lights inside and out, and paint retro, movie-inspired murals on the walls.

Arnold, who also owns the Jedi Alliance arcade and pop culture museum in Spokane Valley, wants to display some of his extensive movie prop collection in the lobby, including a guitar used in the locally-shot film Dreamin’ Wild. And Barnes, who’s worked at the theater for the past decade and as its general manager since 2020, envisions revamp-

22 INLANDER JANUARY 11, 2024

ing Bon Bon’s menu, hosting more special events, and partnering with other businesses in the district to boost activity in the neighborhood.

“I think it’s going to be something very unique and special to Spokane that you can’t find anywhere else,” Bovey says. “It’ll give a lot of people a reason to come back to the theater, because I would hear from people, ‘I haven’t been to the theater in 20 years.’ So hopefully people come back and they say ‘Wow, we’ve gotta show other people, we’ve gotta tell other people.’”

Due to a lag in acquiring business licenses and permits, the Garland will remain closed for six to eight weeks, hopefully reopening by midFebruary. In the meantime, improvements are already underway.

The old theater’s new stewards also include the Garland property’s owner, local real estate developer Jordan Tampien of 4 Degrees Real Estate, who’s leasing the building and existing equipment inside to Bovey, Barnes and Arnold. In December, Tampien bought the theater from longtime owner

TIC MATION

B

Local THEATERS

efore VHS tapes, DVDs and streaming, there was only one way to watch a movie: inside a cavernous theater auditorium in front of a big, white screen, surrounded by friends, family, neighbors and strangers. It’s why not only urban neighborhoods but nearly every small town across the Inland Northwest once had its own movie theater.

That was long ago. The rare survivors still operate as cinemas today, like Moscow’s Kenworthy, Ritzville’s Ritz and, yes, Spokane’s Garland Theater, which has new owners with big plans.

Today, these theaters play many roles, as a small town’s only place to see first-run releases or operating as multifaceted venues offering lessmainstream fare and even non-cinema events. But many threads unite them: owners’ passion for preserving local history, a nostalgic longing for the magic of seeing a beloved film for the first time, and a desire to bring communities together over a shared love of movies and art.

— CHEY SCOTT

KENWORTHY PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE 508 S. Main St. • Moscow • kenworthy.org

W

From left: Garland Theater and Bon Bon operators Jasmine Barnes, Chris Bovey and Tyler Arnold.

YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

Katherine Fritchie for $1.8 million.

Fritchie operated the Garland for nearly 25 years, since 1999. She bought the building a few years later, in 2002, and for the past several years had been looking for the right buyer.

“I’m at a point where I feel like I’ve really given it a good foundation and I’ve done what I can for it,” Fritchie says. “I feel honored to have done it, but I think it needs somebody younger to take over.”

Tampien has plenty of experience owning and restoring historic buildings, including the former Watts Automotive garage that now houses Brick West Brewing Co. on downtown’s West End, the nearby Lolo Lofts (he was recently recognized by Spokane Preservation Advocates with an award for that work), and a new project to renovate the Peyton Building next to the STA Plaza into apartments.

He has big plans at the Garland, too, including an estimated $500,000 in facade improvements to the building, which has become a bit shabby in places with peeling paint and other small defects. The biggest change, however, is his plans to build a 44-unit, four-story apartment building directly behind the theater, taking up about a third of the existing parking lot.

“This is the only way I know how to make a project like this sustainable,” Tampien says. “I was able to offer really low rent for operating the theater because we were able to add some more revenue generation.” ...continued on next page

hile the story of many single-screen theaters is one of a constant struggle in a niche market, things are far less dire at Moscow’s Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre. Nearly 100 years after opening as a movie theater, the nonprofit space has carved out a beloved niche in the North Idaho cultural scene.

Originally opening as an opera house called the Crystal Theater in 1908, the spot was bought by Milburn Kenworthy in 1925 and operated as a silent movie house from 1926 to 1928, before converting to screen talkies. The Kenworthy family remained in charge until 1999, when Judd Kenworthy gifted the theater to Moscow Community Theatre, Inc. Now, as a nonprofit, the Kenworthy can be more creative with its cinematic programming. While the theater still screens some first-run films (including the types of indie gems that rarely make cineplexes), blockbusters aren’t their primary trade. Repertory films populate much of the theater’s calendar, including series like Sound on Screen, Family Flicks, Absolute Anime, choice selections from Moscow Film Society, MET Opera screenings, an array of nature films and more. The moviegoing experience is bolstered by the 2019 addition of new chairs and carpeting (matching the building’s art deco style) and a liquor license that allows the theater to sell beer and wine.

But KPAC’s offerings don’t stop at projected images.

“I like people to think of the Kenworthy as more than just a movie theater, but as a full, mixed-media live performance venue where you can do pretty much anything that you can conceive of,” says Colin Mannex, the Kenworthy’s executive director. “We want people to be thinking of the Kenworthy as their one-stop place for all of their entertainment and live arts related types of events downtown.”

The Kenworthy also hosts a ton of live music, theater and comedy.

There’s also a new backstage venue with a capacity of 80 for smaller scale events. The theater’s also trying to add more “liveness” to the movies, having local musicians play along with films like Repo Man and Reefer Madness.

This year’s Silent Movie Festival in September will feature a full slate of films with scores commissioned by regional composers. In the future, Mannex hopes they’ll be able to team up with other regional theaters like the Garland and Panida to tour some of these productions.

Looking forward, a $100,000 grant from Idaho Heritage Trust will go toward restoring broken neon tubes in its marquee. Fitting, as the Kenworthy is already a glowing cultural beacon in the Inland Northwest.

(SETH SOMMERFELD)

JANUARY 11, 2024 INLANDER 23

THE NEWPORT ROXY

HISTORIC THEATERS

120 S. Washington Ave. • Newport • thenewportroxy.com

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he Newport Roxy only exists because the right straw was drawn. Literally.

Regional theater impresario Charles Bishop built the structure in 1951, but populations were too small to support his theaters in nearby Priest River and Newport. So straws were drawn. Newport won out, and the theater’s classic neon marquee is actually spoils of that victory — it was originally displayed at the Priest River Roxy.

After a failed expansion to a three-screen complex by a different ownership group in the 2010s, Jason and Brittany Totland bought the Roxy in 2017.

Most weeks the Roxy showcases a single movie, screening it three times: 7:30 pm on Friday and Saturday, plus 2:30 pm on Sunday. Since the Roxy features a stage, the space hosts other happenings like comedy shows, concerts, movie marathons and event rentals. The theater also gets a boost from the Friends of the Roxy subscriptions for cinema-loving supporters.

The space certainly has its quirks — black light posters on the walls, for example — but the Totlands are looking to get back to a time before the 2010 remodeling. They want to tear down one of the walls in order to restore the Roxy’s Grand Theater space to its full 430-seat capacity (it’s currently 200). Since they don’t want to start a crowdfunding campaign to meet the financial needs to do this, the family applied for a Washington Historic Theater Grant and is hoping that will get approved.

That said, the Totlands aren’t against other redesign innovations. According to Jason, there are plans to have the front half of the theater remain as auditorium seating while the back half could be transformed into dinner seating, with the idea of opening a restaurant and commercial kitchen as part of the Roxy. Considering the theater’s history, one can only imagine that all drinks will be served with straws. (SETH SOMMERFELD)

BING CROSBY THEATER

901 W. Sprague Ave. • Spokane • bingcrosbytheater.com

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he Bing Crosby Theater wasn’t always “The Bing.”

Opened in 1915 and originally named the Clemmer Theatre, the three-story building on the corner of Lincoln Street and Sprague Avenue in downtown Spokane was built by Edwin W. Houghton and came to be thanks to August Paulsen and Howard Clemmer.

Like many of the region’s early wealthy folk, Paulsen made his money mining silver in Idaho and invested his wealth into Spokane buildings. When Paulsen asked Clemmer, whose father was already in the theater business, to run a theater in one of Paulsen’s buildings, a partnership was formed.

The 800-seat theater was first used to show silent films and had luxurious murals as well as a grand Kimball organ.

In 1925, the theater sold to Carl Laemmle, a co-owner of Universal Studios. Under new management, it hired performers to put on acts between movies. Four years later, the Clemmer sold to a new owner who renamed it the Audian. The building changed hands again in 1931 and became the State Theater, showing movies until closing in 1985. When the venue reopened in 1988 after extensive refurbishment and renovations, it was called the Met. Finally, after decades of back and forth, the theater was purchased in 2004 by local businessman Mitch Silver and was renamed the Bing Crosby Theater after the beloved crooner and multimedia renaissance man. Crosby performed there several times before eventually departing his hometown in search of stardom. (Spoiler alert: It worked out!)

The theater is now owned by Spokane developer Jerry Dicker, and hosts a variety of live performances ranging from touring cover bands to local dance productions, and still screens films from time to time. Its marquee is a beacon for theater and arts lovers while reminding visitors of the city’s vibrant past, present and future as a purveyor of the arts. (MADISON PEARSON)

24 INLANDER JANUARY 11, 2024

“DRAMATIC TRANSFORMATION,” CONTINUED...

Construction of the apartments — a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units with marketrate rents — is expected to begin in this spring or early summer, he says. Parking for residents and the theater will remain available in the northeast corner of the block with about 80 spots, in addition to street parking in the Garland District.

The theater’s ownership trio also hope to work with nearby businesses on parking sharing agreements for events at the Garland held after normal business hours.

The new apartments, Tampien says, “will give a more dramatic feel as you’re coming down Monroe. And for the people living there, we thought we’d activate some of the central area with a courtyard and we’re hoping to have space for outdoor movies on the wall, and add a new promenade to get to the front of the theater,” in place of the narrow sidewalk between the building and Monroe Street.

“I think combined, this should make this a pretty sustainable project,” he says. “We’re going to sponsor things like dollar movie nights and $3 popcorn.”

T

ampien has had his eye on the Garland for a while and first talked to Fritchie about

buying it in mid-2022.

“When it was first listed, I was like, oh cool,” he says. “And honestly, [I thought] if the wrong person gets it that is not going to be a good scenario.”

When he reached out to Fritchie again in mid-2023 about buying the theater, she declined.

At the time, she was in the middle of negotiating a plan to effectively give the theater business to Bovey and Arnold — who, by running the business, would lease the building from Fritchie — after announcing last March that the Garland was in danger of permanently closing.

Bovey first got involved after launching a “Save the Garland” campaign via GoFundMe to help stabilize the theater. So far, the effort has raised nearly $50,000, which is still earmarked to buy a new popcorn machine, backup projector, new speakers and other equipment.

Yet by late September, negotiations between Fritchie, Bovey and Arnold had soured. Arnold planned to sue Fritchie for what he says was a breach of contract, having spent months waiting for her to hand over the theater. During that time he’d quit his job as a tattoo artist to focus on securing grants for improvements

Garland owner Jordan Tampien.

...continued on next page

YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

D N FI

The Garland’s 48-foot, neon-lit marquee will continue to shine.

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JANUARY 11, 2024 INLANDER 25

RITZ THEATER

HISTORIC THEATERS

107 E. Main St. • Ritzville • facebook.com/RitzvilleRitz

A

tall neon sign illuminates the pale yellow exterior of the Ritz Theater, which opened in the rural farming town in 1937.

The Ritz was designed by Seattle architect Bjarne Moe, who specialized in movie theaters and was commissioned to work on numerous such buildings around the Pacific Northwest. The theater was first owned and operated by Roy and Daisy Irvine, who lived in a second-floor apartment that’s currently home to the Ritzville Downtown Development Association, also the theater’s current owners.

The Irvines played movies almost every day until Roy’s death in 1952, after which the Ritz was run by various operators and occasionally closed for lack of one. Then, in 1983, local farmer Herb Benzel bought the Ritz after Daisy Irvine’s death. Benzel and his farm crew spent three winters repairing the theater. It saw multiple operators during his ownership as well, including Dora Kramer and her family for around 20 years.

In 2012, the Ritz was donated to the Ritzville Downtown Development Association. The Kramers stopped showing movies in July 2013 due to the cost of switching to digital projection.

Later that year, however, the downtown association began restoration work, adding in a 16-by-16-foot stage. Capacity was reduced to 256 seats, compared to 422 when the Ritz first opened.

Today, the Ritz shows first-run movies on weekends, plus occasional live music performances.

“With all the businesses that we lost during COVID downtown, if you told me 10 years ago that the Ritz Theater would be the only business open on Main Street on a Friday and Saturday night, I would’ve told you you were crazy,” says John Rankin, the Ritz’s current manager. “But that’s the truth.”

(SUMMER SANDSTROM)

PANIDA THEATER

300 N. First Ave. • Sandpoint, panida.org

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n 1969, Douglas Jones was in seventh grade when he began working at the Panida Theater in Sandpoint, Idaho. More than 50 years later, Jones couldn’t be happier to still be working there.

The Panida (a portmanteau combining PANhandle and IDAho) opened in November 1927 primarily as a vaudeville theater.

“The theater was built in anticipation of sound so, of course, they showed plenty of movies,” Jones says.

“But the owner, Floyd Gray, was a vaudevillian performer. He ran a show called Farmer Gray’s Emporium and kept that going for many years.”

In the early 1950s, the theater added a stunning art deco marquee facing Sandpoint’s First Avenue. But in 1978, it went dark, due in part to Gray’s death in 1972 and to the rising cost of running a movie theater.

“The building was then leased to a group of entrepreneurs who abused the building,” Jones says. “Thanks to a huge community effort, however, the theater opened once again in 1983 after a ton of restorative work.”

The Panida was purchased by the community via an effort headed by three local women: Susan Bates-Harbuck, Laurel Wagers and Jane Evans.

