ooks offer power. Don’t take that for granted. Whether you’re fascinated by every minute detail of some specific time in history and want to dive into dozens of nonfiction accounts, or you’d prefer to escape from reality into fantastic and magical realms, books offer us inspiration, knowledge and, conveniently, an escape from doomscrolling.
This week’s SUMMER READING issue spearheaded by Madison Pearson offers dozens of reading recommendations new and old from Inlander staffers and regional authors. Learn where you can participate in summer reading programs (even as an adult!), join a book club, or find your next purchase to stack on your home bookshelves.
So, grab a book, your favorite iced beverage, and find a comfy place to tuck in and turn those pages. We’ll be right there with you.
— SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL, NEWS EDITOR
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WHAT BOOK ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO READING THIS SUMMER?
MICHELE ELEFANTE
Our Hidden Conversations by Michele Norris.
Why that book?
It was a project that the author did called the race car project. My family and friends come from different backgrounds and have had such different experiences growing up, and this book serves as a good prompt at seeing different people’s opinions.
TYLER WADSWORTH
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins.
What draws you to the Hunger Games series? I just love the makeup of it and the world that she’s built with that story. It’s always been one of my favorites since it came out.
HANNAH WILSON
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom.
What’s it about?
It’s about this professor who has ALS and his former student interviews him about his views on life and death. I think it’s a cool perspective.
MADISON DOLAN
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Why that book?
I’m in a book club, and it is this month’s book. We pick a random book that is drawn out of a hat.
ANNA SEPPA
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder and Open Throat: A Novel by Henry Hoke.
What genres are you typically drawn to? My top three are literary and queer, and then I also enjoy nonfiction.
Keep It Flowing
A trade war is uniquely bad for Washington state
BY ANDY BILLIG
Washington is one of the most tradedependent states in the country, but it’s not just how much we trade with other countries; it’s the type of products that we trade that makes tariffs and the resulting trade war particularly harmful.
In theory, tariffs could provide some benefits to the United States by forcing more domestic manufacturing since increased tariffs will cause overseas-manufactured goods to be more expensive, thereby making the U.S.-manufactured goods more competitive. The U.S., the theory says, will stop importing so many goods and make them domestically instead, which will increase jobs and economic activity in our country.
There are a whole lot of holes in this theory. First, think of tariffs as taxes, which is exactly what they are. The cost of imports will go up, since U.S. consumers will be paying more for goods in the short term as those goods have tariffs/taxes added to them. If more products are ultimately made in the U.S., prices will still be higher due to the higher costs of manufacturing in the U.S. But it remains to be seen if U.S. companies and workers even want to produce those items in the United States. And even if that U.S.-based manufacturing were to eventually increase and there were to be some benefits in jobs, it would take many years to ramp up production. Meanwhile, the trade war will have inflicted deep recession-making harm on the economy.
Even if the case for tariffs was solid, it’s unlikely that they would benefit Washington state because we have more jobs connected with exporting our state’s goods than we could ever likely gain from an increase in manufacturing. We are one of the few net-exporting states, which means we make
and ship more products abroad than we import from overseas.
So building tariff walls designed to keep out foreign goods actually prevents Washington state goods from being sold to markets in other countries. In other words, rather than bringing foreign jobs to the U.S., we are going to be shedding Washington state jobs as foreign markets for our Washington-produced goods dissolve due to tariffs.
Washington’s biggest exports are airplanes and related aerospace parts as well as agricultural products like frozen french fries, seafood, apples and wheat. As these items get shipped abroad and sold in other countries (like our state’s largest trading partners, China, Canada, Japan, Mexico and South Korea), Washington companies and farmers benefit, as do Washington workers.
If anything, during a prolonged trade war Washington state jobs may go abroad as aerospace companies are forced to manufacture their products in other countries so they can sell to the rest of the world without high tariffs. Even if the wildly flawed theory upon which this trade war is based were correct, it would backfire here and harm Washington companies, workers and the state as a whole.
Aside from raising the costs of imported and exported goods, a trade war causes other problems, like reduced tourism. Frustrated potential visitors may choose to avoid spending their
The world loves french fries, and Idaho and Washington are the nation’s top two potato producers. Japan alone imports more than 350,000 metric tons of frozen potatoes a year, with 70% of that coming from the United States. ADOBE STOCK PHOTO
precious travel dollars in a country that is starting a trade war with their home nation. For Washington, a state that borders Canada, a reduction in visitors from the north means reduced economic activity. One prominent recent example reported by the Seattle Times is fewer Toronto Blue Jays fans traveling to watch their country’s one MLB team play in Seattle. I have attended a Blue Jays Blue at T-Mobile Park in the past, and it feels like a Toronto home game with Blue Jays fans from all over Western Canada outnumbering Seattle fans. This year, fewer fans traveled across the border for these games, which means less economic activity for our state.
A trade war is not just a concern for the Puget Sound region or agricultural communities. Spokane companies annually export $818 million worth of goods to other countries, according to the U.S. Trade Representative. If that production takes a nose-dive, it is certainly enough to put a serious dent in Spokane’s economy.
Even if Donald Trump were to stop his trade war right now, there would be significant harm. The aggressive tariffs have rattled markets and made trading partners nervous. Trump has disturbed a trade stability that has largely been in place since the end of World War II by informing the world that the U.S. can no longer be trusted as a stable trading partner. Even with that harm already inflicted, the best course of action from this point is to drop the trade war and return to the U.S. trade posture before Donald Trump’s inauguration.
As a state that is so trade-dependent, it’s a concern that there are very few state-level tools with which to combat a trade war. I was encouraged that Washington Lt. Gov. Denny Heck led a delegation to the British Columbia Parliament earlier this month to affirm Washington state’s desire to maintain close ties with B.C. regardless of what is happening in the other Washington. But the reality is that trade policy is made almost entirely at the federal level.
“A trade war is not just a concern for the Puget Sound region or agricultural communities. Spokane companies annually export $818 million worth of goods to other countries…”
Iactually do have some hope that the trade war will eventually fade away. The fact is that it’s wildly unpopular and likely to be even more unpopular as the full impact of tariffs are felt in the coming months. The American public understands the harm that will be inflicted on the economy and on their households by this trade war; people from across the country and across the political spectrum will suffer. Farmers, business owners, consumers, workers… pretty much everyone will pay the price for this folly. It may be too much to hope that Donald Trump will respond to the cries for help, but at some point the political and economic pressure will cause a response from the Republican majorities in Congress and/or the American voters.
There’s one other problem with a trade war. I don’t want to sound too dramatic, but a trade war is a threat to world peace. One of the core benefits to international free trade is that it brings nations closer together and creates economic interdependence. It’s much more difficult to go to war with a country that is vital to the economic success of your own country.
It seems absurd that one man, in a matter of months, could upend international trade in a way that threatens the world economy and makes the world less safe. For the sake of the world, and especially for Washington state, we need to find ways to keep Washington-produced airplanes, apples and french fries flowing freely to the rest of the world for many years to come. n
Andy Billig represented the 3rd District, covering much of Spokane, in the Washington Legislature starting in 2011 as a state representative. He became a state senator in 2013 and Senate majority leader in 2018; he did not run for reelection in 2024. Billig is the CEO of Brett Sports.
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ELECTION 2025
All Together Now
Spokane schools and parks plan to complete nearly 200 projects throughout the city — if voters in November agree to fund them
BY COLTON RASANEN
Acommunity recreation center inside an elementary school. A park or open space within a 10-minute walk of every Spokane resident, even those farthest from the city’s core. Free swim lessons for second graders. Open and clean public restrooms throughout the city’s park system. Well-lit, all-weather fields within each of the city’s high school boundaries.
These innovative projects and more may soon become reality under a collaborative effort between Spokane Parks & Recreation and Spokane Public Schools.
Dubbed “Together Spokane,” this package of projects, which has been in the works for nearly two years, will come to voters in two pieces in November.
One piece is a 20-year $240 million levy from Spokane Parks & Recreation that the Spokane City Council voted 6-0 to send to voters (Council member Jonathan Bingle was absent) during its May 5 meeting.
The other piece is a 20-year $200 million bond from Spokane Public Schools. The School Board unanimously approved sending the bond to voters on May 14.
If both are passed, more than 200 projects will be built citywide over the next two decades. These include upgrades and renovations to schools, more maintenance at parks, and many new and improved fields for school sports and local recreation.
Together, the tax initiatives will cost taxpayers an additional 29 cents per $1,000 in assessed property value. That means someone who owns a $330,000 home (the median assessed home value in Spokane County) would see an additional $7.98 in property taxes per month.
Spokane taxpayers are still paying off previous school bonds (including one from 2009 that will end in 2029) and the 2014 Riverfront Park bond (which will end in 2034), so the 29 cents solely represents the increase in property taxes over current rates. In total, taxpayers will be contributing $1.36 per $1,000 in assessed property value each month for schools if the 2025 school bond is approved and $1.18 per $1,000 in assessed value for parks if the levy is passed.
“By working together we have more projects for less of an overall cost to the community,” Spokane Public Schools Superintendent Adam Swinyard explains. “That really happens through sharing land, sharing programming, collaborating, coordinating construction, and then almost $11 million of outside funding so far.”
The outside funding comes from places like Hoopfest, the Boys & Girls Club, and the Spokane Youth Sports Association, Swinyard says. Even some national organizations have gotten involved. For example, the U.S. Tennis Association will fully fund the construction of an indoor tennis center at Shadle Park High School if both funding
requests pass.
“It hits every little niche in the community that [makes citizens] feel like ‘This is my community. This is the identity of our neighborhood.’ I think that’s been missing as we continue to invest in our neighborhoods, and this gives us a chance for those neighborhoods to take ownership in these public spaces,” Spokane Parks Director Garrett Jones says.
“That investment and seeing that positive act of innovation, to me, is the biggest, most impactful thing that we have not done before in the Spokane community.”
WORKING TOGETHER
While school district and city leaders say this is one of the largest collaborations in Spokane’s history, it’s far from the first. In 2018, Spokane Public Schools ran a $495 million school bond in conjunction with a $77 million public libraries bond. Both were approved by about two-thirds of voters, which paid for construction and renovation of six middle schools and seven libraries in the city over the following six years.
Today, Shaw Middle School’s library doubles as the Hillyard Public Library, and the library collections at all of the district’s middle schools are now connected with the city’s library system.
Student athletes will get more lighted fields — and hours of use — if both Together Spokane measures pass. RENDERING COURTESY SPOKANE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
“Going alone is not even a viable option anymore, both just from the practicality of it and the value aspect, and so, [Together Spokane is] an opportunity in a changing community to say we really believe in collaboration and partnerships,” Swinyard says. “We’re in a position to establish that as the new normal in Spokane.”
Hoping to replicate the success of the 2018 partnership, Swinyard says Spokane Parks & Recreation approached the school district in summer 2023, ahead of the parks levy that was intended to be on February 2024 ballots. Both entities agreed that working together would be beneficial, but when the Spokane City Council voted to postpone the parks levy — the first of three delays — the school district moved forward with its own $200 million bond.
While the bond received 56% voter approval, Washington state law requires these types of tax initiatives to gain 60% voter approval to pass.
That failure reignited work on the collaborative effort now known as “Together Spokane.”
JOINT PROJECTS
If both the parks levy and school bond are passed together, they’ll fund about 30 joint projects. This includes renovating an indoor aquatic center on Spokane Community College’s campus, turning an elementary school into a community center and bringing more sports fields to the city.
School and parks leadership went into “Together Spokane” with two main goals. First, they wanted to ensure every member of the community could be active every day.
“We as a community need to be off of our screens, out of our homes, together, doing something in real life,” Swinyard says. “We know that that is critical for a healthy, thriving community.”
Second, Swinyard says, every Spokanite should benefit and save money on these projects. That could come from having new trails and parks to explore closer to home, easier access to youth and adult recreation opportunities or from even newer, safer school buildings for their kids.
The need for more sports fields is salient for the district, spokesperson Ryan Lancaster says. Last year, Spokane Public Schools had 15,000 students participating in extracurricular activities, like school sports and afterschool clubs, and this year there are nearly 19,000 students doing the same.
“If we have a sports complex, then we’ll be able to host large tournaments,” Swinyard says, referring to the planned Merkel Sports Complex expansion, which would develop more fields at the former Joe Albi Stadium site. “[Then] that family doesn’t have to drive to Tri-Cities or Yakima for an out-of-town tournament. Or maybe that family couldn’t ever go in the first place because they couldn’t afford it. We understand the economic challenges, we understand the realities of a tax burden. And that’s why one of the goals was that people could look at it and say, ‘Oh, well, that actually saves me money in the long run.’”
Spokanites have been asking Parks & Recreation for more indoor aquatic centers for years, but building a new center could cost upward of $100 million, Parks Director Jones says. That cost has been prohibitive, but through this partnership, the parks department and school district realized they could meet this need for much less money by renovating an unused pool at Spokane Community Colleges.
“Having this year-round facility and building that into the curriculum at the school district, to have every second grader receive swimming lessons is crucial when we look at water safety around the community that we live in,” Jones says. “We’re looking at maybe a million [dollars] to $1.5 million for actual physical investments in that facility, and that
return that we can get now to that location is great for us.”
Jones says this project is especially important for the school district’s neurodivergent students, as the leading cause of death for kids with autism in the U.S. is drowning.
Each joint project relies on both the parks levy and the school bond being passed by voters in November. However, if voters only approve one or the other, there are still plenty of projects that will be completed.
NEW PARKS & RENOVATED RESTROOMS
Spokane Parks & Recreation has historically focused on targeted special projects,
such as the $64 million investment in Riverfront Park that voters approved in 2014, Jones says. So this major collaboration, which intends to spread funds throughout the city, is new for the department.
“This is a kind of a complete shift into that ‘every single neighborhood, every single park, every single school’ having an investment mentality,” Jones says. “It’s not only the capital investment, but it’s also the maintenance and operations and security enhancement investments, too.”
More than half of Spokane residents who were surveyed for the 2022 Parks and Natural Lands Master Plan said they didn’t feel welcome or safe in city parks due to trash, drug use and encampments. If the parks levy is approved, the city will double its park ranger staff to provide a physical presence in most neighborhood parks.
“Right now, our park ranger program is very centered around Riverfront Park, and that’s how it’s been managed in the past,” Jones says. “We’ve seen the benefit in Riverfront Park, so now it’s being able to duplicate that to all our park spaces and school grounds.”
The parks levy will also fund repairs and replacements for every bathroom in Spokane parks, many of which are closed to the public because they don’t work during colder months.
“If we’re providing a programmed experience at one of our parks, whether that is soccer, lacrosse, football, we must have the appropriate amenities to be able to accommodate that, and right now we can’t achieve that because a lot of our restrooms are built to where they have to be winterized in freezing temperatures,” Jones explains.
Additionally, one of Spokane Parks & Recreation’s most ambitious goals is to ensure that every Spokanite is at most a 10-minute walk from a park or open space. If the levy passes, the city will be able to build three new parks in neighborhoods that don’t currently have easy access.
In Northwest Spokane, the city will build Meadowglen Park on about 30 acres of land in the North Indian Trail neighborhood. Under the current plan, 14 acres of the land will be developed into a park, and the other 16 acres will be preserved as natural habitat.
In Northeast Spokane’s Shiloh Hills neighborhood, they’ll build Friendship Park.
The third park will be opened in the Latah/Hangman neighborhood on the edge of the Qualchan Golf Course, Jones says. The school district also owns land in the same area, and if the school bond passes planning will start for a new elementary school there.
