Inlander 01/18/2024

SHELTER

LOCAL CHURCHES OPEN DOORS TO HOMELESS PAGE 8

SINGING QUEENS

HIT MUSICAL SIX COMES TO FIRST INTERSTATE PAGE 34

SNOWLANDER

ROAD TRIP TO THESE EPIC ADVENTURES PAGE 22

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F 0 E 0 E 0 T 6 A nasty winter night, a 20,000-pound snow machine and a race down Mount Spokane PAGE 16

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VOL. 31, NO. 15 | COVER PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: DERRICK KING

5 COMMENT 8 NEWS COVER STORY 16 SNOWLANDER 22

CULTURE 34 38 FOOD SCREEN 40 MUSIC 42

46 EVENTS 48 I SAW YOU 51 GREEN ZONE BULLETIN BOARD 55

EDITOR’S NOTE

T

here’s a line in this week’s cover story — MAYDAY AT 6,000 FEET — that I keep coming back to.

It’s a shocking litany of abuse on one man’s body, a degree of suffering many of us will never understand, and it happens in seconds.

A calf muscle ripped from the bone, broken bones, a punctured lung. You’ll know it when you read it — and you’ll read it again.

The moment of instant agony is embedded in a larger story of service, pain and persistence that should be an inspiration to anyone who feels they just can’t take anymore. Because there’s always hope — in this case, in the form of volunteers with the ski patrol and the first responders who raced to save a life.

It’s a harrowing tale of an unimaginable accident on top of Mount Spokane, and it happened to one of Spokane’s favorite sons. Read more, from Ted. S. McGregor Jr., beginning on page 16.

— NICHOLAS DESHAIS, editor

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COMMENT STAFF DIRECTORY

WHAT’S A HISTORICAL EVENT OR PERIOD

PHONE: 509-325-0634

THE NEXT BIG MUSICAL SHOULD COVER?

Ted S. McGregor Jr. (tedm@inlander.com)

CALVIN LEBRUN

PUBLISHER

Jer McGregor (x224) GENERAL MANAGER

EDITORIAL Nicholas Deshais (x239) EDITOR

Chey Scott (x225) ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

I would say that the years of COVID, honestly.

I think that could be a pretty entertaining rollercoaster of a musical, just the ups and downs of everything we went through, all aspects of society and the economical effect it had on everything. I think that could be a pretty entertaining and diverse musical that probably no one has ever experienced.

Seth Sommerfeld (x250) MUSIC & SCREEN EDITOR Samantha Wohlfeil (x234) BREAKING NEWS EDITOR Madison Pearson (x218) LISTINGS EDITOR

Eliza Billingham (x222), Colton Rasanen (x263) Nate Sanford (x282), Summer Sandstrom (x232) STAFF WRITERS

Chris Frisella COPY CHIEF

SOPHIA ATIN I would say the 2000s cause we’re a little bit removed from that but not too far removed, so I think it’d be an interesting reflection of our time now to see how we would retroactively look back and interpret the 2000s. Plus it’s just a fun time — flip phones, Juicy Couture.

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EMILY EVERS The Cold War era. Just because it’s a period of time where a lot of really big powers and really big events going on played into small details in people’s lives, and I feel like that could set up a lot of the things of how we think nowadays about technology and the role that government plays in our lives.

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LILY WARNE January 6th.

Why January 6th?

Depending on if you told it from a conservative perspective or a more liberal perspective, it’s really unlike anything we’ve seen in terms of musicals. It’s a very pivotal moment in history.

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ANGELA GILL I am interested in the ’60s. I took a sociopolitical movements class in college, and I just really enjoyed studying it and think it could be pretty cool to have a musical. It could do so many things, too. You could look at the Puerto Rican feminist movement. Or, there’s been a lot of student protests and that could be a cool environment for a musical, as well. So, let’s localize it in the ’60s and go from there.

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Where’d the Grizzlies Go? Once plentiful across the state, ursus arctos horribilis has been missing for decades now.

Could that ever change?

BY KNUTE BERGER, CROSSCUT

G

rizzly bears once ranged over much of North America, from the Great Plains to the High Sierras, from Yellowstone to the desert Southwest. Today an estimated 60,000 grizzlies roam the wilds, most of them in Alaska and British Columbia.

But once upon a time they also lived in the North Cascades of Washington. A few still might.

Sightings are extremely rare. So the U.S. government has considered whether to reintroduce grizzlies to this remote wilderness area. Just what is the history of grizzlies in Washington? And what happened to them?

Ursus arctos horribilis was well known to Native peoples in the West long before they were given Greek and Latin names. Bears featured in Indigenous experience, art and stories. Tribes throughout the Northwest had distinct words for the grizzly and the more ubiquitous black bear.

Necklaces of impressive grizzly talons — much longer and more deadly than a black bear’s claws — were highly prized and traded. Masks and dances featured grizzlies. They were part of the traditional

diet of peoples like the Upper Skagit.

Millennia ago, grizzlies were more widespread in what is now Washington.

They were hunted with spears and arrows long before guns came West. There is archaeological evidence that 10,000 or more years ago they were in Puget Sound country, as bones found on Whidbey Island attest.

Rumors of the great bear filtered back East, but they were more legend than fact among EuroAmericans until the early 19th century. When the Lewis and Clark expedition headed west overland to the Pacific Ocean, the grizzly was about to become real to the rest of America.

Part of Lewis and Clark’s charge was to gather information about the new species they encountered. In the spring of 1805, after hearing stories about the grizzly bear’s fierceness and seeing enormous tracks, the expedition finally started to encounter grizzly bears themselves. On May 5 along the Missouri River in eastern Montana, Capt. William Clark and another man killed a large grizzly — “a turrible looking animal,” Clark wrote. They recorded that the bear weighed 500 and 600 pounds and was over 8 feet in length, “a most tremendous looking animal and extremely hard to kill notwithstanding he had five balls through his lungs and five others in various parts.”

The wounded bear swam halfway across a river

to escape before dying on a sandbar, roaring throughout his long death throes. The explorers ate the bear and boiled its fat, finding that it hardened solid like lard. Bear fat became the expedition’s favorite cooking oil.

The expedition encountered and killed a number of grizzlies until they got over the mountains to Oregon and Washington, where they encountered none on their way to the mouth of the Columbia River. But their accounts of the bears on their return East shaped public awareness with the impression that the way West was populated by a fearsome predator.

R

esearchers today have combed 19th-century records of the fur trade to try to discover where the grizzlies’ population in Washington was at that time.

The Hudson’s Bay fur trading company accounts give a partial answer. Focusing on trading posts that bracketed the Cascades ecosystem, Forts Langley and Thompson in B.C.; Colville, Okanogan and Nez Percés in Eastern Washington; and Nisqually on Puget Sound, researchers found that between 1826 and 1857 some 3,188 grizzly bear pelts were traded at these posts. The vast majority, nearly 2,700, were from Fort Colville, about 75 miles north of Spokane.

These records are incomplete, and some of the grizzly pelts might have come from farther afield, but they offer evidence that grizzly bears were in and around the North Cascades ecosystem.

They were already virtually absent from the Western Washington lowlands, however. Fort Nisqually reported only two pelts in those same three decades.

…researchers found that between 1826 and 1857 some 3,188 grizzly bear pelts were traded at [Hudson’s Bay fur trading posts]…

As settlement spread, and single-shot muskets gave way to more frontier firepower, what grizzlies still there were largely killed off by settlers, ranchers and hunters. In 19th-century newspapers, the grizzly was often described as “monstrous.” The last stand of the grizzlies seems to be east of the Cascade crest in places like the upper Stehekin Valley, Ross Lake, Entiat Meadows and Chelan.

In 1888, an account of a grizzly being shot in the foothills near the Nooksack River reported that grizzlies were “quite numerous in the mountain fastness of the Baker range.” But by 1923, one report estimated that only 22 grizzlies remained in Washington and Oregon.

The last known grizzly killed in Washington’s North Cascades was in Fisher Creek Basin, south of Ross Lake, shot by a hunter in 1967. Despite a few grizzlies in the northeastern Selkirk range on the Washington/B.C./Idaho border and a possible few in the North Cascades, over 200 years of white settlement the grizzly was essentially extirpated from Washington state.

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ot everyone would welcome grizzlies back — the other apex predator, the wolf, has returned to Washington, and some folks are not happy about that. Bears and wolves can prey on livestock. Some fear the outdoors will be made less safe for recreation.

The North Cascades, with nearly 16,000 square miles of wilderness, is one of the only large wild areas left in the lower 48 that could theoretically support a large population — perhaps as many as 250 grizzlies, more than are found in Yellowstone National Park today. That would be decades from now. But a recent report indicated that climate change might actually expand habitat for grizzlies in that area. Could a warming planet aid their comeback here?

The world is full of surprises. n Knute “Mossback” Berger is editor-at-large for Crosscut.com, where this first appeared.

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Julie Garcia, director of Jewels Helping Hands, helps run the New Apostolic Church in northwest Spokane as a warming shelter during this year’s cold snap. ERICK DOXEY PHOTO

HOMELESSNESS

Shelter From the Cold More than 200 Spokane churches were asked to open their doors to homeless people during dangerously cold weather — four agreed

BY NATE SANFORD

I

t’s the same every year.

A dangerous cold snap is forecast. Hundreds of unhoused people are in danger of freezing to death, and there isn’t a clear plan to keep them warm. With the clock ticking, the city scrambles.

Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown criticized the city’s perpetual lack of planning during her run for office last year, and pledged to put a better system in place. But when a blast of arctic air descended on Spokane and brought temperatures below zero during her second week in office, she, too, was forced to scramble at the last minute.

“The system my administration inherited is not as coordinated as we would like it to be,” Brown said during a Thursday meeting to discuss emergency warming plans with City Council members.

Brown declared a state of emergency and said 183 additional beds would be available during the dangerously cold weather. The city’s Trent Resource and Assistance Center and other local shelters squeezed in more beds.

Compassionate Addiction Treatment also opened its South Division Street location as an emergency shelter. On Friday, the city reopened the Cannon Street Shelter, which closed last May because of funding issues.

The city’s efforts this year were also aided by a small group of volunteers and homeless service providers who

8 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

had spent months working behind the scenes on an ambitious project to keep people from freezing.

The plan was simple: Open the churches.

The idea of using churches to house homeless people during cold weather has been long in the making. In theory, it makes sense: Hundreds of Spokane churches sit empty every night. With city shelter space consistently below what’s needed, why not ask the faith community to help?

But making that vision a reality has been an uphill battle.

Past efforts haven’t always gone smoothly, and many churches are wary of what could go wrong. In 2021, Jewels Helping Hands — a nonprofit that recently managed the East Central Camp Hope homeless encampment — partnered with the City Church Spokane on West Garland Avenue to operate it as a warming shelter on a first-come, first-served basis. Some people ended up sleeping in the neighborhood, and nearby businesses complained about significant disruptions.

“We noticed the impact on the neighborhood,” says Julie Garcia, director of Jewels Helping Hands. “This has been trial and error for us.”

Despite trepidation over past incidents, a group of volunteers was able to convince four churches to let Jewels use their buildings as warming centers during this year’s

cold snap — this time with a new model designed to minimize disruption.

“It was a big step for us,” says Deb Conklin, the pastor of Liberty Park United Methodist Church. “But it is simply living out our mission.”

The volunteers say it was a huge success and hope that other churches will see how things are going and agree to get on board in the future. Garcia says the goal is for each of the four churches participating in the program to continue hosting people through the end of February.

“There’s always going to be some risk,” says Christian McKinney, a project assistant with the Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium. “But at some point, you just have to think, ‘What are we called to do?’”

THURSDAY AFTERNOON: 29 DEGREES

As the arctic air crosses the Cascades and rips toward Spokane, Garcia is at the New Apostolic Church — a small building in Spokane’s Garland District with boarded up windows that’s been unoccupied for some time.

Garcia says the owner, who lives out of state and is trying to sell the building, was happy to help when the volunteers asked about using it as a shelter. Because it’s unoccupied, Jewels staff members are able to operate it 24/7 as a shelter specifically set aside for women and people with intensive medical needs. The other churches need the space during the day, and are open as shelters from 8 pm to 8 am.

There are 20 beds set up inside New Apostolic, each paired with a storage crate for people’s belongings. On Thursday afternoon, only one bed was occupied. The woman sleeping there came in that morning and told Garcia she had spent the night before sleeping near Second Avenue and Division Street — a notorious intersection that’s long struggled with drugs and crime.

“It was the scariest thing she’d ever been through,” Garcia says. “She was just so thrilled to come here. She was freezing cold, she’d been wearing the same pants for four months.” ...continued on page 10

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JANUARY 18, 2024 INLANDER 9

NEWS | HOMELESSNESS “SHELTER FROM THE COLD,” CONTINUED...

Today is the first test of a program that Garcia and a group of volunteers — called “Love Spokane” — have spent months pitching to local churches.

The basic idea is this: Each participating church will host about 20 people per night. Jewels will provide two paid staff members at each church to stay awake through the night and keep an eye on things. People staying at the churches also have to sign good neighbor agreements that outline expectations regarding behavior and substance use.

Garcia says her organization initially planned to use its own budget to cover staff costs, but last week Brown indicated that the city would reimburse some of Jewels’ expenses during the cold snap. (Garcia estimates that the total cost to operate five churches for two months would be $162,000.)

The volunteers want to make sure people don’t congregate in the neighborhoods and create issues for the churches, so instead of operating on a first come, first-served basis, Jewels and the Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium are using a referral system to screen guests and transport people to the churches from a pickup spot at the downtown Central Library. They’re also trying to avoid publicizing the addresses to prevent people from showing up unannounced.

“It doesn’t have to be chaotic and crazy,” Garcia says.

“This is 20, 25 people at each place in the middle of neighborhoods. It’s more calm.”

THURSDAY EVENING: 19 DEGREES

On the other side of town, Ken Crary, an outreach supervisor with Jewels, is in the basement of Liberty Park United Methodist Church in the Perry District. He’s settling in for an evening shift and training a new Jewels employee on how to manage the shelter and maintain order for the night.

“They can’t go outside that gate after they come in,” Crary says. “This is a nice warm spot to go to sleep, charge phones… but you can’t go out in the neighborhood and run around.”

Crary has seen the consequences of the cold firsthand.

When Jewels was managing the City Church shelter in 2021, he recalls walking to work one morning and finding an unhoused person lying motionless on the street.

“He was laying right there, frozen to death,” Crary says. “Nobody wants to find something like that.”

Crary hopes the new model of partnering with churches will help stop that from happening again.

“It’s a big deal — this could be groundbreaking,” Crary says.

Johnny Edmondson, the family ministry director at Shadle Park Presbyterian Church, helped organize this year’s efforts to open up churches. Over the course of about three months, Edmondson says the group of volunteers and service providers contacted 227 local churches.

He says almost every church said they were interested in supporting the effort. But many expressed concern about potential liability, damage to their buildings and other things that could go wrong.

The biggest hurdle, Edmondson says, was fear.

By late December, a few churches were considering the idea, but none had officially committed. McKinney with the Low Income Housing Consortium says there were moments when he worried the project would fizzle.

“As Christians, we’re called to help and love and serve people, and this is such a tangible way [to do it],” McKinney says. “Our buildings are one of the biggest things we have to offer.”

But then news of this year’s cold snap started to spread, and things got moving quickly. Conklin sent out a poll to board members of her church explaining the plan, and she was able to get unanimous agreement.

10 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

New Apostolic Church, left, and Liberty Park United Methodist Church each sheltered about 20 people at night during the cold. ERICK DOXEY PHOTOS “It certainly was an incentive for my church to say, ‘Go with it,’ to make that choice to jump,” Conklin says.

By Thursday, three churches had committed. Several others were on the fence.

Garcia says she’s grateful to see the support but disappointed that more churches didn’t step up.

“In talking with some of these churches, I think people forget who Jesus was,” Garcia says. “We’ve gotten away from ‘What would Jesus do?’”

Jesus, Garcia says, would open his doors.

FRIDAY EVENING: NEGATIVE 2 DEGREES

The cold is here in full force. The grass outside New Apostolic Church is coated in a thin layer of diamond-like frost, and the air is thin and aggressive. A few minutes outside is all it takes for a stinging numbness to start climbing up your fingers.

Inside the church, Garcia is eating lasagna with a group of volunteers and overnight guests. More people are asleep inside the main chapel, which is closed off with blackout curtains. The atmosphere cozy — like a rustic cabin in the woods.

Chris Bell, 51, arrived that morning. She says she’s been homeless for much of her life and knows all too well what it’s like to survive out in the cold.

“It’s unbearable,” Bell says. “You freeze and your hands shake.”

Bell says she’s had bad experiences at local shelters and spent recent weeks sleeping outside. She says she was able to escape the cold on Thursday by sleeping in the laundry room of an apartment complex. (“It was open so I went in,” she says.)

On Friday morning, a Jewels van picked up Bell and a few others and brought them to New Apostolic. Bell says the church has been a welcome relief — especially compared to some of the larger city shelters where she’s previously stayed.

“I’ve been really accepted,” Bell says. “That means everything to me.”

Garcia says she’s considering purchasing the church for use as a permanent respite space for Jewels.

Sharyl Brown, a Jewels employee, worked the day shift at New Apostolic on Friday. She says it’s been “shockingly chill” — especially compared to Camp Hope, where Brown previously worked.

“It was just work, work, work,” she says. “I didn’t have time to breathe.”

But Brown says the small size of the church warming shelters has made things easier to manage — and given her time to give individual guests the attention they need.

She says, proudly, that she’s already been able to connect one couple who came in with low-barrier housing.

Another man agreed to start detox once treatment centers

open on Monday.

“If it were a larger scale, if we were packed, I wouldn’t have any time to do that,” Brown says.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON: 7 DEGREES

Getting neighborhood buy-in for homeless shelters is a notoriously difficult process.

Conklin says the volunteers were wary that news of the plans could create a “brouhaha,” and ended up waiting until after the shelters were up and running to reach out to neighbors.

“If we just quietly start it, and neighbors see how it’s going to work, then they’re not as likely to have issues with it,” Conklin says.

It’s Sunday afternoon, and Suzi Hokonson, a local textile artist who volunteered to help the effort, is going door to door in the Emerson Garfield neighborhood to let people who live near Knox Presbyterian Church know that the church is hosting about 20 unhoused people per night.

“I just want to let neighbors know that Jewels Helping Hands is working with the congregation,” she says to one neighbor, who seems unfazed by the news.

Overall, Hokonson says the reaction from people who live near the churches has been “just so wonderful.”

A few neighbors were “a little leery” at first, but Hokonson says volunteers were able to assuage their concerns by showing them the space in person and explaining how it works. Some neighbors even joined the dozens of other volunteers who signed up for shifts to help Jewels staff manage operations.

“Neighbor response has been really great,” Edmondson says. “Some neighbors noticed and stopped by to offer their support. Some are bringing food and dropping off blankets.”

Each of the three churches was at full capacity on Saturday and Sunday night. On Monday, Jewels staff opened a fourth church: Morning Star Baptist Church in northwest Spokane.

“We’re hoping maybe next year there will be 15, and maybe the following year there will be 30,” Edmondson says.

Garcia says several more churches have expressed interest, but that her organization is limited by a lack of staff resources. She says plans for additional church warming shelters are dependent on what costs the city ends up agreeing to cover.

Garcia says the first few days of the operation went “smoother than I ever thought it would be.” No calls to the police or fire departments. No major incidents or complaints from neighbors.

“The community has shown up in ways I’ve never seen,” Garcia says. “I’ve never been prouder of my community than I have been this last week.” n

NEWS | BRIEFS

School Overdoses Washington schools to get lifesaving overdose reversal kits. Plus, Coeur d’Alene schools face an unexpected deficit; and Spokane City Council wades further into the Israel-Hamas conflict.