Their fundraising efforts brought in $75,000 in three months, enough for a down payment on the theater. Since then, the Panida has been run by a board of directors and belongs to its community. Now, the theater not only shows films but also hosts notable musical acts like Jim Messina and Graham Nash, as well as smaller, community-focused dance performances, comedy shows and theater productions.

In 1984 the theater was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a part of the Sandpoint Historic District and has received special recognition from the governor of Idaho, the Idaho Commission of the Arts, the Idaho Centennial Commission and the U.S. Department of the Interior. Panida’s board of directors is already planning the theater’s centennial celebration in 2027 and hopes to expand the theater in the coming years.

“It’s a place full of memories,” Jones says. “It deserves all of the love and care it’s received.” (MADISON PEARSON)

26 INLANDER JANUARY 11, 2024

The newly built Garland Theater debuted on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 1945.

ALL HISTORIC GARLAND PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOEL E. FERRIS ARCHIVES AT THE MAC

“DRAMATIC TRANSFORMATION,” CONTINUED... to the theater and other projects related to the planned takeover.

All summer and fall, meanwhile, Bovey was questioned by donors to the “Save the Garland” campaign, wondering if their money was ever going to actually support the theater’s future.

For her part, Fritchie asserts that no formal contract to transfer the theater’s operations to Bovey and Arnold had ever occurred — only earnest discussions about the terms had taken place.

By Oct. 19, Tampien sent Fritchie another offer to buy the Garland. While he sought to save the historic theater from permanent closure at the least, and demolition at the worst, he also didn’t want to operate a movie theater, so he turned back to Bovey and Arnold, who brought along Barnes.

When the theater’s sale was finally completed on Dec. 15, Bovey and Arnold’s long-envisioned dreams could finally begin taking shape.

Barnes will remain the Garland’s general manager, focusing on day-to-day operations of the theater and Bon Bon. Bovey will be the theater’s creative director, and he’ll oversee branding, social media and helping plan events. (Bovey was the Inlander’s art director from 2006 to 2016.)

Arnold is the cinema’s new CEO, doing a bit of everything to steer the whole operation. The trio plan to transform the business into an official nonprofit entity.

S

ince its debut in 1945, on the day before Thanksgiving, the Garland Theater has gone through several periods of boom and

bust.

The Garland was designed by the Spokane architectural firm Funk, Molander & Johnson in the streamline moderne style, a branch of art deco with futuristic and aerodynamic elements.

The theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013 and Spokane’s local historic registry in 2015.

The Nov. 22, 1945, edition of the Spokane Daily Chronicle published a glowing review of the theater’s opening night showing of the hockey and ice skating-themed musical comedy It’s a Pleasure starring Sonja Henie.

“Throngs of people filled the Garland theater area last night at Garland and Monroe for the gala opening of Spokane’s newest theater,” the review said. “Modern in every detail, the blue and wine auditorium drew particular comment on the continental seating and extra large spacing between rows. Germicidal lamps on the walls keep the air purified. The lobby was lined with baskets of flowers.”

Throughout the next seven-plus decades, not much inside the auditorium has changed, although roomier seats have trimmed capacity from more than 900 to around 600. Many original elements remain in the lobby, like two pillars covered in sparkling, violet-hued glass tiles. Where the concessions counter and kitchen currently sit was once an elegant, recessed seating area with plush furnishings. The Garland’s original concessions counter was located where Bon Bon is, and the curved walls of the circular lobby were wrapped in luxurious wood paneling that’s long since been removed. A connected single-story space (now Kiss and Makeup salon) extending out from the building’s east side near the ticket booth was once a gift shop selling movie soundtrack records and other goods.

The Garland has had numerous owners over the decades, and once closed for a few years from May 1986 to late 1988, after which co-owner Don Clifton made it Spokane’s first $1 theater. On the ...continued on next page

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JANUARY 11, 2024 INLANDER 27

HISTORIC THEATERS

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The Garland is expected to reopen in mid-February.

YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

“DRAMATIC TRANSFORMATION,” CONTINUED... double bill for reopening night, Nov. 18, was Big Top Pee-wee and Crocodile Dundee II. In early 1977, the theater’s out-of-town owners came under fire for showing two X-rated movies, a choice that appears to be a one-off decision based on historical newspaper records. Residents immediately took action, gathering 1,400 signatures from neighbors in the surrounding North Hill neighborhood asking the theater to cease such screenings.

(One other similar incident involved a 1972 showing of A Clockwork Orange.)

Several months later in 1977, the Garland briefly returned to showing pornographic films, but there’s a twist. The private screening was for the jury of an obscenity trial involving one of the city’s adult-only movie houses, the Dishman Theater on East Sprague Avenue.

In 1999, Fritchie and her then-husband bought the business from Clifton.

“I had been looking for a business for a couple years, and it was when you would look for businesses in the Spokesman-Review ads,” she recalls. “We found it and it seemed like it would be a good fit, something that we could do with our kids and to support the community.”

Fritchie, who’s restored several other historic residential properties in the area, opened Bon Bon in 2010. She also installed new seats, carpet and a digital projector in 2013. That fall, the Garland got a liquor license allowing beer and wine to be sold and consumed inside the auditorium.

F

or at least one of the Garland’s new owners, taking over the theater comes full circle.

In the summer of 1998, when he was 18,

Bovey got his first job at the theater.

“I worked the ticket booth and concessions, and cleaned the auditorium,” he says. “It was a fun job — an awesome job — and I made so many friends and memories when I worked here. It was probably my favorite job that I’ve ever had.”

Arnold’s earliest memories of the theater go back to 1988, after he turned 10 and could go to the theater unaccompanied. He and his cousin who lived nearby would walk to the Garland with a couple of bucks each in their pockets.

“Any chance we got we would come here and it was a dollar to get in, and endless popcorn was $3.24 after tax,” he recalls. “It was like, man, we just got keys to the castle, and at the time, the Garland was playing weird movies, like UHF [starring Weird Al Yankovic] and Drop Dead Fred.”

For Barnes, staying at the Garland for this next chapter was also easy to say yes to.

“It just really does feel like a community here,” she says, “I think probably the most important thing is just seeing kids be able to go to their first movie here.”

“I hear story after story about how this theater has impacted generations,” Bovey chimes in.

“People have gotten proposed to here, had their first dates here — there are so many generations of Spokanites that this place has touched.”

“A lot of lessons can be learned from a movie,” Arnold adds. “And one thing that I love most, which comes full circle, is, like The Goonies, you see these kids and they’re the heroes. And here we are — Goonies — and we get to be the heroes. So it’s awesome. I just love that idea.” n

ALPINE THEATRE

112 N. Main St. • Colville • Facebook: Alpine Theatre

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ometimes there’s no need to overcomplicate things. Thus is the case with Colville’s Alpine Theatre.

“We’re a little theater in a little town,” co-owner Steve Wisner says with a laugh.

As the only year-round movie theater in Stevens County, the single-screen theater is an outpost for film lovers in the area. (Sidenote: Colville’s Auto-Vue Drive-In Theatre runs May through Labor Day, and is also owned by Wisner.) Built in 1937, Alpine’s art deco facade catches the eye of most passers-by. At the time of its opening, the Alpine boasted the best sound system in the Inland Northwest outside of Spokane. The Wisner family has been operating the venue since April 1974, meaning the 50th anniversary of their operation is fast approaching.

There was an extensive remodel of the Alpine in 1994, which resulted in it losing almost 200 seats.

“Those 1937 seats… God, they were horrible,” Wisner says.

“Wrack ’em, pack ’em, stack ’em. That’s pretty much how they were feeling at the time.”

On the technical side, Wisner installed a new modular Dolby sound system about 2 1/2 years ago. All that said, there’s a chance the Winsers might not hit that aforementioned half-century mark.

If you happen to be looking to get into the single-screen theater business yourself, the Alpine might be up your alley. The Alpine Theatre and Auto-Vue Drive-In Theatre were put up for sale in December for $800,000.

As Wisner declared during our chat, “If you know anybody who wants to buy it, let me know.”

So if you missed out on buying the Garland but have yet to let your movie mogul dream die… (SETH SOMMERFELD)

POLLS OPEN

JAN 24

REX THEATER

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ne hundred and one years ago, Canadian actress and producer Nell Shipman’s silent film The Grub-Stake premiered at the Rex Theater’s grand opening in 1923.

Since then, the Rex has continued to honor that history, especially now as renovations are underway with the goal of providing a venue to bring art and culture to Priest River.

Briefly known as the Roxy, the theater shut down in the 1950s when a decision was made to move the area’s sole movie theater to nearby Newport. The building soon fell into disrepair.

Chad Summers, president and director of the Foundation for the Rex Theater, says that while the Beardmore Block building housing the Rex underwent renovation and repairs about a decade ago, the theater remained relatively untouched.

Summers plays in a band called Bodie Canyon, and he and his bandmates decided to take on the task of repairing the Rex by creating the foundation and seeking grant funding. Their efforts thus far include removing damaged and rotted parts of the interior, laying down sloped gravel flooring and more. There’s still plenty more work to be done, Summers says, but even so, many people enjoy attending events at the Rex even in its current state.

The Foundation for the Rex Theater hopes to turn the theater into a multiuse building, serving as a recording studio as well as a theater showing musical performances and movies.

“We want to go into the future, and we really want to do what the theater did 100 years ago,” Summers says. “It brought culture to Priest River and that’s something that a lot of locals — and people that maybe aren’t from here but have been here for a while — miss.”

(SUMMER SANDSTROM)

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119 Main St. • Priest River • rextheater.org

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JANUARY 11, 2024 INLANDER 29

DRY JANUARY

Masters of Their Craft Why some Spokane bartenders serve alcohol to every guest but themselves

BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM

O

ne of America’s most-beloved bartenders never took a shot with a regular.

Sam Malone, heartthrob of the all-American TV show Cheers and owner of the titular bar, was supposed to be a washed-up Red Sox relief pitcher who lost his career to alcoholism, got sober and promptly opened a bar. Perfect setup for a ridiculous ’80s sitcom, right?

It’s not so far out as you might think. A handful of barkeeps in Spokane don’t drink alcohol themselves.

People behind the bar at downtown places like Ruins, Bowery, Hogwash Whiskey Den and Mootsy’s have learned how to control the balance of a cocktail and also the urge to drink one.

If you’re “sober curious,” as the Gen-Zers say, or losing your nerve this Dry January, or skeptical that it’s possible to have a fun night out without tequila, a chat with some local sober bartenders might give you something to think about. They don’t drink for different reasons, but they’ve come to similar conclusions — they feel great, they still have friends, and they still love hanging out at bars. And they all want to provide that place where everybody knows your name, regardless of if you’re drinking or not.

L

ast year, Jessica Hubacher felt a pain in her stomach.

“Of course, you Google and you start to freak out,” the co-owner of Audubon’s Radio Bar says.

All the tests came back negative, which is a good

30 INLANDER JANUARY 11, 2024

thing, but she still didn’t have any answers. Hubacher decided to cut out alcohol just until she could figure out what was going on. Finally, her hair dresser, or “hairapist,” as Hubacher affectionately calls her, asked if the pain might be brought on by that powerful, enigmatic force: stress.

“I feel like I’m high-functioning, all-the-time busy. I didn’t really think I was stressed out,” Hubacher says.

“But looking back, yeah, that was probably just stress. I didn’t recognize it.”

Hubacher started making time to take care of herself, reintroducing yoga and meditation into her routine. But the thing she didn’t bring back? Alcohol.

“I just stopped drinking, and then I never went back,” she says. “It’s been one year, and I’m gonna keep it going.

But I will still go out and drink NA or eat or whatever.

Absolutely.”

Nonalcoholic, or NA, drink options have been a part of Hubacher’s life for a long time. Her husband, Jimmy, has participated in Dry January for years. Her best friend has struggled with sobriety, so providing safe and celebratory spaces for her has long been on Hubacher’s mind.

Radio Bar’s list of mocktails boasts complex and surprising flavors that make everyone feel included no matter what they’re drinking.

“It’s really important to have that as an alternative, not only for Dry January,” Hubacher says. “I feel like people associate drinking with fun. That’s not the case for me. I like to play cribbage, and I like to play games, and

Radio Bar’s Jessica Hubacher. YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS I like to eat. Then I get to drive all my friends home. I don’t have a hangover, and I can get up and walk my dog.

I wish I could say I was running a marathon. I thought it was going to be a really huge change for me. But I just gradually stopped drinking and gradually felt better. I just feel good.”

S

imon Moorby drank himself out of a job. Several, actually. After a half gallon of Johnny Walker and a three-day blackout, he was unhoused, unemployable and alone. He had hit rock bottom.

Moorby was a “unicorn” in the 12-step program, someone no one expected to pull through but did. Under strict probationary conditions, he returned to restaurants, an industry he had risen to the top of as a 20-something.

This time, he started over as a dishwasher. He went through the ranks again, sober. He regained the trust of some, though not all, of the people who had previously trained him. Since 2016, Moorby has been the bar manager at Hogwash Whiskey Den, trying to put his mentors’ belief in him to good use.

“I’ve worked dive bars, diners, Thai food, classically trained French restaurants, fine dining,” he says. “All of those years of experience and training, I can apply all of them still to my profession now. So none of that is a waste.”

Moorby will be nine years sober this April. He spends most of his time at Hogwash, guarding shelves of liquor, creating new cocktails and pouring shots for friends. Why put himself in the belly of the beast day after day after day?

“Ultimately, it’s not just an expression of mastery of drink. It’s also an expression of self-mastery. I’ve been able to rise above so many personal struggles that I’m now capable of not only facing that demon but also

FOOD | LOCAL GOODS

Hop to It A Spokane family joins the largest growing sector of the beverage industry: alcohol-free drinks Hogwash’s Simon Moorby is nearly nine years sober. showcasing my mastery of it at the same time. It’s showcasing the strength that I’ve acquired along the way.”