Creating a new park requires a lot of input from those who live nearby, Jones says. So each may look different, maybe including a sports court or a dog park or a covered shelter.
“We work with the community on what those needs and priorities are, and then we build that into a design,” Jones says.
NEW & IMPROVED SCHOOLS
On top of improvements to each of the district’s schools, the school bond by itself will allow Spokane Public Schools to create a new trades-based high school at the Spokane Community College campus. This would be a full-day program for high school students interested in a trades career. Ninth and 10th grade students will take classes just like their peers, then shift to a Running Start model in 11th and 12th grades.
“This is an incredible opportunity for kids to graduate, get that diploma, also get that two-year technical degree and be really ready to launch successfully into the workforce,” Swinyard explains. “It’s a huge value for the students, while at the same time being an incredible enhancement to workforce development and having more kids ready to go to meet some of these career fields that are in really high demand. We need plumbers. We need electricians. We need those individuals to do the trades in our community in order for our economy to be successful and for us to meet the needs of our local residents.”
The bond will also fund the Community School’s relocation. Currently, the project-based high school operates inside an old elementary school on North Monroe Street. If the bond is passed, the school will be moved into the district’s recently acquired building in the University District. n
coltonr@inlnader.com
Learn more about all the planned projects at the interactive website togetherspokane.org.
Each neighborhood will see improvements under the plan.
Data Deal
Spokane joins regional strategic plan to end homelessness. Plus, the feds rip away $48M for Spokane aerospace hub and nearly $20M for Gonzaga climate work.
BY INLANDER STAFF
More often than not, funds aimed at solving homelessness are broken up between counties and cities, which can result in disjointed services and provider gaps. In the hopes of creating a more cohesive, complete and collaborative system of homelessness services, the Spokane City Council voted 5-2 on Monday to join an agreement with Spokane Valley and Spokane County to coordinate their separate housing services to better serve the entire region. The five-year strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness states that elected officials and staff experts from each of the jurisdictions will meet “as frequently as needed” to share data, compare services, coordinate point-in-time counts and identify gaps in programs. Each entity’s funds will remain separate, but staff members hope more regional communication will allow each governing body to use dollars more efficiently and build a tighter system of services that enables everyone to thrive. (ELIZA BILLINGHAM)
FAILURE TO LAUNCH
On May 16, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick rescinded the $48 million awarded for the Spokane Aerospace Tech Hub, along with funding for five other tech hub projects. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who helped secure the funding, released a statement criticizing the Trump administration’s cuts. “This would have never happened under nearly any other administration — yet now we are all faced with a pointless and costly setback for Spokane’s economy and future,” she said. “Our constituents are losing $48 million for no other reason than Donald Trump’s absurd political games.” A statement from U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Wash., noted that forcing Spokane and others to reapply would extend efforts by more than a year and create unnecessary and potentially irreversible risk. Baumgartner said he would fight to ensure the reapplication process is fair for Spokane. In another statement, Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown said the setback was unnecessary and undermines the hard work of those who have spent years on the project. “This decision is a mistake for our regional and national economy,” Brown said. “The $48 million in tech hub funding was a down payment to secure American competitiveness in aerospace manufacturing.” (VICTOR CORRAL MARTINEZ)
CUTTING CLIMATE FUNDS
Last summer, Gonzaga University received its largest federal grant ever when the Environmental Protection Agency awarded the Gonzaga Climate Institute a three-year $19.9 million grant to increase the city’s ability to respond to climate changes. The funding came after 19 Spokane residents died from the effects of extreme heat and smoke in 2021. However, less than a year after it was awarded, the EPA has terminated Gonzaga’s nearly $20 million climate resilience grant Like many of the federal grants the Trump administration is terminating, Gonzaga’s funding originated from President Joe Biden’s 2021 Inflation Reduction Act. Now the university and the city of Spokane are calling on the EPA to rescind its grant termination. “This work has already begun in good faith under a legally binding agreement,” Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown stated on May 16. “The decision to terminate this grant puts lives at risk and undermines locally led solutions to climate and public health challenges. Make no mistake, recent history shows just how critical this funding is to ensure the health, safety, and economic stability of so many Spokane families.” (COLTON RASANEN)
CORRECTION
In the Inlander’s May 15 issue we incorrectly described Central Valley School Board Member Pam Orebaugh position on the district’s 2024 $47.5 million capital levy. In fact, Orebaugh voted against sending the levy to voters. We regret this error. n
SYMPHONY SUMMER
SPOKANE SYMPHONY AT ARBOR CREST WINERY JUNE 18 | 7:30PM
SPOKANE SYMPHONY LUD KRAMER MEMORIAL CONCERT IN LIBERTY LAKE AUGUST 30 | 6PM
SPOKANE SYMPHONY AT BRICK WEST BREWING CO. JUNE 26 | 7PM
SPOKANE SYMPHONY LABOR DAY CONCERT AT COMSTOCK PARK SEPTEMBER 1 | 6PM
Judy’s Enchanted Garden 2628 W Northwest Blvd. Bloom
FRIDAY May 23 10am-6pm LET US HELP YOU GET YOUR GARDEN GROWING.
A portion of the sales is donated to the SSA to benefit the Spokane Symphony.
Grand Opening May 31st
LOCAL FARM- FRESH PRODUCTS
LOCALLY MADE GOODS
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STATE-OF-THE-
Core Profits
Tariffs could raise apple prices, pinching shoppers who’ll pay more even as growers earn less
BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM
When you pay for an apple at the grocery store, you might assume you’re paying for a little bit of everything that helped create that apple — fertilizer for good soil, chemicals to keep pests away, workers to tend the trees and pick the fruit.
So it would make sense that rising costs for growers would result in higher sticker prices at the store.
Costs for apple growers have indeed gone up in the past decade, and sticker prices at grocery stores have gone up, too. The average consumer price for a pound of apples has increased from about $1 to $1.80 from 2018 to 2024. With uncertainties over new tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, prices are poised to continue going up.
But despite rising store prices, the amount growers get paid for their apples has essentially stayed the same for the past seven years — about 70 cents per pound since 2018. That’s mostly because the sheer supply of apples in Washington, the nation’s top apple producer, is keeping the wholesale price level.
“There’s so much competition that the growers themselves don’t have the pricing power to pass on their added costs,” says Jon DeVaney, president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association. That means that as production costs go up, profit margins for Washington’s most iconic fruit shrink every year.
In search of higher paying contracts, Washington recently focused on finding new markets for its fruit, such as India, which imported $120 million worth of apples in 2017. But when the deal with India was interrupted by tariffs during Trump’s first term, Mexico and Canada became the largest importers of Washington apples.
Now, new tariff uncertainties are disrupting the already skin-tight margins. As trade relations with our northern and southern neighbors grow more volatile, apple exports to Canada and Mexico may decline. If they do, even more fruit could flood American markets — decreasing wholesale prices to growers even further.
Grocery stores, however, still face increasing costs for transportation, power and other operational expenses. They’ll likely continue raising prices to cover their own costs.
The resulting ecosystem is one that decreases profits for growers — therefore potentially pushing small farms out of business and driving the consolidation of Big Ag — while groceries continue to get more expensive.
“There’s a lot of frustration on the part of consumers who are seeing those higher prices,” DeVaney says. “We just think it’s very important that they understand that growers are feeling that pain as well, and are not seeing benefits themselves from these higher retail prices.”
Washington is the largest U.S. apple producer, growing between 10 billion and 12 billion apples annually. About 30% gets exported, which still leaves at least 7 billion Washington apples competing for space in American produce sections — not to mention competing apples from New York, Michigan or South American countries, and a whole host of other fruits trying to catch shoppers’ eyes.
This pressure makes international markets key for growers.
In 2023, Mexico imported almost $200 million worth of apples, about 18% more than the year before. Canada imported $132 million, making it Washington’s second-largest apple market in 2023. These countries are especially attractive to growers because` they can truck the fruit over land instead of shipping it across the Pacific Ocean, which is usually more expensive.
Apple exports through the Northwest Seaport Alliance, which operates marine cargo through the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, took a hit when India put retaliatory tariffs on Washington apples after Trump put a steel and aluminum tariff in place in 2018. Even though those tariffs were lifted in 2023, apple exports to India have not bounced back to pre-tariff levels, says Kate Nolan, communication and outreach manager for the alliance.
Even short-lived tariffs can disrupt contracts and drive hungry importers elsewhere. Recently, China has already started sourcing soybeans from Brazil instead of the U.S. after tariffs went into effect in early April.
“Once that’s lost, that’s gone,” Nolan says. “Even if the tariffs ended tomorrow, [those contracts are] not going to come back overnight.”
The U.S. and China agreed to a trade deal that will lower tariffs on each side for 90 days starting May 12, but it could be too late.
The negative effects of tariffs are often delayed and longerlasting than the tariff itself. The Northwest Seaport Alliance’s most recent cargo numbers show that imports at both ports are actually a combined 27.6% higher than they were in April last year. But exports are starting to show signs of slowing, Nolan says, as crossPacific contracts are canceled or not renewed.
Widespread tariffs make it hard to find new markets, and as Mexican and Canadian interest in Washington apples shrinks, it could accelerate the transformation of Washington’s apple industry. The most vulnerable farmers are the family orchardists who can’t weather extreme swings in the market.
“It is the smallest farmers that are under the most pressure and may not be able to survive a disruption as easily as larger farms that might have outside financial backing,” DeVaney says. “While the intent was not to favor consolidation in agriculture, a disruption to the system can create an environment where the smaller farmers are least likely to survive.” n
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DOGE’s ‘Dine and Dash’
Cuts to already-approved taxpayer funding for arts and humanities agencies are impacting the Inland Northwest
BY VICTOR CORRAL MARTINEZ
On April 2, in the middle of the night in Washington, D.C. — 9:30 pm in Washington state — the email landed in Julie Ziegler’s junk mail folder.
Sent from a generic “@onmicrosoft.com” address, rather than an official federal government account, the message was anything but irrelevant to Ziegler and the state humanities council she leads, Humanities Washington. Three grants from the National Endowment for the Arts totaling $6 million had been immediately terminated, it said.
“It’s basically the equivalent of a dine and dash,” says Ziegler, executive director of Humanities Washington, who explains that the $6 million was for programs completed but not yet paid for.
Humanities Washington was among the casualties when the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, suddenly cut over 1,500 grants that the National Endowment for the Humanities had already awarded. The hit amounted to about $74 million meant for 56 state and local humanities councils around the country, including Humanities Washington and the Idaho Humanities Council, which produce cultural programs about state history and current social issues, and fund smaller local organizations through grants.
In early May, President Donald Trump’s discretionary budget request clarified that his administration means to defund and dismantle both the NEH and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Already, the sudden grant cuts and overall defunding of the national agencies have shaken lo-
cal organizations that play a critical role in the arts, including local museums in Washington and Idaho.
TRICKLE DOWN IMPACT
The April 2 email notifying Humanities Washington of its grant terminations said the funds were being appropriated for other administrative directives.
“This put us in a real bind, because all federal funding works on a reimbursement basis, so you apply to them for a certain set of activities,” Ziegler says. “The federal government asked us to provide these services — we did that — and before they had a chance to pay the bill, they left the building.”
Ziegler says the organization is not in the financial red, but because of the sudden funding loss, it will tap into reserve funds, stop new program commitments and furlough staff by 20%, with one less paid workday a week.
“It’s caused a real hardship and a lot of anxiety on the part of our program partners around the state, who really depend on our programs to fill a lot of gaps in their communities,” Ziegler says.
The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture has fared better than other regional museums because it received all of its reimbursements before the grant cuts began, says Kayla Tackett, director of exhibitions and collections.
“We’ve been fortunate that we have not had any grants canceled,” Tackett says.
However, if the National Endowment for the Arts is being dismantled and defunded com-
The 121-year-old J.C. White house is home to the Museum of North Idaho, which has had to pause a planned expansion.
PHOTO COURTESY MUSEUM OF NORTH IDAHO
pletely, Tackett is concerned about impacts to the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Program, which provides insurance for exhibitions that bring art and artifacts from abroad and around the country. If an indemnified object is damaged or lost, the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities certifies the claim’s validity and requests that Congress authorize payment.
“So you would start seeing things like reductions in what people could bring in across the U.S. and internationally for exhibitions, especially at really large art museums,” Tackett says. “Museums simply don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on insurance premiums, and that program is incredible because it does provide insurance.”
David Pettyjohn, executive director of the Idaho Humanities Council, shares similar concerns about federal funding cuts impacting Idaho. He says the Idaho organization has existed since 1973 and aims to connect people by deepening their understanding of the human experience.
The Idaho Humanities Council brings in speakers and produces programs like the weeklong summer teacher institute, which provides 40 teachers fee-free training. The organization also funds local arts and humanities programs through grants.
Pettyjohn first heard about the federal arts grant cuts hitting Alabama. Then, every state humanities council began getting notified from the same Microsoft email account.
“I’m not gonna lie, it was a long night,” Pettyjohn says. “We could not access any of the remaining funds that we had for Idaho, which was about $214,000.”
Based on previous funding levels, the Idaho Humanities Council was anticipating an additional $730,000 through Sept. 30, the end of the federal fiscal year. Pettyjohn says the council has had to make tough decisions, including pausing all but two programs through the fiscal year’s end. Thanks to its decades-old endowment and local donors, the council will be able to keep its Summer Teacher Institute and Museum on Main Street tours, which brings traveling Smithsonian exhibitions to small Idaho communities.
According to Pettyjohn, over 70% of the organization’s programming happens in rural communities, such as Priest River, Bonners Ferry and Kellogg.
Pettyjohn says he’s working with Republican Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson on future funding.
“We’re really focused on fiscal year 2026, and the more voices they [members of Congress] hear, the more they know that support exists,” Pettyjohn says. “The other thing to do is visit your local library, visit your local museum, visit your local historical society.”
NO APPEAL
Britt Thurman, executive director of the Museum of North Idaho in Coeur d’Alene, also asks people to visit their local museums.
The North Idaho museum’s exhibits highlight the region’s mining, railroad and tribal history. Thurman says operational funding from the Idaho Humanities Council supplements donations and ticket sales.
Thurman was also awaiting word on an NEH grant worth up to $500,000 to expand the museum. The matching grant would pay $1 for every $3 raised locally, so the museum would need to raise $1.5 million to receive the full $500,000. However, on May 13 museum staff received an email saying the grant application had been withdrawn, and there would be no appeal process.
“NEH is repurposing its funding allocations in furtherance of the President’s priorities,” the email stated.
Thurman says the expansion, which would create 4,000 additional square feet of exhibition space (adding to the current 1,300 square feet), was necessary to share this region’s history adequately. The project will be put on hold until funding can be found.
On May 15, the Federation of State Humanities Councils filed a lawsuit in federal court against the National Endowment for the Humanities and DOGE to fight the sudden grant cuts.
“This lawsuit challenges the disruption and attempted destruction, spearheaded by DOGE, of the congressionally established federal-state partnership between NEH and the 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils,” the lawsuit states. n victorc@inlander.com
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From the Ashes
The MAC’s latest exhibit analyzes the region’s past, present and future relationship with fire
BY MADISON PEARSON
In 1889, the territory of Washington officially declared statehood, but it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows the year the 42nd state entered the union.
The territory’s four major cities each went up in flames in the summer of 1889: Seattle and Vancouver in June, Ellensburg in July, and Spokane — then called Spokane Falls — in August.