W

ashington’s Department of Health is offering two free kits of naloxone to public high schools around the state. The overdose reversal drug, also known by the brand name Narcan, is being offered in response to the concerning threefold increase in fatal opioid overdoses among kids ages 14 to 18 from 2016 to 2022. A 2019 state law already requires school districts with 2,000 or more students to have the overdose drug on hand at their high schools, but a bill in the Legislature this session would change that law to require all public high schools to carry it. The move by the state this month will make it easier for that to happen, whether or not the law is changed. “Some kids experiment with substances, unaware that just one counterfeit pill can contain enough fentanyl to be fatal,” the Department of Health’s chief science officer, Dr. Tao Sheng KwanGett, said in a statement. “Providing access to naloxone will not only save lives, but also send a powerful message that we care about the health of our youth.”

(SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)

FINANCE IN FLUX

When school board trustees in Coeur d’Alene were originally working on the district’s fiscal year 2024 budget, they projected a surplus of more than $800,000.

However, last week they learned that the North Idaho school district actually has a projected deficit of $788,000. In her most recent finance report, district Finance Director Shannon Johnston attributed the projected deficit to a $550,000 decrease in state funding and $1.9 million in additional expenses. Idaho legislators could still revise the state’s K-12 education budget, which could change the Coeur d’Alene district’s outlook. “In case the legislation fails, the administration will propose reallocating $1 million in ESSER [emergency] funding,” Johnston’s report states. Trustees are expected to hear more details on the factors contributing to this budget shortfall at a Jan. 22 meeting. (COLTON RASANEN)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

After months of weekly protest over their Oct. 9 statement affirming Israel’s “right to exist and defend itself,” Spokane City Council members are hoping to ease tensions with a new resolution about the Israel-Hamas conflict written with input from various Jewish, Palestinian and activist groups. Pro-Palestinain activists have argued that the original resolution, which was introduced at the last minute with little public notice, was “racist” and lacked context about the Israeli government’s historic violence against Palestinians. The new resolution — which is slated for a Jan 22. vote — mainly reaffirms that antisemitism and Islamophobia aren’t welcome in Spokane. Zach McGuckin, a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation who has helped organize recent pro-Palestine protests and joined the community drafting process, says the new version is an improvement over the original but still insufficient. Council member Jonathan Bingle, who wrote the original Oct. 9 resolution, says he’s mostly fine with the new one but does have concerns about a line that calls on elected leaders to seek a “sustained peace in Israel and Palestine.” The line “feels like a cease-fire call, which I don’t support,” Bingle says. In recent months, city councils in Seattle, Bellingham and Olympia have passed cease-fire resolutions. Paul Dillon is the only Spokane City Council member to publicly call for a cease-fire. (NATE SANFORD)

JANUARY 18, 2024 INLANDER 11

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12 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

Unionizing the University Disagreements on wages and health insurance have stalled a labor contract between WSU and the working student union

BY COLTON RASANEN

O

rganized labor is still having a moment.

More than a year ago, graduate students and doctoral candidates at Washington State University who work as research and teaching assistants during their studies successfully voted to unionize. Bargaining with the university for an initial contract, however, didn’t actually begin for another three months.

Now, 11 months and more than 30 meetings later, 34 of the 43 items on the bargaining table have been tentatively agreed on.

But disagreements over wages, parental leave, tuition waivers and health insurance have created an impasse between the university and the WSU Coalition of Academic Student Employees, the UAW-affiliated union representing these student workers known as ASEs. “The ball is in the university’s court, and they seem to be holding [negotiations] up,” says Evelien Deelen, an international doctoral student in WSU’s anthropology program who is part of the union, which has more than 1,800 members at WSU. WSU Vice President of Communications and Marketing Phil Weiler says the delay isn’t intentional, but due in part to a lack of information from insurance providers.

“We don’t have all the information we would need to share with the ASEs,” Weiler explains. “We’re working with our insurance carriers, but this is not information that’s easy to control.”

WSU has also made significant movements to improve wages.

On Jan. 8, the university announced a plan that would see ASEs get a one-time average wage increase of about 20% followed by a 4% mass salary increase in the contract’s second year, costing an estimated $15.7 million through the 2026 fiscal year. The union calls the proposed wage increase “substantial movement by management,” but it wants future increases built in to keep pace with other universities and cost of living.

Since this is an initial union contract, Weiler says reaching a final agreement was bound to take time. Often, it can take well

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The long-stalled American labor movement continues to find new footing. PHOTO COURTESY WSU-CASE/UAW over a year to reach an agreement on an initial contract, according to a 2022 labor data analysis by Bloomberg Law. “This is a brand new union, so it’s safe to say that those first contracts take a lot of time,” Weiler says. “This is also the first time that we’ve put a contract together with a student union, so there are sure to be some complications.”

Union members argue that WSU has been intentionally stalling health insurance negotiations. In September, the union filed an unfair labor practice complaint to the state Public Employment Relations Commission alleging that WSU was unwilling to bargain in good faith when it came to health insurance.

“WSU failed to provide relevant information in response to the Union’s February 22, 2023, ongoing healthcare requests for information that the Union needed for the proper performance of its collective bargaining duties,” the complaint states. “By failing to respond to the Union’s request for information also WSU refused to bargain and derivatively interfered with employee rights.”

A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 6 and Feb. 8 in the unfair labor practice, which, if all goes well, should be finished by June, according to PERC Executive Director Mike Sellars. Obviously, the case could be settled earlier if it’s negotiated, or it could last longer if hearings get pushed back.

“There’s a process that PERC follows and we plan to follow that,” Weiler says, declining to comment further on the complaint.

S

till, the union plans to strike this week. (Editor’s note: The Inlander goes to press before the planned strike on Wednesday, Jan. 17.)

After almost a year of bargaining, the union will cease all work on campuses across the state in an effort to secure the final few demands that they feel the university is holding out on. That means ASEs will stop teaching classes, grading assignments, doing lab work or even responding to emails. Classes began Jan. 8.

“We are anxious about this, but we do realize that striking is our only option,” Deelen says. “We as ASEs don’t want to strike, but we feel we are forced to do it because of the administration’s behavior.”

While this is meant to impact the university, it will inevitably affect the same ASEs fighting for their contract.

Paul Panipinto is a doctoral candidate in pharmaceutical sciences at WSU Spokane. He hopes to wrap up his studies this semester, but to do that, he actually has to be at work. Even if the union secures all their demands for an initial contract, Panipinto won’t reap the benefits.

He still plans to find his spot on the picket line though.

“The university is dragging its feet because they want to stay within the budget, which I understand, but they’re looking at it in the short term,” he says. “A lot of us got into health sciences because we want to help people, and this contract will help ASEs in the long term.” n coltonr@inlander.com

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NEWS | ENVIRONMENT

Troubled Waters After releasing a PFAS documentary, the West Plains Water Coalition is looking forward to further environmental investigation

BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL

I

t’s been almost seven years since many people living on the West Plains learned they were slowly getting exposed to “forever chemicals” in their water, whether they received Airway Heights city water or owned property with a private well.

The news that chemicals used in firefighting foam had leached into the groundwater hit like a hammer in 2017, with Fairchild Air Force Base announcing that wells around the base were testing very high for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). Those chemicals bioaccumulate over time in the body and have been linked to cancers, reproductive health issues, and kidney, thyroid, and liver issues. While they’re used in a huge variety of applications, from stain-resistant furniture and carpeting to grease-resistant food wrappers, the levels of toxins found in West Plains water created far higher exposure levels for people there than in most of the country.

Marcie Zambryski wonders whether that contamination led to the death of her husband. Six months after he died from thyroid complications and pancreatic cancer, she received a letter from the Air Force saying her water might be contaminated.

Zambryski is one of several residents who shared their stories for a new 20-minute documentary by the West Plains Water Coalition called Troubled Waters.

A small crowd gathered for the debut screening of the film Saturday afternoon at the HUB community center in Airway Heights, braving frigid temperatures to meet the volunteer residents working through the coalition to educate the community.

The film offers a brief history of how the chemicals came to be used in and around the West Plains, and showcases the fears and frustrations of those living in the area.

“How many years have we been drinking that water, as well as the livestock on the farm

The West Plains Water Coalition is tasked with educating people about safe drinking water. COURTESY PHOTO here?” coalition board member Nick Scharff says in the film. He chokes up as he says, “I worry about my new grandbaby that’s here on the farm, my son, his wife — I’m concerned.”

Other residents, like coalition Vice President Mo Noder, were lucky enough to be warned not to drink the water as early as 30 years ago. Noder’s father and father-in-law, career military men, warned him about solvents and other chemicals that had been dumped on the base decades earTo watch the film lier, so his family has been driving to Spokane to fill water and learn more, visit jugs all that time, rather than drinking from their well. He’s westplainswater.org concerned for his neighbors who didn’t have that warning.

F

ormed in spring 2023, the West Plains Water Coalition has been awarded a two-year Public Participation Grant from the state Department of Ecology that will help the nonprofit educate the public and offer resources for safer drinking water. The film was funded in part by that grant, and the coalition plans to offer many educational meetings this year.

Ongoing research will also expand the understanding of how contamination moves through underground paleochannels and aquifers on the West Plains.

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Chad Pritchard, a geology professor at Eastern Washington University, has received another grant from Ecology to create a three-dimensional groundwater model of the area. He’ll be monitoring 30 sites over the next year including rivers, lakes and some of the roughly 1,500 residential wells to help understand the particle flow.

“Just north of the base, if you’re in a shallow aquifer, it’s contaminated, but the lower aquifer is not,” Pritchard says. “When you go across Hayford [Road], the upper aquifer is not as contaminated, as far as we know so far, as the lower one because the groundwater actually transfers down.”

The Air Force has tested many nearby wells, but until recently it did not test east of Hayford Road.

Last fall, the Seattle Times reported that the Spokane International Airport, which is east of Hayford, also detected PFAS contamination in 2017. But unlike the Air Force, the airport did not notify neighbors or immediately begin working with the state to remediate that pollution.

Coalition Secretary Michele Baca, who’s lived on the east side of North Hayford Road since 2012, says her well has not tested at detectable levels for PFAS, but she’s concerned her high cholesterol is related to drinking Airway Heights water at work. She’s upset the airport didn’t inform the public.

“They were egregiously duplicitous in not coming forth to the Department of Ecology. Shame on them,” Baca says. “We can do better. We’re killing the planet, we’re killing ourselves, we need to stop it.”

In good news for those east of Hayford, coalition founder John Hancock was happy to announce at the screening that the Environmental Protection Agency is partnering with Ecology and regional and state health agencies to start testing wells in that area. The EPA will be meeting with the coalition and local officials this week.

“They’re going to move fast in the spring,” Hancock said. “Stay tuned for information pretty soon about how to get your well tested if you live in that part of the West Plains.” n samanthaw@inlander.com

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RACING TO SAVE A LIFE In the freezing dark on top of Mount Spokane one night in December 2022, the ski patrol and other first responders answered the call

BY TED S. McGREGOR JR.

Nasty weather: This picture of Mt. Spokane Ski Patrol Director Kristin Whitaker was taken less than an hour before the accident on Dec. 17, 2022.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KRISTIN WHITAKER

16 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

O

n a clear summer’s day, the top of Mount Spokane is a spectacular place. At 5,887 feet, it’s the tallest point in Spokane County. Marking the southern tip of the Selkirk Range, it looks out upon the lakes of North Idaho, the Palouse, the Columbia Plateau and the sprawling expanse of metropolitan Spokane below. But in the darkest days of winter, it can be a different story. And on this day — Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022 — sunset came before 4 pm, and a thick fog blanketed the landscape.

Down lower on the mountain, the Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park was open for night skiing. With the evening session just underway, Mt. Spokane Ski Patrol Director Kristin Whitaker stepped inside the patrol warming hut above Chair 2 around 6 pm.

“It was not ideal conditions,” Whitaker recalls. “It was freezing sleet, and things were starting to cover with ice. We were regrouping, drying off.”

Then came an urgent radio call for help.

“It was a code for Northwood [Chair 6, one of the lifts serving the backside of the mountain],” she recalls, “and they were requesting transport, a trauma kit and oxygen. We just looked at each other in a bit of shock, knowing Northwood is not open to night skiing.”

Northwood was over the top of the mountain from where they were — uphill. So Whitaker and another patroller packed up the heavy rescue gear and their skis and started “hoofing it” up to the scene as fast as they could. Soon, out of the pitch black, two sets of lights came into focus: Grooming machines were working that part of the mountain to get the snow tuned up for the next day’s skiers.

“That six-, seven-minute hike, the whole time I was praying for the strength to get through,” Whitaker says. “I didn’t know everything the scene would reveal, but I did know it was one of my brothers.”

They found one of the groomer drivers crouching over the other, who was laying in the snow. It was a confusing scene, but soon became horribly clear: He had accidentally been run over by the groomer, all 20,000 pounds of it.

“He was in really rough shape,” Whitaker says. “But that’s when our training kicked in. Airway, breathing, circulation — that’s where we go immediately.

“What was totally deceiving about it was that he was talking to us — he was conscious. He was kind of even joking here and there.”

The man laid out in this unforgiving, remote place, cracking jokes in the middle of a desperate fight for his life? That man was indeed a beloved brother — to Whitaker and so many other people spread across Spokane. It was Mark Starr.

...continued on next page

The two groomers were near the top of the mountain at the time of the accident.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARK STARR

JANUARY 18, 2024 INLANDER 17

MOUNTAIN RESCUE “RACING TO SAVE A LIFE,” CONTINUED...

“I COULD HAVE DIED”

Mark Starr is a local legend. “Compassionate,” “generous,” “positive” — those are the words people use to describe him. I can personally vouch for these and more, as we’ve known each other for many years. He’s earned that praise with his longstanding devotion to so many community events (Bloomsday, for starters) and charitable efforts (Spokane Fantasy Flight among so many others). And, when necessary, he can toss a perfect pizza crust. As the owner of Spokane institution David’s Pizza, he’s fed a lot of hungry people since starting up in the early 1990s. You may know him from the old fire truck he’s converted into a mobile pizza oven, which he hauls out to pitch in where he can — even feeding firefighters on the front lines.

“First of all, I could have died,” Starr says, right around the one-year anniversary of his accident. “I’m lucky to be here.”

Starr has never told his story in detail until now: “I never wanted anyone to worry about me,” he explains. “That’s super “In the [Aid Room], the important to me.”

But now, with the looks on peoples’ faces as passing of time, his they started to cut my gratitude compels him to share what is both pants off, I could see the the story of one man’s color drop out of their fight to survive, and also a tribute to all the faces. That’s when I could first responders, close friends and medical protell my leg was a mess.” fessionals who kept him — Mark Starr alive — and helped get him back on his feet.

“I’m so thankful…,” he says, his voice trailing off, the memories of a very tough year seemingly taking the place of mere words.

PICK UP, HAUL ASS

Mark Starr, at David’s Pizza last month, is telling his story in detail for the first time: “I never wanted anyone to worry about me.”

YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

18 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

Back on top of Mount Spokane, those first on the scene did some basic stabilization as more patrollers arrived. One thing started to come to the front of everyone’s mind: the clock, ticking away. One of the key elements of any rescue is time.

“There’s an acronym we use in ski patrol,” says Whitaker. “PUHA. That’s ‘pick up and haul ass’ — get ’em down the mountain as quick as we can. And that’s what we did.”

Radio dispatch had already alerted Fire Districts 4 and 9, along with Life Flight. The fog made a helicopter rescue impossible, but a massive response set out from Station 44 in Colbert for the upper parking lot at the ski resort — the tech rescue team, a paramedic unit, incident commanders, two engines and an AMR ambulance.

But first they had to get Starr into a toboggan, and he was in massive pain with shock coming on. When they found a position he could tolerate, they strapped him in, hooked the sled to the back of a snow machine and, in Starr’s words, “They hauled my butt down the mountain.”

Thanks to generations of devoted ski patrollers serving the Mt. Spokane ski area, a charming ski shack exists just east of the Main Lodge. Funded by donations and built by patrol volunteers, the Ski Patrol Building is a tribute to an organization founded in 1938 — the 17th registered ski patrol in the nation and one of the few remaining all-volunteer ski patrols.

“We’ve always had a culture of training,” says Whitaker. Volunteers are teachers, doctors, stay-at-home moms; Whitaker is a marketing professional with 15 years on the patrol. They log hundreds of hours training for whatever the day may bring. “And on nights like that,” she says, “it really pays off.”

In the lower level of the Ski Patrol Building they built a mini hospital — the Aid Room — which is where they brought Starr to tend to him as they waited for additional help to arrive.

Remarkably, Starr had remained conscious and was worried about those responding more than himself.

“I remember making a conscious decision to stay awake,” he recalls. “I was trying to hold my shit together to not make anyone panic.”

Nonetheless, worry washed over the cramped room as the extent of his injuries was revealed.

“In the [Aid Room], the looks on peoples’ faces as they started to cut my pants off, I could see the color drop out of their faces. That’s when I could tell

my leg was a mess.”

Just surviving the accident was a miracle; staying awake through the aftermath, uncanny. The list of injuries, once fully tallied over the coming days, was shocking.

“First of all, this was an accident, no dangerous behavior,” says Starr. “No one is to blame — a malfunction of machinery.”

Recounting it all a year later, he remembers the series of events clearly. They had groomed a ton of ground early in their shift; they had stopped to survey the next places to hit. Starr got out of his rig — with just a T-shirt and Carhartt vest, as the cabins are heated. He was talking to his co-worker when suddenly the machine lurched ahead and his feet were trapped; quickly the chassis knocked him onto his back.

“I could see it coming,” he says, “then the machine just rolled over the top of me.”

The tracks of the groomers are like those on military tanks — each 5 feet wide, with 4-inch metal cleats added for traction.

When he felt it getting close to his head, he realized he could swing his arm up to protect himself, which probably saved his life.

(The outline of his wristwatch was imprinted on his forehead.)

Eventually, the machine passed over him, but in a scene out of a James Bond movie, he realized that the metal tiller — the business end of the groomer — was coming fast. In a burst of energy, somehow forcing limbs that did not respond, he managed to roll out of the way. That was about when the machine was brought back under control and stopped.

Starr’s left leg bore the brunt of it: His calf muscle was ripped from the bone; the ligaments in his knee were shredded. Among his 25 fractures, the arm that he pulled over his head was broken, along with his ribs and pelvis. His lung was punctured and had collapsed, so within minutes of the accident he couldn’t talk; he doesn’t know why, but for a while just afterwards, he was blind.

His scalp was partially torn off.

Only part of that list was evident as his co-worker jumped down to cover him from the cold, staying calm while the patrollers raced uphill to their position. Starr had kept his cellphone inside the pocket of his vest. It was bent nearly in half.

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THE GOLDEN HOUR

As the patrollers were discovering the horror of Starr’s injuries, the cavalry had arrived after a run up the switchbacks to the parking lot. It was 7:18 pm. Not knowing exactly what they would find, the trauma team — a collaboration between Fire Districts 4 and 9 — was ready for whatever would come. But there would be no need for the jaws of life or a scramble up the mountain; the allvolunteer Mt. Spokane Ski Patrol had the patient as stable as they ...continued on next page

A TOUGH BUSINESS

The Mt. Spokane Ski Patrol is made up of volunteers, but even for paid patrollers or first-responders who make a full-time career as firefighters, police or EMTs, the work can leave mental scars. Sometimes things don’t go right. The injured don’t always survive.

“I’m proud of how we performed that night,” says Kristin Whitaker, Mt. Spokane Ski Patrol director, who was one of the first on the scene of Mark Starr’s accident. “But in first-responder-world, there’s a connotation that you should be tough, things shouldn’t affect you. The blessings are that it caused the people who were on the scene that night to open up and start talking about what happened. It’s OK to talk about these things with your peers, to have shoulders to cry on. We need to make it a culture of talking about these things.”