“I think it was Kanye who said, ‘Never trust a sober bartender.’ But I think he’s proven himself an idiot by now.”

A

t 36, Sara Thorpe was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. A couple years later, she decided to get serious about managing the condition. She never meant to go sober, but thought she’d briefly cut out alcohol to see what happened.

“My main goal was just to do 30 days as an experiment to see how my brain reacted to it,” she says. “It turns out I just loved it and I never went back.”

Thorpe started bartending at Mootsy’s after 30 days sober.

Today, she’s almost 700 days sober, and still the life of the party.

“There’s a stigma around sober people that they’re no fun,” she says. “I really set out to change that when I decided to live an alcohol-free life. A large portion of my life is connecting with friends and doing social activities. So I made it a point to continue on with the exact same lifestyle as my friends. The consumption of alcohol is not the problem. But there are mental health problems that are exacerbated by the consumption of alcohol.

Sometimes when we have issues that we need to work out, it’s best to remove some substances.”

Thorpe started The Plus One Podcast to share her experience with Borderline Personality Disorder and break down stereotypes of mental health and sobriety. She hopes people feel free to make decisions that are best for them.

“Once I realized how sad I was while I was drinking, I just never wanted to be that sad again,” she says. “So the trade-off for me was really easy. I still think it’s fun. I still think it’s exciting. I still think the flavor combinations are incredible, and I love to create new things. So just being able to still create has kept bartending exciting for me.”

“There’s a lot of people who start drinking alcohol as a way to celebrate and end up using it as a way to cope. If you find yourself dipping into the coping part of it, then it’s probably time to take a look at your relationship with alcohol.” n

SOBER CURIOSITY SATISFIED

Looking for a night out with all the fun but none of the booze? Check out Diversion Events’ first sober nightlife event for an evening that’s “intentionally dry and effortlessly edgy,” says co-founder Bailey Bowerman.

The inaugural event at 22Rooms on West First Avenue features high-end nonalcoholic drinks and treats from First Avenue Coffee, plus music, dancing, an Electric Photoland photobooth, and flash tattoos by Honey B Studios.

Diversion Events, also co-founded by Christine Burns, offers a new kind of night out in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene for anyone who’s sober-curious.

Two events are planned each month. Guests are only asked to arrive sober and keep an open mind.

“We aren’t here to judge how you live your life. It’s not really our business,” says Burns. “We’re just here to offer a diversion to the typical night out.”

— ELIZA BILLINGHAM Diversion Events Grand Opening • Fri, Jan. 12 from 8-11 pm • $25 online; $30 door • 22Rooms • 1011 W. First Ave. • instagram.com/diversion_events

BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM

A

nthony Ward was tired of drinking seltzer.

He had decided to cut back on alcohol after drinking a few too many beers out of sheer boredom during the pandemic. He felt better physically, but bubbly water after bubbly water still left him feeling, well, bored.

“I just wanted something that satiated the urge to drink beer without having a negative effect,” Ward says.

His father-in-law, Jerry Porter, wanted the same thing, albeit because he had gone gluten-free and couldn’t drink beer anymore. A hobbyist brewer for years, Porter started experimenting with making hop water, a sparkling water infused with hops instead of a malted grain fermented with them.

The result was alcohol free, gluten free, sugar free, calorie free, and still, somehow, delicious.

Hop water was a hit for Ward and Porter, and they wanted other people to try it, too. The family created and began selling PNW Hop Water in 2022. The business more than doubled its sales in 2023.

During the summer, they sold at the Perry Street Market and Kendall Yards Night Market, but the product is available year-round at Main Market Co-op downtown Spokane, Wildland Coop on Green Bluff, Crepe Cafe Sisters in Kendall Yards, and soon will be sold online at pnwhopwater.com.

Things look promising for the young company, which is taking off at the same time as nonalcoholic adult beverages are becoming trendy across the country. According to consumer spending analyst NielsenIQ, nonalcoholic beverage sales grew to half a billion dollars in July 2023. The year before, hop water alone accounted for $5.5 million in sales, up by over 40% from the year before, while craft beer sales dropped 7%. NPR’s Marketplace reported that while close to half of millennials drink regularly, only about a fifth of Gen Z drinks that often.

“It feels like we’re reaching that tipping point where people are really starting to understand how bad alcohol can be for you,” Ward says. “This is just a really well-timed product in terms of where we are going culturally.”

B

rian Porter, Jerry’s son, grew up brewing with his dad and ended up a culinary professional.

Now an instructor at Lewis and Clark High School, Brian used his restaurant experience to perfect the brewing process and extract as much flavor as possible from Yakima-grown hops. He also created alternate flavors, preferring the way citrus pairs with the fresh hops. Along with the original “Hoppy” flavor, PNW Hop Water also comes in grapefruit, tangerine and yuzu, the latter being another trendy ingredient and a huge hit at

PNW Hop Water is a family biz for the Wards and Porters.

COURTESY PHOTOS

farmers markets.

Hop water isn’t nonalcoholic beer. It’s not trying to mimic Budweiser. It’s a completely natural, carbonated tea infused with sophisticated adult flavors.

“I always try to make a point to explain to people, most alcoholic beers are brewed as regular beer and then they process it afterwards to remove the alcohol,” Brian says. “When they do that, they’re changing it chemically. Whereas we’re taking a product and building it from the ground up so we don’t have to remove anything.”

Ward still drinks alcohol occasionally, but he changes out some beers for hop waters instead.

PNW Hop Water is also taking on a life of its own in other parts of the beverage world.

“We’ve found a lot of people are using it to make cocktails,” he says. “They’ll use it as a mixer for nonalcoholic cocktails as well as alcoholic cocktails. It’s a nice base for a lot of citrus type drinks, or with gin or tequila or vodka.”

Ward is realizing he doesn’t miss the alcohol.

He can still celebrate or relax or take part in any social ritual that usually includes a delicious drink in hand, but without a foggy memory or headache the next day.

“I’ve had some of my best times without alcohol,” Ward says. “The best moments I spend with my family are always the little moments, just simple things. I don’t feel like I can be as present if I’m drinking in those moments. No disrespect to drinking — I enjoy a good beer. But as I get older, the moments that are most important to me are generally the ones where I’m sober.” n

JANUARY 11, 2024 INLANDER 31

OPENING IN THEATERS THE BEEKEEPER

A special ops agent (Jason Statham) seeks violent revenge against a phishing operation after the company swindles his beloved neighbor, only to discover a deeper web of corruption he must take down. Rated R

MEAN GIRLS (2024)

“Get in loser, we’re going singing and dancing.” After turning the 2004 hit high school movie into a Tony-nominated Broadway musical, Tina Fey is bringing the song-filled version to the big screen.

It’s gonna be so fetch! Rated PG-13

REVIEW

LaKeith Stanfield isn’t divine in The Book of Clarence, but at least the movie swings big. COURTESY SONY PICTURES MOTION PICTURE GROUP

A Holy Mess The Book of Clarence is a bold but chaotic attempt at a new kind of Bible story

BY JOSH BELL

A

round the midpoint of writer/director Jeymes Samuel’s The Book of Clarence, there’s a sinuous, sensual dance scene in the first-century Judean equivalent of a nightclub, set to the Jones Girls’ disco hit “Nights Over Egypt.” It’s emblematic of the stylistic innovation that Samuel can bring to the depiction of biblical times, especially in an impressionistic moment devoid of dialogue. The rest of The Book of Clarence isn’t nearly as effective, with an awkward mix of satire and spirituality that doesn’t quite succeed on either front.

The title font recalls classic Hollywood biblical epics, and the movie opens with chariot race that deliberately evokes Ben-Hur, but The Book of Clarence takes itself much less seriously than those bombastic vintage parables. Set in Jerusalem just before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the movie stars LaKeith Stanfield as Clarence, a smalltime criminal who finds himself heavily in debt to a local gangster known as Jedediah the Terrible (Eric Kofi-Abrefa). Clarence is a dedicated atheist, but he sees how the supposed messiah Jesus (Nicholas Pinnock) commands attention and respect, and he figures that if he can join Jesus’ entourage, Jedediah might cut him some slack.

Samuel freely mixes modern slang, stoner humor and Blaxploitation pastiche into his biblical story, casting Black

32 INLANDER JANUARY 11, 2024

actors as the residents of Jerusalem and white actors as to a religious story, it just muddles the focus, rendering the occupying Romans, who act more like modern Amerithe satire toothless while making the message of faith can police officers. The result is a movie that is alternately seem disingenuous. Like Samuel’s debut film, 2021’s goofy and reverential, with frequent, jarring shifts in tone. revisionist Western The Harder They Fall, The Book of Clarence is a snarky skeptic of Jesus’ so-called miracles, Clarence brings a Black perspective to a historically whiteand when his own twin brother, Thomas (also played by dominated old-fashioned film genre, but it lacks that prior Stanfield), one of Jesus’ apostles, refuses to vouch for him, film’s unified vision and narrative momentum. he decides to set up his own messiah racket.

Stanfield makes Clarence so laid-back that it’s hard The section of the movie that deals to understand his motivations, either with Clarence’s con-artistry, easily fooling The Book of Clarence to take down Jesus or later to follow local residents into believing that he is just Rated PG-13 him. The cast includes memorable if as holy as Jesus, is its most playful and brief appearances from Alfre Woodard, Directed by Jeymes Samuel rewarding, and the closest that Samuel gets Starring LaKeith Stanfield, Annaw Diop David Oyelowo and James McAvoy, to religious parodies like Monty Python’s but the romance between Clarence and Life of Brian. Even at its most comedic, Jedediah’s sister Varinia (Anna Diop) is though, The Book of Clarence remains devout, and while underwhelming, as is the bond between Clarence and his Clarence may question Jesus’ claims to godhood, Samuel loyal friend Elijah (RJ Cyler). never does. Like the Roman tribune protagonist of 1953’s It’s hard to blame Samuel for being overly ambitious, CinemaScope extravaganza The Robe, Clarence is a nonand if The Book of Clarence is a mess, at least it’s always a believer who will eventually see the light, becoming a more bold, risk-taking mess. No one else would make a movie effective proselytizer in the process. like this, although that may be because there’s no effective Yet The Book of Clarence is nothing like a typical faithway to simultaneously parody and pay homage to such a based film, and Samuel allows his characters to blasstaid, stilted style of filmmaking. It’s a minor miracle that pheme freely. While that could be a refreshing approach anything in The Book of Clarence works at all. n

SCREEN | REVIEW

Sisterhood and memories get uniquely expolored in Four Daughters. COURTESY JOUR2FÊTE

Devoured by the Wolf Four Daughters is a captivating documentary defined by devastating absence and how we make sense of it

BY CHASE HUTCHINSON

I

t is not every day that one will think of Canadian coand Rahma Chikhaoui, went to join the Islamic State median Nathan Fielder alongside a Cannes-winning in Libya. She sorts through her emotions with her two documentary, yet that’s precisely what happened remaining daughters, Eya and Tayssir Chikhaoui, while while watching Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s two actors step in for the absent sisters and play out sigfascinating Four Daughters. No, it isn’t because of Fielder’s nificant moments from the family’s traumatic past, which delightfully bizarre show The Curse that led to this painful present. is currently airing on Showtime (even as Obviously, Fielder’s use of this FOUR DAUGHTERS hybrid between documentary and the documentary also grapples with the Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania interpersonal in a similarly frank fashion). reenactment creates more comedic Screening at the Magic Lantern Rather, it was his recent HBO series The outcomes in execution, but they have a Rehearsal about real people acting out chaluniting formal core that succeeds just lenges and pains in their lives that springs to mind as Four enough in devastating isolated moments, even if there is Daughter’s best reference point. much missing on the whole.

Four Daughters takes a similar tact with a Tunisian It is important to note that neither work is the first woman named Olfa Hamrouni who is attempting to to frame a complicated subject through this metafictional process the fact that her two older daughters, Ghofrane conceit. Director Kitty Green, who has since shifted to

MOVIE TIMES

fictional features like the quietly annihilating The Assistant and last year’s similarly disquieting The Royal Hotel, previously made the 2017 documentary Casting JonBenet about the process of finding actors for reenactments surrounding the infamous crime.

Where Four Daughters differs is it isn’t built around people who have merely heard of what they’re recreating.

Instead, the family members are intimately involved.

They’re living with its repercussions because the events happened to them. The abstract nature of recreating all these moments is made concrete in the eyes of the family watching all these scenes from their memories unfold.

Thus, the documentary dances between the past and the present to the point that the line becomes almost blurred. Scenes where “characters” will reenact something from the past will become interrupted by either the person they’re portraying or one of their scene partners delicately shattering the illusion with interjections about what is happening.

One of the most cutting moments involves one of the daughters playing themselves and pulling a knife on someone. There is an intensity to the moment as we see her sister who is both outside of the “scene” yet part of its future bearing the emotional agony of it while watching on. When one of the other actors asks to take a break right in the middle of this and then steps away from the cameras to talk directly to the filmmakers alone about something that is upsetting them, it speaks volumes, as we also see the remaining people in the room process what just happened.

This creates an experience that is distinctly illuminating in a way that neither pure documentary nor pure fiction filmmaking could in isolation. Seeing real people respond with laughter, tears and all the complicated emotions in between as their memories come to life in reenactments before them is striking in a way that feels almost like a surreal dream. Even when some of it proves distancing — the film’s exploration of the way people are driven to extremism leaves a lot to be desired, and the ending trying to bring this in feels too rushed — the enduring impact is unshakeable.