With Inland Northwest wildfires becoming a greater risk than ever, the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture is hosting the exhibition “Fire: Rebirth and Resilience” through Sept. 28. The show details notable fires in the region and how fire and humans here have interacted since time immemorial.
Anna Harbine, the exhibit’s curator and curator of
archives and special collections at the MAC, has been working to bring this exhibit to life for over five years.
“Around 2019, there were fires in California, a big one in the Palouse, and we were having fires around [Spokane],” Harbine says. “People started to understand climate change and that wildfires were going to keep happening.”
And they did. On Aug. 18, 2023, a red flag warning was issued for portions of Spokane County and Pend Oreille County. Around noon, a fire sparked in Medical Lake, and just four hours later, another fire began 50 miles away near Elk.
The two fires devastated both communities, each burning over 10,000 acres, destroying hundreds of structures and killing two people.
“Fires have always been happening in this region,” Harbine says. “But not to this intensity or frequency as of late.”
Initially, the exhibit was only meant to touch on Spokane’s Great Fire of 1889, as the museum has collected dozens of new items related to the fire since the last exhibition held for the conflagration’s 100th anniversary in 1989.
“Then there had been these moments where history was really rhyming with itself,” Harbine says. “With Malden and Pine City burning to the ground in 2020 and, of course, the Gray and Oregon fires, we decided to incorporate those into the show as well.”
HISTORY
Journalists are handy: The Daily Chronicle staff worked out of a tent after the Great Fire in Spokane in 1889. PHOTO COURTESY NW MAC
Ruins of the Hyde Block in Spokane on Aug. 5, 1889. PHOTO COURTESY NW MAC
Museum frequenters will be familiar with the two galleries on the lefthand side through the MAC’s main gallery entrance, typically boasting two different exhibits at any given time.
Now, they’re working together to tell a story.
The far gallery contains the “rebirth” portion of the exhibit, featuring found artifacts from the Great Fire of 1889 that destroyed most of Spokane’s downtown after a small lodging house and restaurant caught fire on Railroad Avenue (now the alley that runs between First and Second avenues).
“I think people don’t really know the timeline of Spokane,” Harbine says. “It was this really fast-paced, growing city. There was such rapid growth in the late 1800s, and then fast-forward 20 years and you have a city that’s massive and on track for even more growth.”
The gallery features several tapestries of historic photographs hanging from the ceiling and on the wall. Harbine says she wanted to make people feel as if they were among the ruins of the Great Fire.
Artifacts recovered from the time of the fire include diaries, letters, melted pottery and more. There’s even a printing press next to a photo of the Spokane Chronicle staff operating out of a tent, famously not missing an issue even though the building they operated out of had burned down.
Along the wall, visitors will see maps of Spokane’s downtown core in 1889 and can trace the route someone would’ve needed to take from where the fire started to the switch that activated the water pump system installed for fire suppression in the early 1880s, located at the Washington Water Power building. (Google Maps says it would be a 15-minute walk.) Other statistics, such as population before and after the fire, are displayed as well.
In the back right corner of the gallery, patrons can listen to an oral history from a witness of the fire, recorded in 1956, set to a slideshow of a selection of the 182 photos of the fire the museum has in its archives.
Meanwhile the “resilience” gallery shows just that: how the community has adapted and learned to live with the threat of urban fires and wildfires.
“Fire is both something that creates and something that destroys,” Harbine says. “Yes, fires are devastating, but the resilience portion of the exhibition showcases how communities rallied together to create hope for one another.”
Rather than being filled with artifacts like the opposing gallery, the room is lined with photos depicting modern devastation in the region.
On the right, visitors will see multiple photos from the recent fires. One shows flames from the 2023 Gray Fire engulfing a home near the Medical Lake waterfront, another captures a local firefighter spraying water from a firehose to defeat the blaze.
Pamphlets featuring Smokey Bear as well as advertisements and toys about fire safety showcase how, from an early age, the world is preparing children to live with fire. From the singular candle atop their first birthday cake to catastrophic wildfires that may endanger their homes, fire is an inevitable part of the lives of young people.
Like the recording in the “rebirth” section of the exhibition, this gallery contains stories from those impacted by recent ruinous fires in some way, next to photos of homes burned to rubble and even artworks created by local artists in response to the blazes.
Transcripts of oral histories and interviews with those impacted are displayed on the gallery’s walls and will forever remain part of the MAC’s archives. Someday, when humanity’s relationship with fire changes once more, their words will be historical accounts rather than modern-day tales of rebirth and recovery.
“I never really thought fire directly affected me,” Harbine says. “But, putting together this exhibit made me realize that, whether they know it or not, everyone knows someone who has been affected by fire.” n
Fire: Rebirth and Resilience • Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm through Sept. 28 • $9-$15 • Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture • 2316 W. First Ave. • northwestmuseum.org
Get ready for a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious time with Spokane Children’s Theatre.
A Pippin of a Poppins
Spokane Children’s Theatre is thinking outside the box for its 78th season finale
BY E.J. IANNELLI
When someone mentions the musical Mary Poppins, your next thought probably isn’t “experimental.”
Not so with Michael Barfield.
After the Spokane Children’s Theatre’s executive director, Tanya Brownlee, tapped him to lead the theater’s production of the musical, which closes the organization’s 78th season, he found himself contemplating exactly what Mary Poppins — and its audience — typically demands.
All kinds of fantastical things take place in this story about a wise and enigmatic nanny who sorts out the problems of the dysfunctional Banks family. Toys spring to life to teach children a lesson. Candy shops also deal in extraordinary words.
“The first thing that came to mind was the daunting tricks of the show. Like, how are we going to make Mary Poppins fly? Or how are we going to do all these fun special effects?” he says. “So I tried to think about those in terms of how we could try something different and whimsical and magical but that’s not reliant on a rigging system that we might not necessarily be able to make work in our particular space.”
Fortunately, Barfield has experience working within tight parameters. For the past decade plus, he’s been professionally involved with a mix of public and private middle and high school drama programs.
“With school theater shows, you’re limited by either budget or whatever space you can perform in,” Barfield says. “And I find that a lot of times your limitations are best for creative inspiration.”
Beyond Mary Poppins’ iconic ability to take to the sky by holding her umbrella aloft, a recurring challenge was the many set changes of this Broadway musical, a 2004 adaptation that loosely draws on the 1964 Disney film starring Julie Andrews as the title character and Dick Van Dyke as her friend Bert, a jack of all trades.
The solution was to double down on the show’s lighthearted self-awareness. It already has a good dose of that, given that the script calls for Bert (played in this production by Leland Hargrove) to break the fourth wall and address the audience.
Barfield’s own directorial approach is “just leaning into that a little bit more.”
The set he’s conceived turns the Banks household into
one of the toys that you might find in the playroom of its mischievous but misunderstood children, Jane (Sienna Miller-Thomas) and Michael (Henry Swanson).
“The play begins with the opening of this life-sized dollhouse and the characters coming out. I’m really inspired by the idea that there’s a chorus that’s inviting the audience into the production. The best comparison I can think of is the show Pippin.”
Between scenes, Barfield spotlights the ensemble in a way that suits the feel of the production. For instance, it wouldn’t be out of place to see a group of chimney sweeps take the stage as the location changes around and behind them.
“They might be interacting with audience members in some way just to remind them that they are watching a play and that we’re not going for the realism of 1910s London,” he says. “Rather, we’re a group of kid actors looking to put on a show for you.”
THE YOUTH OF TODAY
Spokane Children’s Theatre has a long history of productions with mixed adult and youth performers. Back in
2018, Barfield himself played the Beast in an SCT production of Beauty and the Beast. But when more than 100 people turned out for the Mary Poppins auditions, he felt spoiled for choice and exclusively cast under-18s.
“There was just such overwhelming talent with the youth that auditioned that I really wanted to see what it would look like to do an all-kid version of Mary Poppins,” he says. “It’s not only, on a practical level, to give kids this experience with the arts, but also I think it works well thematically for our production’s adherence to make-believe and childlike playfulness.”
That’s why you’ll find younger actors like Evan Sperry and Norah Spilker playing parents George and Winifred Banks, respectively, along with 14-year-old Darby Shuster in the musical’s eponymous role.
Although Shuster has appeared recently in Carousel and A Christmas Carol at the Spokane Civic Theatre, this marks her first lead in several years. The role itself also has personal significance for her. Seeing a production of Mary Poppins at the Civic was what inspired her to try her hand at acting in the first place.
Back then, at age 6, she was smitten with the idea of Mary Poppins being able to fly. In this show she’s been given the slightly more enviable ability to freeze time.
For her take on the character, Shuster was encouraged by Barfield to play the nanny figure, in his words, “less like Julie Andrews and more like Miss Frizzle” from The Magic School Bus
“She’s got that little bit of eccentricity, but she’s still practically perfect,” she says with a nod to her character’s act-one song, “Practically Perfect.”
Mary Poppins is also giving Shuster opportunities “to learn and to grow,” especially when it comes to honing her skills as a performer. Choreographer Natalie Krusenstjerna has incorporated a good amount of tap dancing into the popular number “Step in Time,” and Shuster notes that there are some ballet influences in “Jolly Holiday.”
“I’m learning a lot about different dances and styles. And Natalie is doing an amazing job of teaching it,” she says.
Barfield says that Shuster “personifies the classic Poppins” and is also “a clear triple threat with acting, singing and dancing.” It’s a level of “incredible talent” that he believes is shared by many in the cast and will surprise audiences when they realize that this is the full Broadway script, not some abridged version.
“By seeing an all-kid cast, ages 8 to 18, do this amazing stuff, I hope that any kids and families who come see our show are inspired to pursue the arts in their own lives,” he says. “For lack of a better phrase, this isn’t your grandmother’s Mary Poppins.” n
Mary Poppins • May 23 to June 8; Fri at 7 pm, Sat-Sun at 2 pm • $12-$18 • Spokane Children’s Theatre • 2727 N. Madelia St. • spokanechildrenstheatre.org • 509-328-4886
A cast of all kids brings the magical nanny’s tale to life. PHOTOS COURTESY TANYA BROWNLEE
CRIME & COMEDY
Poker Face is finally back, but what else is out there in the comedy-mystery streamverse?
BY BILL FROST
Way back in 2023, Peacock renewed the comedy thriller Poker Face for a second season while the first was still streaming week-toweek. Season 2 finally arrived this month (check out the review of S2 we ran earlier this month at Inlander.com), giving you some wiggle room to relive the 10-episode first season (worth it) or maybe even watch it for the first time (elongated wooorrrrth it). Either way, you’ll be hungry for another comedic mystery when it’s over. Here are a few TV shows that fit the profile.
POKER FACE (2023-PRESENT;
PEACOCK)
Might as well start with creator/producer Rian Johnson and star Natasha Lyonne’s tribute to ’70s and ’80s detective shows, specifically Columbo (also on Peacock). Charlie Cale (Lyonne) possesses the ability to spot a liar immediately, which helps her solve mysteries while cruising the country in a sweet blue 1969 Barracuda. She’s also on the run from some Very Bad People, adding an underlying tension to the comedy. Poker Face is easily Lyonne’s career best.
PRETTY HARD CASES (2021-2023; PRIME VIDEO)
Baroness Von Sketch Show alum Meredith MacNeill and Orange Is the New Black’s Adrienne C. Moore star as Toronto police detectives in this procedural dramedy that was initially — and more perfectly — titled Lady Dicks The three-season Canadian import follows a case-ofthe-week format that allows MacNeill and Moore to shine both as competent cops and less-than-perfect off-duty women while never losing sight of the funny. If the U.S.’s genius tariffs ever apply to Canadian TV, then it’ll be time to panic.
PSYCH (2006-2014; PEACOCK, PRIME VIDEO)
Before Suits, the USA Network ruled early-2000s cable with comic-tinged crime series like Monk, Burn Notice and the eight-season juggernaut Psych. The series centers on “psychic” Shawn (James Roday) and his business partner/BFF Gus (Dulé Hill) as they assist local police with solving cases in the criminal hotbed of… Santa Barbara, California. Over 120 episodes and four movies, Psych’s comedic batting average more than earned its rabid, pineapple-obsessed fan base.
BORED TO DEATH (2009-2011; MAX, ROKU CHANNEL)
Unlike Psych, HBO’s Bored to Death flew so far under the radar that most don’t believe it ever really existed. “There was a show starring Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis that ran for three seasons? Get outta here.” The series stars Schwartzman as a struggling Brooklyn writer who moonlights as an unlicensed private detective, taking on the smallest and weirdest of cases. The show’s understated drollery would probably never fly on today’s HBO, aka Bill Maher’s retirement home.
THE RESORT (2022; PEACOCK)
What if The White Lotus was fun? Or at least fun-adjacent? Peacock had it in the one-season-and-done series The Resort, even if few noticed. The eight-episode mystery-comedy stars Cristin Milioti and William Jackson Harper as a couple on vacation in the Mayan Riviera for their 10th anniversary. Their stay and their marriage are decidedly meh until they get caught up in solving the disappearance of two young lovers from the resort 15 years prior. A brief but engaging watch, as is anything with Milioti (sidenote to Netflix: give her a Black Mirror/U.S.S. Callister spinoff series already).
THE AFTERPARTY (2022-2023; APPLE TV+)
Christopher Miller’s exceedingly clever The Afterparty not only tells the story of a murder at a high school reunion afterparty from the viewpoints of several attendees, but also in wildly different film styles. The episodes bounce from rom-com to psychological thriller to action flick to even animation, propelled by a cast of comedy killers including Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz, Ilana Glazer and more. Season 2, set at a wedding, doesn’t fare quite as well, but it’s a valiant effort.
MAPLEWORTH MURDERS (2020; ROKU CHANNEL)
The short-form video streamer Quibi launched and folded five years ago, and we’re still discovering originals that escaped the fallout. Mapleworth Murders is a straightup Murder, She Wrote parody starring the brilliant Paula Pell as Abigail Mapleworth, a murder-mystery novelist investigating suspicious deaths in her small town. The most impressive part of the silly AF Mapleworth Murders is how it squeezes over 20 big-name comic actors into just a dozen 10-minute episodes. Quibi died so you could laugh. n
THE BUZZ BIN
SUPER(Y), MARIO
After making solid but unremarkable additions in the transfer portal (with Arizona State guard Adam Miller joining midseason Virginia transfer wing Jalen Warley), Gonzaga men’s basketball has again turned to international recruiting to potentially land their next star player… and he calls to mind another guy who likes collecting stars. It was announced last week that 19-year-old Spanish guard Mario Saint-Supery will be heading to Spokane to play for the Zags. A dynamic attacking guard, Saint-Supery has been playing professionally in Liga ACB (one of the top international leagues), put up huge numbers in last year’s FIBA U18 EuroBasket (21.4 points and 6.3 assists per game), and has even already suited up for the always fearsome main Spanish men’s national team. Here’s hoping the Spaniard turns Zags games into a Mario party. (SETH SOMMERFELD)
ENTERING STAGE LEFT…
Spokane’s nonprofit Stage Left Theater announced some leadership changes after a year of “intentional planning and communitycentered visioning,” according to a May 5 press release. This season, Stage Left is implementing a new “tri-leadership” model with local theater standout Dahveed Bullis named artistic director (the first African American in the role at Stage Left, pictured above), Kearney Jordan Olson serving as managing director and James Landsiedel as technical director. “This marks a new era for Spokane theater,” Bullis says. “We are dedicated to solidifying Stage Left’s legacy as a place where high-quality work is standard. Our focus is on new works, local writers and the true voice of the community. Spokane is not just a place where good art tours — Spokane is a place where great art begins.”