When the ambulance departed the mountain, that’s when it set in. Everyone — from those who were at the scene to those working elsewhere on the mountain that night — had gone through a trauma.

With Starr back on his feet, and with the shared need to talk about it, many of those who were there that night gathered exactly a year later, last month on Dec. 17, to be together up on the mountain to celebrate how everybody all down the line did their jobs and saved a precious life.

“We cheers’d each other, and we laughed as Mark made a lot of inappropriate jokes,” Whitaker says. “It was therapeutic for all of us.”

— TED S. MCGREGOR JR.

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JANUARY 18, 2024 INLANDER 19

MOUNTAIN RESCUE “RACING TO SAVE A LIFE,” CONTINUED... could manage and ready for transport.

Starr believes they had him from accident to ambulance in an hour — staying within that all-important golden hour first responders aim for.

Next stop: the Sacred Heart ER. Over the more than hourlong drive, the paramedics in the ambulance stabilized Starr further, working on stopping his loss of blood and likely providing more pain meds. Starr did lose consciousness on the ride down.

Trauma teams have a name for what happened that night: complex polytrauma. It’s like what happens to victims of motorcycle

“Having a leg or not having a leg is pretty significant. Mark said to me, ‘Whatever you need me to do to save this leg, I will do it.’”

— Dr. Laura Bonneau

Two men and their converted fire trucks: Mark Starr (above) paraded his through Spokane for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade last year; Jeremy Renner (below) rolled up in his to thank his caregivers in Reno a couple weeks ago.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARK STARR; JEREMY RENNER/INSTAGRAM

JEREMY RENNER FEELS STARR’S PAIN

Less than two weeks after Mark Starr’s accident, uncanny news reports came in of another accident involving a huge snow vehicle. Actor Jeremy Renner was run over at his home in Nevada by his snowplow. While Starr kept his story mostly to himself as he went through multiple surgeries and took the early steps toward recovery, Renner’s story made international headlines. He is, after all, an Avenger, playing Hawkeye in the Marvel movies.

The similarities are eerie, from the accident itself to their recoveries. Both were pulled under and run over by massive, treaded machines. Renner’s was a more than 14,000-pound machine, resulting in 30 broken bones; Starr’s was closer to 20,000 pounds, breaking 25 bones. While Renner was airlifted to a hospital in Reno, Starr was evacuated from the top of Mount Spokane and rushed to the ER. Both credit their friends and family for support in their recovery, with Renner keeping his fans updated on his Instagram page.

“My greatest therapy has been my mind and the will to be here and push to recover and be better,” Renner wrote in one post, mirroring Starr’s sentiments. “Be exceptional… I feel it’s my duty to do so. Not to squander my life being spared, but to give back to my family, friends, and all of you whom have empowered me to endure.

I thank you all.”

Today, Starr is talking about his accident in detail for the first time, out of gratitude to all those who helped him. Both men marked the one-year anniversary by returning to the scenes to recognize those who helped save them — Starr with a small gathering at Mount Spokane, Renner thanking his caregivers in Reno.

The two have even more in common. Starr’s David’s Pizza oven truck (converted from an old fire truck) is well known across Spokane, but did you know that Renner’s Foundation, RennerVation, owns a converted fire truck, too? He rolled up to the hospital in Reno, smiling from the cab, handing out “joy, blessings and” — wait for it — “pizza.”

— TED S. MCGREGOR JR.

20 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

wrecks. It was also a preview of the accident actor Jeremy Renner would endure less than two weeks later, when he was run over by his own snowplow in Nevada — an event that continues to make international news.

As soon as the call came into the ER about an incoming polytrauma, Andrew Howlett — one of the orthopedic surgeons at the head of the spear of the Sacred Heart trauma team — was called in. To those outside the medical profession, it all can sound pretty daunting, but Dr. Laura Bonneau, who treated Starr after the trauma team, says it’s more routine than people may think.

“They deal with this stuff all the time,” she says. “The degree of medical and surgical competence here is so high.”

Starr survived his journey to the hospital; crucially, somebody along the way did their job and stuck a needle in his chest to allow his completely collapsed lung to expand. The trauma team at the ER would have immediately put in a chest tube to get past the blood and allow the lungs to function better. What to do about that left leg would be a decision for later; instead, they attacked his more pressing injuries.

His forearm was repaired, along with his left knee and pelvis (which would require another surgery later). His scalp was reattached.

As the first night of the accident drew to a close, his road to recovery was just starting.

DOING THEIR JOBS

Soon Bonneau, a reconstructive plastic surgeon, was called in to take a look at that leg. She had heard from her ortho colleagues that he was beat up pretty bad.

“I got a call from a mutual friend of Mark’s, and he said, ‘Hey, people are starting to talk about amputation, and Mark’s not having it,’” she says. “And from the second I met him, I thought, ‘This is not the average polytrauma.’ He’s sucking away on the incentive spirometer, taking big deep breaths, pulling 4 liters on the thing. I was like, ‘OK, I have to reframe how I’m thinking about this. This guy is going to master this.’

“Having a leg or not having a leg is pretty significant,” Bonneau adds. “Mark said to me, ‘Whatever you need me to do to save this leg, I will do it.’”

So Bonneau and her team prepped up and went into a surgery that required two surgeons and seven supporting medical professionals. It lasted more than 12 hours.

Today, Mark Starr has both legs. He spent seven weeks in the hospital, with four of those flat on his back; it was another eight weeks in a hotel close to his caregivers. In total, he was 16 weeks in a wheelchair before he graduated to a walker. And it’s still a long road back. He’s had infections in that left knee (which took two surgeries to

Opening Ceremon Ceremony Cer emon emony 11 a.m. Main Street Street reet

Skijor Finals Sk inals

Mountain tain Market Marke kett on Main

and Beer Garden on Main

Rail Jam

Second and Main Street

Laura Bonneau was one of the doctors who treated Mark Starr: “From the second I met him, I thought… ‘This guy is going to master this.’” PHOTO COURTESY OF MARK STARR treat), with two more surgeries to come to repair what’s left of the ligaments in it. He had to relearn how to walk with the team at U-District PT; his staff at David’s kept the pizzas coming.

“I attribute a lot of my recovery to the talents of all those people who helped me,” says Starr. “One of the talents was their positivity. They got behind me. I thought, ‘This is in my court now.’ I had to show that I mean what I say, that I would exceed their expectations.”

You may have guessed it from how he attacked his rehab, but Starr is one of those “never-stop-never-stopping” kind of people.

To drive home his point that nobody should worry about him, in March, two days post-wheelchair, he got behind the wheel and showed off his pizza truck in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Like every other May, he helped pull off another Bloomsday; last month he was back flying around with the other elves on the Fantasy Flight.

Starr doesn’t have a lot of family left, just a brother in Seattle and an aunt and uncle in Palm Desert, California. Ever since landing in Spokane in the late 1970s, from working for Pepsi, Huppin’s Hi-Fi, then the legendary nightspot Strobel’s and finally building David’s Pizza, the entire city has become his family. But over the past year, with all they have gone through together, Mt. Spokane — a place that’s been a part of his life for decades — feels more like home than ever, he says. And, yes, he’s been back up running a groomer a couple times this season.

Whitaker is not surprised by the outpouring of encouragement that has come to the brother she came upon that dark and miserable night: “That’s just Mark. What a positive, caring, generous person he is.”

“I can’t put it into words,” Starr adds. “How supportive this community is, it’s beyond inspiring. It just blows me away.” n

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JANUARY 18, 2024 INLANDER 21

LOCAL RESORTS

BIG EURO

VIBES S

now riders of the Inland Northwest, I’d like to suggest something radical. I’d like to suggest something you almost certainly won’t believe to begin with, but you absolutely should accept. I’d like to suggest that the next B.C. ski resort you should visit isn’t one you hear that much about. It might not be the most hyped up (although it should be). It might not have the most vertical (although it’s certainly up there). It might not host the next Freeride competition (although it certainly could).

But what it does have might just make you fall in love. It’s so fully stuffed to the brim with endless and epic views that it’s hard to imagine the founders had to debate too much about it before settling on its utterly appropriate name: Panorama.

I’ve been making the not-so-lengthy trek to Panorama for years and have never been disappointed. I’ve often heard that the skiing isn’t great due to its relatively low average annual snowfall. However, due to its state-of-theart and quite expansive snowmaking system, combined with mostly north-facing slopes, it always seems they have more than enough of the glorious white stuff.

Earlier this season I enjoyed skiing every one of Panorama’s 2,975 acres at a time when everywhere around the Inland Northwest was barely open. I guess the old adage often repeated among skiers is true: “You don’t know

22 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

until you go.”

On this most recent trip, I even converted a longtime skier friend who’d always maintained that Panorama just didn’t have the sustained steeps he was seeking. For his first run ever at Panorama, I guided him to the very top of its 4,265 vertical feet of skiing and made him chase me down one of my favorite runs, Heli High. When he showed up at the bottom, he had a whole new attitude, stating out loud, “I had no idea.”

Beyond the expansive terrain and seemingly endlessly long runs, there’s another aspect to Panorama that has always drawn me in: world-class grooming. I’m not a member of some official panel that rates grooming quality or anything, but I’ve skied in Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Argentina and all over the good old U.S.A., and I can honestly say that the grooming at Panorama is as good as any I’ve seen anywhere. Certainly one of the driving forces behind the copious curtains of corduroy to be shredded here is Panorama’s deep roots in the world of ski racing. Panorama held its first World Cup downhill in 1985, and several other world cup events have been held there since. In fact, each season, from early November to early December, the hill remains closed to the public and essentially becomes a private ski race training facility for teams from far and wide.

From looking a lot like the Alps to having authentic Swiss raclettes on offer, British Columbia’s Panorama is more than a great ski getaway

BY JOHN GROLLMUS

FEELS LIKE 10,000

“An unbroken view of the whole region surrounding the observer,” that’s the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of a “panorama,” and I can think of no better place to live out that definition than the Summit Hut. With 360-degree views of dramatic snow-capped peaks and an elevation just over 8,000 feet, it’s no coincidence one of the runs departing from this incredible location is named the View of 1000 Peaks. A location this deeply bathed in beauty might help explain why you can find patrons basking in the sun and splendor found on the outdoor deck no matter what the temp is. But that’s no excuse not to step inside and enjoy one of the other great aspects of Panorama, the cuisine. Here at the Summit Hut, one can enjoy locally produced sausages, veggie burgers or even a salmon burger cooked on one of the most unique grills you’ll ever see. Don’t sleep on the creative coffees and baked goods, either.

I’ve always felt that there’s a European vibe at Panorama, and one of the main reasons for that is probably the delicious and fun-to-eat raclette served at the Elkhorn Cabin. After all, when you find yourself midslope eating toasted bread and pickled vegetables draped in melty cheese along with dried meat and a delicious glass of wine

to hit the slopes for less.

WHITEF I S H, M O NTA N A

SAVE UP TO

when you buy online in advance.

Restrictions apply, see website for details.

SKIWHITEFISH.COM | 877- SKI-FISH Partially Located on National Forest Lands Photos © GlacierWorld.com

The view from Panorama’s Elkhorn Cabin earlier this season. JOHN GROLLMUS PHOTO

while staring at mountains looking very much like the Alps, it’s hard not to feel yourself transported halfway across the globe.

Top-notch baked goods seem to be found everywhere here, and on one particularly memorable visit to the Elkhorn, my wife and I were enjoying the view from the deck when the staff brought out trays of cookies straight from the oven to cool off. Did we take the bait and have one? No. We had several.

Another European aspect found here is the way the resort village is stacked onto the hillside and is served by not just a chairlift, but also by an open-air gondola. There’s something unique and special about being whisked away from a bridge spanning an icy winter creek, floating high above the village rooftops and being deposited literally at the front door of an Italian restaurant serving crisp-crusted pizzas, carpaccio, arancini and Bolognese.

One final thing helping create a Euro vibe is the large number of smiling employees with accents working here from overseas.

During recent visits, I’ve chatted with folks from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Italy and even Belarus.

OK, so maybe world-class skiing and gourmet grazing aren’t your things, well you’re in luck. This place is about as full as Santa’s toy sack on Christmas Eve with fun things to do. There’s not only ice skating in the village, but also the Windermere Whiteway found in the nearby waterfront town of Invermere, which features the world’s longest continuous skating trail at just ...continued on next page

JANUARY 18, 2024 INLANDER 23

LOCAL RESORTS l F iv r e id m a u y s n ic ig h t s !

“BIG EURO VIBES” CONTINUED... over 18.5 miles. There are hot pools of varying temperatures to soak your sore-from-shredding bones. There’s shopping of all sorts, and even a candy shack for the kiddos. There’s heli-skiing, snowmobiling, tandem paragliding, fat tire biking and cross-country skiing on over 12 miles of trails — and that’s just in the winter. For summer there’s ATV/SXS tours, mountain biking for all skill levels, and this coming summer Panorama will unveil two new attractions: a mountain coaster, bringing more Euro vibes, and an aerial park. The resort is also located next to one of Canada’s highest-ranked golf courses, Greywolf.

Mt. Spokane Is open for fun

day& Night

9am–4pm, SundaYS–Tuesdays 9am–9pm, Wednesdays–Saturdays All day tickets include nights. night ski, 3pm–9pm, only $39 www.mtspokane.com

Cookies just taste better up this high.

JOHN GROLLMUS PHOTO

TREE-FRIENDLY SKIING

“Fiercely independent.” If you poke around Panorama long enough, you’re bound to hear this. What does it mean? I like to think of it as a reference to their ownership structure. Yes, they are a member of the IKON collective, so for those of you out there looking for yet another place to put your IKON pass to use, this is one. However, in a day and age when more and more ski areas are falling under the control of major conglomerates, Panorama remains, you guessed it, fiercely independent. In 2010, local investors bought Panorama, and it remains under local ownership today.

This local ownership group is dedicated to responsible development. The village itself has been carefully thought out and built at a slower pace. Their commitment to Project Planet leads to recycled paper products throughout mountain facilities, along with low flow faucets and toilets. Additionally, the resort has committed to helping preserve the Whitebark Pine, a tree that has been threatened by disease and beetle infestations in the interior of B.C. and Alberta. By introducing preservation techniques, such as caging the tree’s cones during the summer months along with planting seedlings, ownership has proved such a strong dedication to the preservation of this essential tree that in 2023 Panorama was recognized as Canada’s only Whitebark Pine-friendly lift-serviced area by the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation.

So, let’s recap. Amazing skiing with unbeatable views, gourmet dining everywhere you turn, a boatload of things to do, feeling like you’re visiting Europe without getting on a plane, and local ownership dedicated to the community. Ladies and gentlemen, I sincerely hope I’ve convinced you to pay Panorama a visit that you will not regret. n John Grollmus is a lifetime resident of the Inland Northwest, local restaurateur and backcountry ski guide. He loves all things outdoors, food of every kind and, more than almost anything, skiing. John can currently be found living with his wife and favorite human, Kim, near Hope, Idaho, and at johngrollmus.com.

24 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

GETAWAYS

Pack it up and figure out the rest on the road.

GET OUTTA TOWN!

BOB LEGASA PHOTO

The road trip is a classic element of American life, and you’ll find some great winter destinations just outside the Inland Northwest if you’re willing to put in some mileage

BY BOB LEGASA

W

hen Dean Wormer put the hammer down on the Delta house in Animal House, the boys were only left with one thing to do. No, I’m not talking about chugging a whole fifth of Jack Daniels like Bluto did. I’m talking about a good, old-fashioned… Road Trip!

With all of life’s daily responsibilities, obligations and challenges for all of us adults, many of us have lost our sense of adventure and fun. Ask yourself: When’s the last time you decided on a whim to get in the car and go on a short trip without weeks or even months of research and preparation? I’m guessing many of you are still thinking about it.

With this season’s early snow drought, right now more than ever is the time to break routine and hit the road chasing snow. It doesn’t have to be quite like the road trip in Animal House, but if it was… just think of all the stories you could tell on Monday morning around the water cooler.

W

ith today’s technology, all the reservations, ski reports, snow forecasts and most anything else you need for travel info are all at your fingertips.

26 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

While you’re driving, your spouse or buddy can be doing all the research for a spontaneous ski weekend.

Down south, there’s Grand Targhee — even if it is a hefty eight-hour drive from Spokane. The Ghee, as the locals call it, is a 15-minute drive up from the cool mountain town of Driggs, Idaho, that hasn’t been too terribly impacted by big dollar out-of-towners. Both Driggs and the small Idaho town of Victor have the ski town vibe going on — after all that’s where many of the Jackson Hole locals live because they were driven out by the huge cost of living in that Wyoming town.

The Ghee has that down-home feel that ski hills used to have. The mountain has some legit terrain, and it’s big, with 3,000 skiable acres and over 2,400 feet of vert that should get those legs burning. For après, the Trap Bar is legendary.

I highly recommend Wydaho Nachos made from fresh cut waffle fries smothered with all the traditional nacho fixings.

The mountain has lodging, as does Driggs.

A little farther south in Utah lie Alta, Snowbird, Solitude and Brighton. They’ve been having decent snow ...continued on page 28

CANADA LOWDOWN

If you’re looking to dream about a trip to Canada, take a ride on the Powder Highway… via the information superhighway. The Powder Highway connects eight resorts in the Kootenay Rockies in a huge loop that runs just north of here: Panorama, Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, Kimberley, Fairmont, RED Mountain, Whitewater, Fernie.

You can tour all they have to offer at powderhighway.com.

Heidi Korven says the area’s winter has been a lot like ours — a little slow to start, but with typical snowfall since the new year. As media relations specialist for Kootenay Rockies Tourism, she’s up to speed on all that’s shiny and new.

“Whitewater, they just installed a new quad chair,” Korven says of the resort just above Nelson, B.C. “It really spreads the skiers out so you don’t have to wait in lift lines. It also gets you more access to new terrain.

“RED Mountain brought back their single ride snowcat, Mt. Kirkup Cat Ski,” she adds. “Every Saturday and Sunday, for you and 11 other people, it’s like you get a whole mountain to yourself — and it’s cheaper than a full day of cat skiing.” (Which RED also offers.)

Post-COVID, a lot of things that were put on the shelf are coming back, too. “The Fernie Ice Bar is open again, and RED has its Rafters Bar — they win a ton of awards, kind of like the Griz Bar at Fernie.”

She also points out that the summer is getting a big boost, too, with more mountain coasters coming online later this year. Similar to the Alpine Coaster above Leavenworth, Panorama is building one, while Kicking Horse above Golden, B.C., has a new sky bridge attraction.

— TED S. McGREGOR JR. Learn more at powderhighway.com. To follow the snowfall in what’s been a tricky year, check stay tuned to onthesnow.com and snow-forecast.com.

GETAWAYS

Pack it up and figure out the rest on the road.

GET OUTTA TOWN!

BOB LEGASA PHOTO

The road trip is a classic element of American life, and you’ll find some great winter destinations just outside the Inland Northwest if you’re willing to put in some mileage

BY BOB LEGASA

W

hen Dean Wormer put the hammer down on the Delta house in Animal House, the boys were only left with one thing to do. No, I’m not talking about chugging a whole fifth of Jack Daniels like Bluto did. I’m talking about a good, old-fashioned… Road Trip!

With all of life’s daily responsibilities, obligations and challenges for all of us adults, many of us have lost our sense of adventure and fun. Ask yourself: When’s the last time you decided on a whim to get in the car and go on a short trip without weeks or even months of research and preparation? I’m guessing many of you are still thinking about it.

With this season’s early snow drought, right now more than ever is the time to break routine and hit the road chasing snow. It doesn’t have to be quite like the road trip in Animal House, but if it was… just think of all the stories you could tell on Monday morning around the water cooler.

W

ith today’s technology, all the reservations, ski reports, snow forecasts and most anything else you need for travel info are all at your fingertips.