You’ll wish that you could know more about the two daughters that aren’t there, but that’s by design as it is all filtered through the recollections of the remaining family they left behind. Even when people may recall things quite differently from each other, this reveals infinitely more than it would if everything were uniform. They speak honestly about how they feel about it all, but everything is still pointedly fragmented in its presentation.

It captures a state of being that has been forever broken.

The way the documentary pieces this together is then like memory itself: consistently messy, often frustratingly slippery, yet still essential to reckon with. Eat your heart out, Nathan Fielder. n               

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JANUARY 11, 2024 INLANDER 33

Shush-core LOCAL CHAMBER FOLK

How local standout Heat Speak crafted its new album de bouquet ok in Spokane Public Library’s studio

BY SETH SOMMERFELD

T

he beauty of public libraries is they can be many things to each individual: a place for young readers to explore new worlds of imagination; a welcoming spot for families to gather; a hub for research for students and scholars alike; an access point to the internet for those in our community without one; an easy target for one to attempt to spread their own bigotry through book banning (which suuuuuucks); a community gathering place for book clubs and meetings; a setting for Keanu Reeves to fight an NBA center (John Wick 3, anyone?); a spot to access a treasure trove of media; or simply a place to escape the noisy hustle and bustle of the world for a few minutes and find some quiet.

That quiet is key. If there’s one thing that’s been drilled into our heads through the thousands of harsh librarian shushes throughout pop culture, it’s this: Don’t make noise in the library.

But don’t tell that to Spokane chamber folk band Heat Speak.

In order to craft its latest album, Heat Speak headed to the new recording studios at Spokane Public Library’s Central branch. The resulting 10-track LP, de bouquet ok, captures the best of what the group has to offer.

The opening track of de bouquet ok — “ICSYMCWTSD” — provides an ideal introduction for those unfamiliar with Heat Speak. Earthy, sparse guitar plucking soon gives way to progressively building layers, including string arrangements and a variety of eclectic percussion, with the folky jam timbre of singer-songwriter frontman/

34 INLANDER JANUARY 11, 2024

bandleader Dario Ré’s voice serving as a welcoming guide to make the whole package go down easy. Among the album’s other highlights is “Song for a Fisherman,” a longtime live favorite that hadn’t made it onto a proper Heat Speak album before, but showcases Ré’s rootsy and poetic impressionistic storytelling lyricism. The group excels at making the collective seem cohesive, as evident on “Cupboard of a Grand Fir.” It’s a delicate song, and while the players add loads of layers, they never overwhelm its tender core — instead morphing it into something simultaneously intimate and majestic.

The band will further up its library noise-making ways by celebrating the new album’s release on Friday, Jan. 12, with a free all-ages show at the Central Library.

W

hile an array of upgrades arrived with Spokane Central Library’s renovation in summer 2022, the addition of a professional recording studio made the space stand out from other book-lined havens. Library card holders could suddenly book one- to three-hour blocks to self-record in the space or reserve four-hour sessions with in-house audio engineer Andy Rumsey to work on their musical creations. Considering that booking a professional studio can cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars, the library

studio instantly became a wonderful resource for the local musical community with an unbeatable price — free.

And for the more ambitious artists? Well, they can apply to be granted 40 hours of free recording time with Rumsey to work on an album in exchange for volunteering.

When Ré heard about what the Central Library could offer, he knew it’d be a fit for Heat Speak.

“Just as an opportunist creator, I caught wind of the new studio and learned of their application process for larger projects and was just like, ‘Well dang, I’ve got music, and I’ve got collaborators. And this seems like an economical way to record,’” says Ré. “So I just jumped in early in that process, got accepted and ran with it.”

Instead of having to rush through recording because of budgetary concerns, as had been the case on some past Heat Speak recordings, the durational nature of the band’s stay at the library helped its creativity flourish. The time is especially important with a band of Heat Speak’s size. While the group is somewhat modular around Ré, de bouquet ok features 12 players: Ré (vocals, guitar, piano, accordion, etc.), Andie Daisley (vocals), Michael Starry (bass), Phil Pintor (violin), Caroline Bickford (cello), Tim Gales (cello, mandocello), Terri Parrish (keyboard), Ariana Colts (drums), Zack Zuniga (djembe, congas), Jules

Led by Dario Ré (third from the left), the sonic boquet that is Heat Speak gets its expansive sound via an expansive roster. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

Smith (percussion, guitar), Shawn Duffy (guitar) and Lane King (lap steel guitar). Managing so many moving pieces can understandably be chaos, and not having to rush through takes allowed Ré to be more comfortable holding the reins.

“Taking a bit more of a producer role on my end was new,” says Ré. “Typically our studio sessions have just been like the band performing, and I’m included in that. And for this session, me and the rhythm section were able to track pretty much the whole album in the first two days. And then I still was there for all the sessions throughout the week, kind of overdubbing the string parts, the percussion, the texture, the harmonies. So for the last three-quarters of the process, I wasn’t even performing. I was just acting as producer and organizing all the players who were coming in to record. So that was a really beautiful experience for me, because definitely my heart sits in that role.”

The album’s title — de bouquet ok — came about visually at first.

While looking at a painting hanging on the wall of Ré’s abode — one by local artist Oana Barac-Matei of a bouquet in a vase — he realized it should be a Heat Speak album cover, and the actual title came shortly after.

“Bouquet — that, to me, evokes the method — the kind of collaboration between so many players from different backgrounds, but also with the library system. Everyone’s sort of contributing to that,” says Ré. “So this concept of like, coming from a bouquet, just from like, a wealth of love, really spoke to the collection of songs as well as the method.”

While Heat Speak remains a Spokane-based band, Ré has actually moved out of state. He and his partner had dreams of owning a plot of land and last year found one in Sandpoint, allowing them to live on the land while still staying connected to their Spokane roots. And while the band members may be slightly more distant,

there are some benefits. For Ré, the scarcity of Heat Speak shows now makes each a bit more special and also better fits with band members’ day jobs and other commitments.

With that in mind, Heat Speak is playing two shows in Sandpoint this month (at Pend d’Oreille Winery and Heartwood Center) in addition to the de bouquet ok release show in Spokane. And it’s undeniable that concluding the full circle journey at Spokane’s Central Library will be a special evening for the band.

“Having a free, all-ages show as the album release was not part of the stipulation by any means. That was just kind of a way that I wanted to give back and utilize that space even more,” says Ré.

“When I got in there and started recording, within a day or two it was like, ‘The release is happening here.’ I could just feel it. So that was a no-brainer. I do think it’s going to be one of our bigger Spokane shows. I’m hoping it’s our biggest show, and it kind of feels like it’s going that direction.”

At least for one night, making noise in the library will be highly encouraged. n Heat Speak: de bouquet ok Album Release Show with Traesti Darling • Fri, Jan. 12 at 7 pm • Free • All ages • Central Library • 906 W. Main Ave. • dariore.com Heat Speak • Fri, Jan. 19 at 5 pm • Free • All ages • Pend d’Oreille Winery • 301 Cedar St. Sandpoint • powine.com Heat Speak, Mama Llama • Sat, Jan. 27 at 6:30 pm • $10-$12 • All ages • Heartwood Center • 615 Oak St., Sandpoint • dariore.com

JANUARY 11, 2024 INLANDER 35

MUSIC | SOUND ADVICE

SWAMPTRONICA DIRTWIRE

W

hile artists have long loved mashing genres together in the hopes of creating something fresh, few find a sound unto their own quite like Dirtwire. The group blends the soaring digital soundscapes of electronic dance music with rootsy, tactile live instrumentation — featuring a wide array of atypical instruments like West African kamale ngonis, mouth harps, bowed banjos and more — to create what they’ve dubbed “swamptronica.” Basically it sounds like a combo of Western desert folk with a touch of Bayou blues filtered through the lens of an EDM fest trip. If you’re looking to expand your sonic horizons in 2024, having Dirtwire be your first concert of the year wouldn’t be a bad step in that direction.

— SETH SOMMERFELD Dirtwire • Sat, Jan. 13 at 8 pm • $20 • All ages • Knitting Factory • 919 W. Sprague Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com J = THE INLANDER RECOMMENDS THIS SHOW J = ALL AGES SHOW

Thursday, 1/11

ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Scott Ryan Ingersoll CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Thursday Night Jam CHECKERBOARD TAPROOM, Weathered Shepherds MCCRACKEN’S PUB AND BBQ, Son of Brad J QQ SUSHI & KITCHEN, Just Plain Darin RED ROOM LOUNGE, Hip-Hop Night ZOLA, The Night Mayors

LOCAL DEATH METAL TOMB RIPPER A

s you can probably guess by the name, Spokane’s Tomb Ripper is the Lilac City’s most adorable new twee pop band! What’s that?

You’re saying that’s wrong and in fact Tomb Ripper is a fierce new death metal band with a violent grind sound that… well… rips? I suppose that does make more sense. After playing its first show last July, the band has quickly built up a reputation in Spokane’s healthy metal and hardcore scene. Tomb Ripper might not have a deep catalog of songs yet, but its high-energy thrashing sets as an opening act have already led the group to a headlining spot at the Big Dipper. For those who thrive in a pit, now’s the time to get in on the ground (subterranean?) floor of Tomb Ripper.

— SETH SOMMERFELD

Friday, 1/12

AK ASIAN RESTAURANT, Nate Ostrander ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, KOSH J THE BIG DIPPER, Wes Marvin, FLWR, Tony Krallis, Reilly WhiteWolf BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Bruiser J J CENTRAL LIBRARY, Heat Speak: de bouquet ok Album Release Show with Traesti Darling CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Bobby Patterson Band J CHINOOK LOUNGE (CDA CASINO), Just Plain Darin CRICKETS RESTAURANT, Son of Brad J THE GRAIN SHED, Haywire NIGHTHAWK LOUNGE (CDA CASINO), Loose Gazoonz PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Ron Keiper Trio RED ROOM LOUNGE, Live DJs THE RIDLER PIANO BAR, Just Plain Darin

36 INLANDER JANUARY 11, 2024

Tomb Ripper, Xingaia, Bonemass, Torn Open • Sat, Jan. 13 at 7:30 pm • $15 • All ages • Big Dipper • 171 S. Washington St. • thebigdipperspokane.com J SMOKESMITH BAR-B-QUE, Live Music at Smokesmith

Saturday, 1/13

ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, KOSH J J THE BIG DIPPER, Tomb Ripper, Xingaia, Bonemass, Torn Open BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Bruiser J CAFE COCO, B CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Thirsty Boots J CHINOOK LOUNGE (CDA CASINO), Just Plain Darin J J KNITTING FACTORY, Dirtwire NOAH’S CANTEEN, Son of Brad PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Ian Newbill RED ROOM LOUNGE, Live DJs

J SIRINYA’S THAI RESTAURANT, Steve Starkey ZOLA, Blake Braley

Sunday, 1/14 HOGFISH, Open Mic NOAH’S CANTEEN, Rhys/Gerwin J QQ SUSHI & KITCHEN, Just Plain Darin

Monday, 1/15 RED ROOM LOUNGE, Open Mic Night

Tuesday, 1/16 LITZ’S PUB & EATERY, Shuffle Dawgs PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Jennifer Stoehner

Wednesday, 1/17

THE DRAFT ZONE, The Draft Zone Open Mic GARDEN PARTY, The Social: KosMos the Afronaut J KNITTING FACTORY, Kaivon RED ROOM LOUNGE, The Roomates J TIMBERS ROADHOUSE, Cary Beare Presents ZOLA, Brittany’s House

Coming Up ...

ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Kari Marguerite & The Seventy-Six, Jan. 18, 6-8 pm.

J RELIC SMOKEHOUSE & PUB, Pamela Benton: StringzOnFire!, Jan. 18, 6-8 pm.

SPOKANE ARENA, Parker McCollum, Larry Fleet, King Calaway, Jan. 18, 7:30-9:30 pm.

J SPOKANE TRIBE CASINO, Hinder, Jan. 18, 7:30 pm.

RED ROOM LOUNGE, Hip-Hop Night, Thurs., 8 pm.

J PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Heat Speak, Jan. 19, 5-8 pm.

J KNITTING FACTORY, Hell’s Belles, Jan. 19, 8 pm.

J THE BIG DIPPER, The Red Books, No Soap Radio, Sing Chuck Sing!, Jan. 20, 7:30 pm.

J J SPOKANE ARENA, Bryan Adams, Dave Stewart’s Eurythmics Songbook, Jan. 21, 7:30 pm.

J THE DISTRICT BAR, Madeline Hawthorne, Jan. 21, 8 pm.

J J KNITTING FACTORY, Plain White T’s, Jan. 23, 8 pm.

J NYNE BAR & BISTRO, Hayes Noble, Shady Angels, Sick Pay Holiday, Sex with Seneca, Jan. 26, 6 pm..

J J HEARTWOOD CENTER, Heat Speak, Mama Llama, Jan. 27, 6:30-9 pm.

J J BONES MUSICLAND, An Evening with Blake Braley and Aspen Kye, Jan. 27, 8 pm.

J SPOKANE TRIBE CASINO, RaeLynn, Brandon Jackson, Jan. 27, 8-10 pm.

J THE BIG DIPPER, Apex Predator, Room 13, Psychic Death, Jan. 28, 7:30 pm.

J J FIRST INTERSTATE CENTER, G3 Reunion Tour, Jan. 29, 7 pm.

J J THE FOX THEATER, Pink Martini, Jan. 29, 7:30 pm.

J FIRST INTERSTATE CENTER, Johnny Cash: The Official Concert Experience, Jan. 30, 7-10 pm.

J KNITTING FACTORY, The Elovaters, Swayze, Claire Wrights, Jan. 31, 8 pm.