(MADISON PEARSON)
THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST
Noteworthy new music arriving in stores and online on May 23.
SPARKS, MAD!
The always eclectic art pop brotherly duo of Ron and Russell Mael turn out more ditties for oddballs on Sparks’ 28th studio album.
STEREOLAB, INSTANT HOLOGRAMS ON METAL FILM
After 15 years, the English-French avant-pop band finally puts out a new album of heady dance tracks.
SPORTS TEAM, BOYS THESE DAYS
The English alt-rock band’s dry humor about Middle England gets cranked up to less subtle levels with new songs like the materialistic ode “I’m in Love (Subaru).” (SETH SOMMERFELD)
Poker Face
Booked for the Summer
As a kid, summer was a time to go on adventures. I often wandered around Medical Lake’s Waterfront Park, popping in and out of the thick, wooded areas and going on self-prescribed quests around the lake with my best friend at all hours of the day. If not outside, I’d go on digital journeys in the form of Pokémon games on my trusty Nintendo DS, hastily searching the Sinnoh region for all 151 Pokémon to complete the Pokédex.
But most of my summer was spent in Medical Lake’s tiny county library branch with my head down, embarking on a thrilling adventure through several hundred pages of a book.
Books took me to fantasy worlds full of wizards, allowed me to solve mysteries alongside badass girl detectives and showed me how enjoyable reading can be.
Whether you decide to travel to Hayden to visit the region’s newest romance bookstore or dive into one of the many recommendations from local bookish experts, hopefully our Summer Reading issue can inspire you to take a literary adventure of your own.
— MADISON
PEARSON, SECTION EDITOR
Love Lives
As Hayden-based bookstore It’s a Love Story celebrates its first anniversary, the owners are creating a community of romantics
BY COLTON RASANEN
About two years ago, Tyann Bjorkman saw a video on TikTok profiling a romance-only bookstore. As an avid romance reader, the idea of a genre-specific bookstore was like one of those songs you can’t get out of your head. As she replayed the thought over and over, she wondered if she could create something similar in North Idaho.
So she called one of her friends, another romance fanatic who previously worked in the banking industry, to talk it over.
“That’s important to the story, she never calls me,” Ashley Yates says with a laugh. “She asked me if this was a crazy idea and if it would be well received, and I was quickly like ‘Um, yes!’”
Here
Yates’ support was a promising sign for Bjorkman, so the pair quickly began brainstorming what their perfect romance bookstore would look like.
“Immediately we started looking for spaces and got really lucky when we found this one. It was like the universe opened all the doors for us, and we went from that phone call to signing a lease within two weeks,” Bjorkman says. “Very quickly we realized how much of a community there was.”
The space they rented right off U.S. Route 95 in Hayden was completely empty, so it took about six months of renovation before It’s A Love Story Books & Cafe could open. In that in-between time as they built their space, Bjorkman and Yates began their business by selling “blind dates with a book” — readers only find out what the book is after they buy it — on TikTok.
“We started the operations out of my house first, so I jumped up on TikTok, and we kind of built a small community there,” Bjorkman says. “I got bored one day, and I went live as I was practicing wrapping the blind dates to be ready for the store. People liked it, so then I created a listing on
TikTok. … It helped us buy everything we needed to get in [the store].”
When the bookstore finally opened in June 2024, it was a romantic’s paradise. Dark bookshelves lining the walls are filled with romantic stories ranging from steamy sports trysts to shadow daddies and their magical love. The center of the store is filled with large comfy chairs meant for customers to relax with a coffee and their new book.
With the strong social media presence that started before there was even a brick and mortar location, the North Idaho bookstore now gets customers from all over the country, Yates says. However, it’s the folks who live nearby and keep coming back that make this all worth it for the owners.
Most romance novels are written by women, and most of the people who read the genre are women, Yates explains. So today, most of the bookstore’s customers are women, too.
“This allows a different experience, because you walk in here and you truly may walk out with a new friend,” Yates says. “The amount of friendships we’ve seen happen is so cool. I love the community that we’re building here.”
While Yates and Bjorkman are huge fans of romance, they haven’t always been comfortable sharing that with those around them. Ten years ago, they say it felt taboo to talk about enjoying the genre.
“I mean, fantasy has always been OK, reading about dragons was always OK, but for whatever reason, if you wanted to read a romance book, that was silly,” Yates says. “There was always this embarrassment.”
Yates says that feeling of shame was often caused by judgment from those in older generations less willing to openly talk about romance and sex.
But in the last few years, romance has surged to the top of the genre pool. According to a report from Book Riot, the largest independent book site in North America, as of mid-2024 romance was the most popular and bestselling genre.
That popularity hasn’t diminished, and as more genre-specific bookstores like It’s A Love Story pop up, they’re going toe-to-toe with big-name stores that seem to only carry the most well-read books of the moment.
“What’s beautiful about these smaller, niche bookstores is we are able to stock so many titles by indie authors because we have dedicated an entire storefront to it,” Bjorkman says. “That’s one of the biggest comments that we hear from shoppers, is that we have books they can’t find anywhere else because we have more shelf space for them.”
While it’s too early for the pair to release any specific details, they plan to spread the love and open a second location in 2026. n
It’s a Love Story Books & Coffee • 8927 Hess St., Suite A, Hayden • Open Mon-Sat from 9 am-6 pm; Sun from 10 am-4 pm • Instagram: @ itsalovestorybooks • 208-772-5053
ROMANCE RECOMMENDATIONS
Tyann Bjorkman and Ashley Yates see romance novels every single day — here are a few recently released and upcoming novels they recommend.
Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry
Till Summer Do Us Part by Meghan Quinn - Out June 3
One Dark Kiss by Rebecca Zanetti - Out June 24
Tyann Bjorkman (left) and Ashley Yates have created a welcoming space to sip and read.
YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS
SUMMER READS
Treat Your Shelf
Check out these summer book recommendations from local lit-lovers
BY INLANDER STAFF AND GUEST CONTRIBUTORS
SAngel Sharpening its Beak
ometimes, picking out a book to read is half the battle. But don’t fret, little bookworm! The Inlander staff and plenty of the region’s bookish types have compiled this list of recommendations for your summer reading list.
We’ll Prescribe You a Cat
This bestselling novel by Japanese writer Syou Ishida was recently translated into English (its sequel gets an English release in September), and it’s an endearing, breezy read that’ll warm any cat lover’s heart. Told in a series of five short, interconnected stories, We’ll Prescribe You a Cat centers on a Kyoto clinic that recommends its patients try a dose of feline cuteness to cure their woes, from job-induced stress to detached parenting. While these stories certainly pull heartstrings, they also offer a healthy reminder to slow down and enjoy each little moment with loved ones — especially those with fur. (CHEY SCOTT)
Wolf Land
This is the second of three books on the subject that wolfer turned wolf advocate Carter Niemeyer has written about wolf reintroduction and wolves in Idaho. Wolf Land reads like a memoir grounded in experience and science and is aware of the complexities and complications that exist where wolves and humans meet. Written with humility and humor, this book shines light on one of the most contentious debates that exists in the American West and does so with compassion for all life. (CMARIE FUHRMAN, Inlander columnist and author)
Always redefining and refining the craft of poetry, Michael McGriff once again presses together the sacred and the profane into the vast landscape of art and creates a new landscape where the possibility of language is realized. McGriff sees the lives of those often ignored, unseen and passed by — beings human and non — and with the care of a poet offers them a light of their own. This collection is a gift of empathy, kindness and craft so necessary in our world now as they have always been. (CF)
Get Me Through the Next Five Minutes
Sometimes, panic hits. Headlines blare. Families break. Jobs end. Your dog farts. You don’t know what to do, but the most you can focus on is getting through the next five minutes. Few people are as acquainted with this anxiety as Atlantic writer James Parker. His cure? Look around you, and sing to it. In the face of big feelings, Parker started penning “odes” — that is, lyrical exercises in gratitude for the ordinary and sometimes obscure, like squirrels, pull-ups or running in movies. These sacrilegious songs anchored the back of the Atlantic magazine for years. Now, they’re all in one place, collected into an anthology that’s as easy to grab as a cigarette or a chocolate bar when you’re feeling an inescapable need to cope. (ELIZA BILLINGHAM)
Tomatoland
Ever wonder why grocery store tomatoes taste so bad? Investigative food reporter Barry Estabrook explains why, but not before careening through the Peruvian desert to find an allbut-extinct heirloom, exploring what Italian food was like before colonizers found tomatoes in the New World, and exposing the lethal work conditions of Immokalee, Florida, sometimes called the tomato capital of the world. If you care about pizza or people, you care about this book. (If you don’t, what are you doing with your life?) I think about Tomatoland every time I’m in the produce aisle. (EB)
Piranesi
If you’re a fan of The Chronicles of Narnia, Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi is like the grown-up version of that classic tale with a bit of a twist. Almost the entirety of the story takes place in The House, a mysterious system of tunnels and hallways in which Piranesi (our protagonist) and a few other curious beings reside. Piranesi is confined to a world filled with nothing but statues, which represent a greater reality of which he is simultaneously ignorant. (Ring ring! The Allegory of the Cave is calling!) Piranesi begins to piece together a life he once had, and his only friend in The House, named The Other, tries to suppress those memories and keep Piranesi under his control. I urge you to push past your early confusion with this one to find the meaning that lies underneath. (MADISON PEARSON)
A Psalm for the Wild-Built
This Becky Chambers novel is essentially if the phrase “everything is gonna be OK” were a book, the embodiment of a tender kiss on the forehead, and a brief respite from a stressful world. A lonely tea monk and a robot travel together and answer the question: In a world where people have everything they want, does having more matter? Once you begin this cozy read, I dare you not to tear up at least a little bit at the gentle friendship between the two completely different creatures. (MP)
How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures
This is a book for those of you who have always wondered what sea creature you would be but are too serious to just take a Buzzfeed quiz. In their debut novel, science writer Sabrina Imbler takes readers on a deep dive into the ocean as they muse about family, relationships and their coming of age through 10 different essays. When I first heard about this book, I thought the concept was fun, if a little cheesy, but in each essay Imbler pulled me deeper by adeptly weaving aspects of their life into thoughtful descriptions of lesser-known sea creatures. For example, in one chapter Imbler compares their relationship with their mother to a starving deep-sea octopus, graneledone boreopacifica, which clung to a rocky wall for four-and-a-half years protecting its eggs until they hatched. The octopus died. Imbler’s maternal relationship is shaky. And I may have cried. (COLTON RASANEN)
Reading is FUNdamental
Reading doesn’t have to be a solitary activity — here are a few bookish events happening in the area
BY MADISON PEARSON
The Devil in the White City
This 2003 Erik Larson book takes a novelistic nonfiction dive into 1890s Chicago and the 1893 World’s Fair. Half the time we nerd out on the architectural marvels imagined to one-up the World’s Fair that brought Paris the Eiffel Tower in 1889 — including the original Ferris Wheel, which was so large each car held more than 40 people. But the real drama arises from the simultaneous rise of the titular serial killer H.H. Holmes, who conned, tortured and murdered some of those drawn to the city for the work. Since we’ve been waiting a decade for the Leonardo DiCaprio/Martin Scorsese movie adaptation (which could be back on track now?) go ahead and read the book.
(SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)
Auntie’s Book Clubs
Book clubs are a fantastic way to become a better reader. They hold you to a time table and force you to comprehend what you’re reading. What better place to do that than at Spokane’s longest-running independent bookstore? Auntie’s Bookstore offers myriad book clubs in various topics like science and nature, new fiction, mystery and thriller, and queer-authored books. The store hosts different clubs nearly every week of the month. Check out their website for more information: auntiesbooks.com
Silent Book Clubs
You’ve heard of book clubs, but have you heard of silent book clubs? Reading is often an activity done alone — and cherished by introverts around the world — but even the recluse who spends all their time indoors with their nose in a book eventually longs for social interaction. A solution to those problems was discovered just over 10 years ago when friends Guinevere de la Mare and Laura Gluhanich began the first Silent Book Club in New York City. Now, Silent Book Clubs are a worldwide phenomenon, popping up in nearly every U.S. state and various countries around the globe. Groups of readers bring their own books — unbound by the shackles of assigned reads — and flip pages together in silence. Our region has five chapters: Spokane South, Spokane North, Spokane LGBTQ, Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene. For more information on how to join, head to silentbook.club and click “Find a chapter.”
Sorrowland
Rivers Solomon’s third novel Sorrowland is equal parts science fiction, horror and historical commentary. It’s the kind of book you might pick up after dinner to read the first few chapters and then suddenly find yourself racing to finish it the following morning. The story follows Vern, a seven-month-pregnant and nearly blind woman, who escapes from the religious compound where she grew up. She doesn’t get very far into the surrounding woods before she gives birth to twins, Howling and Feral. She manages to survive for a few years, but as danger from her home threatens her family, she sets out to learn the truth of her upbringing. (CR)
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Page 42 25-Cent Book Sales
Every four to six weeks, Page 42 Bookstore in Spokane’s Bemiss neighborhood hosts 25-cent book sales in their parking lot. Nearly 10,000 books line the outside of the store, ripe for perusing! Because the store needs time to collect said 10,000 books, the sales aren’t announced until the Monday before the event weekend, so keep your eyes on the store’s social media to find out when the next one is: page42bookstore.com
Friends of the Library Book Sales
Our region is lucky to have rock-solid library systems that truly care about literacy and the choice to read whatever books we choose. Both the Spokane Public Library system and the Spokane County Library District host multiple book sales each year, with proceeds directly supporting the libraries. These typically happen in the spring and fall, so keep an eye on their event calendars for the next chance to support your local library! spokanelibrary.org and scld.org
June 6: Heads Up Portrait Club + Jupiter’s Eye (pictured left) + Books to Prisoners
This upcoming portrait drawing and book drive merges the world of books with visual arts to benefit Books to Prisoners Spokane, a small collective that connects incarcerated individuals with reading materials at their request. At the June 6 event, members of Heads Up Portrait Club will draw a free, live portrait of anyone who buys a book or makes a monetary donation. Instagram: @headsupportraitclub
SUMMER READS
Fourth Wing / The Empyrean Series
Setting: A war college for dragon riders. Strong main female character: Violet. Leaned-on fantasy trope: Smutty shadow daddy. (This series contains adult content.) Plot: Training to fight outside evil that’s worse than you knew, only to realize you may need to overcome the evil within. Cursed element: Each book ends with a cliffhanger of epic proportions. The third, Onyx Storm, just came out in January, and we have no idea when Rebecca Yarros plans to write the next one. Fair warning: This may be a gateway drug to all the ampersand smutty fantasy series out there. (SW)
Project Hail Mary
This is the best Andy Weir novel. Full stop. Ideal as an audiobook for reasons I can’t tell you. But if you loved his crass humor and science coming to the rescue in The Martian, this is even better. A “failed” academic turned high school science teacher wakes up on a spaceship with a mission to save the planet, but has to piece his memories back together to figure out what he’s supposed to be doing. This is the perfect summer to read it, since early next year we’ll see Ryan Gosling star in the film adaptation. (SW)
Feeding Ghosts
It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over OK, OK, so I’m not the right person to ask for lighter-fare beach reads. Nonetheless, this slim, surprising novel — narrated by a zombie who is adjusting to her new subhuman form — feels like the right fit for summer. The book starts oceanside, after all, with a hilarious goodbye to the narrator’s severed arm, which is sent out to sea in a funeral pyre that also includes a fellow zombie’s perished finger. The physical losses that entertain us at the start of the book become more weighted as we learn of the greater losses happening — the narrator’s grief concerning a lost lover, and the yawning hunger that signals a departure from humanity. This book is poetry — bloody, gutsy, oozing, love-drenched zombie poetry — and will make a great summer companion for anyone experiencing life-altering change.