26 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

While you’re driving, your spouse or buddy can be doing all the research for a spontaneous ski weekend.

Down south, there’s Grand Targhee — even if it is a hefty eight-hour drive from Spokane. The Ghee, as the locals call it, is a 15-minute drive up from the cool mountain town of Driggs, Idaho, that hasn’t been too terribly impacted by big dollar out-of-towners. Both Driggs and the small Idaho town of Victor have the ski town vibe going on — after all that’s where many of the Jackson Hole locals live because they were driven out by the huge cost of living in that Wyoming town.

The Ghee has that down-home feel that ski hills used to have. The mountain has some legit terrain, and it’s big, with 3,000 skiable acres and over 2,400 feet of vert that should get those legs burning. For après, the Trap Bar is legendary.

I highly recommend Wydaho Nachos made from fresh cut waffle fries smothered with all the traditional nacho fixings.

The mountain has lodging, as does Driggs.

A little farther south in Utah lie Alta, Snowbird, Solitude and Brighton. They’ve been having decent snow ...continued on page 28

CANADA LOWDOWN

If you’re looking to dream about a trip to Canada, take a ride on the Powder Highway… via the information superhighway. The Powder Highway connects eight resorts in the Kootenay Rockies in a huge loop that runs just north of here: Panorama, Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, Kimberley, Fairmont, RED Mountain, Whitewater, Fernie.

You can tour all they have to offer at powderhighway.com.

Heidi Korven says the area’s winter has been a lot like ours — a little slow to start, but with typical snowfall since the new year. As media relations specialist for Kootenay Rockies Tourism, she’s up to speed on all that’s shiny and new.

“Whitewater, they just installed a new quad chair,” Korven says of the resort just above Nelson, B.C. “It really spreads the skiers out so you don’t have to wait in lift lines. It also gets you more access to new terrain.

“RED Mountain brought back their single ride snowcat, Mt. Kirkup Cat Ski,” she adds. “Every Saturday and Sunday, for you and 11 other people, it’s like you get a whole mountain to yourself — and it’s cheaper than a full day of cat skiing.” (Which RED also offers.)

Post-COVID, a lot of things that were put on the shelf are coming back, too. “The Fernie Ice Bar is open again, and RED has its Rafters Bar — they win a ton of awards, kind of like the Griz Bar at Fernie.”

She also points out that the summer is getting a big boost, too, with more mountain coasters coming online later this year. Similar to the Alpine Coaster above Leavenworth, Panorama is building one, while Kicking Horse above Golden, B.C., has a new sky bridge attraction.

— TED S. McGREGOR JR. Learn more at powderhighway.com. To follow the snowfall in what’s been a tricky year, check stay tuned to onthesnow.com and snow-forecast.com.

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LOCAL RESORTS

“GET OUTTA TOWN” CONTINUED... accumulation, and they’re part of the IKON Pass.

You can expect to spend 10 hours in the car getting there from Spokane. Might be a good time to use those frequent-flyer miles, as both Delta and Southwest airlines fly direct to Salt Lake City.

Each of these resorts is just a 45-minute drive from SLC, so lodging shouldn’t be too much of a challenge.

And let’s not forget about Powder Mountain outside of Eden, Utah, the largest ski area in the United States by skiable acreage, covering 8,464 acres — huge considering that Schweitzer has 3,200 acres. Who knows? Maybe you could get lucky and be in the Wasatch Range for one of its infamous Utah dumps?

I

f you’re thinking north of I-90 and a little closer to home, British Columbia’s Panorama is doing excellent snow-wise this season. (Check out John Grollmus’s story on page 22.)

Lake Louise and Kicking Horse are not much farther north. The Lake and the Horse are awesome places to ski, and if the terrain doesn’t get your heart pumping, the scenery at each resort will. Trust me, the Canadian Rockies are a sight behold.

Five hours northwest of Spokane is Big White, on the outskirts of Kelowna, B.C. Big

White is a fairly large resort with 16 lifts and over 2,700 patrolled acres. Just a half-hour away, Kelowna provides lots of options for food and lodging. If you’re a wine aficionado, you’ll like Kelowna, which has more than 40 wineries within a 20-minute drive. This could be a whole new road trip movie, a mix between Aspen Extreme and Sideways.

One other big advantage of heading to the Great White North is the exchange rate; you’re going to get more bang for your buck with the U.S. dollar being worth a whopping $1.34 in Canada.

There’s been good snow news in our region, with a nice dump of local snow just after the New Year, and hopefully more to come both here and in the outlying resorts mentioned above. You only live once, so get out and make an adventure of your next ski weekend. Or just think about the impact that legendary road trip from Providence to Aspen had on Harry and Lloyd. What more can I say, other than… if some kid offers to trade you — straight up — your Subaru for his minibike, you’ll know what to do. n Bob Legasa has been a Snowlander contributor since 1994. He’s also a Hayden-based independent videographer, TV producer and snowsports event promoter with his Freeride Media company.

Bill Savitz at Grand Targhee BOB LEGASA PHOTOS

The Columbia River Valley from Kicking Horse Mountain Resort above Golden, B.C. FACING PAGE: The trek to the backcountry, also at Kicking Horse.

we're so much

Deeper powder

DELIVERED TO YO U R IN BOX

than just the

Our top 5 picks for weekend entertainment

Visit Sandpoint, Idaho this month to catch these and other events 1/18 Letters aloud

Spoken-word performance meets history, as actors read actual correspondence of famous figures.

1/19-1/21 Banff mtn fiLm festival Catch the best of mountain culture, sport and lifestyle in top films from the annual touring festival.

1/25 free ‘rumbLe’ fiLm

Acclaimed film depicts the major role of Native Americans in contemporary music history.

Get visitor information at 208.263.2161 • www.visitSandpoint.com 28 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

EVERY FRIDAY 2/16-2/25 winter carnival

It’s the sure antidote to cabin fever: 10 days of events and activities celebrating winter.

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GETTING THERE

Sometimes it almost seems like Canada is another country or something, but check the map and you’ll see it’s all pretty close for a multiday road trip. Here are some drive times from Spokane:

SPOKANE REGION • 202

3 - 2024

FEATURING

Winter Map

WA S

HIN

GT

ON

, ID

AH

O,

EPI

CA

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Learn more about skiing here in the Inland Northwest and up into Canada by picking up the 2023-24 Inlander Winter Guide on Inlander racks and at visitor centers around the PNW.

INLAND NORTHWEST

WINTER GUIDE

DA

CS

KI G ETA WA YS

Big White: 5 hours Fernie: 4.75 hours Kicking Horse: 6 hours Kimberley: 4 hours Lake Louise: 6.5 hours Panorama: 5.5 hours RED Mountain: 2.5 hours Sun Peaks: 7 hours Revelstoke: 6.25 hours Silver Star: 5 hours Whitewater: 3 hours

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EASY DRIVE. Take I-90 to the ID/MT state line Exit 0.

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JANUARY 18, 2024 INLANDER 29

EVENTS

WINTERSPORTSFEST

Whether you want a thorough introduction to winter recreation or you just really like to play in the snow, head to 49 Degrees North for their Wintersportsfest, where attendees can get a taste of everything winter sports has to offer. The event features a wide array of demonstrations including snowshoeing, Altai Ski, Fat Tire Bike, Mini Classic and SkateSki demos as well as lessons for all ages throughout the day. The admission fee includes trail passes, mini-lessons and rentals from the Nordic Center. For just $10, there’s hardly a cheaper way to widen your winter sports horizons than at Wintersportsfest. Get out there and explore!

— MADISON PEARSON Sat, Jan. 20 from 9 am-4 pm • $10 • 49 Degrees North • 3311 Flowery Trail Rd., Chewelah • ski49n.com

CROSS COUNTRY SKI LESSONS Learn the basics of cross-country skiing. Fee includes a day long ski equipment rental and two hours of instruction. Jan. 18, 20, 22, 28 and Feb. 10, 11, 15 and 25 from 10 am-noon $77. Selkirk Lodge, N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. spokanecity.org MT. SPOKANE NIGHT SKIING Ski after the sun sets under the lights at Mt. Spokane. Wed-Fri from 3-9 pm through March 16. $40-$80. Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, 29500 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. mtspokane.com (509-238-2220) CLUB SHRED A club aimed at kids learning and practicing ski skills. The club also includes fun activities, movies, dinner and more. Fri from 5-8 pm through March 15. Ages 4-10. Skiers only. $45. Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, 29500 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. mtspokane,com DJ NIGHT ON THE ICE Skate around the Numerica Skate Ribbon with tunes provided by DJ A1. Fri from 6-9 pm through Jan. 26. $6.95-$9.95. Numerica Skate Ribbon, 720 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. riverfrontspokane.org (509-625-6600) FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS Night skiing with the addition of live music on the mountain. Every Fri from 3-9 pm through March 29. $39. Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, 29500 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. mtspokane.com (509-238-2220) SNOWSHOE MOONLIGHT TOUR Explore the meadows and woods around Mount Spokane guided by an experienced instructor. Registration required. Ages 16+.

Jan. 19, 26 and Feb. 23 from 6-9:30 pm. $41. Yoke’s Fresh Market, 14202 N. Market St. spokanerec.org (509-363-5414)

SPOKANE CHIEFS VS. EVERETT SILVERTIPS Promotions include Fred Meyer Calendar Giveaway (Jan. 19) and TicketsWest Player Magnet Giveaway (Jan. 30). Jan. 19 and 30, 7:05 pm. $13-$32.

Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon Ave. spokanechiefs.com (509-279-7000) WILD & SCENIC FILM FESTIVAL This curated selection of films highlights local stories of environmental action and communities coming together to create change. Plus, learn more about the important work that the Idaho Chapter is doing for climate justice in Idaho and how you can get involved. Jan. 19, 7 pm. $12-$16. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org (208-882-4127) COACHES CORNER Coaches from Spokane Figure Skating Club offer valuable tips and guidance to emerging skaters.

Sat from 11 am-1 pm through Jan. 27. $6.95-$9.95. Numerica Skate Ribbon, 720 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. riverfrontspokane.org (509-625-6600) CROSS COUNTRY MOONLIGHT SKI AND DINNER Make your way on cross-country skis through the woods and enjoy a meal from Greenbluff Fresh Catering afterward. Jan. 20 and Feb. 24 from 6-9 pm. $79. Selkirk Lodge, N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. spokanecity.org (509-363-5414) INTRO TO TELE MINI CLINIC Learn the basics of telemark skiing. A lift ticket or season pass is required to participate.

Jan. 20, 1:30-2:30 pm. $45-$75. 49 Degrees North, 3311 Flowery Trail Rd. ski49. com (509-935-6649) ...continued on page 32

CROSS COUNTRY RENTALS, LESSONS & MORE CROSS COUNTRY SKATE SKI RENTALS RENTALS $ $ 30 / Day 50 / Day Ski rentals available at Mt. Spokane Nordic Area or our store. Reserve online at www.fitfanatics.com

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30 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

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SNOWSHOE MOONLIGHT TOUR AND DINNER Travel through the winter landscape of Mount Spokane by the light of the moon. After exploring the area, return to the Selkirk Lodge for a made from scratch meal of lasagna, salad, bread sticks and more from Greenbluff Fresh Catering Company. Jan. 20 and Feb. 24 from 6-9 pm. $79. Selkirk Lodge, N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. spokanerec.org WINTERSPORTSFEST This event features snowshoe, ski, fat tire bike and SkateSki demos as well as lessons throughout the day for all ages. Admission includes trail passes, mini-lessons and rentals at the Nordic Center. Jan. 20, 9 am-4 pm. $10.

49 Degrees North, 3311 Flowery Trail Rd. ski49n.com (509-935-6649) CROSS COUNTRY SKI LESSONS Learn to cross-country ski and tour the trails of 49 Degrees North Nordic Area. Instruction includes basics of equipment, ski area rules, etiquette and techniques . Ages 13+. Jan. 21, Feb. 3, 25 and March 9 from 10 am-2 pm. $67. 49 Degrees North, 3311 Flowery Trail Rd. spokanecity.org SNOWSHOE AND MEAD TASTING WITH TRANSPORTATION Take a tour of majestic Mount Spokane by snowshoeing up and down hills through snow-covered trails. After the tour, the group heads to Hierophant Meadery on Green Bluff for an educational tasting of some of Washington’s finest Meads. Jan. 21 and March 9 from 9 am-2:30 pm. $53. Yoke’s Fresh Market, 14202 N. Market. spokanerec.org SPOKANE NORDIC’S WINTERFEST Dozens of discounted lesson opportunities for kids and adults of all skill levels. The event features a skijoring clinic for dogs, a free treasure hunt with prizes, adaptive ski demos, educational clinics from the Mountaineers and Friends of Mt Spokane and more. Jan. 21, 9:30 am-3 pm. Free.

Selkirk Lodge, N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. spokanenordic.org/winterfest WOMEN’S CLINIC SERIES This series provides a safe and supportive environment for all ability levels of skiers and snowboarders to develop new skills. Lift ticket or season pass required to participate.

Jan. 21, Feb. 11 and March 3 from 1-3 pm. $69. 49 Degrees North, 3311 Flowery Trail Rd. ski49.com (509-935-6649) CHEAP SKATE TUESDAYS Free skate rentals are provided with each paid admission. Tue 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) THE PARADISE PARADOX A film that explores the mental health crisis affecting America’s mountain tows and the solutions being developed in response. Jan. 24, 4:30-8 pm. Free. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave. schweitzer.com SPOKANE CHIEFS VS. PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS Promotions include Gold Seal Princesses & Heroes Night. Jan. 26, 7:05 pm. $13-$32. Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon Ave. spokanechiefs.com TOYOTA FREE SKI FRIDAY The driver of any Toyota will receive a free lift ticket.

Jan. 26. Free. Schweitzer, 10,000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd., Sandpoint. schweitzer.com SNOWSHOE TOUR Tour the trails of 49 Degrees North while a guide instructs you how to better control your snowshoes.

Fee includes: guides, snowshoes, poles, trail pass, instruction and lunch. Ages 16+.

Jan. 27, Feb. 11, and March 2 from 10 am-2 pm. $53. 49 Degrees North, 3311 Flowery Trail Rd. spokanecity.org (509-363-5414)

SPOKANE CHIEFS VS. PORTLAND WINTERHAWKS Promotions include Military Appreciation Night (Jan. 27) and TicketsWest Player Magnet Giveaway (March 12).

Jan. 27 and March 12 at 7:05 pm. $13-$32.

Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon Ave. spokanechiefs.com (509-279-7000) KIDS SNOW BOWLING & MOUNTAIN BREWFEST One adult of sibling pushes while a child sits on a saucer and attempst to knock down inflatable bowling pins.

The Mountain Brewfest and BBQ takes place at the same time on the back deck with beers from Wallace Brewing on tap.

Jan. 28, 1 pm. Must have a lift ticket. Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area, I-90 Exit 0. skilookout.com (208-744-1301) SPOKANE CHIEFS VS. SEATTLE THUNDERBIRDS Promotions include Coca-Cola Derek Ryan Bobblehead Giveaway (Jan. 30) & Family Feast Night (March 9). Jan. 30 at 7:05 pm and March 9 at 6:05 pm. $13-$32. Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon Ave. spokanechiefs.com (509-279-7000) NORDIC YOUTH PROGRAM A series of 90-minute classes for beginners and intermediate youth skiers. Feb. 2-16; Fri from 10-11:30 am (beginners) and 12-1:30 pm (beyond the basics). $42-$75. 49 Degrees North, ski49n.com CHEWELAH WINTERFEST This annual event features a Skijor competition, craft booths, live music and a rail jam. Feb. 3, 11 am-9 pm. Free. Chewelah. ski49n.com SPOKANE CHIEFS VS. KELOWNA ROCKETS Promotions include Special Olympics Night presented by Les Schwab Tires & Avista “Way to Save” Poster Series Giveaway. Feb. 4, 5:05 pm. $13-$32. Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon Ave. spokanechiefs. com (509-279-7000) SPOKANE LANGLAUF The Inland Empire’s oldest cross country ski race with over 110 medals and ribbons awarded each year. Feb. 4, 10 am-2 pm. $35. Mt. Spokane State Park, 26107 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. spokanelanglauf.org SPOKANE CHIEFS VS. TRI-CITY AMERICANS Promotions include Coeur d’Alene Casino Bingo Night (Feb. 9), Numerica Hockey Helmet Bank Giveaway (Feb. 17) and more. Feb. 9, 7:05 pm, Feb. 17 and March 16, 6:05 pm. $13-$32. Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon. spokanechiefs.com SANDPOINT WINTER CARNIVAL A winter festival featuring a parade, a chili cookoff, live music and various snow sport events at Schweitzer. Feb. 16-25; times and locations vary. See website for full schedule.

Sandpoint. sandpointwintercarnival.com MOUNT SPOKANE NORDIC CUP Test your skiing skills on these challenging courses full of jumps, moguls and more. Feb. 1718, 8 am-3 pm. Free to attend/$25-$50 for skiers. Selkirk Lodge, N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. spokanenordic.org SPOKANE CHIEFS VS. MOOSE JAW WARRIORS Promotions include Inland Imaging Chiefs Fight Cancer and Family Feast Night. Feb. 24, 6:05 pm. $13-$32.

Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon Ave. spokanechiefs.com (509-279-7000) BARKERBEINER This event pairs dogs and their owners for an exciting day full of high-level skijoring competition. March 10, 11 am-3 pm. $20-$30. Selkirk Lodge, N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. spokanenordic. org/barkerbeiner MARCHI GRAS Celebrate Mardi Gras with bead necklaces at the base of the gondola and a special New Orleans-inspired menu at the top of the mountain. March 16.

Silver Mountain Resort, 610 Bunker Ave. silvermt.com (208-783-1111) n

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JANUARY 18, 2024 INLANDER 33

THEATER

Reclaiming the Narrative SIX uses pop songs, sparkly outfits and girl power to reframe the lives of Henry VIII’s six ill-fated queens

BY CHEY SCOTT

D

ivorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded.

Survived.

The opening words of SIX share what many audience members already know: the grim fates of the half-dozen women successively wed to England’s famously fickle 16th-century king, Henry VIII. But what the pop-filled musical hopes to illuminate in the next 80 minutes are some of the true details — with plenty of humor and sassy, modern lingo — of each of their lives, overshadowed for far too long by the legacy of the lecherous and selfish man who, at a whim, cast off or killed all but one of them.

Opening on Broadway in 2020 for less than a month before the COVID shutdown, SIX’s second national tour is next heading to Spokane for an eight-show run from Jan. 23 to 28 as part of the city’s Best of Broadway series.

The show’s stage setup is uncharacteristically simple — just the six lead queens and a four-person backing band — yet packs a dynamic, glitzy punch. Framed around a concert-style singing competition (inspired by the Queen Bey herself, Beyoncé), SIX pits the six queens against one another to decide who had the worst time with their shared husband.

Decked out in rhinestone and leather-embellished costumes with punk rock vibes and accessories — outfits that landed SIX one of its two Tony Awards — the women each take a turn at the mic with their song-delivered stories. Those energetic original songs by SIX’s creators, British duo Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow, nabbed it a Tony Award in 2022, along with plenty more accolades.

A

ctress Kelly Denice Taylor has been part of the SIX cast since its Broadway debut. As an alternate for the current tour, she’s prepared to fill in for three of the six different queens. Since learning and performing each of those roles she’s found a personal connection to each woman she plays: Catherine

34 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

of Aragon (first wife, divorced), Jane Seymour (third, died) and Anna of Cleves (fourth, divorced).

“I think we can all relate to a lot of the queens’ story in different ways — minus the beheading and all the crazy things,” Taylor says. “There’s a persistence and resilience in Catherine of Aragon that I reKelly Denise Taylor ally, really relate to. And there’s a soft side to Seymour that I kind of discovered on this tour because I’m used to playing bigger roles, and belting things out, and Seymour is more sweet, and she’s subtle and she’s like this calming force in the show.”