J THE DISTRICT BAR, Slothrust, Weekend Friends, Jan. 31, 9 pm.

J KNITTING FACTORY, Mike Sherm, Feb. 1, 8 pm.

J THE BIG DIPPER, Classics From The Casket: GRYN, Element X, Knothead, Dirty Savage, Hench the Entertainer, King Scrub, Mr. ERB, MCHOR, Ginjabred, Feb. 2, 7:30 pm.

J KNITTING FACTORY, Fooz Fighters, Feb. 2, 8 pm.

J THE BIG DIPPER, Digress, St4t1k, A Ron Gubbe, Yung Kanari, Apollo, taki.taki, Feb. 3, 7:30 pm.

THE DISTRICT BAR, Cris Jacobs, Feb. 4, 8 pm.

THE DISTRICT BAR, Moontricks, Feb. 8, 9 pm.

J THE BIG DIPPER, Paloma, The Ongoing Concept, Vika And the Velvets, Feb. 10, 7:30 pm.

RED ROOM LOUNGE, Dead Poet, Feb. 10, 7:30 pm.

THE DISTRICT BAR, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Feb. 10, 9 pm.

J J THE FOX THEATER, Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, Feb. 12, 7:30 pm.

J KNITTING FACTORY, Magic City Hippies, Feb. 13, 7:30 pm.

J KNITTING FACTORY, Fit for a King, The Devil Wears Prada, Feb. 14, 7 pm.

THE DISTRICT BAR, Summer Sweeney, Erin Enderlin, Feb. 14, 9 pm.

NORTHERN QUEST CASINO, Gin Blossoms, Feb. 15, 7:30 pm.

MUSIC | VENUES 219 LOUNGE • 219 N. First Ave., Sandpoint • 208-263-5673 ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS • 4705 N. Fruit Hill Rd., Spokane Valley • 509-927-9463 BABY BAR • 827 W. First Ave. • 509-847-1234 BARRISTER WINERY • 1213 W. Railroad Ave. • 509-465-3591 BEE’S KNEES WHISKY BAR • 1324 W. Lancaster Rd.., Hayden • 208-758-0558 BERSERK • 125 S. Stevens St. • 509-315-5101 THE BIG DIPPER • 171 S. Washington St. • 509-863-8098 BIGFOOT PUB • 9115 N. Division St. • 509-467-9638 BING CROSBY THEATER • 901 W. Sprague Ave. • 509-227-7638 BLACK DIAMOND • 9614 E. Sprague Ave. • 509891-8357 BOLO’S BAR & GRILL • 116 S. Best Rd., Spokane Valley • 509-891-8995 BOOMERS CLASSIC ROCK BAR • 18219 E. Appleway Ave., Spokane Valley • 509-368-9847 BUCER’S COFFEEHOUSE PUB • 201 S. Main St., Moscow • 208-596-0887 THE BULL HEAD • 10211 S. Electric St., Four Lakes • 509-838-9717 CHAN’S RED DRAGON • 1406 W. Third Ave. • 509-838-6688 COEUR D’ALENE CASINO • 37914 S. Nukwalqw St., Worley • 800-523-2464 COEUR D’ALENE CELLARS • 3890 N. Schreiber Way, Coeur d’Alene • 208-664-2336 CRUISERS BAR & GRILL • 6105 W Seltice Way, Post Falls • 208-446-7154 CURLEY’S HAUSER JUNCTION • 26433 W. Hwy. 53, Post Falls • 208-773-5816 THE DISTRICT BAR • 916 W. 1st Ave. • 509-244-3279 EICHARDT’S PUB • 212 Cedar St., Sandpoint • 208-263-4005 FIRST INTERSTATE CENTER FOR THE ARTS • 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. • 509-279-7000 FOX THEATER • 1001 W. Sprague Ave. • 509-624-1200 IRON HORSE • 407 E. Sherman, Coeur d’Alene • 208-667-7314 IRON HORSE BAR & GRILL • 11105 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley • 509-926-8411 JOHN’S ALLEY • 114 E. Sixth St., Moscow • 208-883-7662 KNITTING FACTORY • 911 W. Sprague Ave. • 509-244-3279 LEFTBANK WINE BAR • 108 N. Washington St. • 509-315-8623 MARYHILL WINERY • 1303 W. Summit Pkwy. • 509-443-3832 THE MASON JAR • 101 F St., Cheney • 509-359-8052 MAX AT MIRABEAU • 1100 N. Sullivan Rd., Spokane Valley • 509-922-6252 MILLIE’S • 28441 Hwy 57, Priest Lake • 208-443-0510 MOOSE LOUNGE • 401 E. Sherman Ave., Coeur d’Alene • 208-664-7901 MOOTSY’S • 406 W. Sprague Ave. • 509-838-1570 NASHVILLE NORTH • 6361 W. Seltice Way, Post Falls • 208-457-9128 NORTHERN QUEST RESORT & CASINO • 100 N. Hayford Rd., Airway Heights • 877-871-6772 NYNE BAR & BISTRO • 232 W. Sprague Ave. • 509-474-1621 PEND D’OREILLE WINERY • 301 Cedar St., Sandpoint • 208-265-8545 THE PODIUM • 511 W. Dean Ave. • 509-279-7000 POST FALLS BREWING CO. • 112 N. Spokane St., Post Falls • 208-773-7301 RAZZLE’S BAR & GRILL • 10325 N. Government Way, Hayden • 208-635-5874 RED ROOM LOUNGE • 521 W. Sprague Ave. • 509-838-7613 THE RIDLER PIANO BAR • 718 W. Riverside Ave. • 509-822-7938 SEASONS OF COEUR D’ALENE • 1004 S. Perry St. • 208-664-8008 SPOKANE ARENA • 720 W. Mallon Ave. • 509-279-7000 SOUTH PERRY LANTERN • 12303 E. Trent Ave., Spokane Valley • 509-473-9098 STEAM PLANT • 159 S. Lincoln St. • 509-777-3900 STORMIN’ NORMAN’S SHIPFACED SALOON • 12303 E. Trent Ave., Spokane Valley • 509-862-4852 TRANCHE • 705 Berney Dr., Wall Walla • 509-526-3500 ZOLA • 22 W. Main Ave. • 509-624-2416

Breathin’ easy

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Flu & COVID-19 Flu & COVID-19 srhd.org/breathineasy

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Luxury liquor selection, local beer, premium wine, and New Orleans classic and signature cocktails!

vieuxcarrespokane.com | 509.495.1400 | 1403 w broadway ave | spokane JANUARY 11, 2024 INLANDER 37

SPORTS RAGING BULL

Watch top human and bovine athletes compete for eight seconds of grit and lifetimes of glory. The Professional Bull Rider’s Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour stops in Spokane this weekend with 35 of the country’s best bull riders and a handful of the world’s fiercest bulls. Fans of Amazon Prime’s docuseries The Ride will be able to watch as Dakota Louis — a Montana rancher, Northern Cheyenne and Blackfeet descendent, and one of the sport’s most popular rising stars — competes.

Complete with fireworks, strobes, pulsing music and plenty of danger, the “toughest sport on dirt” is about to trample any misconceptions that this is a typical rodeo.

— ELIZA BILLINGHAM PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour • Sat, Jan. 13 at 7 pm • $36-$251 • All ages • Spokane Arena • 720 W. Mallon Ave. • pbr.com/tours

MUSIC WHAT GOES A-ROUND…

While there are plenty of folks who enjoy music without really caring about lyrics, the very thought of that is abhorrent to any singer-songwriter who puts care into their craft. The stories one can weave via the combination of instrumentals and carefully chosen lyrics can resonate in ways that words alone cannot. The art of this sonic storytelling practice is on full display whenever there’s a round concert — where performers share the stage, taking turns playing songs, and revealing the events and emotions that led to their creation. This edition of the Songwriter’s Round Table at the Bing brings together local standouts Ron Greene, Stevie Lynne, Lucas Brookbank Brown and Dani Bacon.

— SETH SOMMERFELD Songwriter’s Round Table • Thu, Jan. 18 at 7 pm • $27 • All ages • Bing Crosby Theater • 901 W. Sprague Ave. • bingcrosbytheater.com

38 INLANDER JANUARY 11, 2024

FILM ATOP THE MOUNTAIN

For almost 40 years, the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival has been making an appearance in Spokane, featuring a new collection of adventure and environmental films each year. Over 400 films are submitted into the festival, with the resulting award-winners and audience favorites shown in theaters around the world. Some of this year’s films touch on environmental issues, while others bring viewers directly into the world of action sports. This year’s festival films are being shown at the Fox Theater for two nights, bringing the spirit of adventure and exploration to Spokane’s widespread outdoors community.

— SUMMER SANDSTROM Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival • Fri, Jan. 12 and Sat, Jan 13 at 7 pm • $25-$45 • The Fox Theater • 1001 W. Sprague Ave. • foxtheaterspokane.com • 509-624-1200

WORDS POETRY PARTY

Broken Mic, Spokane’s longest-running weekly poetry open mic has been alive, thriving and giving local poets a platform since it began 2011. Though the event has been happening for 13 years now, its organizers are still finding ways to shake things up. This month, Broken Mic is hosting a series featuring past Poet Laureates of Spokane. The first night, however, kicked off with Spokane’s newest Poet Laureate, Mery Smith, on Jan. 10. But never fear! You can still catch Mark Anderson (pictured; Jan. 17), Chris Cook (Jan. 24) and Thom Caraway (Jan. 31) before the series ends. And if you’re feeling brave, sign up at 6 pm the night of to read three minutes worth of poetry yourself.

— MADISON PEARSON Broken Mic Poet Laureate Series • Wednesdays in January; sign-up at 6 pm, show starts at 6:30 pm • Free • All ages • Neato Burrito • 827 W. First Ave. • facebook.com/brokenmicspokane

MONEY ANSWERS FOR PEOPLE WHO SING IN THE CAR.

OUTDOORS LEARN TO NORDIC SKI

Every year, the Spokane Nordic Ski Association offers numerous ski lessons and skiing activities geared toward kids and adults of various skill levels during its annual Winterfest event. Kids ages 6 to 15 can participate in the Kids Clinic, while those 16 and older can partake in adult lessons for both beginner and intermediate skiers. Plus, you can bring your dog along for the Skijoring Clinic, for which they’ll be fitted for a harness to pull you around the mountain. There will also be a treasure hunt, demos to try out equipment, and booths with Rambleraven Gear Trader, Spokane Mountaineers and Friends of Mount Spokane. The Spokane Nordic Ski Association normally only offers classes for its members, making this event the single day each year that nonmembers can see what the nonprofit has to offer while learning some new skills.

— SUMMER SANDSTROM Spokane Nordic Winterfest • Sun, Jan. 14 from 9:30 am-3 pm • All ages • $20-$25 • Selkirk Lodge, • North Mt. Spokane Park Drive, Mead • spokanenordic.org/winterfest

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Federally insured by NCUA JANUARY 11, 2024 INLANDER 39

direction of our lives by a simple choice. It is all in our hands, our hearts, and our minds.

I SAW YOU FIRST! I saw you first in Pink and I’ve felt you everyday since in my heart!

DDPPCCPP

I SAW YOU IN MY DREAMS I had all of you, most of you, some and now none of you. Take me back to the night we met. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, haunted by the ghost of you. Take me back to the night we met. AnJ RE: IN MY DREAMS Honestly after how things ended and being ghosted, I wanted to think nothing but bad but I can’t... I still hope that every time my phone rings it’s you. Yeah it was only eight months, but in that eight months you had me feel things I’ve never felt before. Ever. I can’t shake it.

I can’t shake you. I love you. Always have, always will, mama.

LUCKY I SAW YOU Me: Driving south on North Washington, on a dark and rainy evening at approximately 4:45 pm. You: Walking west, presumably toward the stadium, across relatively busy traffic, approximately 40 feet in front of me.

Wearing black, or not — you appeared only as a dark flicker of a silhouette, made noticeable only by the reflections of headlights on the wet pavement. You, one such shadow among many in Spokane, could have instead waited to get to a crosswalk to avoid nearly getting hit by my car or others. Try a reflective vest next time?

CHOICE Choice is the most powerful tool we have, everything boils down to choice. We exist in a field of infinite possibilities. Every choice we make shuts an infinite number of doors and opens an infinite number of doors. At any point, we can change the

SCOOBY I don’t know if you will ever see this, but on the off chance that you do, there’s a few things I need to say. First, Happy Birthday (Jan. 9)! Second, you are and always will be the Richard to my LaGrande, the wet to my strudel, and the love of my life. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about you. And I miss you so much it hurts. And I worry about you all the time. I haven’t talked to you or seen you in almost two years, and I don’t know how to get ahold of you... So if you see this, please get ahold of me. I love you. And I hope you’re OK. - Nikki RE: DAMN! I WISH I WAS YOUR LOVER... If it is truly you, meet me at the site of our first date on Sunday at 1pm.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY? We interacted at Wandermere Fred Meyer about hair care products. I was either too shy or afraid to offend you by trying to learn more about you. You are gorgeous.

CHEERS ROCKERS AT LITTLE CAESAR’S I saw you at Little Caesar’s in a white Escalade on New Year’s Eve. You were all head banging and rocking out so hard you created a 5.0 earthquake in the Valley. I laughed so hard!

Live life to the fullest and rock on!!

CHEERS TO GARLAND FOR BRINGING JOY Thanks to the Garland Theater for giving me the first opportunity to see an all time favorite, Home Alone, in theater! The theater is such a welcoming space for our community and an affordable option for a fun outing. Thanks for bringing back the old classics. We appreciate you!