(SHARMA SHIELDS, Spokane Public Library writing education specialist and author)
The Unhoneymooners
If you like an enemies-to-lovers plot with lots of witty banter and an easy summer read, this is IT! I soared through this book. I started it on a plane ride, got home at midnight and did not go to sleep until I finished it. Picture this: Everyone gets sick at your sister’s wedding except you and your archnemesis. Now you have to go on your sister’s honeymoon with him because you don’t want the trip to go to waste. Hijinks ensue, feelings grow, and maybe your luck starts to change. (ALINA MURCAR, Spokane Public Library marketing and communications manager)
It’s worth setting aside a weekend to immerse yourself in Tessa Hulls’ masterpiece of writing and illustration, which just won the Pulitzer Prize. With fluid drawings that animate indescribable emotions, Hulls explores how her grandmother’s torment during the Chinese Communist Revolution oozed through the generations. Her relentless interrogation of this history — and her own perceptions of it — reveals essential truths about the stories that individuals, families and societies tell to explain, defend and reimagine themselves. This isn’t a light read, but it’s a necessary one.
(TARA KARR ROBERTS, Inlander columnist and Moscow-based author)
This Is How You Lose the Time War
A short but powerful novella co-authored by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, This is How You Lose the Time War falls into the science fiction and fantasy genres. With time travel weaving throughout the book, Agents Red and Blue attempt to undo the work of the other, twisting the timeline to their own side’s agenda. Communication between the two starts off taunting, but will it soften over time? A great read with beautiful language and a story that focuses on the relationship between two women who find that they may have more in common with their immediate enemy than their distant allies. (BEE REISWIG)
Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World
Artificial Intelligence is real, confusing, and is soon about to become a part of daily lives. This book explores the two major companies on either side of the Atlantic that are shaping and developing the latest AI programs — OpenAI and Deepmind — from their origins through to their acquisitions by Microsoft and Google respectively. This book helps cut through the noise surrounding this software and alerts readers to the real threat of artificial intelligence that its top creators are ignoring: the profit-driven spread of flawed and biased technology into industries, education, media and more. (SEAN C. KUDRNA, Spokane Public Library clerical assistant)
Agents of Dreamland
A government agent investigates a cult with the help of a clairvoyant interdimensional sage woman in order to delay an imminent alien invasion. There are a million things to love in this impressively short book. At 120 pages, it manages to incorporate astrophysics, conspiracy theories and Lovecraftian horror all at once. It’s the first in the series titled The Tinfoil Dossier, and is a must-read for anybody who is a fan of beautiful writing or creepy stories. (SK)
Just for the Summer
A sweet and funny contemporary romance that kicks off when Justin and Emma meet on Reddit — of all places — bonding over a bizarre pattern in their dating lives. Every time they date someone, that person ends up finding “the one” immediately after breaking up with them. So, they jokingly agree to date each other JUST for the summer, thinking maybe they can break the curse. As they spend more time together, what was supposed to be a no-strings-attached summer starts to feel a lot more real. The book mixes humor, heart and depth with just the right amount of emotional healing and summer vibes. It’s perfect if you like a romance that’s both swoony and meaningful. (KS)
Dungeon Crawler Carl
This book has everything! Adventure. Magical gear. Ridiculous monsters. But most importantly, it has FMC (Feline Main Character) Princess Donut and her loyal manservant, Carl. This literary RPG is hilarious, engaging, and the first series in a long time that I can’t wait to read in its entirety. (AUBREY HOUGER, Jupiter’s Eye bookseller)
The Thursday Murder Club
This is the first in this cozy mystery series by British humorist Richard Osman. We follow the self-proclaimed Thursday Murder Club, a group of cold-case enthusiasts living in a pastoral retirement community, whose lives are made quite complicated when a real murder lands in their laps. Funny, captivating and often more touching than it has any right to be. It’s being turned into a TV show in August, so read it now to be all caught up! (MORGAN LYNCH, owner of Jupiter’s Eye Book Cafe)
The Summer I Turned Pretty
A coming-of-age novel that follows Belly, a teenage girl who returns to the same beach house that she has visited every summer with her family and close friends. This summer feels different though — she’s growing up, seeing not only herself but others in a new light, and just beginning to understand love, friendship, and the complexities of change. Set within a dreamy beach setting and heartfelt moments, the story captures the bittersweet nature of growing up and discovering who you are.
(KAYA STONE, Spokane Public Library clerical assistant)
Tress of the Emerald Sea
This is a deadly and beautiful story about a once-quiet girl from a sheltered life who finds her strength and power in this “high seas” adventure full of pirates, romance and talking familiars. Each sea is made up of spores with different properties: Deadly vines erupt from one, and sharp, dangerous crystals emerge from another. Sanderson does an incredible job building this unique fantasy world. A perfect read for someone looking to fill their mind with adventure and imagination this summer. (MAKENNA HAEDER, Jupiter’s Eye bookseller) n
THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT W
hether you’re working through the local libraries to check out materials or wanting to track reading and connect with other bibliophiles, there are apps aplenty. Here are a few to check out.
LIBBY
Spokane Public Library and Spokane County Library District offer audiobook and e-book options through Libby. Once you’ve got it downloaded, input your library card, and you can find what your local library has, place a hold, or check it out — or if the book you want isn’t there, you can even request to be notified if it’s added. The libraries get to see what people are hoping for and will add new options based on these requests. (SW)
FABLE
Do you like to track which books you’ve read? Fable makes it fun in a Spotifywrapped kinda way, but with monthly wraps, and a calendar view that makes it easy to go look at what you’ve already read over time. Set a goal for how many books you want to read this year, track your daily reading habits by book (and keep track of how many pages you’ve read or what percentage you’ve finished), set up book clubs for your friends, and even find a feed full of everything from fan theories to tidbits from authors and publishers. (SW)
STORYGRAPH
This book tracking app is extremely similar to Goodreads, but without the horrible user interface design and connection to Amazon! In addition to tracking your yearly book and page count, StoryGraph provides extremely interesting graphs and data sets not just at the end of the year, but every day. It’s the perfect app for stat geeks and those who are motivated by sporadic reading challenges, plus you can add friends and see what they’re reading for an extra layer of fun. (MP)
BOOKLY
Struggling with consistency? Bookly is a great option if you’re looking to build good reading habits. With this app, you can begin a “reading session,” which starts a timer and allows readers to listen to ambient music, add notes, and focus until time is up. It also keeps track of your reading streak, pages read over time clocked in the app and plenty more stats while unlocking achievements every time you read. (MP)
SUMMER READS
Catcher in the Prize
Crush your summer reading goals with these Spokane-area reading clubs and programs
BY HANNAH HIGENS
SPOKANE PUBLIC LIBRARY SUMMER READING CLUB
The adventure awaits with Spokane Public Library’s annual summer reading club. From June 1 until Aug. 31, kids and teens can learn and stay engaged with the knowledge of books. Those who want to participate can pick up a summer reading magazine from any of the city’s public library locations. After doing so, kids and teens can track their time spent reading — if they read for 15 days for any amount of time, they can win a prize at the end of each month. Young readers are also welcome to attend the library’s free events over the summer, such as storybook readings and game nights. The library is also handing out a reading challenge coloring sheet for anyone who is interested to take home.
SPOKANE PUBLIC LIBRARY MONTHLY PRIZES FOR READING
The Spokane Public Library is also encouraging everyone to read this summer with gift incentives and challenges. Partnering with online reading tracker Beanstack, book lovers can keep track of their reading and earn badges. And to make reading more fun, the library will be offering local gifts and prizes to those who read for at least 15 days every month this summer from June 1 to Sept. 15. Some of these local prizes for kids include free boba tea from Revival Tea Company, free skate rentals at the Numerica Skate Ribbon, free admission to the Spokane Interstate Fair and free ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s. For adults, some prizes include free coffee from Derailer Coffee, a hot yoga class at Beyoutiful Hot Yoga and an entry into a sweepstakes of your choice. Visit spokanelibrary.org to learn more.
In addition to silent book clubs like this one (see page 25), there are lots of summer reading challenges to spark your competitive literary
SPOKANE COUNTY LIBRARY ONLINE SUMMER READING CHALLENGE WITH BEANSTACK
Online platform Beanstack has also partnered with the Spokane County Library District to put together a summer reading challenge for kids of all ages. From June 1 until Aug. 31, kids can track summer reading by registering on the Beanstalk website or app, and then they can pick out a free book to take home courtesy of the Library Foundation of Spokane County through generous community donations during Library Giving Day. As kids read more books, they earn badges and can enter to win various prizes. Kids ages 5-7 who read at least 300 minutes can receive a free ticket to a Spokane Velocity FC or Spokane Zephyr FC soccer match, and anyone who reads over 600 minutes during the summer challenge will receive a Certificate of Achievement and bragging rights.
SUMMER AUTHOR SERIES (SCLD ONLINE AUTHORS SERIES FOR KIDS, TEENS & FAMILIES)
Throughout June and July, Spokane County Library District will be hosting online “Author Talks” via Zoom. Each talk offers a unique opportunity for K-12 students, educators and book lovers to hear directly from acclaimed authors about their writing journeys, creative processes and beloved books. The list of authors includes Katherine Applegate (Animorphs), Raúl The Third (Stuntboy), Marie Lu (Young Elites series) and Rex Ogle (Free Lunch). To sign up for one of the talks and find the dates, head to scld.org/authors-series.
FAMILY STORYTIME IN THE PARK (HOSTED BY SPOKANE COUNTY LIBRARY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SPOKANE VALLEY PARKS AND RECREATION)
For families who want to get their young kiddos into reading, Family Storytime in the Park would be the perfect opportunity. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the weeks of June 23, July 21, and Aug. 4, from 10:30 am to 11 am, kids ages 2-5 and their families can enjoy 30 minutes of stories, songs and fingerplays that explore the concepts of literacy and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) at various parks in Spokane Valley. Monday storytimes are hosted at Edgecliff Park, Tuesdays are at Terrace View Park and Wednesdays are at Valley Mission Park.
PAGE 42
SUMMER READING PROGRAM
A summer reading program for kids that offers gifts and prizes from local shops? Yes, please! Spokane bookstore Page 42 is hosting its summer reading program for K-12 that launches in mid-June. As kids complete reading sheets, they can win toys and prizes from Spokane businesses like Garland Theatre tickets, LEGOs from Brick Buy Brick, a cake pop or drink from The Daily Dose, and much more. More details can be found on Page 42’s social media and website as the start date gets closer: page42bookstore.com. n
Write Place, Write Time
Add these recent and upcoming releases from Inland Northwest poets and writers to your summer (and beyond) reading list
BY MADISON PEARSON
MURDER RUNS IN THE FAMILY BY
TAMARA BERRY
You might know her as romance author Lucy Gilmore, but her alter ego, Tamara Berry, has cooked up a cozy mystery that’s perfect for those looking for a summertime sleuthing adventure. Murder Runs in the Family follows main character Amber Winslow as she leaves her life in Seattle and tries to clear the name of her estranged, eccentric grandmother, who is accused of murdering another resident of her Arizona retirement community. It’s exceedingly funny — with a pet tortoise at the center of the plot, how could it not be? — but also hits on themes of found family, friendship and belonging.
WHISKEY REBEL
BY JEFFREY DUNN
Set in the rugged landscape of Washington state’s high desert, author Jeffrey Dunn’s newest work of fiction is a story about identity, friendship and freedom. Whiskey Rebel centers on Iraq War veteran Punxie Tawney, who teams up with fellow drifter Hamilton Chance to pursue Chance’s desire to fulfill his ancestor’s dream: distilling a tax-free whiskey. On their journey across Central Washington, the two meet a crew of characters battling their own problems, each teaching them a lesson along the way.
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spirit. ERICK DOXEY PHOTO
SUMMER READS
FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY
BY JESSICA JAMES
An angsty, second-chance romance set to the backdrop of a rock band reunion? Sign me up! Revolving around the reunion of a band called the Glitter Bats, two of the former bandmates are thrown back into each other’s lives and enter a fake dating scheme for publicity before the reunion show. For One Night Only is local author Jessica James’ debut novel, and it’s packed with every sweet and spicy trope you can think of: childhood friends, enemies to lovers, found family and more. The band returns in the sequel For Our Next Song in January 2026, when secondary characters Jane and Keely will have their time in the spotlight.
SINKHOLE AND OTHER INEXPLICABLE VOIDS
BY LEYNA KROW
In Sinkhole and Other Inexplicable Voids, Krow weaves an ornate tapestry of tales beginning with “The Twin,” in which a family of four’s life is upended when the youngest boy, Jace, suddenly gains a twin in his crib overnight. Half of the stories in Sinkhole follow this family, consisting of matriarch Jenna, father Troy, daughter Ruby, and the twin boys Jace and Nicholas. “The Twin” sets the tone for the rest of the collection, a potpourri of stories mostly set in and around Spokane. It’s familiar, but just unsettling enough to ignite a funny feeling in the reader’s stomach.
PENNIES BY LORA SENF
Spokanite Lora Senf’s Blight Harbor series is a master class in approachable scary stories for kids.
The Clackity, Senf’s first foray into middle grade horror, was such a hit that she wrote two sequels, The Nighthouse Keeper and The Loneliest Place. Now, the upcoming fall 2025 release of Pennies serves as a prequel, taking place 100 years before the happenings in The Clackity. Four best friends are set to have the summer of their lives, but when they find a door in the forest floor that leads to an alternate universe, their ultimate summer takes a turn for the worse.
THE SERIOUS WORLD
BY LAURA READ
Voted best local poet by Inlander readers in our 2024 Best Of poll, Laura Read’s newest poetry collection is unlike any other she’s released thus far. Hitting shelves in October, The Serious World finds Read reaching back into history to talk with Sylvia Plath and other historical figures who have written about their suffering. Through a collection of poems in the form of letters, Read attempts to make sense of what it’s like to be alive and suffering in the present moment.
SO FAR GONE BY JESS WALTER
Jess Walter is back with another Pacific Northwest-set novel, this time about a reclusive journalist who is suddenly thrown into a rescue mission to save his kidnapped grandchildren. Beginning just a few weeks after the 2016 election and spanning several years into our present moment, Walter enhances readers’ capacity for empathy by taking them on a journey through the heartland of Christian nationalism and commenting on how we got to the political climate of 2025. Look for this one on shelves in June.
QUINNELOPE AND THE UNICORN UTOPIA BY HF BROWNFIELD AND KAYLA COOMBS
The third installment in the vibrant, kid-geared graphic novel series, Quinnelope is sure to be an adventure when it hits shelves in July. With colorful and fun illustrations by Spokanite HF Brownfield, Quinnelope (a pink, blobshaped queen) and her friends encounter pirate prawns, dangerous sea creatures and more on their quest to prove that unicorns are really real! Even if you’re not a kid, this adorable series will grab your attention and fill your heart with glee. n
JULY 24
NEON TREES
JULY 25
SIERRA FERRELL
WITH THE BRUDI BROTHERS
JULY 26
TOAD THE WET SPROCKET
WITH SEMISONIC & SIXPENCE NONE THE RICHER
JULY 27
THIRD EYE BLIND
WITH SNACKS AT MIDNIGHT
JULY 31
BROTHERS OSBORNE
AUGUST 1 KANSAS
WITH VIKA & THE VELVETS
AUGUST 2 DISPATCH
W/ JOHN BUTLER (WITH BAND)
G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE DONAVON FRANKENREITER
AUGUST 3
GRAND FINALE
SOUNDS OF SUMMER
From Peaches to Poulet Rôti
Chef Peter Adams of Française brings classic French cooking and farm-to-table roots to Spokane
BY DORA SCOTT
While Peter Adams, the head chef of Française, is known for his mastery of French cuisine, his earliest food memories come from the soil of his family’s farm in Missouri.