“It’s nice to know that I relate to one queen and that also I learned new things about myself,” she continues.

“And, you know, Anna of Cleves, she’s just a party — really fun. And my personality really gets to shine in that role. So I’d say I relate to them all in different ways.”

SIX’s remaining queens are Anne Boleyn (second wife, beheaded), Katherine Howard (fifth wife, beheaded) and Catherine Parr (sixth wife, survived and outlived her husband).

As an alternate, Taylor needs to be ready to fill in when principal cast members become ill, injured or otherwise need a break.

“I’m one of four girls that they could call to go on at a moment’s notice, and it can be anytime before the show,” she says. “There’ve been times when I’ve gone on like 20 minutes before because something happened right before the show. So the nature of being an alternate is just being ready to go at all times, which I find pretty exciting.”

Some nights, though, an alternate may step in if a principal cast member “swings out,” a show biz term for

JOAN MARCUS PHOTO

sitting out a performance for any number of nonemergency reasons. During any performance she’s not called in for, however, Taylor says she and the other alternates hang out backstage, working out or doing other tasks related to the show.

“I basically went through a rehearsal process to learn each queen individually, which took me about two and a half, almost three months,” she says. “And then once you learn them, you debut in them, but it’s pretty tricky because you’re learning the harmonies for each queen, you’re learning the choreography for each queen, and you’re learning the entire show three different ways. So it can be pretty challenging, but really, really fun.”

As SIX’s second North American tour continues into 2024, Taylor is approaching her third year with the show.

Though she started out on Broadway as an alternate for Jane Seymour, at one point she was actually splitting time as a substitute for two simultaneous North American tours, flying back and forth as needed.

Being a cast member of SIX is still a dream-come-true for Taylor, whose résumé includes voice work for Disney, plus international theme park and cruise performance contracts.

SIX focuses on diverse casting for the six queen roles, an element she says is essential for youth today who, like the musical-theater-loving teen she once was, may also have big dreams of becoming professional performers.

“I think the most beautiful thing is that we are giving these women a voice in modern times, because back in Tudor times, they didn’t have a voice,” Taylor says.

“So even though we tell it in a funny, modern way, we are giving these women a voice. We really home in on the idea that they are not just Henry’s wives, but they also had lives, and they were real women and had real emotions. I think that’s a great reminder for women today, when it comes to voting and activism and feminism. I think it’s a really important message to remind women that they can use their voice.” n SIX • Jan. 23-27 at 7:30 pm, Jan. 27 at 2 pm, Jan. 28 at 1 and 6:30 pm • $52-$100 • First Interstate Center for the Arts • 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. • broadwayspokane.com

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JANUARY 18, 2024 INLANDER 35

CULTURE | DIGEST

THE BUZZ BIN

Re*Entropy opened in November 2023.

A New Spin on Antiques Vintage shop Re*Entropy adds an ever-changing inventory of timeless items to downtown’s West First Avenue

BY SUMMER SANDSTROM

W

ith carefully curated spaces boasting vintage items alongside art, home decor and more, Re*Entropy adds a new option to Spokane’s bustling vintage shopping scene.

Owner JJ Wandler opened the shop as an extension of his record store Entropy, which opened last March.

While Entropy originally also sold midcentury modern furniture and decor, it wasn’t an ideal spot for vintage shopping.

“I felt like at Entropy I was trying to do too much in too small of a space,” Wandler says. “I decided to limit the focus over there to more pop culture, music, movies, some books, little handheld collectibles and fun stuff and weird stuff, and [Re*Entropy] would be the larger space.”

Wandler made up the name Re*Entropy by pairing the idea of reusing and recycling with Entropy, also the title of a Thomas Pynchon short story exploring the tendency of organized systems to descend into chaos.

Re*Entropy opened on Nov. 25, just three weeks after Wandler signed a lease on the building.

He and Re*Entropy’s manager Garrett Zanol (a rock scene staple who fronts Kadabra and Indian Goat) were able to pull off the quick turnaround due to the space — which previously was the Bike Hub — already being retail-ready. Additionally, the two decided to bring independent vendors in to diversify their inventory.

“We did a vendor open house kind of thing where we just said come down, do a walk-through, look at the spaces and figure out what works for you,” Wandler says. “Within two days, we were almost to a waiting list point. It came together really fast. It was shocking.”

One reason Wandler brought other vendors to Re*Entropy is to diversify the space, noting that every vendor has their own aesthetics and resulting blindspots.

“Not everybody’s going to like the same thing out of a certain booth, but they’ll find something they’ll love in another booth,” Zanol says.

Re*Entropy’s sales floor is over 5,000 square feet, consisting of a main floor and basement. Upon walking in, shoppers are greeted with various larger furniture

36 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

pieces and an array of vintage items and clothes primarily from the 1950s to the early 2000s.

Additionally, Wandler is an avid vintage collector with a keen interest in midcentury modern furniture and decor, so he’s brought some of those pieces into Re*Entropy.

While many vintage stores have organized displays, Wandler says that some shops can develop a cluttered and overwhelming feel, something he and Zanol aim to avoid at Re*Entropy.

“Garrett is really excellent with merchandising and setting up spaces,” says Wandler. “We want the experience to be curated and clean and fun, and for people to be able to walk in, see a setup, and feel like they could see it in their home.”

The best vintage goods showcase the peak of each decade’s iconic designs and aesthetics. For Wandler, they’re durable and higher quality than many modernday items.

“The last 20 years of furniture manufacturing is particleboard and largely disposable,” he says. “But vintage furniture, vintage clothing, it was built to last — it’s not from a disposable society.”

Beating out other vintage competitors is not the goal for the duo. In fact, they’re trying to help foster a supportive community among Spokane’s vintage sellers and stores.

“There’s flyers for our shop hanging up in other vintage shops because ultimately, if somebody’s out shopping for vintage, they’re going to hit all the vintage spots,” Zanol says. “We encourage the other vendors and businesses to bring in a flier so we can cross promote you as well because that’s ultimately what it’s about.”

Wandler and Zanol plan on continuously adding to and updating Re*Entropy, keeping the store in a constant state of invigorating flux.

“This space is never going to be done,” Wandler says. “The way that it works, there’s always new stuff popping up every single day.” n Re*Entropy • 1403 W. First Ave. • Open Wed-Sun from 10 am-6 pm • 509-414-3363

MIC ON, KICK OFF Join host Benji Wade (right) for the city’s newest podcast and one-stop-listen for all things local soccer: The Spokane Soccer Show. A lifelong soccer fanatic and designer of the Spokane Velocity men’s team’s crest, Wade brings in-depth knowledge to every level of the sport, from youth clubs to Spokane’s newest pro teams. The Spokane Soccer Show has already chronicled the Gonzaga women’s historic 2023 season as they advanced to the NCAA tournament’s second round for the first time in history. A recent episode features newly hired Velocity head coach Leigh Veidman and USL Spokane sporting consultant Gareth Smith discussing why they chose to come to Spokane. A recurring guest on the show is J Atkins (above left), vice president of the Spokane Zephyr, our city’s top-tier women’s pro team. Follow on Instagram, Spotify or Apple Music to get hyped about everything Spokane has to offer the emerging U.S. soccer scene. (ELIZA BILLINGHAM)

NEW KNOWLEDGE From Jan. 22 to 28, the Spokane Public Library is hosting Library Learning Week. The goal is for participants to learn a new life skill, find a new hobby, build community and more through regularly scheduled library programming as well as special events set up specifically for the weeklong program. Activities on the schedule include a K-Pop dance workshop, an entrepreneurial brainstorming class, a songwriting workshop, writing sessions with Sharma Shields and a house history workshop. Go out and see what the library has to offer — you might just be surprised!

(MADISON PEARSON) THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST Noteworthy new music arriving in stores and online on Jan. 19.

GREEN DAY, SAVIORS Age hasn’t mellowed these pop punk titans, as they still have more than enough bar chords and vitriol to take musical aim at societal ills.

SLEATER-KINNEY, LITTLE ROPE Grief permeates the latest record from the Northwest alt-rock icons, who can still noisily howl with the best of them.

LIL DICKEY, PENITH The rapper and star of the acclaimed FX comedy Dave drops his first new album in eight years, one that doubles as the soundtrack for the first three seasons of Dave.

(SETH SOMMERFELD)

CULTURE | CLASSICAL

Big Feelings

OVER 900 WHISKEYS ON THE WALL & GREAT FOOD A TRULY UNIQUE

Alongside the U.S. premiere of a suspenseful piece, Spokane Symphony’s Masterworks 5 features two other emotionally charged works

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BY E.J. IANNELLI

T

hough best known for novels like Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in Eighty Days, the French author Jules Verne started out as a short story writer.

One of his earliest forays was “A Voyage in a Balloon,” a fictional escapade that begins when a reckless stranger suddenly leaps into the car of the narrator’s hot air balloon. With little regard for the pilot’s or his own welfare, the stranger insists that they fly higher and higher. The narrator meanwhile tries to appeal to safety and self-preservation.

Verne’s works would influence writers such as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Jean Cocteau, Ray Bradbury and, more recently, Rick Riordan of Percy Jackson fame. But his tales fueled imaginations in other disciplines as well. In 2020, the Swedish composer Britta Byström wrote A Drama in the Air, an orchestral work that was directly inspired by “A Voyage in a Balloon.” The roughly seven-minute piece swings between extreme tension and relief in an effort to capture the suspense of the airborne experience.

“In [Byström’s] piece, you can hear the conflict the narrator feels about whether to listen to this stranger, who might kill him if he descends, or to try to land safely,” says conductor Holly Hyun Choe. “The main takeaway is this line between life and death. And I appreciate that it doesn’t have a clear ending because it opens it up to interpretation for both the reader and the listener.”

Choe first learned A Drama in the Air when she participated in Denmark’s Malko Competition for young conductors in 2021, and was impressed by the composer’s “fascinating” way of “communicating story through orchestral color.”

As part of an ongoing personal effort to champion active female composers, she’s advocated for more performances of Byström’s works.

Which is one reason why, with Choe at the podium, Byström’s A Drama in the Air will receive its U.S. premiere at the Spokane Symphony’s upcoming Masterworks 5 program.

T

itled “Holly Rachs!,” this weekend’s concert acknowledges its guest conductor as well as another emotionally charged piece on the program, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. The soloist is Charlie Albright, who grew up in Centralia, Washington, and now performs internationally and collaborates regularly with Yo-Yo Ma. Unlike the Byström, which will likely be new to many listeners, “Rach 2,” as it’s often abbrevi-

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Charlie Albright (top) and Holly Hyun Choe. COURTESY PHOTOS ated, is a piece that crossed over into pop culture long ago. Parts of all three of the concerto’s movements have famously found their way into films and TV, and Top 40 songwriters have borrowed and built on its memorable melodic lines.

For Albright, who came to the piano by playing “Great Balls of Fire” and Backstreet Boys tunes by ear, his first point of entry into “Rach 2” was Eric Carmen’s “All by Myself.”

“The entire verse of that is a direct take from the second movement of the Rachmaninoff concerto — except that they add the big chorus. And that never happens in the Rachmaninoff,” he says, “so every time I perform it, during the second movement, I’m just waiting for that beat drop!”

But it’s not just for its power ballad associations that “Rach 2” remains one of Albright’s favorite concertos to perform. Rachmaninoff wrote the work during an especially dark period in his life, and Albright says that it channels a profound “dramatic passion” that continues to resonate with listeners.

“It’s schmaltzy almost to the nth degree, but not in a superficial way,” he says. “There’s this desperation inherent to the piece, and in the third movement especially. Maybe it’s a lost love. Maybe it’s a reflection on life. But it’s a very human experience that speaks to people. It’s hard not to be moved to tears because it’s so overwhelming emotionally.”

Rounding out this Masterworks program is Johannes Brahms’ Third Symphony. This, too, has a deeply emotional quality that, like much of Brahms’ work, stems in part from his unrequited love for Clara Schumann. Perhaps driven by wishful thinking rather than true conviction, the composer incorporated a F-A -F musical motif that stands for the motto “Frei aber froh” — free but happy.

“I find more similarities than contrasts in this program,” Choe says. “With both Rachmaninoff and Brahms, they had so many ups and downs in their careers, and with the Byström, there’s this storyline of life and death. All the hardships that all three of them convey [in these works], that tonal language is easy for the audience to know and appreciate.” n Masterworks 5: Holly Rachs! • Sat, Jan. 20 at 7:30 pm and Sun, Jan. 21 at 3 pm • $19-$68 • The Fox Theater • 1001 W. Sprague Ave. • spokanesymphony.org • 509-624-1200

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Emran’s menu includes (clockwise from top left) salad, bolani, manto and Kabuli pulau. YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS

OPENING

PATIENCE, PEACE AND PULAU Emran Restaurant & Market opens, the first Afghan restaurant in Spokane

BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM

N

asrollah Mohammadi was a young child when he left Afghanistan to flee the Soviet-Afghan War in the 1980s. Born in the northern province of Kunduz, Mohammadi moved through Pakistan, Iran and Turkey before the United Nations Refugee Agency helped him, his wife and his three young children move to Spokane in 2014.

One constant through it all? Food.

At the end of last year, Mohammadi and his wife, Samira, opened Emran Restaurant & Market on Division Street, just south of Indiana Avenue. The unassuming spot that used to be Heavenly Special Teas, and a grungy tavern before that, is now the first Afghan restaurant in Spokane. Just as food helped Mohammadi learn about

38 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

the people he encountered growing up, he and his family are offering their favorite dishes to Spokane and inviting the city into a deeper understanding and appreciation of Afghan and broader Persian culture.

Emran is named for the father of Maryam, a revered woman in Islam sometimes conflated with Miriam, the sister of Moses, or Mary, the mother of Jesus. Emran is also the name of Mohammadi’s son. Emran Restaurant & Cafe is a place not only for food, but for ideas, neighbors, and generations to meet.

“When people want to understand the culture of some people, I think that starts with food,” Mohammadi says. “I thought maybe Spokane people don’t know about our people. So that’s why I thought I could make something here that’s a little bit like our country.”

F

rom the outside, the building still looks like a bar.

White brick walls with narrow windows at the top make it hard to see inside, more typical of your favorite karaoke den than a family-friendly restaurant.

But inside, Emran is white and clean and spacious, with fridges filled with sodas, raisins, and a big crate of Medjool dates. In the background, a playlist of Farsi pop music gives a boost of energy. Mohammadi took advantage of the tall walls along the front to create three

special booths, covered in deep red carpets and cushions, where groups of friends can sit cross legged in front of family-style platters of lamb and rice. There are plenty of tables, too, also red, where groups of three or four can grab a quick bite.

Samira is usually in the kitchen behind the order counter, preparing each dish as her mother taught her, and her mother’s mother before her. Mohammadi helps with prep, but defers to his wife as chef.

“Our people, especially ladies, when they start to grow, they learn to make food,” Mohammadi says. “They believe if you want a good mother for kids, we must care for our children with the best foods.”

Mohammadi speaks five languages, and Samira speaks three. She’s modest about her English, preferring to make guests feel welcome with her homemade dishes and a beautiful, steady smile.

Every day, Samira hand folds countless manto, Afghan dumplings stuffed with beef and spices, garnished with green herbs and bright orange lentils, and drenched in a garlicky yogurt sauce ($18). She rolls bolani, a flakey flatbread filled with savory potatoes and leeks ($10). And she prepares platters of pulau, a rice pilaf dish, in both a Kabuli and Uzbeki style ($20). Although pulau variations are found everywhere from Central Asia to Eastern Europe, Kabuli pulau is Afghanistan’s national dish. A tender shank of lamb is buried under piles of Basmati rice, golden with curry and turmeric and sweetened with carrots and raisins.

Emran also offers chicken, lamb and beef kebabs ($18), plus sweets like jalebi, spiraled dough fried in sweet saffron syrup, and coconut cookies sprinkled with pistachios. Mohammadi hopes to add Turkish and Iranian dishes to the menu as he figures out what Spokanites like to eat.

FOOD | SUSTAINABILITY

Emran Restaurant & Market owners Samira and Nasrollah Mohammadi.

“This is just the beginning,” Mohammadi says. “First I thought we should start with a small [selection] so Spokane people know about our food. Then, slowly we serve our other foods.”

Lest you’re left wanting more after a luxurious meal, Emran is a store, too, selling home goods, clothing, jewelry and groceries in the space next to the restaurant. Mohammadi used to operate a market by the same name on north Hamilton Street but moved the goods to this new location to keep both operations under the same roof.

Bangle bracelets, ornate necklaces and dangling earrings draw the eye into the market, where long embroidered dresses line the walls, perfect for Afghan parties and celebrations. Behind, imported goods help a home cook experiment with new ingredients at home, like rose water, dill water or liquid saffron. Bulk crates offer walnuts, raisins, dried peas and candied almonds. Back shelves display hard-to-get spices like sumac and black cumin.

Y

ears ago, Mohammadi flew to Germany to visit his mother. He made his way back, and as he descended into Spokane, he suddenly felt the wave of relief that only happens when you’re coming home.

Kabuli pulau is Afghanistan’s national dish.

“At that time, I understood, ‘Oh, I really love Spokane,’” he says. “Not just me, but my family, too. We have very great friends here. I’m not talking about Afghan people. No, I’m talking about our American friends. They are so kind. I have very good neighbors.”

One recent weekday afternoon, a middle-aged man walked into Emran. He left and came back with his teenage son. He struck up an enthusiastic conversation with Mohammadi as the son looked around. Turns out, the father was deployed in Afghanistan years ago and has missed the food ever since. He ordered a favorite dish, excited to take home and share with his family.

Spokane is home for Mohammadi and his family now. But that doesn’t mean they’ve left behind the lessons they’ve learned from living cross-culturally for so long.

“Every culture has something good and not good,” Mohammadi says. “We want to share the good things.”

“Our people believe a guest means God sent that person to us.

That means our home will be more happy, more blessed.” n Emran Restaurant & Market • 1817 N. Division St. • Open daily 10 am-10 pm • 509-919-0092

Second Harvest is working to prevent food waste on multiple levels. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

Don’t Throw It Away!

Local food bank Second Harvest offers a new series of food waste-reduction classes

BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM

L

ast year, Spokane County led the state in food waste per capita. On average, each person threw away about 170 pounds of food in 2023, and the city of Spokane said that one-third of the city’s trash could have been eaten or composted.

It’s an economic and environmental problem that caught the attention of Emily Menshew, a recent graduate of Gonzaga University and now Washington Service Corps member with Second Harvest. She decided to design a series of handson classes teaching people how to stretch their money by not letting food go to waste.

Second Harvest’s Community Waste Reduction classes started this January. Menshew is offering four distinct classes on how to get the most bang for the buck and reduce home food waste.

Hourlong classes are on Monday afternoons at Second Harvest’s kitchen on East Front Avenue.

They’re hands-on and discussion-based, with a different demonstration every week.

Two classes have already passed, but not to worry — each class is different and completely stand-alone, so you don’t need to attend previous classes to attend the third or fourth. These courses are free to anyone, though participants are asked to preregister so Menshew can prepare the right amount of materials, in the spirit of waste prevention.

“Emily does a really good job of framing waste reduction efforts in an approachable way so that people feel like they can go home and do that,” says Carolyn Negley, nutrition education manager at Second Harvest. “It doesn’t feel like it’s a luxury or too much time or special equipment needed.

Just by a little bit of planning, you can make a difference.”

Some of Menshew’s best advice is basic, though easy to forget in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

“The easiest thing to do is to make sure that you’re actually taking the time to go through your refrigerator and your freezer and your pantry before you make your grocery list and before you go shopping so that you’re not purchasing things that you may already have,” Menshew says. “You have to make sure that you’re going to the store with a really good idea of what you already have and when it’s going to expire.”