TOP SHELF 21ST Moe was having a quiet breakfast at Waffle’s Plus when heard a conversation that caught his attention. Moe had heard that it was my daughter’s 21st and we were making plans. Moe, thank you so for the birthday wishes and the money for her first drink. Your kindness made my daughter’s day. It was fun to have you share in the excitement of her special day. P.S. It was top shelf tequila.

love, is working for minimum wage (not complaining, just necessary for the context) at a business that brings in much needed beauty to downtown as well as an economic boost, just to turn around and pay $45 for parking during a four-hour shift. First, I get a ticket for two minutes past my time.

My bad. Lesson learned. Then, I tried to be diligent and pay the meter using the mobile app because I’m not working in a situation where I can run out to do it. Boom, $45 ticket for my car being there for longer than two hours. But I mean, does anyone actually know that rule exists? Now you do.

JEERS SOUTH PERRY PIZZA WHITE TRUCK To the ass trying to back into a parking place at South Perry Pizza on Friday night around 5:30 and decided to ram into the back of my SUV, denting my bumper in two places.

WTF. I didn’t discover what you had done until I got home. I went right back, and you were gone. Karma is real, and you will get yours in 2024. Good Luck.

“

GREYHOUND’S VAGUENESS Jeers to Greyhound and the various intercity bus companies that come here. Spokane has a great bus station, but not great service.

We’ve run an average of 1 in 3 buses actually arriving on time, or even at all.

There’s no signage or messages about what’s happening with your bus. You just buy a ticket and hope a bus comes along eventually. This is pathetic service for a company with such a great history in our country. No wonder not many people take the bus: They don’t even know if they’d get on one if they tried.

...Everything boils down to choice. We exist in a field of infinite possibilities.

Parking lots are a great idea, until I leave and have to walk five blocks by myself in a dimly lit and very vulnerable area just to pay $10 in parking for my window to get broken.

DO BETTER Missis and I stayed at Spokane’s famous hotel over the New Year’s weekend.

Went to the symphony Saturday night. All in all a wonderful weekend. We were shocked how poorly the hotel is understaffed.

The wait valet parking was 30 minutes, I’m disabled. Then another queue to simply check in. The staff seemed plain overwhelmed. It took a long time for ANY service. Dirty dishes left on end tables in the lobby and just a general sense of chaos.

We don’t blame the staff, they worked hard and are pleasant and professional.

Management is at fault, and can do better.

We stayed for a couple nights, so we could tell that employing more people would solve these inconveniences.

RE: SELFISH TRANSIT AUTHORITY I saw your note about the STA using a diesel generator to recharge the electric buses. If true, that would be a huge mess and outright defeat the purpose of using electric ones in the first place, so I did what you should have done before ranting in public: I wrote to the STA to ask if it was true. It’s not. The diesel tank you mentioned is used to refill the diesel buses. The generator is only run for tests to ensure it works (as any backup generator should be at regular intervals) to ensure they can pump gas in a power outage and run their buildings when there’s an emergency. I’m sure you’ll find other things to be mad about, but you’re just wrong on those points.

“ZERO EMISSIONS” VEHICLES ARE A SCAM Avista recently sent out a newsletter showing that 59% of the electricity they produce is considered “renewable.” (With 48% coming from hydro power; good thing we’re surrounded by dams!) That’s pretty good, but with the 41% balance being provided by natural gas and coal, that’s still a large gap when it comes to powering electric vehicles. Wise up Spokane, unless your EVs are connected directly to a dam, wind farm or solar panel, they are still generating so-called “greenhouse gases” to charge, and the same goes for school buses and city buses. So let’s be honest at least! What a scam.

RE: DOG BREEDS I think the biggest message I’ve gotten over the last few weeks of reading dog breed issues is that dogs are more intelligent than humans. As for me and my house, the only dangerous breeds we own are fighting ladybugs. They can do some wicked damage. Spokane is hilarious. What dumb people it contains!

Chihuahuas are potentially more dangerous than large breed dogs with large jaws and teeth. Hilarious! You know what, I bet if Shaq were to box a person 4 feet tall, and they had equal boxing experience, the 4-foot person would win. So dumb.

What’s logic?

DOWNTOWN PARKING I work at an independently owned and operated business downtown. I love it! What I don’t

SOUND OFF 1. Visit Inlander.com/isawyou by 3 pm Monday. 2. Pick a category (I Saw You, You Saw Me, Cheers or Jeers). 3.

”

WHO DO THEY REALLY WORK FOR? Mega jeers to the candidates of either party, at whatever level of office, who get their money from PACs (political action commitees) and Super PACs then dare to tell us what they will do for us. Lying Liars!

In reality they will do whatever their big contributors tell them to do. Sadly, you can’t trust media either. They pander to whatever candidate has the most money to spend with them. Campaigns are a bonanza for them. Then there are the “political consultants.” They are the bagmen that move the money around, make under the table deals, and take a piece of the money for their troubles. Sadly, the only candidates who might be telling the truth are those that don’t take PAC money. n

THIS WEEK'S ANSWERS A W E N E S T M B A D C I P U N K O U T R A N D O L P H A R T I C L E A L O E V E R A B E T T A G E T T A J E T T A I S E E Y E S M H O T S A Z U R E R E P C A S C A T R A I N N A T E R A G O O D M O O D F O O D C T R M A U R O A N S A H A A S P I C S T A I D R H E A L M N O P E P S B E A N Z M E A N Z H E I N Z R E T U R N E E T O A H E A D D R E S S I E R E M P L O Y S A B E N N E S O C K C D S

NOTE: I Saw You/Cheers & Jeers is for adults 18 or older. The Inlander reserves the right to edit or reject any posting at any time at its sole discretion and assumes no responsibility for the content.

Provide basic info: your name and email (so we know you’re real). 4. To connect via I Saw You, provide a non-identifying email to be included with your submission — like “petals327@yahoo.com,” not “j.smith@comcast.net.”

NOVEMBER 3-9, 2022 | SHREDDING THE GNAR

free — 18, 2009 n november 12

be In the know FOR ALL THINGS NOVEMBER 9-15, 2017 | VISIT SNOWLANDEREXPO.COM

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40 INLANDER JANUARY 11, 2024

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has FILM Sacha Baron Cohen 35 America fooled in Borat

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W I N T E R

Monthly in the Inlander

S E R I E S

October – February

EVENTS | CALENDAR

BENEFIT

HOLIDAY FOOD FUNDRAISER FOR NORTHWEST HARVEST FOOD BANK Bring perishable food donations to participating businesses. In addition to food donations, 10% of the proceeds from Brick West’s Out Cold IPA, wherever it’s sold, will go to Northwest Harvest. See website for full details. Daily through Jan. 19. Free. khq.com/giving (509-279-2982) EVENING OF ENSEMBLES Live music performed by Lewis and Clark High School small ensembles including choir, band and orchestra. Proceeds benefit the music department at LC. Jan. 19, 7-10 pm. $35. Washington Cracker Co. Building, 304 W. Pacific. lcimpatigers.wixsite.com

COMEDY

COVER TO COVER COMEDY SHOW A fully-improvised comedy show inspired by local authors. Every show, a local author discusses their work, journey of becoming a published author and other topics. Jan. 11, 6-7 pm. By donation. Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave. levitytheatre.com (208-494-2008) ERICA RHODES Rhodes is an American actress and comedian. She’s performed on A Prairie Home Companion since the age of 13 and appeared in several comedy movies and TV shows. Jan. 11, 7:30 pm. $15-$22. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com IMPROV SCENEWORK: BEYOND THE BASICS This eight-week course expands upon the foundations built in the Intro to Improv course. Continue to explore strong scene building, attentive listening and committed contribution while working towards solidifying improv fundamentals to make you the best improviser you can be. Jan. 11-Feb. 29, Thu from 7-9 pm. $200. Blue Door Theatre, 319 S. Cedar St. spokaneschoolofimprov.org MIKE CRONIN Cronin’s comedy focuses on self-deprecating humor; see his comedy special on Netflix. Jan. 12, 7:30 & 10:15 pm, Jan. 13, 7 & 9:45 pm and Jan. 14, 7 pm. $20-$28. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com IMPROV FOR LAWYERS This class is for lawyers, paralegals and law students who are interested in learning how improv can help them tell compelling stories. Jan. 13Feb. 3, Sat from 10 am-noon. $200. Blue Door Theatre, 319 S. Cedar St. spokaneschoolofimprov.org (509-747-7045) ISMO The Finnish comic was voted “Funniest Person in the World” by Laugh Factory. Jan. 13, 7:30-9:30 pm. $42-$52.

Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. bingcrosbytheater.com LOUIE FOXX Foxx holds two Guinness World Records and has appeared on America’s Got Talent with his comedy magician act. Jan. 13, 4 pm. $10-$15. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com (509-318-9998) IMPROV CHARACTERS & NARRATIVES In this eight-week course, participants dive into the art of creating compelling characters, each with their own unique quirks, motivations, and personalities.

Jan. 9-Feb. 27, Tuesdays from 7-9 pm. $200. Blue Door Theatre, 319 S. Cedar St. spokaneschoolofimprov.org NEW TALENT TUESDAYS Watch comedians of all skill levels work out jokes together. Every Tuesday, 7 pm. Free. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com (509-318-9998) BOBCAT GOLDTHWAIT Goldthwait is

known for his black comedy stand-up act, delivered through an energetic stage persona with a raspy and high-pitched voice. Jan. 18, 7 pm. $24-$32. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com (509-318-9998) SCRIBBLE AFTER DARK Five of YouTube’s biggest animators participate in an improvisational animation game show. Arin Hanson (Egoraptor) and the audience put Odds1Out, JaidenAnimations, RubberRoss, and Domics through a series of brand new competitive drawing games. Ages 18+. Jan. 20, 8 pm. Free.

Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. scribbleshowdown.com (509-227-7638)

COMMUNITY

QUESTMAS VILLAGE This outdoor family-friendly winter experience features large displays, a synthetic ice rink, photo backdrops and more. Mon-Thu from 4-9 pm and Fri-Sun from 12-9 pm through Feb. 18. Free. Northern Quest Resort & Casino, 100 N. Hayford Rd. northernquest.com (509-242-7000) SPOKANE REIMAGINED INFO SESSION Learn more about Spokane Reimagined, a proposal to repurpose existing rights, improve Spokane’s connectivity, increase density and spur economic development.

Jan. 11, 6 pm. Free. Hillyard Library, 4110 N. Cook St. spokanereimagined.org PAGE 42 FREE BOOK FAIR Over 17,000 books are available for free for readers of all ages. Jan. 12, 3-7 pm and Jan. 13, 10 am-7 pm. Free. Northeast Community Center, 4001 N. Cook St. Page42bookstore.com (509-202-2551) ROLE-PLAYING GAME DROP IN Improve your RPG skills by watching and participating in games. Fridays from 4-8 pm and Saturdays from 1-5 pm. Free. RPG Community Center, 101 N. Stone Street. rpgcenter.org (509-608-7630) WINTERFEST This holiday celebration features a light parade, snow sculptures, kids’ activities and more. Jan. 12, 6 pm and Jan. 13, 9 am-3 pm. Free. Republic, Wash. republicchamber.org/winterfest INDOOR PLANT SWAP Bring an indoor plant to share, and pick up one left by other houseplant enthusiasts. Jan. 13, 1-4 pm. Free. Spokane Valley Library, 22 N. Herald Rd. scld.org NEW YEAR SELF-CARE RETREAT During this three-hour self-care retreat, presenters from TERRA lead physical, cognitive and spiritual techniques aimed to connect participants with their values, needs and limits. Programming also available in Spanish. Jan. 13, 10:30 am-1:30 pm. Free. Moran Prairie Library, 6004 S. Regal St. scld.org (893-8340) MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY COMMEMORATION SERVICE & CELEBRATION A service and celebration in partnership with the Black Minister Alliance.

Jan. 14, 3-5 pm. Free. Holy Temple Church of God in Christ, 806 W. Indiana Ave. mlkspokane.org (509-868-0856) MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY UNITY RALLY This annual event features a rally, a march and a resource fair with local vendors. Jan. 15, 10 am-1:30 pm. Free.

Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. mlkspokane.org COFFEE & CONVERSATION This event aims to help people feel seen and heard.

The conversation is free form and the event includes low-key activities like coloring, puzzles and more. Every Wednesday from 10:30 am-noon. Free. Central Library, 906 W. Main. spokanelibrary.org

MANY SPIRITS COMMUNITY A space for two-spirit and Indigiqueer people to spend time together. Tea, hot chocolate and some art supplies provided. Feel free to bring creative projects. 4-7 pm. Free.

Shadle Library, 2111 W. Wellesley Ave. spectrumcenterspokane.org STARTUP ADVISOR LUNCH & LEARN: LEGAL ASPECTS OF BUSINESS In this lunch and learn-style event, Allie Glasunow and Jamie Nicole Johnson cover the concepts around legal assistance for entity development, intellectual property protection and fundraising. Jan. 17, 11:30 am-1 pm. Free. WSU Spokane Ignite Innovation Building, 120 N Pine St. sp3nw. org (509-981-0274) THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE This monthly event includes live music, gallery cruising, gallery talks, lectures, artist workshops and demonstrations, periodic exhibition openings and special Campbell House programing. Third Thursday of each month from 5-8 pm. $7.50-$10.

Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org BRIDAL FESTIVAL A festival for soonto-be newlyweds featuring bridal fashion shows, raffles, wedding planning resources, vendors and more. Jan. 20, 10 am-5 pm and Jan. 21, 10 am-3 pm. $11$12. Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. bridalfest.com DROP IN & RPG Stop by and explore the world of role playing games. Build a shared narrative using cooperative problem solving, exploration, imagination and rich social interaction. Ages 5-105.