With a humble upbringing and plenty of family members to feed, Adams’ childhood was centered on self-sufficiency.
“[My grandma was] a Depression-era child so as a kid we didn’t really have packaged snacks or anything like that,” he says. “It was always like grandma and grandpa’s canned potted meats or peaches, stuff like that.”
By age 6, Adams was learning how to use a paring knife to peel and can peaches, shuck peas, and trim collard greens.
“Looking back on this, we actually ate really, really well and really close to the source of things,” Adams says. His love for the kitchen also stems from time spent cooking with his father, who would cook up a big breakfast or dinner on his day off from working two jobs.
“That was like my time to spend with dad, sitting there and cooking with him,” he says.
Adams moved to Spokane at age 12, got his first food industry job washing dishes at The Chalet on the South Hill when he was 15, and later worked as a fry cook at Spencer’s for Steaks & Chops and at Portobello’s restaurant — formerly located in the Lincoln Heights shopping center.
He never intended to become a chef. At first, he aspired to become a professional soccer player or skateboarder — goals his parents thought were impractical, so they encouraged him to follow his talent for cooking.
His parents relocated to Cleveland when he was 18, so Adams enrolled in culinary school there and took a job as a commis (junior chef) at Pier W. For an externship, he traveled to Lyon, France, and worked as a commis at Café Comptoir Brunet for 19 months.
Thanks to years of learning French in school and
Française Executive Chef Peter Adams, left, and Sous Chef Noah Applegate.
YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS PROFILE
Adams values teamwork and training others in the kitchen.
French heritage on his mother’s side, the immersion wasn’t too jarring for him.
“I always had this background of it and understanding of it, but really being immersed in it was amazing,” Adams says.
He was struck, however, by how seriously the French took their ingredients.
“Their vegetables don’t see refrigerators,” he says. “Like, you go to the market at 6 am to pick up everything that you need. It’s a huge culture shock, where most of the places I worked at the steaks came in little plastic packaging. There, that doesn’t happen.”
For Adams, the French approach to food changed everything.
“If the quality of the ingredients before you start cooking is this high level, you don’t have to do much,” he says.
At Française, that philosophy is evident in dishes like his favorite: poulet rôti ($35). The French-style roast chicken is brined, poached, dried overnight, and roasted in butter and herbs to be flavorful and juicy on the inside with crispy skin. Served with smashed and roasted potatoes, a truffle cream sauce with mushrooms, and more, Adams calls it “nostalgia on a plate.”
The seasonal change to the classic dish includes an Espelette pepper, fennel, Pernod-based sauce and peas, confit shallot, mushrooms, and lemon.
“It’s simple but I think that’s definitely one of the gateway drugs to French food for Spokane as far as chicken,” he says.
It’s also fundamental for Adams to use the whole ingredient — veggie scraps and bones go into stocks, and nothing is wasted — and he steers away from overcomplication in presentation.
“I don’t want my food to look like a science project for somebody,” he says. “I wanted there to be these relatable layers to it where they understand what the dish is.”
After his time in Lyon, Adams took his skills to New York City, where he cooked at Gramercy Tavern, then spent 12 years back in Cleveland before finally settling down in Spokane in 2017. His extensive resume includes a year as chef de cuisine at Santé Restaurant and Charcuterie, four years as a private chef, and time at Ruins before he joined Française.
Adams had known Aaron Fish and Adam Hegsted of Eat Good Group from the inner circles of the restaurant scene.
“It’s a small chef community in Spokane. So when the opportunity popped up for Française, it all kind of lined out,” he says.
Française, which Eat Good Group opened in 2022, brings modern French fare to the South Perry District with dishes like française cassoulet (a duck and white bean stew), croque madame and charcuterie platters.
The space, housed in a building that’s over 100 years old, features exposed brick, dark wood floors, tall ceilings, and is decorated tastefully with plants and vintage pieces that match its antiquity.
Though Adams leads the kitchen at Française, he notes how he’s just a small part of the team. From General Manager Nicole Seaman’s curated wine selections to hardworking Sous Chef Noah Applegate, each person plays a pivotal role in creating a délicieux dining experience.
Adams sees Française as more than a French restaurant to showcase his skills. To him, it’s also a training ground for those new to the local food industry. Cooks in Spokane often skip foundational steps, he noticed, largely due to the lack (or types) of eateries willing to work with them to gain those skills.
“[The Eat Good Group] were very much pushing toward growing the cooks within their restaurants to move up within it and learn from each other,” Adams says. “I’m only as good as my newest line cook. We have to all grow together.” n
Poulet Rôti Saint Rèmy.
ALSO OPENING
LILO & STITCH
This month’s edition of unnecessary Disney “live action” remakes takes on the 2002 tale of a silly alien creature experiment (Stitch) being adopted as a “dog” by a young Hawaiian girl (Lilo). Sci-fi and adolescent hijinks ensue. Rated PG
RAN
Legendary director Akira Kurosawa’s 16th Century feudal Japanese take on King Lear returns to the big screen for its 40th anniversary. Rated R At the Magic Lantern
REVIEW
Should You Choose to Accept it?
BY CHASE HUTCHINSON
Ihave looked madness in the eyes and come away questioning my sense of reality. Does this madness have a name? Yes, and it’s Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. This is a truly baffling film that is awkwardly reverential of the past entries and its leading man, yet forgets what made them so beloved in the first place. Much like how Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt straps on an AI mask that curses him to see a maddening future, the experience of watching this final film in the action franchise is most akin to enduring increasingly painful psychic damage for nearly three hours. Playing like a greatest hits album that’s somehow overstuffed and undercooked, it’s an inescapably ludicrous closing chapter with an initially fun starting energy that soon gets lost. Though it picks up not too far after Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, this sequel launches us into a wildly different and oddly dull world. For what feels like an eternity, we get heaps of exposition about how the artificially intelligent force known as The Entity from the previous entry has begun rapidly taking over the nuclear arsenals of various countries and driving everyone toward the brink of all-out war. The only one who can stop the end of life on Earth as we know it is, of course, Ethan and his team of merry maniacs who are the Impossible Mission Force. While this sounds like it could all just be another
familiar Mission: Impossible movie, it’s the scattered and borderline anarchic execution that sends everything completely flailing all over the place.
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie
Starring Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg
From the extended monologue that throws out most everything the series had going for it to the long stretches that feel like we are still just waiting for the actual movie to finally start, it feels as though we are being pranked by returning director and co-writer Christopher McQuarrie. Surely there are more than just two big action sequences that last for more than a few seconds, right? Unfortunately, the reality is most of the film is entirely about setting things up. The experience is most defined by a sense of sweatiness as it strains to establish all the many moving pieces that it ends up doing very little with in the end. The last movie was more dexterous in how it built its action around getting two halves of a key, but this one is about finding one person to get another thing to find some info here before actually getting anywhere. It’s all accumulating contrivances and callbacks that are sporadically chaotic fun for a good run there at the beginning due to how ridiculous it is, but it eventually just runs entirely out of steam.
and courageous to ever live, it all starts to cross over into being a parody of itself. Cruise does get a couple of thrilling action sequences near the end: one a genuinely tense and well-shot descent into a sub, while the other is a Looney Tunes-esque sky battle that’s a true achievement of stunt work. But they aren’t enough to save the film. Where the delightful prior entry was tightly focused and built itself around several well-crafted set pieces that were memorable because of how they were given room to breathe, this forced finale feels like we are trapped in the mind of a teen who has downed 20 energy drinks and isn’t stopping. The film moves faster than any Mission Impossible has before, but this is all to disguise how little earned momentum it has.
Whether this is actually the end for Cruise and the IMF remains to be seen as the climax of the film plays with empty world-ending nonsense without offering much in the way of closure. While the writing was never the standout of these films, this one really struggles to create any real emotional payoff amid the noise, marking a new low for the franchise that only rarely rises above rock bottom as Cruise ascends to the skies. It moves so quickly that it takes a bit for you to notice how it is crashing and burning before you, but once you do (and the novelty of seeing a careening car crash wears off), all you’re left with is the cold, dead wreckage that Cruise — even when risking his body for it — is never able to give life. n Mission:
This comes despite the best efforts of the supporting cast as almost all of them are wasted in the film’s emphasis on bowing down to Cruise. When we are repeatedly told how his character is the greatest, most moral,
The latest MI could’ve used some Cruise control.
Grief Is a Demon
Horror movie The Surrender takes its characters on a harrowing personal journey
BY JOSH BELL
If a disheveled man with a prodigious beard, dressed all in black — and carrying a mysterious satchel and mumbling incantations — tells you that he can bring your late husband back from the dead, the smart thing to do would be to close the door in his face. But grief warps the mentality of even the most sensible people, so that’s not what distraught widow Barbara (Kate Burton) does in The Surrender. She’s called this man to her house, and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to avoid having to live without her husband of 40 years.
Barbara’s daughter Megan (The Boys’ Colby Minifie) is less convinced, but she goes along with the ritual that she initially equates to harmless home remedies like incense and crystals. Both of those objects are involved in what the stranger (Neil Sandilands) refers to as the three surrenders, but the process goes far beyond aromatherapy and chakra balancing. By the time Megan realizes what horrors have been unleashed, it’s far too late to turn back.
The Surrender opens with a graphic, disturbing flash-forward depicting what appears to be a demon feasting on a dead person’s entrails, so it’s clear that nasty things are on the way. But for the next 40 minutes or so, it’s mostly a two-person domestic drama about the stress and anguish of watching a loved one pass away. Megan has returned home just as her father, Robert (Vaughn Armstrong), is in the final phase of his cancer, confined to his bed and sedated with morphine. She and her mother have a fraught relationship that’s been further strained by Robert’s illness.
Minifie and Burton dig into the raw emotions that surface in a time of extreme duress, and writer/director Julia Max forces the audience to sit within that discomfort. There’s no need for super-
natural threats when the pent-up anger from years of resentment comes spilling forth from both mother and daughter. It’s devastating enough when Barbara expresses how disappointed she is in her daughter, or when Megan reveals that she stayed away from home because she didn’t want to be around her mother.
Then they enter the netherworld.
The Surrender proceeds slowly, and that early gory tease may be nearly forgotten by the time the stranger performs the various rites and sends his clients off into the unknown to retrieve Robert’s soul. Still, Max knows how to ratchet up the horror, and the payoff to the tense interpersonal drama is a glimpse into a terrifying, inexplicable world of spirits, where these two women are left to face the consequences of their ill-considered choices.
Even in that netherworld, Max remains focused on the way that Megan processes her generational trauma, especially as her mother forces her to confront some unpleasant truths about her beloved father. “People save the worst parts of themselves for their spouses,” Barbara says, and at times it seems baffling that she’d bother with all this effort to bring Robert back at all. Being without him is unfathomable to her, though, and she may pay the ultimate price for that inability to move on.
Max gets a bit lost in the surreal dreamscape of the afterlife, and while she creates some striking visuals of dead-eyed ghouls, the thin narrative thread falls apart as The Surrender heads toward its abrupt conclusion. It’s more of a mood piece than a cohesive horror story, and the plot never comes together in a satisfying way. The stranger’s elaborate rules and procedures don’t amount to much, but the brutal emotional battle between mother and daughter lingers past the film’s final perplexing image. n
Mommy’s not alright, daddy’s not alright, this all seems a little weird...
The Surrender
Directed by Julia Max Starring Colby Minifie, Kate Burton Streaming on Shudder
CONCERTS
SUNNY SONIC SUMMER
Rounding up some of the highlights of the Inland Northwest’s summer live music calendar
BY SETH SOMMERFELD
While many might herald Memorial Day Weekend’s arrival as a great chance to have a three-day weekend getaway, the music fans among us celebrate the holiday in part because it ushers in the summer concert season. Next week, Spokane’s big outdoor concert venues kick off their seasons, so there’s no better time to check out the impressive show slate that summer 2025 has to offer for Inland Northwesterners.
Things kick off at BECU Live at Northern Quest Resort & Casino — the perennial winner of Best Concert Venue in our reader-voted Best Of poll — when country superstar Brad Paisley takes the stage on May 30. He’s far from the only act that will bring the bootsand Stetson-wearing crowd to the casino, as the summer
will also feature shows by Jon Pardi (June 20), Billy Currington & Kip Moore (July 10), Cody Jinks (July 19) and Parker McCollum (Aug. 21).
If variations on rock music are more your bag, Northern Quest has that covered as well with the onetwo punk punch of Dropkick Murphys and Bad Religion (July 22), blues rocker Joe Bonamassa (Aug. 5), the southern sound of Lynyrd Skynyrd (Aug. 14), and plenty of ’90s rock radio nostalgia via Blues Traveler, Gin Blossoms and Spin Doctors (Aug. 23) and Goo Goo Dolls and Dashboard Confessional (Aug. 28).
The casino’s slate also includes the electrifying genre-blending jazz of Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (June 15), bluegrass icon Alison Krauss & Union Station (July 27), musical parody legend
“Weird Al” Yankovic (Aug. 12) and reggae sounds from Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley & Stephen Marley (Aug. 26). (Northern Quest is also extending its outdoor season past the summer with shows in September and October featuring Warren Zeiders, Train, Old Dominion, Mudvayne and Chevelle.)
Spokane’s other main outdoor concert spot — Riverfront Park’s recently sponsor-christened Gesa Credit Union Pavilion — kicks off just one day after Northern Quest with popular jam band Goose on May 31. The rest of the Pavilion’s summer offerings include Northwest indie rock titan Death Cab for Cutie (July 30), country singer-songwriter Sam Barber (Aug. 8) and alt-rock band Rainbow Kitten Surprise (Aug. 14) (plus an October show from Lord Huron).
Those two spots are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to open-air concerts with big name acts within driving distance from Spokane.
The closest of said options remains North Idaho’s Festival at Sandpoint, which returns with another eclectic, loaded lineup. Highlights include a slew of alternative bands like Neon Trees (July 24), Toad the Wet Sprocket, Semisonic and Sixpence None the Richer (July 26), Third Eye Blind (July 27), and Dispatch (Aug 2). The proceedings also feature alt-country brightspot Sierra Ferrell (July 25), country duo Brothers Osborne (July 31), the classic rock sounds of Kansas (Aug. 1), and the finale with the Festival at Sandpoint Orchestra (Aug. 3).
The Central Washington marvel that is the Gorge Amphitheatre once again has a ton of enticing concert options worth the trek. The festivals come out in full force with EDM mainstays Beyond Wonderland (June 21 & 22) and Bass Canyon (Aug. 15-17), slotting in beside the always rowdy country crowd that attends Watershed (Aug. 1-3). Various shades of rock music have a strong showing this year between Willie Nelson and Bob
Dylan’s Outlaw Music Festival (at the Gorge on May 25; also tonight, May 22, right here at ONE Spokane Stadium), Washington legends Heart (Aug. 8), the jammers of Tedeschi Trucks Band and southern rockers of Whiskey Myers (Aug. 9), and Dave Matthews Band making its typical Labor Day Weekend trek (Aug. 29-31), with Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts sneaking in at the end (Sept. 5). The Gorge also hosts Mumford & Sons with Japanese Breakfast (July 18) and more EDM in the form of Tipper and Friends (July 4-6).