Speaking of expiration dates, it’s easy to get confused by the various dates listed on food packaging. Except for infant formula, these dates are not required by federal law and are at the discretion of the producer.

One reason perfectly safe food gets thrown away is because the “best by” date has passed. But the labels “best if used by,” “sell by,” or “use by” all indicate when the food is at its best quality, not whether it’s OK to eat it or not. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, again with the exception of infant formula, “if the date passes during home storage, a product should still be safe and wholesome if handled properly until the time spoilage is evident.”

Although a lot of waste-reduction tips seem common sense, Menshew also offers pointers that seem counterintuitive at first.

“Make sure that you have a plan of how you’re going to use the food that you’re buying at the grocery store — try to not go for all those buy one, get one free deals, especially on perishable goods,” she says. “You might be thinking that you’re saving money in the long run. But if you end up having to throw away most of that food, it wasn’t actually helping you.” n Community Waste Reduction Classes • Mon, Jan. 22 and Jan. 29 from 2-3 pm • Free • The Kitchen at Second Harvest • 1234 E. Front Ave • secondharvestkitchen.org • emily.menshew@ w2-harvest.org • 509-252-6255

JANUARY 18, 2024 INLANDER 39

ALSO OPENING QUEEN ROCK MONTREAL

Apparently Taylor Swift’s box office success has opened the door for more concert films at our multiplexes. Case in point, this Queen concert from 1981 (which was originally only released on Blu-Ray and DVD in 2007) is now coming to IMAX screens for a weekend. Not rated. Screening Jan 18-21

Author of His Own Misery American Fiction works as both a sharp satire and an affecting family drama

BY JOSH BELL

T

here’s a rich, well-realized family dramedy to write novels like the ultra-popular debut from young already going on in American Fiction before the writer Sintara Golden (Issa Rae), a Precious-style saga of movie even gets to its central satirical set-up, poverty and violence steeped in stereotypes. the selling point that’s been highlighted in trailers and Monk travels to his hometown of Boston for a book advertisements. Perhaps the biggest stumbling block for festival, where he’s disgusted by the rapturous recepwriter/director Cord Jefferson’s debut film is that the tion Sintara gets from a mostly white audience. Initially, high-concept satire is never quite as though, he’s more focused on reuniting compelling as the more grounded with his dysfunctional family, including AMERICAN FICTION interpersonal drama, although it prohis two doctor siblings and his mother vides the movie’s biggest laughs. Still, Rated R Agnes, (Leslie Uggams), who’s just been Directed by Cord Jefferson both elements are largely successful, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Starring Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown, and both are carried by star Jeffrey American Fiction is funny and affectErika Alexander Wright making the most of his rare ing on its own as a small-scale story opportunity to play a leading role. about a middle-aged malcontent coming Wright plays Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, a morose to terms with a life of dissatisfaction and trying to build English professor at an unnamed college in Los Angestronger relationships for the future. It would be just les, where his antagonistic attitude toward students gets as rewarding if Monk’s anger over the state of Black him placed on an involuntary leave of absence. Monk literature remained a background element, rather than is also a novelist, but his highbrow books aren’t exactly eventually driving the story. Even so, Jefferson never bestsellers, and his agent Arthur (John Ortiz) can’t even loses sight of the layered family dynamic once Monk find a publisher for his latest work. As Arthur explains, launches a scheme that threatens to take over his entire mainstream publishers expect Black authors like Monk life and career.

40 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

Jeffrey Wright holds together American Fiction’s tonal shifts.

That scheme is Monk’s effort to write his own novel in the mode expected of Black novelists, which he sends to Arthur as a joke, a tool to embarrass the white publishers who’ve ignored him. Instead, it lands him the biggest payday of his career, and soon the fictitious persona he’s crafted for the novel’s author becomes a media sensation. American Fiction is based on Percival Everett’s 2001 novel Erasure, and thus some of its satire may seem a little obvious now, but Jefferson handles it deftly, rarely overplaying the cringe comedy and effectively making points that remain incisive 20-plus years after Everett first wrote them.

Along with the movie, Monk switches back and forth between the craziness of his sudden success and the mundane drama of his daily life, including conflicts with his estranged, occasionally obnoxious brother Cliff (Sterling K. Brown) and a burgeoning romance with his kind, patient neighbor Coraline (Erika Alexander). The other characters in the publishing-industry storyline are as cartoonish as Monk’s invented alter ego, but Brown, Alexander and Uggams give sensitive, layered performances as the people who actually matter in Monk’s life.

Jefferson doesn’t always get the balance right, especially in a smugly self-referential ending that feels more like a cop-out. Mostly, though, American Fiction offers the kind of nuanced portrayal of Black life that Monk himself would embrace, with a prickly, sometimes unlikable protagonist who doesn’t fit into stereotypes but also can’t escape the way the outside world perceives him. His method of asserting his individuality may lead to disaster, but at least it’s uniquely his own story. n

SCREEN | REVIEW

              

POOR THINGS starring Emma Stone

AMERICAN FICTION starring Jeffrey Wright

OPENING 1/19               

The illogical nature of I.S.S. makes it an interstellar mess.

Lost in Space

TICKETS: $10-11 • 25 W Main Ave #125 FOR SHOWTIMES: 509-209-2383 OR MAGICLANTERNONMAIN.COM

I.S.S. sees Ariana DeBose do the acting thing well enough, but the rest of this science fiction thriller remains adrift.

BY CHASE HUTCHINSON

I

n the opening act of I.S.S., the sporadically That said, rarely does screenwriter Nick Shafir engaging yet still superficial science fiction (penning his feature debut) have a handle on thriller, a communication is received aboard these complicated ideas. the International Space Station that houses a Trapped in the middle of this is Dr. Kira crew of three Americans and three Russians. A Foster, played by West Side Story’s Ariana DeBose, war has kicked off between the two countries who makes her painfully undeveloped character down on Earth, meaning the space vessel is, supmore compelling by sheer force of will. Foster is posedly, now of vague strategic value. The mesa newcomer to the station and is one of the few sage sent is simple: Take over the I.S.S. from the who seems to want to stop everyone from killvery people you’ve been working right alongside. ing each other. Unfortunately, the film remains In a moment of unintentional humor, a clarifying hellbent on working against the character and message gets sent that this must be done “by any DeBose’s performance at every turn. means necessary.”

There is the halfhearted introduction of a In case it wasn’t already clear what was ticking clock threat, which ultimately becomes meant initially, the government powers decided irrelevant, ridiculous twists that feel like they to drop in a line that feels like it would be better were thought up in the moment as opposed to suited to a Mission: Impossible film. Processing built into the story from the jump, and a lack of this, one of the stunned crew members can only anything resembling earned tension. Even with muster one word in response: “Why?” While a some occasional grasps at poignancy, like when narrative contrivance, the first of many in I.S.S., two characters get locked away from the rest in a prevents the astronaut from sending it, it profight to the death (where the film starts to hit on vides an accidental laugh at the sheer silliness of something deeper about there being no real victhis question. However, in the twists and turns of tors in combat), the rest of the film just feels like the 95-minute film, the question of “Why?” will it is scrambling about — feeling as lost and adrift be something that keeps coming up. Why did in the mess as I.S.S. that person suddenly lash out like that? Why the crew itself. are they now totally calm? Why is any of this Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite When it Starring Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina happening? comes to works Some of this uncertainty is by design, as that effectively the experience is built around the paranoia of bring us right up to the edge of our destruction whether the people you’re trapped in the conin the confines of space — like Danny Boyle’s fined space station with may soon try to kill you. stunning 2007 film Sunshine, which was wrongly But much of it ends up feeling like, behind all the dismissed by many on its release — there has suspect decisions made, the only driving force to be something more than the bare bones of is “because the plot needs them to do this.” The a thriller to make it resonate. You can forgive character motivations are quite hazy, with some dodgy effects, which are increasingly prevalent patently ridiculous late reveals playing more like throughout I.S.S., if it is aiming toward somedesperate attempts at keeping things moving thing emotionally or thematically substantive. rather than earned escalations. Who all of these Here, you’re just perpetually left wondering people are gets largely lost in contrived conflicts.

“Why?” about questions big and small before the Though a case could be made that this too is the film drifts off in an ending that cements its emptipoint, that people with more in common than ness. As it turns out, the most terrifying thing they realize are made to fight for governments that can happen in space is not when nobody that couldn’t care less about them in wars for can hear you scream. It’s when we can hear the which there can be no logical rationalization. screams but simply don’t care. n

’due it Book Online: meltingpot.com 707 W Main Ave., 2nd Floor • Spokane

(509) 926-8000

HAYDEN

SPOKANE

warm up with pozole braised pork, chile and hominy stew, cotija, cabbage, radish, cilantro, chips

JANUARY 18, 2024 INLANDER 41

Madeline Hawthorne both plays Boots and wears them. DAN BRADNER PHOTO

ALT-COUNTRY

Big Dreams From the Big Sky Bozeman singer-songwriter Madeline Hawthorne hopes to have a busy 2024

BY SETH SOMMERFELD

W

hile residing in Spokane might often feel like living in a remote wilderness outpost that the music industry largely forgets, it’s still orders of magnitude more connected to the musical world than Montana is. The Big Sky state has many things going for it, but being a musical hotbed is not one of those benefits.

Making it in the music business is a wildly improbable venture even for artists in places like Nashville, Seattle and Los Angeles… but trying to make it from Montana?

Essentially impossible.

But the infinitesimal odds don’t faze Madeline Hawthorne. The Bozeman singer-songwriter has been plying her craft for over a decade, and in 2024 she’s swinging for

42 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

the proverbial fences.

“It’s no Denver, it’s no Nashville, it’s no New York.

It’s challenging,” Hawthorne remarks about the place she calls home. “The distance from gig to gig is certainly a challenge. And I do appreciate the years that I’ve spent in Montana, getting used to how far anything is.”

While remoteness might be one of the defining aspects about Hawthorne’s Montanan musical journey, her music doesn’t keep listeners at a distance.

As her 2021 debut LP Boots showcases, it’s quite hard to pin down Hawthorne’s sound. It’s at times intimate folk (“The Toll,” “Joker”), dusty rock (“Boots”), and bluesy country (“Pendulum”). The lack of a set genre

keeps things fresh rather than seeming like a jumbled mess. In 2023, Hawthorne further expanded her sonic horizons, dropping the single “Neon Wasteland,” which leans in a more rocking pop country direction.

When making music, Hawthorne spends a lot of time listening to other artists she loves — not to ape their sound, but to try to find vibes that work. For a lot of that early music, she turned to Sheryl Crow, Tom Petty and Neil Young as reference points.

“When people ask [about my music], I just say ‘Americana rock’ and give those three names. Nobody wants to put themselves in a box or necessarily or be judged by a genre. But if you can give somebody some

artists that they know [it helps],” Hawthorne says. “I still get a lot of [comparisons to] Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, Grace Potter... who are all f---ing badass women.”

W

hile Hawthorne isn’t a Montana native, she’s also not one of the new transplants who have been pouring into the state in recent years. The East Coast native moved to Bozeman in 2008 when she was 18, for a reason befitting a singer-songwriter.

“I was raised in a musical family and actually came out to Montana following my heart,” Hawthorne says. “I had met a boy and was ready for anything other than the small town that I was living in in New England (Durham, New Hampshire). So I came out to Montana with him. I had no idea what I wanted, and I didn’t really have a plan. I just explored my surroundings in Montana, and in that way, also explored myself and learned a lot about myself, coming out here and being away from family.”

For more than a while, music wasn’t Hawthorne’s main focus.

She earned a Master of Science in sustainable food systems from Montana State University, doing music on the side. But about 10 years ago she decided to make the leap and try to do music as her full-time job. It’s all part of the growth she’s experienced in the new place she called home. “[It wasn’t easy] turning 18 and coming out [here] and learning how to become an adult,” Hawthorne says. “Leaving my family and my close friends that I’d grown up with behind and going out on an adventure with someone I had only known for six months… for about a year I was struggling to find my way here and build my own network and in my own family of sorts.

Thought about going home and stuck it out. And so over the years, I built a network of friends who either lived here or had come to Montana to search out whatever it was that they were looking for as well. Together, I think we pushed each other to go outside of our daily routine or boundaries.”

H

awthorne is looking to break out of the Treasure State in 2024. Not only has she signed up with a booking agency to “bust ass” touring this year (including a stop at District Bar on Jan. 21), but she’s finally got her second LP on the way, which will draw on decades of her own musical absorption.

“My musical upbringing was a lot of classical music and jazz, and then I fell in love with folk music and classic rock. And being in Montana, especially recently, I’ve experienced so much fantastic music that might fall under the umbrella of country.

Or Americana, alt-country, outlaw country or red dirt country, whatever you want to call it,” Hawthorne says. “So I’ve definitely been influenced lately by a lot of the great country artists that are coming out now. So you’ll definitely hear a lot of that on my upcoming record that we’re releasing in 2024.”

To make the yet-to-be announced album, Hawthorne headed to the famed Bear Creek Studio just outside of Seattle, to work with acclaimed producer/engineer Ryan Hadlock (whose credits at the studio include Brandi Carlile’s The Firewatcher’s Daughter).

Inspired by artists like Dolly Parton, Willie and Lukas Nelson, and Kacey Musgraves, over the course of 10 days Hadlock and Hawthorne crafted an acoustic guitar-driven album with a fair amount of alt-country flairs like steel pedal guitar.

It’s a big ask to break out from a place that the music industry considers the middle of nowhere, but regardless of how things play out in 2024, Hawthorne knows she’ll be able to find comfort in the place she calls home.

“We are in a lot of ways isolated, which I also see as a benefit,” Hawthorne says. “Because when I come home, I’m able to unplug in a lot of ways and get that space — that time to to recuperate and replenish spiritually, physically and emotionally — that is becoming more and more precious to me the more that I spend time out on the road. So, I very much appreciate the space that I have here in Montana.” n

*APY = annual percentage yield. Insured by NCUA. Rates are accurate as of 01/18/2024 and are subject to change. Early withdrawal penalties apply. Membership fee and restrictions may apply. Rate shown includes a 0.25% APR bonus for members who have or establish monthly direct deposit of $200 or more to a Horizon Credit Union checking account. APY without the bonus = 5.16%. Maximum deposit of $1M per individual.

Madeline Hawthorne • Sun, Jan. 21 at 8 pm • $12 • 21+ • The District Bar • 916 W. First Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com

JANUARY 18, 2024 INLANDER 43

MUSIC | SOUND ADVICE

ROCK BRYAN ADAMS

I

can’t tell you how I ascertained this info, but rumor is that when Bryan Adams got his first real six-string guitar from the five-and-dime back in the summer of 1969, he played it… ’til his fingers bled! (That sicko is truly the GG Allin of Canadian pop rockers.) But once he got over spilling hemoglobin on his instrument, he became one of the premiere soft rock singer-songwriters of the late ’80s/early ’90s with tunes like “Heaven,” “Please Forgive Me” and “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You.” Since nobody has lighters anymore, prepare to get those smartphone flashlights swaying when Adams unleashes his array of ballads inside Spokane Arena.

— SETH SOMMERFELD Bryan Adams, Dave Stewart’s Eurythmics Songbook • Sun, Jan. 21 at 7:30 pm • $35-$370 • All ages • Spokane Arena • 720 W. Mallon Ave. • spokanearena.com J = THE INLANDER RECOMMENDS THIS SHOW J = ALL AGES SHOW

Thursday, 1/18

ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Kari Marguerite & The Seventy-Six BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Inland Empire Blues Society Monthly Boogie CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Thursday Night Jam CHECKERBOARD TAPROOM, Weathered Shepherds J QQ SUSHI & KITCHEN, Just Plain Darin RED ROOM LOUNGE, Hip-Hop Night J RELIC SMOKEHOUSE & PUB, Pamela Benton: StringzOnFire!

SPOKANE ARENA, Parker McCollum, Larry Fleet, King Calaway J SPOKANE TRIBE CASINO, Hinder ZOLA, The Night Mayors

Friday, 1/19

ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Sean Kavanaugh BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Karmas Circle CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Eternal Jones CHINOOK STEAK, SEAFOOD & PASTA, Justyn Priest J THE GRAIN SHED, Haywire IRON HORSE (CDA), The Rub J KNITTING FACTORY, Hell’s Belles MOOSE LOUNGE, Laketown Sound NIGHTHAWK LOUNGE (CDA CASINO), Bruiser PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Heat Speak RED ROOM LOUNGE, Live DJs

44 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

POP ROCK PLAIN WHITE T’S

♫

Hey there, Plain White T’s. What’s it like in all these cities? Tour a thousand miles per day, only to play all of these ditties. Yes, you do. Keep making albums that are new. Self-titled, too. “Hey There, Delilah” the crowd screams at you from a distance, don’t they know you’ll play it only after they all watch and listen to your cries. It’s called an encore, it’s no disguise. Not a surprise. Oh, go watch the singing T’s. Oh, your earbuds they may please.

Oh, this parody’s a breeze. Oh, go watch the singing T’s. Watch the singing T’s. ♫ — SETH SOMMERFELD Plain White T’s, Pollyanna • Tue, Jan. 23 at 8 pm • $30-$133 • All ages • Knitting Factory • 919 W. Sprague Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com

THE RIDLER PIANO BAR, Just Plain Darin J SMOKESMITH BAR-B-QUE, Live Music at Smokesmith

Saturday, 1/20

ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Son of Brad J THE BIG DIPPER, The Red Books, No Soap Radio, Sing Chuck Sing!

BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Karmas Circle J CAFE COCO, B J CENTRAL LIBRARY, Atari Ferrari, Mama Llama, Light in Mirrors CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Bobby Patterson Band CHINOOK STEAK, SEAFOOD & PASTA, Justyn Priest IRON HORSE (CDA), The Rub

MOOSE LOUNGE, Laketown Sound NIGHTHAWK LOUNGE (CDA CASINO), Bruiser PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Kosh J POST FALLS BREWING COMPANY, Wiebe Jammin’ RED ROOM LOUNGE, Live DJs WESTWOOD BREWING CO., Pamela Benton: StringzOnFire!

ZOLA, Blake Braley

Sunday, 1/21 J THE DISTRICT BAR, Madeline Hawthorne HOGFISH, Open Mic J QQ SUSHI & KITCHEN, Just Plain Darin J J SPOKANE ARENA, Bryan Adams,

Dave Stewart’s Eurythmics Songbook

Monday, 1/22 RED ROOM LOUNGE, Open Mic Night

Tuesday, 1/23

J J KNITTING FACTORY, Plain White T’s, Pollyanna LITZ’S PUB & EATERY, Shuffle Dawgs

Wednesday, 1/24 THE DRAFT ZONE, The Draft Zone Open Mic PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, The Ronaldos RED ROOM LOUNGE, The Roomates J TIMBERS ROADHOUSE, Cary Beare Presents ZOLA, Brittany’s House

Coming Up ...

ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Wyatt Wood, Jan. 26, 6-8 pm.

THE BEE’S KNEES WHISKEY BAR, Wiebe Jammin’, Jan. 26, 6-9 pm.

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

BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Eternal Jones, Jan. 26 & 27, 8:30 pm.

MOOSE LOUNGE, Loose Gazoonz, Jan. 26 & 27, 8:30 pm.

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

J J J BONES MUSICLAND, An Evening with Blake Braley & Aspen Kye, Jan. 27, 7-11 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.

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

J J WOMAN’S CLUB OF SPOKANE, Stevie Lynne: Liminalities Album Release Show, Jan. 31, 7 pm.

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

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

J KNITTING FACTORY, Red NOT Chili Peppers, Feb. 16, 8 pm.

J KNITTING FACTORY, Priscilla Block, Ryan Larkins, Feb. 17, 8 pm.

J J SPOKANE TRIBE CASINO, Dropkick Murphys, Pennywise, The Scratch, Feb. 18, 7 pm.