First and third Saturdays of the month from 1-3:45 pm. Free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. spark-central.org HEARTBREAKER TATTOO & ARTIST CO-OP GRAND OPENING Celebrate the opening of a new tattoo/art shop in downtown Spokane with live art demonstrations from OEnone Shore, Madeline Goolie, Jacqueline Schofield and more, specials on flash tattoos, raffles and more. Jan. 20, 10 am-9 pm. Free. Heartbreaker Tattoo & Artist Co-op, 830 W. Sprague Ave. heartbreakerspokane.com POP-UP PICKENS: NEW YEAR, NEW YOU Explore over 30 local vendors selling a wide variety of items such as antiques, handmade crafts and more.

Jan. 20, 11 am-7 pm. Free. The Small Biz Shoppe, 808 W. Main Ave., Suite 209. preseasonfaire.com/pop-up-pickens SALUTE TO SCOTLAND: ROBERT BURNS NIGHT A cultural celebration of Scotland featuring whiskey, poetry, highland dancing, art and a salmon dinner.

Jan. 20, 5-9 pm. $90. The Jacklin Arts & Cultural Center, 405 N. William St., Post Falls. thejacklincenter.org

FILM

MOSCOW LEBOWSKI FEST This daylong celebration features a screening of The Big Lebowski, bowling at Zeppoz, a costume contest, plenty of White Russians and more. Jan. 13, 4 pm-1:30 am. $15-$40. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. palousecultfilms.org (208-310-1200) PURPLE RAIN A young musician, tormented by an abusive situation at home, must contend with a rival singer, a burgeoning romance, and his own dissatisfied band, as his star begins to rise. Jan. 14, 4-6 pm. $8. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org (208-882-4127) THE VIRGIN SUICIDES This adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides’s acclaimed novel captures the ineffable melancholy of

teenage longing and ennui. Jan. 16, 7-9 pm. $8. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org GO ON, BE BRAVE This film follows Andrea Lytle Peet’s race against time and attempt to be the first person with ALS to complete a marathon in all 50 states.

Jan. 17, 7:30-10 pm. $8.40. Northtown Mall Stadium 12, 4750 N. Division St. goonbebravefilm.com THIRD THURSDAY MOVIE MATINEE: FIRST POSITION Follow six young dancers from around the world as they prepare for the Youth America Grand Prix, one of the most prestigious ballet competitions in the world. Jan. 18, 1-3 pm. $7. Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org

FOOD & DRINK

FIN TO FORK: A CULINARY TRILOGY COOKING CLASS A three-course culinary experience where guests will learn to make a harvest salad, classic creme brulee and crab-stuffed salmon paired with various accouterments and a beurre blanc sauce. Jan. 12, 6-8 pm. $85. Beverly’s, 115 S. Second St. beverlyscda.com DIVERSION EVENTS GRAND OPENING This Dry January event features mocktails, music, flash tattoos in a nightclub environment. Jan. 12, 8-11 pm. $25-$30.

First Avenue Coffee, 1017 W. First Ave. instagram.com/diversion_events FLIGHTS & BITES WINE PAIRING DINNER Explore the art of pairing wines with a six-course menu curated by chef Caleb Smith, while wine education specialist Alex Barber shares insights on pairing principles. Jan. 17, 6-8 pm. $75. Arbor Crest Wine Cellars, 4705 N. Fruit Hill Rd. arborcrest.com (509-927-9463) KITCHEN COOKING CLASS: GNOCCHI Commellini Estate’s executive chef teaches how to make gnocchi in this hands-on cooking class which culminates in a family-style meal. Jan. 17,& 18, 6:30 am-9:30 pm. $85. Commellini Estate, 14715 N. Dartford Dr. commelliniestate. com (509-466-0667) RAID THE CELLAR: NEW WORLD VS OLD WORLD WINE DINNER Experience a blend of history and innovation as you explore the distinct characteristics of New World and Old World wines paired with a five-course menu. Jan. 18, 6-9 pm. $100. Beverly’s, 115 S. Second St. beverlyscda.com (208-292-5678) NORTH IDAHO WINE SOCIETY: WINES OF PORTUGAL Lisa Williams discusses the wine varieties and growing regions of Portugal. Wines at the tasting are offered for sale at discounted pricing and light appetizers will be served. Jan. 19, 7-9:30 pm. $30-$35. Lake City Center, 1916 N. Lakewood Dr. northidahowinesociety.org

MUSIC

THE HISTORY OF ROCK & ROLL The Rusty Jackson Band, Mel Dalton and Tom Richards perform hits of the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. Jan. 12, 6-8:30 pm. $15-$25.

Lake City Center, 1916 N. Lakewood Dr. fb.me/e/bkXMcsFhn (208-262-1655) BRING YOUR OWN VINYL NIGHT Bring your own vinyl to spin while sipping on craft cocktails and listening to music.

Thursdays from 3-10 pm. The Boneyard - Side Hustle Syrups, 17905 E. Appleway Ave, Ste A. sidehustlesyrups.com

SING ALONG WITH JUST PLAIN DARIN Sing along with local singer-songwriter Just Plain Darin to the best songs of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. No prior singing experience is required. Jan. 16, 7-8 pm. Free.

Spokane Valley Library, 22 N. Herald Rd. scld.org (509-893-8400) PETER LUCHT Lucht plays jazz piano at the winery. Jan. 17, 5-7 pm. Free. Pend d’Oreille Winery, 301 Cedar St., Sandpoint. powine.com SONGWRITER’S ROUNDTABLE An introspective night behind the songs of Stevie Lynne, Ron Greene, Lucas Brookbank Brown and Dani Bacon. Jan. 18, 7-9 pm. $26. Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. bingcrosbytheater.com THOMAS PLETSCHER Jazz pianist Thomas Pletscher performs repertoire from the Great American Songbook, as well as jazz arrangements of pop songs.

Jan. 18, 6-9 pm. Free. Historic Davenport Hotel, 10 S. Post St. davenporthotelcollection.com (800-899-1482) SPOKANE SYMPHONY MASTERWORKS 5: HOLLY RACHS! Holly Hyun Choe leads the orchestra through works of drama and warmth. Selections include Symphony No. 3 in F Major by Johannes Brahms, the U.S. premiere of A Drama in the Air by Britta Byrström and more. Jan. 20, 7:30 pm and Jan. 21, 3 pm. $19-$68. The Fox Theater, 1001 W. Sprague Ave. foxtheaterspokane.org (509-624-1200)

SPORTS & OUTDOORS

JACKASS DAY Celebrate Silver Mountain’s roots with $20 lift tickets and a retro theme. Jan. 11. $20. Silver Mountain Resort, 610 Bunker Ave. silvermt.com MT. SPOKANE NIGHT SKIING Ski after sunset under the lights. Wed-Fri from 3-9 pm through March 16. $40-$80. Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, 29500 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. mtspokane.com NATIONAL RV SHOW This RV show features deals, discounts, expert advice, parts and accessories dealers, live music and much more. Jan. 11-15. Free. Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. nationalrvshow.com BANFF CENTRE MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL A collection of outdoor adventure, environmental and cultural films. Jan. 1213, 7 pm. $25-$45. The Fox Theater, 1001 W. Sprague Ave. foxtheaterspokane.com DJ NIGHT ON THE ICE Skate around the Numerica Skate Ribbon with tunes provided by DJ A1. Fridays from 6-9 pm. through Jan. 26. $6.95-$9.95. Numerica Skate Ribbon, 720 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. riverfrontspokane.org (509-625-6600) COACHES CORNER Coaches from Spokane Figure Skating Club offer tips and guidance to emerging skaters. Saturdays from 11 am-1 pm through Jan. 27. $6.95$9.95. Numerica Skate Ribbon, 720 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. riverfrontspokane.org HOUSEPLANT MASTERY SERIES Sessions cover plant selection, light and water needs, soil and pot selection and much more. Saturdays from 2-3 pm through Jan. 27. $10-$30. Ritters Garden & Gift, 10120 N. Division St. 4ritter.com PBR: PENDLETON WHISKY VELOCITY TOUR This show features young, emerging bull-riding talent alongside superstars of the sport. Jan. 13, 7-9 pm. $17-$107. Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon. spokanearena.com

JANUARY 11, 2024 INLANDER 41

EVENTS | CALENDAR SNOWSHOES & BREWS MOUNT SPOKANE TOUR WITH TRANSPORTATION A tour through the woods of Mount Spokane State Park. Then, head to Big Barn Brewery to learn about their locally crafted beer. Jan. 13, 9 am-2:30 pm. $53. spokanerec.org (509-363-5414) BONSAI 101 Learn proper care of bonsai, how to repot your tree and much more.

Jan. 14, 2-3 pm. $10. Ritters Garden & Gift, 10120 N. Division St. 4ritter.com SPOKANE NORDIC’S WINTERFEST A day of discounted lessons and opportunities for all ages and skill levels. Includes a skijoring clinic for dogs, treasure hunt with prizes, adaptive ski demos, clinics from the Mountaineers and Friends of Mt. Spokane and more. Jan. 14, 9:30 am-3 pm. Free. Selkirk Lodge, N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. spokanenordic.org/winterfest CHEAP SKATE TUESDAYS Free skate rentals are provided with each paid admission. Tuesayds from 11 am-8 pm through Feb. 27. $6.95-$9.95. Numerica Skate Ribbon, 720 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. riverfrontspokane.org (509-625-6600) BACKCOUNTRY FILM FESTIVAL This film festival includes documentaries and ski movies about athletic pursuit in the mountains, artistic vision, friendship and how the snowsports community is adapting to a changing environment.

Funds raised support the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center and the Wallowa Avalanche Center. Jan. 17, 7 pm. $12. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St., Moscow. kenworthy.org (208-882-4127) SNOWSHOE MOONLIGHT TOUR Explore the meadows and woods around Mount Spokane guided by an experienced in-

structor. Registration required. Ages 16+.

Jan. 19, 6-9:30 pm. $41. Yoke’s Fresh Market, 14202 N. Market St. spokanerec.org SPOKANE CHIEFS VS. EVERETT SILVERTIPS Promotions include Fred Meyer Calendar Giveaway. Jan. 19, 7:05 pm. $13$32. Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon Ave. spokanechiefs.com (279-7000) WILD & SCENIC FILM FESTIVAL This curated selection of films highlights local stories of environmental action and communities coming together to create change. Learn more about the work Idaho’s chapter is doing for climate justice and how to get involved. Jan. 19, 7 pm. $12-$16. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org

THEATER & DANCE

TABLAO FLAMENCO Dancers and musicians come together for an evening of Flamenco dance highlighting the improvisational communication between dancers and musicians. Guests include Jose Moreno, Jed Miley, Amelia Moore and Daniel Azcarate. Jan. 11, 8-10 pm. $30.

Overbluff Cellars, 304 W. Pacific. quieroflamenco.com (509-991-4781) ACCELERATED SQUARE DANCE LESSONS This eight-week dance class is essentially Simon Says set to music. Partner suggested but not required. Jan. 13, 10 am-1 pm. $10. Western Dance Center, 1901 N. Sullivan Rd. SquareDanceSpokane.org (509-329-8825) A RIGHT TO DREAM This Martin Luther King Jr. program hosted by the Bound-

ary County Human Rights Task Force uses live performance with audio/visual aids, archival film, and live actors to create an interactive showing how the world looked, sounded and felt during the Civil Rights movement. Jan. 14, 3-4:15 pm.

Free. Kootenai River Inn & Casino, 7169 Plaza St. livingvoices.org YOUNG & STRANGE: DELUSIONISTS A comedy illusion double act made up of childhood friends Richard Young and Sam Strange. Jan. 14, 7:30 pm. $29-$49.

Northern Quest Resort & Casino, 100 N. Hayford Rd. northernquest.com SPOKANE FOLKLORE SOCIETY BIMONTHLY CONTRA DANCE A 15-minute introductory lesson followed by general dancing. No partners necessary. Ages 18 and under free. First and third Wed nesday of each month from 7:15-9:30 pm. $7-$10. Woman’s Club of Spokane, 1428 W. Ninth. spokanefolklore.org BLUEY’S BIG PLAY Bluey, Bingo, Bandit, and Chilli embark on their very first live theatre show in the U.S. featuring puppetry, live actors and iconic sets. Jan. 18, 6-8 pm. $35-$120. First Interstate Center for the Arts, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. firstinterstatecenter.org (509-279-7000) CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN Based on a true story, this play tells the story of the Gilbreth family and their inventor father, who’s well-known for bringing better efficiency to factories, keeps his family of 12 children running just as efficiently.

Jan. 19-Feb. 4; Fri at 7 pm, Sat-Sun at 2 pm. $12-$16. Spokane Children’s Theatre, 2727 N. Madelia. spokanechildrenstheatre.org (509-328-4886) GOOD PEOPLE When Margie Walsh loses

her job at the Dollar Store and faces eviction, she reaches out to old flame Mike, a Southie boy who left his blue-collar neighborhood behind and made it good by becoming a successful doctor. Jan. 19Feb. 4; Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm. $15-$25. Spokane Civic Theatre, 1020 N. Howard St. spokanecivictheatre.com (509-325-2507) ANTÍKONI A staged reading of Beth Piatote’s play Antíkoni, which examines the significance of eternal tribal laws and highlights the unbroken thread linking Native people across time and place. Jan. 20, 2 pm. Free. Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center, 211 E. Desmet Ave. gonzaga.edu/mwpac (509-313-4776) PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET Suzanne Ostersmith, MFA, Associate Professor and Chair of Gonzaga Dance, presents an energetic lecture and demonstration in preparation for presenting the elite professional ballet company, Pacific Northwest Ballet. Jan. 20, 2-3 pm. Free.

Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org

VISUAL ARTS

FRANK S. MATSURA: NATIVE AMERICAN PORTRAITS FROM A NORTHWEST BORDERLAND This show features images from the studio archive of Washington-based Japanese photographer Frank Sakae Matsura (b. 1873) which explore Indigenous representation through an artistic lens. Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm. through June 9. $7-$12. The MAC, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org 10TH ANNUAL CUP OF JOY An annual exhibit of over 150 ceramic cups made by

local, regional and national artists. WedFri from 11 am-5 pm through Jan. 13. Free.

Trackside Studio, 115 S. Adams St. tracksidestudio.net (509-863-9904) E.L. STEWART Stewart showcases a mix from her “Tree” series which prominently features abstract paintings of trees.

Thu-Sat from 3-7 pm, Sun from 12-4 pm through Jan. 31. Free. Craftsman Cellars, 1194 W. Summit Pkwy. facebook.com/ Craftsmanwines (509-328-3960) EWU FACULTY ART EXHIBITION The exhibition includes a diverse array of artistic styles in a wide variety of media including, but not limited to painting, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, photography, video, digital art and augmented reality.

Mon-Fri from 9 am-6 pm through Jan. 18.

Free. EWU Gallery of Art, 140 Art Building. ewu.edu/cahss JUAQUETTA HOLCOMB Pottery Place Plus’s January guest artist uses local wool to make hand-spun yarn, hats, and more.

Open daily from 11 am-7 pm through Jan. 31. Free. Pottery Place Plus, 203 N. Washington. potteryplaceplus.com GEORGE BEDIRIAN: BARNS OF THE PALOUSE George Bedirian has been photographing the Palouse for over 50 years, this exhibit showcases photos of barns across the Palouse. Mon-Fri from 10 am-6 pm, Sat from 1-5 pm through Jan. 31. Free. Colfax Library, 102 S. Main St. whitcolib.org (509-397-4366) LISTENING FOR AN ECHO: SOMETHING ABOUT FARMING This show features artists Pam Deutschman, Abbie Evans, Megan Perkins and Karen Mobley exploring the intricacies of farming through visual dialogue. Thu-Sat from 5-8 pm

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through Jan. 27. Free. Terrain Gallery, 628 N. Monroe St. terrainspokane.com QUINCEY MIRACLE: IT’S EASY TO GET LOST HERE Miracle’s artwork uses architectural space and personal archives to explore the nature of nonbinary transition. Mon-Fri from 8:30 am-3:30 pm through Feb. 1. Free. Spokane Falls Community College, 3410 W. Whistalks Way. sfcc.spokane.edu (509-533-3500) SPOKANE WATERCOLOR SOCIETY MEMBER’S SHOW This show features paintings created by 22 members of the Spokane Watercolor Society using water soluble painting media. Open daily from 11 am-7 pm through Feb. 23. Free. Liberty Building, 203 N. Washington St. spokanelibertybuilding.com (509-327-6920) FRIENDS OF SARANAC ART PROJECTS This month’s show features artists who were invited to the gallery by SAP members. Fri-Sat from 12-8 pm through Jan. 27. Free. Saranac Art Projects, 25 W. Main Ave. sapgallery.com MARGUERITE FINCH Finch is a fine art instructor and displays sculptural works in this exhibition detailing her family’s farm in Wisconsin. Fri-Sat from 12-8 pm through Jan. 27. Free. Saranac Art Projects, 25 W. Main Ave. sapgallery.com AFRICAN ART & ART DOLL SHOW This one-day-only show features African art

by Rwandan artists Emmanuel Nguranga and Innocent Nkurunziza as well as the continuing “Fantasy, Fiction & Folklore exhibit.” Half of proceeds from art sales go to Inema Arts in Rwanda. Jan. 13, 11 am-5 pm. Free. New Moon Art Gallery, 1326 E. Sprague Ave. manicmoonandmore.com (509-413-9101)

BOOK ARTS: TAROT/PLAYING CARDS CLAMSHELL BOX Learn how to make a clamshell box using your favorite Tarot deck or other set of playing cards with Mel Antuna Hewitt. Jan. 13, 9 am-2 pm. $80. Spokane Print & Publishing Center, 1921 N. Ash St. spokaneprint.org SECOND SATURDAY AT CHRYSALIS GALLERY This month’s event features artists Dylan Lipsker, Dennis Kinnick, Sheila Johnston, Gatieh Nacario, Andrea Jean Johnston and Theo Townsend. Jan. 13, 12-5 pm. Free. Chrysalis Gallery, 911 S. Monroe St. facebook.com/theartchrysalis TABLETOP RELIEF PRINTMAKING WITH MADELINE MCGUNN Explore the use of different printmaking materials including linoleum, stamping, color inks, and handpressing approaches to help students develop knowledge of tools materials and techniques. Ages 13+. Jan. 15, 1-3 pm. $214. Spokane Art School, 503 E. Second Ave., Ste. B. spokaneartschool.net PERSPECTIVE DRAWING I WITH TOM QUINN Learn one-point, two-point and three-point perspective and then move on to circles, shadows and reflections.

Jan. 16-Feb. 6, Tue from 10 am-12 pm.

For adult students. $96. Spokane Art School, 503 E. Second Ave., Ste. B. spokaneartschool.net (509-325-1500) PORTRAIT DRAWING I WITH TOM QUINN Begin with learning the anatomy and proportions of the human head and move on to the skills of creating a convincing likeness. Jan. 16-Feb. 6, Tue from 12:30-2:30 pm. For adult students. $136.

Spokane Art School, 503 E. Second Ave., Ste. B. spokaneartschool.net TUESDAY GALLERY TALKS Join a mu-

seum staff member or docent for an 20 minute informal discussion about one of our currently showing exhibitions. Every Tue at 11 am. $15-$20. Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org (509-456-3931) ACRYLIC PAINTING I WITH TOM QUINN In this class students are introduced to the versatile medium of acrylic paint.

Jan. 17-Feb. 7, Wed from 10 am-12 pm.

For adult students. $96. Spokane Art School, 503 E. Second Ave., Ste. B. spokaneartschool.net (509-325-1500) BASIC DRAWING I WITH TOM QUINN An introduction to the common denominator of all art: drawing. In this calss inexperienced artists can develop their skill through observation, confidence and creativity. Jan. 17-Feb. 7, Wed from 12:302:30 pm. For adult students. $96. Spokane Art School, 503 E. Second Ave., Ste. B. spokaneartschool.net (509-325-1500) DROP IN & DRAW Join a creative community for this weekly free-form drawing program. Explore different artistic mediums, develop skills and ideas and cultivate imaginative thinking through art. All skill levels welcome. Wednesdays from 5:30-7 pm. Free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. spark-central.org OIL PAINTING I WITH TOM QUINN In this class Quinn introduces the medium of oil painting to those who are new to it and shares expertise with those already acquainted with it. Jan. 17-Feb. 7, Wed from 3-5 pm. For adult students. $96. Spokane Art School, 503 E. Second Ave., Ste. B. spokaneartschool.net (509-325-1500) SPINNERS WORKSHOP Bring your spinning wheel or current projects to work

on. Every Wed from 10 am-12 pm. Free.

Create Arts Center, 900 Fourth St. createarts.org (509-447-9277) PLAY WITH COLOR! Drop in anytime during this program for colorful handson activities, crafts and play-and-learn toys. Ages 2–5 and their families. Jan. 18, 10 am-noon. Free. Argonne Library, 4322 N. Argonne Rd. scld.org (509-893-8200) CREATE & PAINT WITH A FAVORITE FRIEND Bring one of your favorite people and participate in this multi-day, multicanvas painting of a landscape. Materials included. Jan. 20, 2-4 pm and Jan. 21, 10 am-noon. $150. Coeur d’Alene Casino, 37914 S. Nukwalqw. cdacasino.com DIP PEN ILLUSTRATION WITH ANDI KEATING Learn the basics of taking care of and drawing with dip pens. Ages 13+.

Jan. 20, 11 am-3 pm. $41. Spokane Art School, 503 E. Second Ave., Ste. B. spokaneartschool.net (509-325-1500) FIX IT TOGETHER Before you toss out a broken thing that you wish wasn’t, bring it to the library and consult those in the community who know how to fix things.

Jan. 20, 2-4 pm. Free. North Spokane Library, 44 E. Hawthorne Rd. scld.org

WORDS

DROP IN & WRITE Writers are invited to be a part of a supportive writers’ community. Bring works in progress to share, get inspired with creative prompts and spend some focused time writing. Thursdays, 5:30-7 pm. Free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. spark-central.org AUNTIE’S BOOK CLUB: NEW FICTION Discuss Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt.

Jan. 11, 6-7 pm. Free. Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main Ave. auntiesbooks.com SPOKANE’S AGE OF ELEGANCE: BEYOND THE VESTIBULE 1891-1918 Cindy Blue-Blanton from Spokane Preservation Advocates discusses what was trending in interiors and architecture in Spokane between 1891 and 1918. Jan. 11, 5:30 pm.

Free. Liberty Park Library, 402 S. Pittsburgh St. spokanepreservation.org AUNTIE’S BOOK CLUB: DISCOVERY SALON Discuss the topic “words of impact: at the January meeting. Jan. 11, 2 pm.

Free. Online via Zoom. auntiesbooks.com NORTHWEST PASSAGES: CARLA CRUJIDO Author Carla Crujido discusses her book, The Strange Beautiful, inspired by family lore and an advertisement found in the Spokesman. Jan. 16, 7 pm. $7.

Spokesman-Review, 999 W. Riverside. spokesman.com/northwest-passages BROKEN MIC Spokane Poetry Slam’s longest-running, weekly open mic reading series. Wednesdays at 6:30 pm; sign-ups at 6 pm. 6:30 pm. Free. Neato Burrito, 827 W. First Ave. bit.ly/2ZAbugD PRESCHOOL STORYTIME PLAY& LEARN Share books, songs and fun. After storytime, spend some time in open play with learning activities. Every Wed from 10-11 am. Free. South Hill Library, 3324 S. Perry St. spokanelibrary.org (509-444-5331) TARA KARR ROBERTS: WILD AND DISTANT SEAS Moscow author Tara Roberts discusses her debut novel, Wild and Distant Seas. Jan. 17, 7 pm.

Free. 1912 Center, 412 E. Third St. bookpeopleofmoscow.org n

JANUARY 11, 2024 INLANDER 43

Cannabis-fueled physicality is fun!

HEALTH

Budding Athlete Staying fit, through science and getting stoned

BY WILL MAUPIN

A

ll it takes is a couple of hits from the joint to turn a productive citizen into the dreaded lethargic, couch-potato stoner. Or, at least, that’s what the lazy stereotype of a cannabis user would lead you to believe. Fortunately, there’s now science to blow that preconceived notion up in smoke.

Science, turns out, says cannabis can actually get people off the couch, and moreover, it can make them happy about it.

Researchers at the University of Colorado this month published a study looking into the impact of cannabis use on exercise. Specifically, their study looked at how cannabis use influences users’ views and perceptions of exercise.

Spoiler alert: Cannabis users love exercising.

44 INLANDER JANUARY 11, 2024

“The bottom-line finding is that cannabis before exercise seems to increase positive mood and enjoyment during exercise, whether you use THC or CBD. But THC products specifically may make exercise feel more effortful,” lead researcher Laurel Gibson from the University of Colorado said in a release.

According to the study, 90.5% of participants reported that cannabis use increased their enjoyment of their workouts and 69% reported a decrease in pain.

Nearly 60% of participants reported that cannabis use increased their focus and motivation in the workout as well.

Additionally, 45% of respondents said cannabis use made time go by faster during their workout and 29% said it improved their performance.

Does that make cannabis a PED (a dreaded performance enhancing drug)?

It doesn’t.

“It is pretty clear from our research that cannabis is not a performance enhancing drug,” said senior author and professor Angela Bryan.

So, cannabis isn’t a performance enhancing drug, but it may be a performance-inspiring drug. Their study has shown that cannabis makes athletic endeavors more enjoyable, if not more effective.

The authors might not say it, but their work does suggest you should maybe give cannabis exercise a try.

Actually, they kind of say you should give it a try.

“Is there a world where taking a low-dose gummie [sic] before they go for that walk might help? It’s too early to make broad recommendations, but it’s worth exploring,” Bryan said in a statement.

That’s a good question. Is there a world in which taking a low-dose gummy might help? I’d say, and science would seem to agree, that you should figure that out for yourself. There just might, especially if you’re getting off the couch. n

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BE AWARE: Marijuana is legal for adults 21 and older under Washington State law (e.g., RCW 69.50, RCW 69.51A, HB0001 Initiative 502 and Senate Bill 5052). State law does not preempt federal law; possessing, using, distributing and selling marijuana remains illegal under federal law. In Washington state, consuming marijuana in public, driving while under the influence of marijuana and transporting marijuana across state lines are all illegal. Marijuana has intoxicating effects; there may be health risks associated with its consumption, and it may be habit-forming. It can also impair concentration, coordination and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. Keep out of reach of children. For more information, consult the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board at www.liq.wa.gov.

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9. Dubai’s ____ Khalifa 10. Casino buy-in 11. Fraudulently altered 12. “bye 4 now” 13. Suffix for Brooklyn or Harlem 15. Big name in medical scales 17. ____ and kin

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46. Savory jelly 48. Not showy 52. Livens (up) 54. “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” actress Caroline 57. K-P connection 58. Phrase in an old marketing campaign for a popular canned product 63. Where critical things come 64. Satisfied customer, perhaps 65. Puts to work 66. More formal, as a party 67. “The Simpsons” grandpa 68. Opposite of SSW 69. It’s often around a foot

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