Those willing to trek to Missoula can catch the debut of Zootown Festival (July 4 & 5) featuring headliners like Hozier and Kacey Musgraves, plus an array of other shows at the KettleHouse Amphitheater
While Spokane might not be a summer music festival hotspot, there are plenty of smaller local options. Pig Out in the Park (Aug. 28-Sept. 1) not only offers tasty food, but also dozens of free concerts spread across Riverfront Park that platform mainly local acts on a daily basis. Liberty Lake’s Zephyr Lodge double
dips this summer with the newly launched Zephyr Folk Festival (June 6 & 7) and the return of Allen Stone’s Stone Family Field Trip (Aug. 9 & 10). Smaller community music festivals include Cannonball in Browne’s Addition (July 12) and the second edition of Boomjam Music Festival (September date TBA).
The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture is teaming up with Live From Somewhere to launch the new Curators of Sound Concert Series at the museum’s amphitheater with lineups packed with local favs like T.S. the Solution, Fat Lady, Snacks at Midnight, Jaeda, Kung Fu Vinyl and many more (June 18, July 16, Aug. 20).
Spokane Symphony also does its usual outdoor shows for the community during the warm weather months. The symphony’s 2025 summer calendar includes stops at Arbor Crest Winery (June 18), Brick West Brewing Co. (June 26), Liberty Lake Pavilion Park (Aug. 30) and Comstock Park (Sept. 1).
The Spokane County Interstate Fair currently only has one announced show — a nostalgia tour featuring Vanilla Ice, Sir Mix-a-Lot and C+C Music Factory (Sept. 10). The North Idaho State Fair unsurprisingly goes in a more country direction with headlining concerts by Midland (Aug. 18) and Josh Turner (Aug. 19).
There is also a wide array of summer outdoor concert series to be enjoyed in the Inland Northwest. Just a sampling of these offerings include the live tunes during the Kendall Yards Night Market (Wednesdays, through Sept. 17), the Browne’s Addition Concert Series at Coeur d’Alene Park (Thursdays, June 19-Aug. 7), Riverstone Park in Coeur d’Alene’s Riverstone Summer Concerts (Thursdays, July 10-Aug. 28), Garden Gate’s Summer Concert Series on Monroe (Tuesdays, through Sept. 23), and the Sun Time Music Series at Mead’s Big Barn Brewing (Fri-Sun, May 23-Oct. 30). Three North Idaho series fall under the KOEP Concerts banner: City Park Shows at CDA City Park (Sundays, July 13-Aug. 31), Music at McEuen in downtown CDA (Wednesdays, July 9-Sept. 3) and the Hayden Summer Concert Series at McIntire Family Park (Thursdays, July 10-Aug. 21).
While it might be more fun to get outside for your tuneage during the summer, there are still plenty of great indoor gigs happening around Spokane. With too many to list, here are a handful of highlights. Star crooner Barry Manilow makes his final Spokane appearance for a show at Spokane Arena (July 11). First Interstate Center for the Arts brings some joy to the world with Three Dog Night (June 14). The lineup for Spokane Live at Spokane Tribe Resort & Casino includes everything from Air Supply (June 6) and Social Distortion (June 19) to Aaron Lewis (June 20) and Shakey Graves (Aug. 14).
The Knitting Factory brings a host of great gigs downtown, spanning the gamut from Sleep Theory (June 4) and Joseph (June 13) to Iration (July 23) and Blind Pilot x John Craigie (July 25) to Matisyahu (Aug. 28) and Dinosaur Jr. and Snail Mail (Aug. 6), just to name a few. With the Spokane Symphony playing outside, the Fox Theater hosts shows featuring top-flight singer-songwriters like Gillian Welch & David Rawlings (June 27) and Regina Spektor (July 29). The Bing Crosby theater takes a break from cover acts to host the likes of Mon Rovîa (July 5) and Macy Gray (July 18). And then there’s always stuff popping off at smaller spots like The Big Dipper (MC Chris, Aug. 7), The Chameleon (Olive Klug, Aug. 12) and The District Bar (Mal Blum, Aug. 21).
Whatever your musical tastes may be, here’s hoping for a summer surrounded by sound. n
Left: Fans catch a show at Northern Quest’s BECU Live in Airway Heights.
Above: More shows are planned at The Nest in Kendall Yards. ERICK DOXEY PHOTOS
Having worms in your brain? Bad! Having the music of Timeworm stuck in your brain?
Great! Since 2023, the Spokane quartet has blended indie rock with psychedelic funk in a way that fosters stellar vibes and occasionally calls to mind acts like Portugal. the Man and Tame Impala. The quartet consistently crafts lush and rocking walls of sound to get lost within, and Timeworm’s talent is on full display on its new debut LP, Interplanetary Flamingo Park Reunion The group heads to the Chameleon to celebrate the album’s arrival with a technicolor live show full of mind-melting riffs and sweet falsetto notes that are likely to burrow their way into your noggin.
— SETH SOMMERFELD
Timeworm: Interplanetary Flamingo Park Reunion Release Show with No Soap Radio, Floating Witch’s Head • Sat, May 24 at 7:30 pm • $15-$20 • 21+ • The Chameleon • 1801 W. Sunset Blvd. • chameleonspokane.com
LOCAL FESTIVAL PUNK PALOUSE FEST
Thursday, 5/22
J ADELO’S PIZZA, PASTA & PINTS, Mel Dalton & The Ski Beat
ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Jason Evans
J THE BIG DIPPER, Satsang (solo)
BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Theresa Edwards Band
J J ONE SPOKANE STADIUM, Outlaw Music Festival: Willie Nelson & Family, Bob Dylan, Billy Strings, Sierra Hull, Lily Meola
J QQ SUSHI & KITCHEN, Just Plain Darin
RED ROOM LOUNGE, Thurrsdays EDM Night
ZOLA, Frances Browne
Friday, 5/23
BARRISTER WINERY, Sean Owsley and The Rising
J THE BIG DIPPER, Angelmaker, False Visions, The Night We Died
BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Fire From Ashes
THE CHAMELEON, The Chilling Alpine Adventure, Helmer Noel, Raj Saint Paul
CHINOOK STEAK, SEAFOOD & PASTA, Just Plain Darin
THE DISTRICT BAR, Phoneboy, INOHA
J THE GRAIN SHED, Haywire GREEN CITY SALOON, DJ KJ
IRON HORSE (CDA), Bruiser
J KNITTING FACTORY, Geneva, Snacks At Midnight, Shady Angels, Fall of the Conscience
J J MIKEY’S GYROS, Punk Palouse Fest
MOOSE LOUNGE, Laketown Sound NIGHT OWL, Four On The Floor Fridays
J PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Pamela Benton
While it can feel isolating being countercultural in a place like Moscow, Idaho, there are pockets of like-minded folks to be found. That’s part of the spirit that led to Punk Palouse Fest. After launching in 2024, the two-day communal musical celebration returns for its sophomore season with 20 bands performing across John’s Alley Tavern (21+), Mikey’s Gyros and Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre (both all ages). This year’s mosh pit-friendly collection of bands includes Spokane standouts like The Dilrods, Hayes Noble, Blunt Skulls, Peru Resh and Puddy Knife, acts from the greater Northwest area like Boise’s Dirt Russell, Portland’s Whisper Hiss, Seattle’s DotGov, Everett’s Oliver Elf Army and many more. If you’re looking for a scene where you can feel seen, Punk Palouse Fest offers that.
— SETH SOMMERFELD
Punk Palouse Fest • Fri, May 23 at 5 pm & Sat, May 24 at 1 pm • $50 (festival pass); $30 (all-ages pass); $13 (individual shows) • All ages-21+ • Mikey’s Gyros, Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre, John’s Alley Tavern • Moscow • punkpalousefest.com J
SPOKANE EAGLES LODGE, Over Easy Duo THE BARREL BAR & GRILL, Sonic Groove
ZOLA, Hot Club of Spokane
ZOLA, The Night Mayors
Saturday, 5/24
J BIG BARN BREWING CO., Slap Shot
J THE BIG DIPPER, Calling All Captains, Pulling 4 Victory, This Could Be Dangerous! (Matinee show)
J THE BIG DIPPER, Ealdor Bealu, Portal To The God Damn Blood Dimension, Merlock, Earthworks
BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Fire From Ashes
J THE CHAMELEON, Timeworm: Interplanetary Flamingo Park Reunion Release Show with No Soap Radio, Floating Witch’s Head
CHINOOK STEAK, SEAFOOD & PASTA, Just Plain Darin
IRON HORSE (CDA), Bruiser
J J BONES MUSICLAND, Storm Boy, Sex With Seneca, Cosmic Ranger
J KNITTING FACTORY, Emo Nite
J J MIKEY’S GYROS, Punk Palouse Fest
MILLIE’S, Pastiche
MOOSE LOUNGE, Laketown Sound
J PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Scott Dodson
RED DRAGON (THIRD AVENUE), Working Spliffs
ZOLA, The Ronaldos ZOLA, Max Daniels Soulful Brothers
Sunday, 5/25
J THE BIG DIPPER, Geneva, King Youngblood, Stares of Vega, The Neolithics BING CROSBY THEATER, History of Rock ‘n’ Roll
J J GORGE AMPHITHEATER, Outlaw Music Festival: Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Billy Strings, Lake Street Drive
BIGFOOT PUB & EATERY, Karaoke with DJ Sterling CRUISERS, Karaoke with Rich THE DRAFT ZONE, The Draft Zone Open Mic LAKERS INN BAR, Karaoke with Webrix RED ROOM LOUNGE, Red Room Jam
J TIMBERS ROADHOUSE, Cary Beare Presents TRVST, The TRVST Open Decks ZOLA, Akifumi Kato
Coming Up ...
ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Pamela Benton, May 29, 5:30 pm.
J J THE BIG DIPPER, Gaytheist, Itchy Kitty, May 29, 7:30 pm.
J SPOKANE TRIBE CASINO, Ministry, The Squirrely Years, The Thrill Kill Kult, Die Krupps, May 29, 7:30 pm.
J PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Bright Moments, May 30, 5-8 pm.
J HAMILTON STUDIO, Raj Saint Paul: ‘The First Sounds’ Album Release Show, May 30, 7 pm.
J THE BIG DIPPER, Children of the Sun, Still We Rise, Louder Than Hell, Altaira, May 30, 7:30 pm.
J NORTHERN QUEST CASINO, Brad Paisley, Walker Hayes, Mae Estes, May 30, 7:30 pm.
THE CHAMELEON, Electric Rodeo Dance Party, May 30, 9 pm.
THE DISTRICT BAR, Terrapin Flyer, May 30, 9 pm.
ZOLA, RCA and the Radicals, May 30, 9-11:55 pm.
J J THE BIG DIPPER, Quiet Winter, Time Baby, Handsigns, King Me, Babe (Matinee show), May 31, 3:30 pm.
J PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, BTP, May 31, 5-8 pm.
ZOLA, Rōnin, May 31, 5:30-7:30 pm.
J SPOKANE PAVILION, Goose, May 31, 6:30 pm.
J HAMILTON STUDIO, Lilac City Voices, May 31, 7 pm.
J THE BIG DIPPER, Switch Off Safety, Resist the Current, Blessid Doom, Torn Open, May 31, 8 pm.
J SPOKANE TRIBE CASINO, Mike Tramp’s White Lion, Royal Bliss, May 31, 8 pm.
J HAMILTON STUDIO, Jonathan Doyle and the Zonky Jazz Band, June 1, 2 & 6 pm.
J THE BIG DIPPER, Slime, Room 13, Bent Outta Shape, Tomb Ripper, June 1, 7:30 pm.
J KNITTING FACTORY, Napalm Death, Melvins, Hard-On’s, Dark Sky Burial, June 1, 8 pm.
BIGFOOT PUB & EATERY, Karaoke with DJ Sterling, Mon. 9 pm-2 am.
ZOLA, Nate Stratte, 5:30-9:30 pm.
MUSIC | VENUES
219 LOUNGE • 219 N. First Ave., Sandpoint • 208-263-5673
ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS • 4705 N. Fruit Hill Rd., Spokane Valley • 509-927-9463
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
BOLO’S BAR & GRILL • 116 S. Best Rd., Spokane Valley • 509-891-8995
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
May 30-June 1, 2025 • @ the MAC $5 per person or $20 for families 4+
FOOD TAKE YOUR PICK
As 29 breweries across Spokane celebrate Spokane Craft Beer Week, from May 17 to 25, some are holding specials and events to draw patrons to taprooms. Brick West Brewing will hold the third annual Pilsner Picnic on its large lawn and outdoor patio, showcasing nine breweries’ pilsners for tasting and voting. Buffalo Jones will be cranking out live tunes. The ticket includes a 5-ounce pour from each of the participating breweries: Brick West Brewing, Whistle Punk Brewing, Perry Street Brewing, Uprise Brewing, Larrabee Lager Company, Icicle Brewing, Kulshan Brewing, Lucky Envelope Brewing and Bale Breaker Brewing.
— DORA SCOTT
Pilsner Picnic • Sat, May 24 from 2-6 pm • $20 • Brick West Brewing Co. • 1318 W. First Ave. • brickwestbrewingco.com
BENEFIT DRAG FOR A CAUSE
For the last nine years, Spark Central has fostered creativity, innovation and imagination for youth in the Inland Northwest. Membership at the nonprofit has always been free to ensure kids can participate in classes and activities, regardless of their family’s income. To offset those costs, Spark Central hosts regular fundraisers like its upcoming drag show Sparks Fly. On Saturday, local drag performers, including hosts Dusty Paira Docs and Edacious March, will sparkle on stage inside its Kendall Yards headquarters. While Spark Central is a youth-centered organization, this fundraiser event is only for adults over 18 years old.
— COLTON RASANEN
Sparks Fly: A Drag Show • Sat, May 24 at 6 pm •
SPORTS ON A ROLL
Spokane Riverkeeper and 350 Spokane are partnering to explore how climate change and its growing impacts affect the Spokane River, its habitats and its people. People of all ages with a humanpowered set of wheels, whether that be a bike, roller skates, scooter or unicycle, are encouraged to join this fun, leisurely and educational 7-mile ride along the Centennial Trail in Spokane. This interactive ride hosted by 350’s Jered Sweeney-Demezas and Riverkeeper’s Jule Schultz and Katelyn Scott, will start at the overflow parking lot north of No-Li Brewery and pass through Kendall Yards to the Hangman Creek Overlook before making its way back to No-Li where rollers are invited to enjoy a social happy hour at the brewery.
— HANNAH HIGENS
River Roll • Sat, May 24 at 1 pm • Free • Riverfront Overflow Parking Lot • 716 N. Superior St. • 350spokane.org
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.
MUSIC HUSH, LITTLE BABY
Parents and professional artists work together at the Lullaby Concert to create personalized songs for their children, which end up being a little more sophisticated than fitting their kids’ names into “Rock-a-Bye Baby.” The program comes from Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute in tandem with the Spokane Symphony and the Spokane Public Library. The Lullaby Project aims to give parents the creative opportunity to express feelings, wishes and dreams for their children through music. Experience soothing songs created by and for families, performed by local artists, and made possible by anonymous Spokane Symphony donors.