J J KNITTING FACTORY, Silversun Pickups, Feb. 18, 8 pm.

J SPOKANE ARENA, TobyMac, Cory Asbury, Mac Powell, Tasha Layton, Jon Reddick, Terrian, Feb. 22, 7-9 pm.

J J THE BIG DIPPER, Matt Mitchell Music Co.: Obvious Euphoria Album Release Show with The Holy Broke, Feb. 22, 7:30 pm.

J THE FOX THEATER, Healing Harmonies: Eli Young Band, Ryder Grimes, Feb. 23, 7:30 pm.

J J KNITTING FACTORY, Sarah Jarosz, Feb. 23, 8 pm.

J THE BIG DIPPER, Xoth, Age of Nephilim, The Night We Died, Odyssey, Convergence, Feb. 24, 7:30 pm.

THE DISTRICT BAR, Early Eyes, Trash Panda, Thank You I’m Sorry, Feb. 24, 8 pm.

J KNITTING FACTORY, Beartooth, The Plot in You, Invent Animate, Sleep Theory, Feb. 28, 6:30 pm.

J THE FOX THEATER, Tommy Emmanuel, CGP, Feb. 28, 7:30 pm.

J THE DISTRICT BAR, Itchy Kitty, March 1, 9 pm.

J J THE BIG DIPPER, Kadabra, Smokey Mirror, Vika & The Velvets, March 2, 7:30 pm.

J J KNITTING FACTORY, Zeds Dead, March 8 & 9, 8 pm.

J J KNITTING FACTORY, GWAR, Cancer Bats, Fuming Mouth, March 21, 7:30 pm.

J J BING CROSBY THEATER, Laurel Canyon Legacy, March 23, 8-10 pm.

J J NORTHERN QUEST CASINO, Melissa Etheridge, March 24, 7:30 pm.

J J FIRST INTERSTATE CENTER, Disney Princess: The Concert, March 27, 7 pm.

J J KNITTING FACTORY, Danny Brown, March 27, 8 pm.

J J NORTHERN QUEST CASINO, Boyz II Men, May 15, 7:30 pm.

J J GORGE AMPHITHEATER, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ken Carson, Irontom, May 31, 7 pm.

J J KNITTING FACTORY, Taking Back Sunday, Citizen, June 6, 8 pm.

J J NORTHERN QUEST CASINO, Third Eye Blind, Yellowcard, Arizona, June 8, 6:30 pm.

J J GORGE AMPHITHEATER, Noah Kahan, June 29.

J J GORGE AMPHITHEATER, Blink-182, Pierce the Veil, July 14, 7 pm.

J J NORTHERN QUEST CASINO, Sammy Hagar, Loverboy, Aug. 13, 7 pm.

J GORGE AMPHITHEATER, Hozier, Allison Russell, Sep. 6.

J J GORGE AMPHITHEATER, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Sep. 14, 6:40 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

Spokane String Quartet WITH GUEST CELLIST JOHN MICHEL

3 P. M . S U N DAY, JA N . 2 8 B I N G C R O S BY T H E AT E R

F e a t u ri n g m u s i c b y p i o n e e ri n g Black composer F l o re n c e P ri c e a l o n g w i t h w o rk s

by Beethoven and Mendelssohn

ALL SEATS GENERAL ADMISSION ADULTS $25 SENIORS $20 UNDER 18 AND STUDENTS WITH ID FREE

Barbra

www.spokanestringquartet.org

AN ENCHANTED AFTERNOON with

A tribute to Barbra Streisand

“SHARON OWENS IS THE REAL DEAL” -In Touch Magazine

SUNDAY, APRIL 7

BING CROSBY THEATER bingcrosbytheater.com |(509)227-7638 Presented by Diamond Horseshoe Productions

JANUARY 18, 2024 INLANDER 45

FILM THROWBACK KICKOFF

In case you hadn’t heard, the city of Spokane is gearing up for a big anniversary party like no other when the 50th anniversary of Expo ’74 rolls around this May. From communitywide events still being planned to a marquee exhibit at the MAC (May 4 through Jan. 26, 2025), the multifaceted celebration will offer many chances for locals to learn about and reflect on how the landmark event five decades ago changed the Inland Northwest for the better. One of the first such events to kick off is a film-based gallery showcase at the MAC, featuring recently digitized film footage from the museum’s archives showing World’s Fair events and activities. Viewers can see what the then-brand-new Riverfront Park looked and sounded like during the grand Expo, which celebrated international unity and environmental stewardship.

— CHEY SCOTT Expo ’74: Films from the Vault • Jan. 20-Sept. 8; Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm • $5 suggested admission through Feb. 3 • Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture • 2316 W. First Ave. • northwestmuseum.org • 509-456-3931

COMEDY + ART FUNNY PICTURES

Pictionary meets improv comedy meets hand-drawn, cartoon-style art in Scribble After Dark, a new touring show stopping in Spokane this weekend. Essentially an adult-oriented version of an existing show called Scribble Showdown, the game-show style event pits YouTube-famous artist/animators TheOdd1sOut, JaidenAnimations, RubberRoss and Domics — plus host Arin Hanson, perhaps better known by his handle, Egoraptor — against each other as they compete in a series of live drawing games. The show relies heavily on audience suggestions and engagement, allowing viewers to join in on the wayward fun. VIP tickets are also available, offering early entry, premium seating, and a meet-and-greet with the cast.

— LUCY KLEBECK Scribble After Dark • Sat, Jan. 20 at 8 pm • $62-$80 • 18+ • Bing Crosby Theater • 901 W. Sprague Ave. • bingcrosbytheater.com

46 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

THEATER NEZ PERCE MEETS GREEK

Feeling excited and pleased is always the goal when walking out of a theatrical production. But, it’s also a bonus when you feel challenged and curious. With Beth Piatote’s Antíkoni, a modern retelling of Sophocles’ Antigone, audiences are sure to feel the latter. Gonzaga University’s Native American Studies program is putting on a staged reading of the Native author’s play that aims to challenge audiences to contemplate the connections between the living and our ancestors, and to examine the significance of eternal tribal laws when compared with state laws. The performance of Antíkoni marks Gonzaga’s first production of a play by a Native playwright from the tribal community of the Columbia Plateau, as Piatote is both Nez Perce and of the Colville Confederated Tribes. A Q&A session with her follows the reading.

— MADISON PEARSON Antíkoni • Sat, Jan. 20 at 2 pm • Free • Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center • 211 E. Desmet Ave. • gonzaga.edu/mwpac

GET LISTED!

Submit events online at Inlander.com/getlisted or email relevant details to getlisted@inlander.com. We need the details one week prior to our publication date.

COMEDY NICE GUYS FINISH FIRST

Nate Bargatze is an outlier in the world of stand-up comedy. Almost all comedians who reach the arena-headlining level of the game have massive personalities — high-energy brashness that overwhelms audiences and almost forces them to laugh (often by pushing boundaries). That’s not Bargatze at all. Dubbed “The Nicest Man in Stand-Up” by The Atlantic, the Nashville native and son of a magician soft-peddles his joke-telling with calm Southern charm. He’s slowly risen up the ranks with his incredulous, everyman observational comedy that goes down smooth for pretty much any audience. After somewhat surprisingly hosting Saturday Night Live last fall, Bargatze is ready to have a full house at Spokane Arena rolling in the aisles without seeming like he’s even breaking a sweat.

— SETH SOMMERFELD Nate Bargatze • Thu, Jan. 25 at 7 pm • $40-$177 • All ages • Spokane Arena • 720 W. Mallon Ave. • spokanearena.com

THEATER NAVIGATING CLASS

When single mother Margie Walsh is fired from her job at a dollar store, she and her disabled daughter are left facing a set of financial challenges. Seeking a new job, Margie reaches out to her high school boyfriend Mike. While the two both grew up in Southie, a blue-collar Boston neighborhood, Mike became a doctor and left the neighborhood behind. The play follows Margie’s journey to ensure the welfare of her daughter, touching on the issue of classism in the U.S. and how it impacts our lives. The play was written by David Lindsay-Abaire, who grew up in South Boston, personally saw class divides throughout his childhood, and was thus inspired to write Good People.

— SUMMER SANDSTROM Good People • Jan. 19-Feb. 4, Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm and Sun at 2 pm • $15$28 • Spokane Civic Theatre • 1020 N. Howard St. • spokanecivictheatre. com • 509-325-2507

JANUARY 18, 2024 INLANDER 47

me you’ve been searching for and we don’t meet at the site of our first date, we should try again sooner rather than later.

My middle initial D, and out of all the letters in my full name only one of them is an “L.” Even if it’s not who I think this is, my heart races so fast with the hopes of seeing you anywhere. Is there room in your Big Square for my Little Circle?

I SAW YOU ROOM...ROAM You stated to me, while at the Big Box Club: “It’s SO crowded in here, all the time, anymore; there’s no place to park, and the lines are wild.” I stated, “Yeah.” But, what I will offer next time is that you join me on my next trip BACK to Eagle Pass, through Utah and Arizon, and then on to NYC to pick up those needing our help. You’ll be amazed if not changed forever. Happy shopping...?

DIRTY TRUCK AT BECU Soooo Spokaney but I parked my clean truck next to your dirty truck and our trucks were the excuse we used to say hello. Let’s get my truck dirty together. We can get it cleaned up together too. You were very well put together and seemed as though you could handle yourself. I like that!

RE: LUCKY I SAW YOU I am pretty sure it was me you saw. My apologies for jaywalking, especially on a dark and rainy night. Thank goodness the streets were wet and the colors slipped into the sky. In the future I will be more considerate of drivers while I am out roaming the town.

NORTHTOWN ESCALATOR You: with your brother K at Northtown mall going up the escalator by Barnes & Noble; Me: with one of my twin boys. I ran up escalator to wrap my arms around you, startling everyone, including myself. I miss you K, and I still wish for you everyday. Happy Birthday today. Love, J DAMN I WISH I WAS YOUR LOVER If it’s

WITH A REVEL WAVE Thanks for the smile! You brightened my morning. My enthusiastic wave came from that “we’ve met and I should remember...” place in my head, yet the awkward middle school feeling came rushing in while I replayed the tape in my head. Then the calm took hold as I recalled how you made me feel welcomed. Hoping you had a great rest of your morning, Happy Smily Waver. PS, I caught your name from the barrista. Hope to level the field and get you mine

YOU SAW ME YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE The Impact of Your Absence. Darling, you’re the reason my heart sings. In case you have a bit of free time, would you kindly visit my page. I’ve shared a few recent photos and revealed updates from current events there. It would be fantastic to catch up and swap our experiences.

RE: WANDERMERE FRED MEYER …maybe describe the person you are looking for :) I literally had a random conversation at this store with a gentleman but have absolutely no idea if it’s me or not. Lol

CHEERS GRACIOUS Thanks in advance for not batting an eye at my moving into your place!! WOW! SO hospitable!! I never knew you were SO welcoming of any and all! I’ll be in your driveway with all my belongings (and a few friends and family and pets) by that Friday. If you’re not there, or you don’t see this in time, we’ll just go ahead and move into that outbuilding on your property. Again, thanks! Oh, remember to have the groceries and grub available. We’ll need more than just that, but what a great attitude you have!

CHEERS TO THE INLANDER Cheers to the Inlander. You make the very best fire starter. Keep up the great work. Please continue to leave out the staples.

RE: DOWNTOWN PARKING Thank you for making such an eloquent argument for why Spokane needs better public transit to downtown. Your story of wrestling with finding parking, parking phone apps, parking tickets, walking to dimly lit areas for the lot, and having your car’s window broken all hinge on one thing: having to take your car just to get to work. You’re

“

not alone with this. If you could get to work on a tram or a rapid bus, these car-caused problems go away. Many cities have great public transit options, and Spokane can keep building toward being one of them.

Good luck out there, I hope your work keeps being rewarding and your days go better.

DOWNTOWN SPOKANE LIBRARY I was recently able to tour the semi-newly renovated $33 million downtown library.

It’s really quite beautiful with state-ofthe-art everything and also beautiful views of the river, gondola, and park from wonderfully large windows. It was great of Spokane to build that for the homeless.

They seem to be really enjoying it.

STOPPED IN THE COLD Thanks to the man in the red car who stopped at the corner of Wellesley and Morton at 9 am Saturday when it was -9 degrees to offer a bundled up stranger crossing the street a ride. I made it to the market and back on foot without suffering frostbite. However, your kindness was appreciated.

JEERS SUPER SOBER BEST ever sober night life (or even daytime): South Side Christian Church!! THANK YOU!! You helped us to see that we’re NOT celebrating our NightLife gatherings... we’re celebrating our lives. Free of ANY shackles, addictions, weights, and worries. Truly the BEST! We are grateful. We are blessed. Thank you for welcoming any, and all. No need for FancySchmancy Schmoozing nor Boozing!! We have found the only place we need to gather to celebrate, outside of our homes.

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.”

THE BIG GAME! FEBRUARY 11th Lots of Food & Drink Specials 50 TVs to watch the game

1018 West Francis Ave • Spokane • 509 326-6794

www.theswingingdoors.com

48 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

HEY CELESTE YOUR story is NOT my story.

boundaries” with the intent to create an undue advantage for a party or group and this creates districts with convoluted and winding boundaries rather than compact areas. Gerrymandering can also be used to protect incumbents. This is politicians picking their voters instead of voters picking their politicians. Gerrymandering has been a problem since the early days of

Burning oil in small engines for cars is still worse...

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.

RESERVE YOUR SEAT FOR

Thank you for welcoming us as we are.

How we’re dressed. How we’ve journeyed.

Wherever we’ve been. Our neighbors invited us. We now have the space we’ve been seeking.

RE: “ZERO EMISSIONS” VEHICLES ARE A SCAM I agree, let’s be honest. Your math that since 41% of our electricity is from fossil fuels means that EVs are a scam because they still generate greenhouse gases. This is a well-known part of the EV pollution model. Even with 100% electricity from fossil fuel power stations, EVs still generate less greenhouse gas per mile than fossil fuel cars, according to actual research and modeling on the topic instead of simple multiplication and curmudgeonliness.

Burning oil in small engines for cars is still worse than EVs powered by a coal plant.

Now, by your numbers, when we only have 41% of our power from fossil fuel plants, it’s just an even bigger win for the climate with every EV on the road instead of an ICE car.

That 41% is also going down quickly thanks to the Dems’ Infrastructure Bill, which is how we move forward to solve problems instead of doing nothing and living with polluting and climate destroying traffic.

BACK DURING COVID Uninformed people: Stop saying “back during COVID.” That doesn’t make any sense. What you’re saying is “back when SARS-CoV-2 was circulating.” In case you haven’t been paying attention to any news sources or your sick friends, family, and co-workers, IT’S STILL CIRCULATING! It never went away. We just have new variants of the original coronavirus. Is ignorance really bliss?

GERRYMANDERING In the United States redistricting is the process of drawing “electoral district boundaries” after the decennial census every 10 years. It defines boundaries. In representative democracies, gerrymandering is the political manipulation of “electoral district

”

the republic. Critics say that redistricting has been used to neutralize minority voting power, while supporters say it enhances electoral competitiveness.

NEPOTISM Jeers to those who get their positions due to nepotism. They may not have real education degrees or experience, but they seem to get the high-level executive jobs anyhow. We all talk about EDI but it’s garbage. Just look at the administration at the local colleges.

SUV DRIVER I rode my bicycle on the crosswalk at Third Avenue and you were alone in your big SUV, blocking the crosswalk. I motioned to you that I was going to go either in front of or behind you.

You rolled your window down and told me I shouldn’t be riding in the crosswalk. OK. I did that to stay out of traffic and not slow everyone down, and for some measure of safety on our dangerous roads. But thanks for your brief lecture before you hit the gas and drove wildly into traffic before coming to a red light, where I once again rode in front of you in a crosswalk. n

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

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.

EVENTS | CALENDAR

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

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 (509-456-3931) EXPO ’74: FILMS FROM THE VAULT A selection of recently digitized film footage from the 1974 World’s Fair hosted in Spokane. Jan. 20-Sept. 8, Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm. $7-$12. Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org (509-456-3931) VALLEY GIRL Julie, a girl from the valley, meets Randy, a punk from the city.

They’re from different worlds and find love. Somehow they need to stay together in spite of her trendy, shallow friends. Jan. 25, 7-9 pm. $8. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org SPOKANE JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL A festival featuring international films that share Jewish life and culture with the Inland Northwest. In person Jan. 2728 and Feb. 3-4. Online Jan. 28-Feb. 8; times vary. $10-$65. Gonzaga University Jepson Center, 502 E. Boone Ave. sajfs.org (509-747-7394)

FOOD & DRINK

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) KITCHEN COOKING CLASS: GNOCCHI Commellini Estate’s Executive Chef, Frank, teaches how to make gnocchi in this hands-on cooking class. Jan. 18, 6:30 am-9:30 pm. $85. Commellini Estate, 14715 N. Dartford Dr. commelliniestate.com NORTH IDAHO WINE SOCIETY: WINES OF PORTUGAL Lisa Williams discusses the wine varieties and growing regions of Portugal. Jan. 19, 7-9:30 pm. $30$35. Lake City Center, 1916 N. Lakewood Dr. northidahowinesociety.org ROLL & REVEL: SUSHI & SMALL PLATES An expert chef guides you on how to craft the perfect sushi roll and learn to create visually stunning small plates. Jan. 20, 2-4 pm. $80. Beverly’s, 115 S. Second St. beverlyscda.com COMFORT FOODS MAKEOVER COOKING CLASS Learn how to make healthy, delicious versions of favorites like mac & cheese, fried rice and even sweets.

Registration required. Jan. 22, 5:307:30 pm. $30. Second Harvest, 1234 E. Front Ave. secondharvestkitchen.org

E IT R VO FA

COMMUNITY

FILM

EW N

BOBCAT GOLDTHWAIT Goldthwait is known for his black comedy stand-up act, delivered through an energetic stage persona with a raspy and highpitched voice. Jan. 18, 7 pm. $24-$32.

Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com 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 NEW TALENT TUESDAYS Watch comedians of all skill levels work out jokes together. Tuesdays at 7 pm (doors at 6 pm). Free. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com NATE BARGATZE Bargatze is most well-known for his three Netflix comedy specials and his appearances on late night TV shows like The Tonight Show. Jan. 25, 7-9 pm. $40-$100. Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon Ave. spokanearena.com (509-279-7000) DUNGEONS & DRAG QUEENS Three drag queens play the tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons. Dungeon Master Paul Curry, musician Carson Grubb, and audience participation lead three Queens through an improvised storytelling adventure. Jan. 27, 7-10 pm. $38.

Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. dndq.live

R U YO

COMEDY

CLOTHING SWAP Bring clean, gently used clothing items to swap or pick out some free clothes from the selection.

Jan. 25, 5-8 pm. Free. Mom’s Custom Tattoo & Body Piercing, 1226 W. Summit Parkway. instagram.com/momsofspokane (509-426-4465) LATIN NIGHT SPOKANE A night of DJspun Latin beats and dancing. Jan. 26, 9 pm-2 am. $5-$10. The Goody Bar and Grill, 8714 E. Sprague Ave. facebook. com/Latinnightsspokane

D N FI

EVENING OF ENSEMBLES Live music performed by Lewis and Clark High School small ensembles including choir, band and orchestra. All proceeds benefit the music department at LC. Jan. 19, 7-10 pm. $35. Washington Cracker Co. Building, 304 W. Pacific. lcimpatigers. wixsite.com/home 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 is sold, go to Northwest Harvest.

See website for full details. Through Jan. 19. Free. khq.com/giving SPOKANE JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL OPENING NIGHT GALA Celebrate the film festival’s 20th anniversary with food and drinks from Feast World Kitchen, a silent auction and an exclusive screening of Remembering Gene Wilder. Jan. 27, 6-9:30 pm. $30.

Montvale Event Center, 1017 W. First. sjff2024.eventive.org (509-747-7394) WISHES & WINE: A TASTE OF SPOKANE Sample selections of what the region has to offer in food, beer, wine, cider and spirits while supporting Wishing Star’s mission to provide hope for children and families facing life threatening illness. 4. Jan. 27, 6-10 pm. $125. Felts Field, 6105 E. Rutter Rd. wishingstar.org

through Feb. 18. Free. Northern Quest Resort & Casino, 100 N. Hayford Rd. northernquest.com (509-242-7000) 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. northwestmuseum.org WESTERNERS SPOKANE CORRAL HISTORY CLUB Local amateur and professional history sleuths are invited to learn about different aspects of Northwest history. Dinner is also served, plus there are occasional guest speakers.

Jan. 18-June 20; every third Thursday from 5-8 pm. $20. Corbin Senior Center, 827 W. Cleveland Ave. westernersspokane.org (509-327-1584) 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. bridalfest.com 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 (509-990-7234) 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 PRIDE SKATE NIGHT A pride community meetup. First 50 teen attendees skate for free. Jan. 20, 5-8 pm. $9.95.

Numerica Skate Ribbon, 720 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. fb.me/e/6tExHNFzG 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. thejacklincenter.org FORAY A night of creative performances by local talent including Mark Anderson, Madriea, Anthony Singleton and more. Jan. 21, 6-8 pm. Free. Natural 20 Brewing Company, 1303 N. Washington St. natural20brewing.com SPOKANE REIMAGINED An info session for Spokane Reimagined, a proposal to repurpose existing rights, improve connectivity, increase density and spur economic development. Jan. 22, 6 pm. Free. Shadle Library, 2111 W. Wellesley. spokanereimagined.org GROSSOLOGY: THE SCIENCE OF THE REALLY GROSS Explore the gross science of snot, boogers and farts with some hands-on activities. Ages 10–13.

Jan. 24, 4-5 pm. Free. Spokane Valley Library, 22 N. Herald Rd. scld.org MANY SPIRITS COMMUNITY A space for two-spirit and Indigiqueer people to spend time together. Tea, hot chocolate and some art supplies are provided.

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4-7 pm. Free. Shadle Library, 2111 W. Wellesley. spectrumcenterspokane.org

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EVENTS | CALENDAR COMMUNITY WASTE REDUCTION CLASSES Learn how to cut back on food waste. The classes cover a range of topics including food storage, preservation, packaging and more. Registration required. Jan. 22, 2-3 pm and Jan. 29, 2-3 pm. Free. Second Harvest, 1234 E. Front Ave. secondharvestkitchen.org BREWS & BITES: BEER DINNER FT. WALLACE BREWING COMPANY This dinner features a four-course meal with five craft beers pairings from Wallace Brewing Company. Jan. 24, 5:30-8 pm. $55. Coeur d’Alene Taphouse Unchained, 210 E. Sherman Ave. cdataphouse.com WORLD COOKING: COLOMBIAN FOOD Chef Janeth Angulo from Feast World Kitchen demonstrates a traditional Colombian dish in an online presentation while you follow along in your home kitchen. After registering you’ll receive the recipe and ingredients list. Jan. 24, 6:30 pm. Free. scld.org BEVERLY’S WELLER BOURBON DINNER This dinner features an expertly curated six-course dining experience featuring dishes meticulously paired with various expressions of Weller Bourbon.

Jan. 26, 6-9 pm. $150. Beverly’s, 115 S. Second St. beverlyscda.com WINEMAKERS SUPPER CLUB: BARILI CELLARS A five-course meal hosted by Sue and Gary Hustad and Russ and Marlene Feist, the owners of Barili Cellars.

See website for full menu. Jan. 27, 6:30 pm. $95. Commellini Estate, 14715 N. Dartford Dr. commellini.com

MUSIC

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) MONTHLY DRUM CIRCLE Learn or share songs you like on the drums. No experience needed. Registration required. Third Sunday of each month from 4-7 pm. $10.

Harmony Woods Retreat Center, 11507 S. Keeney Rd. harmonywoods.org GUEST ARTIST: DR. ALEX AVILA Guest artist Dr. Alex Avila performs a euphonium recital of music by living composers.

The program explores influences from Asia, Latin America, jazz and danceinspired music. Jan. 23, 7:30-9 pm. Free.

Bryan Hall Theatre (WSU), 605 Veterans Way. music.wsu.edu (509-335-7696) BOB BEADLING Beadling plays pop, classics and jazz songs on the piano. Jan. 24, 5-7 pm. Free. Pend d’Oreille Winery, 301 Cedar St. powine.com (877-452-9011) SPOKANE SYMPHONY BARRISTER CHAMBER SOIRÉES A selection of musician-curated music performed by various Spokane Symphony musicians. Appetiz-

50 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

ers, wine, coffee and dessert are included with ticket purchase. Jan, 24-25 at 7:30 pm. $99. Barrister Winery, 1213 W. Railroad Ave. foxtheaterspokane.org THE JUPITER STRING QUARTET A fourpiece chamber music ensemble performing original songs and other selections.

Jan. 25, 7-9:30 pm. $10-$25. University of Idaho Administration Building, 851 Campus Dr., Moscow. uidaho.edu SPOKANE SYMPHONY: ROCKWOOD CHAMBER SOIRÉE Experience musiciancurated chamber music performed by Spokane Symphony musicians. Jan. 26, 7 pm. $33. Rockwood Retirement Community, 221 E. Rockwood Blvd. foxtheaterspokane.org (509-838-3200) CDA SYMPHONY: STORYTIME ADVENTURES, A FAMILY CONCERT The Coeur d’Alene symphony performs “Golden Window” by Brian Schappals, “Pirates of the Caribbean” by Klaus Bedelt and more. Jan. 27, 7:30 pm. $15-$35. Schuler Performing Arts Center, 880 W. Garden Ave. cdasymphony.org (208-769-7780)

SPORTS & OUTDOORS

CROSS COUNTRY SKI LESSONS Learn the basics of cross-country skiing. Fee includes a day long ski equipment rental and two hours of instruction. Jan. 20-28, 10 am-noon, Jan. 22, 10 am-noon, Jan. 28, 10 am. $77. Selkirk Lodge, N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. spokanecity.org MT. SPOKANE NIGHT SKIING Ski after the sun sets under the lights at Mt. Spokane. Wed-Fri from 3-9 pm through March 16. $40-$80. Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, 29500 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. mtspokane.com (509-238-2220) CLUB SHRED A club aimed at kids learning and practicing ski skills. Also includes fun activities, movies, dinner and more.

Ages 4-10. Skiers only. Fri from 5-8 pm through March 15. $45. Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, 29500 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. mtspokane,com FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS Night skiing with the addition of live music on the mountain. Fridays from 3-9 pm through March 29. $39. Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, 29500 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. mtspokane.com (509-238-2220) 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 (509-279-7000) WILD & SCENIC FILM FESTIVAL This curated selection of films highlights local stories of environmental action and communities coming together to create change. Plus, learn more about the important work that the Idaho Chapter is doing for climate justice in Idaho and how you can get involved. Jan. 19, 7 pm. $12-$16. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org (208-882-4127) RELENTLESS WRESTLING 22 Live, premier professional wrestling. Jan. 20, 7 pm. $33.24. Players & Spectators, 12828 E. Sprague Ave. facebook.com/RelentlessPNW (509-489-4000) BUILD A TERRARIUM Learn how to craft your own terrarium, what each layer does and how to take care of your creation.

Jan. 21, 3-4 pm. $50. Ritters Garden & Gift, 10120 N. Division St. 4ritter.com HOUSEPLANT PEST CONTROL Learn the different types of pests that commonly affect houseplants and how to

treat them. Jan. 21, 2-3 pm. $10. Ritters Garden & Gift, 10120 N. Division St. 4ritter.com (509 467-5258) CHEAP SKATE TUESDAYS Free skate rentals are provided with each paid admission. Tuesdays 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) SPOKANE BOAT SHOW An exhibition and vendor show featuring the latest in boats and boating accessories from dealers around the Inland Northwest. Jan. 2528; Thu-Sat from 10 am-7 pm, Sun from 10 am-4 pm. $5-$10. Spokane County Fair & Expo Center, 404 N. Havana St. spokaneboatshow.com (509-477-1766)

THEATER & DANCE

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 keeps his family of 12 children running 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 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 ANTÍKONI A staged reading of Beth Piatote’s play, 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 SIX: THE MUSICAL This musical is a modern retelling of the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII, presented in the form of a pop concert. Jan. 23-28; Tue-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sat also at 2 pm, Sun at 1 pm and 6:30 pm. $52-$100. First Interstate Center for the Arts, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. firstinterstatecenter.org

VISUAL ARTS

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) JUAQUETTA HOLCOMB Pottery Place Plus’s January guest artist uses local

wool to make yarn, hats, shawls and more. Daily from 11 am-7 pm through Jan. 31. Free. Pottery Place Plus, 203 N. Washington. potteryplaceplus.com 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. Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm through June 9. $7-$12. Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org 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) JEFFREY GIBSON: THEY TEACH LOVE This exhibition combines various art mediums such as sculpture, painting and video with the artist’s American Indian cultural background by adorning objects with beadwork, jingles, fringe and sinew.

Tue-Sat from 10 am-4 pm through March 9. Free. Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU, 1535 NE Wilson Rd. museum.wsu. edu (509-335-1910) LISTENING FOR AN ECHO: SOMETHING ABOUT FARMING Artists Pam Deutschman, Abbie Evans, Megan Perkins and Karen Mobley exploring the intricacies of farming through visual dialogue. Thu-Sat from 5-8 pm through Jan. 27. Free. Terrain Gallery, 628 N. Monroe St. terrainspokane.com NORTH IDAHO COLLEGE FACULTY EXHIBITION NIC faculty members display recent works. Mon-Thu from 10 am-4 pm, Fri from 10 am-2:30 pm through Jan. 26.

Free. Boswell Corner Gallery at NIC, 1000 W. Garden Ave., Building 22. nic.edu/cornergallery (208-769-3276) 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. Daily from 11 am-7 pm through Feb. 23. Free. Liberty Building, 203 N. Washington St. spokanelibertybuilding.com (509-327-6920) FRIENDS OF SARANAC Participating Saranac members invited artists to exhibit at the gallery. Fri-Sat from 12-8 pm through Jan. 27. Free. Saranac Art Projects, 25 W. Main Ave. sapgallery.com MARGUERITE FINCH The fine art instructor and displays sculptural works relating to 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 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.

Adults. Jan. 20, 2-4 pm. Free. North Spokane Library, 44 E. Hawthorne. scld.org CREATE & PAINT WITH A FAVORITE FRIEND Bring one of your favorite people and participate in this multi day, multi canvas painting of a landscape. All materials are included. Jan. 20-21 from 2-4 pm. $150. Coeur d’Alene Casino, 37914 S.

Nukwalqw. cdacasino.com CHILDREN’S PAINTING LESSONS An introductory painting class for kids. BYO supplies. Ages 10+. Sundays from 3-4:30 pm. $10. Spokane Art Supply, 1303 N. Monroe. spokaneartsupply.com BIGS & LITTLES WITH KAREN MOBLEY In this workshop, students experiment with watercolor, tempera, various colors and types of paper and leave the workshop with a couple of projects. Jan. 22, 9 am-noon. $46. Spokane Art School, 503 E. Second Ave. spokaneartschool.net JUST ADD COLOR This adult coloring program encourages good mental health, mindful activities and self-care.

Second/fourth Monday of every month, 11 am-1 pm. Free. Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave. cdalibrary.org 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. 23, 10 am-noon. Free. Otis Orchards Library, 22324 E. Wellesley Ave. scld.org

WORDS

DROP IN & WRITE Aspiring 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. Hosted by local writers Jenny Davis and Hannah Engel. Thursdays from 5:30-7 pm. Thurs., 5:30-7 pm. Free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. sparkcentral.org (509-279-0299) BARTON ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSES One-on-one English language tutoring and conversation groups. Mon, Wed, Fri from 9-11:30 am. Register via email.

9-11:30 pm. Free. First Presbyterian Church of Spokane, 318 S. Cedar St. spokanefpc.org/barton (509-747-1058) ITALIAN CONVERSATION Learn key words and phrases in Italian, simple conversation and the Italian style of life from your instructor, native speaker Stefano Dona. Fridays from 2-4 pm and 4-6 pm through March 8. $33. Spokane Community College, 1810 N. Greene St. campusce.net/spokaneactii (509-533-8500) SCRIBBLER’S SOCIETY WRITING CLUB Join fellow writers for brainstorming, critiquing and inspiration. All ages welcome. Space is limited. Second and Fourth Mondays, 2-3 pm. Free. Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave. cdalibrary.org (208-769-2315) AUNTIE’S BOOK CLUB: AFTERNOON (VIRTUAL) Discuss The Age of Innocence

by Edith Wharton at the January meeting. This meeting takes place on ZOOM rather than at Auntie’s. Jan. 23, 2 pm.

Free. auntiesbooks.com BROKEN MIC Spokane Poetry Slam’s longest-running, weekly open mic reading series. Wednesdays at 6:30 pm; signups at 6 pm. Free. Neato Burrito, 827 W. First Ave. bit.ly/2ZAbugD POETRY AFTER DARK EWU MFA students lead discussions about craft elements, style and form in poetry. Every second and fourth Wed of each month from 7-8 pm. Free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. spark-central.org PIVOT STORYTELLING: FIRSTS Hear six people tell true stories about firsts in their lives. Drinks are available from Overbluff Cellars. Event is free with a suggested donation of $10. Jan. 25, 7-9 pm. Free. Washington Cracker Co. Building, 304 W. Pacific. pivotspokane.com n

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fter decades of just saying no, the federal government is poised to ignore Nancy Reagan when it comes to cannabis.

The feds might not be willing to say yes when it comes to cannabis, but they’re certainly poised to mutter “maybe” when it comes to cannabis, after the latest release from the Department of Health and Human Services. The HHS release, which recommends moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, would dramatically change U.S. drug policy.

Cannabis has been listed on Schedule I of the CSA since 1970. That has put cannabis alongside drugs like heroin and LSD as having no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.

Moving cannabis to Schedule III would not only recognize that that definition is horribly wrong, but also recognize that cannabis does have an accepted medical use and is not a drug with a high potential for abuse.

With this release, which says cannabis “meets the findings for control in Schedule III,” the Department of Health and Human Services is calling for a federal rescheduling of cannabis from the most-prohibitive Schedule I to the restrictive but not outright-illegal Schedule III. “Upon consideration of the eight factors determinative of control of a substance… the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that marijuana be placed in Schedule III of the CSA. The National Institute on Drug Abuse has reviewed the enclosed documents … and concurs with FDA’s recommendation. Marijuana meets the findings for control in Schedule III,” the Drug Enforcement Administration’s administrator, Anne Milgram, wrote in a recently released document.

Moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III would not legalize the drug, but is rather a soft-launch at legalization. It is effectively a regulated decriminalization of the drug at the federal level while still allowing federal control to play a part.

Should cannabis be moved to Schedule III it would be regulated like drugs such as anabolic steroids or testosterone, drugs with a known medical use and a moderateto-low risk for abuse, as opposed to where cannabis currently sits as a high-risk, no-reward substance.

Ultimately, it is up to the DEA — or to Congress — to make this move to a lower schedule, but until then this is the single most impactful call for cannabis policy change that has come from within the federal government in decades. n

NOTE TO READERS Be aware of the differences in the law between Idaho and Washington. It is illegal to possess, sell or transport cannabis in the State of Idaho. Possessing up to an ounce is a misdemeanor and can get you a year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine; more than three ounces is a felony that can carry a five-year sentence and fine of up to $10,000. Transporting marijuana across state lines, like from Washington into Idaho, is a felony under federal law.

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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 habitforming. It can also impair concentration, coordination and judgment.

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58. List in a food delivery app 61. Japanese deer 62. Hang (over)

7

LOOK FOR THE

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29

ACROSS 1. Bloodsucker 6. ____ ghanouj 10. Did laps in a pool 14. Bone: Prefix 15. Homes for mil. planes 16. “Et voilà!”

17. Grind to ____ 18. Sets of points, in geometry 19. Farm team?

20. Are you and your partner into skiing? Have your destination wedding here!

23. “Uhh ...”

24. “____ luego” 25. Separated 29. Big name in music streaming 31. MLB sluggers who don’t play the field 33. Grammys genre 34. “Get Out” actor Lil ____ Howery

Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, Inc., NMLS ID 1025894. FL Mortgage Lender Servicer License MLD1827. ID Mortgage Broker/Lender License MBL-2081025894. WA Consumer Loan Company License CL-1025894. These materials are not from, or approved by HUD or FHA. Licensing information: www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org #1101691001

“DESTINATION WEDDING”

22. “____ Kapital” 26. Delivery time 27. Tennis’ “King of Clay,” familiarly 28. Festoons on Halloween, informally 30. Show and ____ 32. 24-hr. retail channel 35. Items in a 1990s “tower”

36. Take ____ (sample some) 37. Holders of recyclables 38. Investigative journalist ____ B. Wells 39. Casual Friday casualties 40. Omits 41. Drag show accessory 45. Apt name for a worrier 46. “The magic word” 47. Japanese tech giant 48. Investigate, as a cold case 49. Oscar-nominated frontwoman of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs 51. =

53. Just peachy 56. “Insecure” star Rae 57. “I smell ____!”

58. Yoga pad 59. Time in history 60. Zilch

JANUARY 18, 2024 INLANDER 55

EXQUISITE AMENITIES

Unwind amidst the natural beauty that surrounds Spa Ssakwa’q’n. Guests receiving 60-minute or longer services enjoy exclusive day access to our amenities, including the sauna, hot tubs, and relaxation lounges.

SIGNATURE & TAILORED TREATMENTS

Indulge in our signature treatments, crafted to transport you to a state of bliss. Each experience is designed to elevate your well-being and leave you feeling revitalized. We’ll make you feel at home in our serene and beautiful spa, while providing spa services that utilize the best skin and body care practices and top product lines around.

• MASSAGES

• MONTHLY SPECIALS

• MANICURES

• CUSTOMIZED SPA EXPERIENCES

• PEDICURES

• GROUP & BRIDAL PARTY PRIVATE BOOKINGS

• FACIALS & SKIN TREATMENTS

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK | CALL 1 855-232-2772 TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT

Escape & Relax

January Spa Special

BABOR HSR LIFTING TREATMENT | $10 OFF 90-MIN LIFTING EXTRA FIRM TREATMENT

FROM $259.95 Package includes a one-night stay in a Spa Tower deluxe king room and a 60-minute spa service.

Call 1 800-523-2464 and mention code RELAX to book now!

Must call the Spa Ssakwa’q’n at 1 855-232-2772 to book service appointment directly.

Valid Sunday – Thursday only.

Hotel package and rate quoted is valid now through April 30TH, 2024. All packages, offers and upgrades are subject to availability. All rooms incur a 7% Tribal tax and a $15 resort fee. Please visit cdacasino.com for details and other hotel packages.

W E LC O M E H O M E .

56 INLANDER JANUARY 18, 2024

CASINO

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HOTEL

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DINING

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Turn back the clock with this cosmeceutical treatment that provides visible results. Targeted active ingredients not only smooth visible wrinkles but prevent new wrinkle formation and slow the aging process. The potent formulations and specialized massage techniques improve skin firmness, tone, and elasticity and redefine facial contours. The skin is plumped from within revealing a firmer, smoother and more youthful looking skin. Book today!

Offer valid January 1ST to January 31ST, 2024.

Offer not valid with any other offers or discounts.

SPA

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CHAMPIONSHIP

GOLF

3 7 9 1 4 S O U T H N U K WA LQ W • W O R L E Y, I D A H O 8 3 8 76 • 1 8 0 0 - 5 2 3 - 2 4 6 4 • C D A C A S I N O . C O M