— BEE REISWIG
Lullaby Concert • Fri, May 23 from 6-7 pm • Free • Central Library • 906 W. Main Ave. • spokanelibrary.org
COMMUNITY HAVE YOU ZINE THIS?
Historically a part of counterculture movements across the world, zines — small paper books filled with words and images — capture moments in time, relay information, and are a vessel for self-expression through art, words, and creativity. Since November 2024, a group of zine-makers has been meeting at Lunarium once a month to revel in creative joy together. The Lilac Menace Zine Swap meet-ups include zine-making, trading, networking with other local artists, and all-around good vibes in the form of inspiration and getting those creative juices flowing. The next meeting on May 23 happens just one week before Spokane Zine Fest. Perfect timing if you want to get familiar with the local community before the daylong celebration of all things zines!
— MADISON PEARSON
Lilac Menace Zine Swap • Fri, May 23 from 6:30-9:30 pm • Free • Lunarium
• 1925 N. Monroe St. • instagram.com/lilacmenacezineswap
I SAW YOU
REGAL URGENT CARE Monday May 12, 11:50 am, I was leaving, smiled at you. You smiled. I said Giggity, you laughed. You are cute brunette gal waiting to be seen. Im tall guy. Lets meet for a glass sometime.
YOU GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL BUS I was at Bardic Cider and Brewery when I first saw you. You pulled up all nonchalant, cool and in charge. Then you showed your playful side...when everyone inside you started waving and bouncing around. You great big beautiful double decker bus.
HOME DEPOT HOTTIE I was wandering through the garden center at Home Depot—pretending I knew an annual from a perennial—when I saw you. You were picking out plants, maybe with your daughter? The two of you were kind of adorable, and distracting in the best way. There you were, this Indian motorcycle t-shirt wearing guy (World’s Fastest...my favorite movie btw)—cool, rugged, and completely unexpected among all the petunias and begonias. I don’t normally mix flirting with forget-me-nots, but something about that moment stuck with me. So I figured, what the heck, I’ll plant the seed and say hi.
CHEERS
MILLWOOD HOUSE TOUR Thank you to all those who opened their homes for the MAC fundraiser Mother’s Day Tour. A special thanks to Al and Vickie for sharing the amazing history of the Rosebush House!
I SEE YOU SISTER (OR BROTHER OPPRESSED BY OTHER BROTHERS) Cheers to the individual whose frustrated words I found hidden inside A Confederacy of Dunces from the Spokane Public Library. Literally, a clipping from the Inlander titled “Who do you think you are bud?” Stuck in the middle of my newly acquired library book. Luckily I know the Inlander well and where this came from. You have been heard, my friend. There are so many injustices in this world, all we can do is be there for each other and do what we can do to move humanity in the right direction. Cheers to people moving in the right direction!
THEY HIRE GOOD PEOPLE Thank you Asplundh tree crew, we applaud you. You provided an entertaining morning and I appreciate the favor.
ARBOR DAY GROOTS Bravo to the Arbor Day block party organizers! What an amazing and memorable event and day. The picture booth, delicious food trucks, used recycled kids bikes given away, craft events...the whole thing was amazing and will bring me back. BUT...hands down the highlight, the Red Hawk band TORE.IT.UP!
So good from a first time listen and I’d love to see them again, wow what a show!!
GREAT DAY IN SANDPOINT Thank you to some of the folks in Sandpoint for a great off the cuff day! My girlfriend and I had to make a trip to Sandpoint and decided to make something of a day of it visiting Matchwood, Utara and Fat Pig. It was wonderful and exactly what we needed! Thank you!
SPOKANE’S ARTISTS: YOU’RE NOT JUST COOL, YOU’RE SPECIAL To the painters, sculptors, dancers, poets, muralists, and dreamers — you make this city more colorful, more meaningful, more beautiful, and more alive. Thank you.
LET ME KEEP DREAMING Long hair, beautiful eyes and a soothing voice? I must be dreaming. Kind, intelligent, creative, and loving? I must be dreaming. A singer, a writer, a poet, and a dancer? I must be dreaming. Never have I met a man who knows my thoughts, body, and desires. One who listens and makes loving him so effortless. You have captivated my heart and my mind. So if I’m dreaming, I don’t ever want to wake up. I love you, my dear sweet Irishman.
FOR YOUR BLOOMSDAY COMMENTS Thank you “Cheers and Jeers Bloomsday” for your acknowledgement of the protesters at the top of Doomsday Hill, but I must make
a correction. I was there for 3 hours and we certainly did cheer on the racers as well as hand out water and watermelon slices to them. I tell you, we were so encouraged by the many Bloomies who gave high fives and thumbs up, and shouted thank you to us! So, while your comment didn’t seem particularly positive towards us, I want to thank you for confirming that we got your attention and we did make an impact.
“
CASH Cheers to all the businesses, nonprofits, and schools who still accept cash. Let’s keep cash alive.
BEST ZIP’S IN THE COUNTY To the folks working at the Cheney Zip’s: Thank you for the work you do! You are kind and attentive, and you make perfect onion rings and fry sauce. I’m happy every time I get to go to Cheney!
JEERS
LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO HELL... Well lookie here. To the surprise of not a single democrat. The Trump Department of Commerce yanked that $48 million Aerospace investment. The only people that needed it more than Spokane were the folks across the border who voted for Trump in far greater numbers. How’s that workin’ out for you? Maybe start charging ICE to rent the Kootenai Jail so you can recoup some of the federal money you’re losing. Geniuses...
SELFISH ON 7TH hey selfish prick on 7th ave who constantly does loud construction in your garage: you are ruining our summer again already. fyi we all hate you and call crimecheck so there is a record of every time you disrupt the neighborhood. you suck.
MONAGHAN ERASURE Jeers to the Spokane City Council majority for voting to remove the Monaghan statue. The history of it is complex, not black and white, and it was a beautiful old remnant of Victorian Spokane. How many other graceful old buildings, monuments and statues will fall to the axe of this vindictive,
self-righteous cultural purge? Any charm Spokane ever had is fast disappearing. Maybe I ought to just sell my house and move.
ENOUGH ALREADY I’m sick of seeing the constant discourse on license tabs week after week. At this point, whether you are for or against license tabs, I don’t care anymore and neither should you. Personally, I would like to to see some discussions on the topics
SOUND OFF 1. Visit Inlander.com/isawyou
of housing issues, the rise of measles, or perhaps an increase of cheers or I Saw Yous; hell, I would be down to discuss something else stupid like how Newport hwy Costco strawberries always seem to have an abundance of mold, how the Northtown Mall is a husk of its former glory, or how 100 men could, probably, win against a gorilla but never against a grizzly bear or a Sasquatch.
JEEP DUCKS I’m Canadian Sorry, but you ducks need to go. The Rainbow Color Wheel Spectrum Disorder on your dash is going to look like snow globe glitter when you’re rolling end-over-end or sideways upside down this winter (is coming). Better keep your head glued to your headrest, sloth; BTW TYFYS, ps it was 20 years ago, no one cares you were E-6, the MOLLE Gear rearview mirror and extra 2.5g of fuel says that way louder than your license plate ever could.
I ALWAYS FIND IT INTERESTING when people think it’s okay to refer to people as a “Trumptard.” Obviously, this mixing of the words “Trump” and “R----d” is what makes this word a word. However, when did we get to the point where it was okay to refer to someone as a r----d? That word was deemed offensive long ago. Although used as a clinical term for many decades, once people began using it as a pejorative, society determined that the word shouldn’t be used anymore. So, in the jeers last week complaining about a “Trumptard,” perhaps you should pick up a dictionary and learn a new word? Spokane: near nature -- near ignorance!
RE: PLASTIC BAG BAN Your argument, however well intentioned, fails to take into
consideration how ‘cheap’ Americans are conditioned/compelled to be (your pick). And as such, now feel it compulsory to bring their own re-usable bags to save 8 cents and by extension: our environment (the point of the ordinance- to its success). Nonetheless; we’re talking about the same people who will drive 15 miles out of their way to save 50 cents on an advertised ‘one day only deal’ as well as cruise around a big box/strip mall parking lot burning carbon for 10-15 minutes to save themselves from walking an extra 10 ft. Maybe you’re right. It’s pointless to try to preserve the awesomeness of our planet for the next generation. Why bother?
ESTATE SALES We had an estate sale this weekend (5/17) and the abhorrent behavior of the people who came was an icky wake up call. We had people literally try to pry items that weren’t for sale (clearly marked) off the walls and breaking said walls. People showed up 2 hours early just to throw hissy fits because we wouldn’t let them in. People trying to switch price tags, bringing their own price tags, their own SOLD stickers, the audacity of these grown people coming in to steal and argue was truly insane. The chaos of the house could only be compared to a particular scene in the movie “Mother!” I can’t believe the amount of people who had to be repeatedly reprimanded for going into doors marked private and taking things our family set aside for ourselves. Like, you realize we are doing this because a loved one died right? Where’s your shame? Was your urge to steal from people who are mourning larger than your urge to be a decent civilized individual? Thank you for shaping my life, when I die I would rather have all my items and memories burned than to make any of my loved ones deal with people like you. Enjoy the antiques, I hope they’re haunted. Have a life that’s as pleasant as you are! xoxo n
NOTE: I Saw
EVENTS | CALENDAR
BENEFIT
BLOOM IN TUNE Talk to WSU Master Gardeners who answer gardening questions. A percentage of the sales from this event is donated to the Spokane Symphony Associates to benefit the Spokane Symphony. May 23, 10 am-6 pm. Free. Judy’s Enchanted Garden, 2628 W. Northwest Blvd. spokanesymphonyassoc.org (509-458-8733)
SPARK’S FLY: A DRAG SHOW A benefit drag show featuring dazzling local drag performers, hosted by Dusty Paira Docs and Edacious March. Proceeds from this fundraiser support Spark Central’s programs. Ages 18+. May 24, 6-8 pm. $10. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. spark-central.org (509-279-0299)
FELTS FIELD SKY QUEEN’S PINK PONY DANCE PARTY The Felts Field Sky Queens benefit to raise gas money for the annual Air Race Classic featuring dancing and opportunities to donate. May 31, 7-11 pm. Free. The Q Lounge, 228 W. Sprague Ave. instagram.com/ feltsskyqueens
WALK MS SPOKANE A walk that raises money to make a difference for people living with MS. May 31, 8:30 am-1 pm. Free. Kendall Yards, Summit Parkway. nationalmssociety.org (855-372-1331)
COMEDY
DAVID LUCAS Landing a role on the hit show “Roast Me,” David became a regular on the Kill Tony show he was acknowledged by comedians as a quickwitted joke writer and a vicious roaster. May 22-24; Thu-Sat at 7 pm, Fri-Sat at 9:45 pm. $27-$57. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com (509-318-9998)
THE PUNDERGROUND An improvised punning competition between a selection of the Blue Door Theatre players. May 22, 7:30 pm. Pay what you want. Blue Door Theatre, 319 S. Cedar St. bluedoortheatre.org (509-747-7045)
MULTIPLE CHOICE At every twist and turn, you decide the fate of the characters and the outcome of the plot at this improv comedy show. Fridays at 7:30 pm through May 30. $9. Blue Door Theatre, 319 S. Cedar. bluedoortheatre.org
EXPEDITION A family-friendly improv show featuring the Blue Door Theatre players playing a variety of improv games with audience suggestions. Every Saturday at 7:30 pm. $9. Blue Door Theatre, 319 S. Cedar St. bluedoortheatre.org (509-747-7045)
SPOKANE FAMOUS COMEDY TOUR
Local comics Anthony Singleton, Colton Drake, Chris Jessop and Sam Mantsz perform stand up. May 24, 8-9:45 pm. $15. Volstead Act, 12 N. Post St. volsteadactspokane.com (509-514-4276)
STEVE HOFSTETTER Hofstetter is the senior comedy correspondent for Fox Sports and has released multiple comedy albums. May 25, 7 pm. $30-$160. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.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
FOR YOU: A MULTIMEDIA COMEDY VARIETY SHOW In this multimedia comedy variety show, local comedians blend stand-up, storytelling, slideshows and videos to create an unforgettable
night of comedy. May 29, 7:30 pm. Pay what you want. Blue Door Theatre, 319 S. Cedar St. bluedoortheatre.org
SCOTT LOSSE Losse got his start in Seattle’s burgeoning alt stand-up scene in 2009 and has since made a name for himself throughout the Pacific Northwest, performing at Bumbershoot and Treefort Music Fest. May 29, 7 pm. $17$22. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com
THESPERADOS COMEDY IMPROV
SHOW The student improv group from Ferris High School puts on a comedy improv show. May 29, 7 pm. $7. Ferris High School, 3020 E. 37th Ave. ferristheatrearts.com ((509)354-6000)
AMOS GILL Gill has earned nominations for the Best Emerging Comedian and won the People’s Choice award at the Adelaide Fringe for his debut solo show, You’ve Changed. May 30-31, 7 & 9:45 pm. $22-$30. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com (509-318-9998)
SAFARI LATE NIGHT An anything goes comedy adventure featuring unexpected scenes, bold choices and fun improv games. Mature audiences only. May 30, 9:30 pm. $6. Blue Door Theatre, 319 S. Cedar St. bluedoortheatre.org
BAD TEACHERS Former teacher from Tacoma Cory Michaelis performs a set of school-themed stand up comedy. May 31, 4 pm. $20-$25. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com (509-318-9998)
DUNGEONS & DRAG QUEENS A drag comedy show in which three drag queens play Dungeons & Dragons with DM Paul Curry and improvisational musician Carson Cutter. Ages 21+. May 31, 8 pm. $25. The Chameleon, 1801 W. Sunset. chameleonspokane.com
COMMUNITY
5TH ANNUAL SPOKANE VALLEY
CONNECT An event offering practical help to Spokane Valley families and anyone in need featuring CHAS medical services, free haircuts, free meals, a food and clothing bank and more local resources. May 22-23, 12:30-4:30 pm. Free. Opportunity Presbyterian Church, 202 N. Pines Rd. spokaneconnect.org
FIRE: REBIRTH AND RESILIENCE An exhibition exploring the catastrophic 1889 fire that destroyed more of Spokane’s downtown core. The exhibit features information on historic and contemporary fires, illustrating how destruction is a catalyst for rebirth and resilience. Tue-Sun from 11 am-5 pm through Sep. 28. $9-$15. Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org
MEMORIAL DAY CLUSTER DOG SHOW
A five-day, all breed dog show featuring performances in the conformation and obedience/rally rings and other sporting events. May. 22-26, daily from 8 am-5 pm. Free. Spokane County Fair & Expo Center, 404 N. Havana St. spokanekc.com/2025-cluster
SAMURAI, SUNRISE, SUNSET Step into the world of a samurai and experience armor, weaponry and personal items from the powerful military class that ruled Japan for nearly 700 years. Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm through June 1. $9-$15. Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org (509-456-3931)
STUDENT
ENTREPRENEUERSHIP
FAIR A student driven entrepreneurship fair featuring 25+ students who have worked diligently to design and craft products to bring to the market. May 22, 6-8 pm. Free. Spokane Valley Tech, 115 S. University Rd. cvsd.org
TEN THOUSAND THINGS: ARTIFACTS OF ASIAN AMERICAN LIFE From a second-hand novel to a blue suit worn by a congressman on January 6, Shin Yu Pai will discuss Asian American histories, the complexity of Asian American identities and where they fit or don’t fit within larger conversations on race. May 22, 5:30-6:30 pm. Free. Liberty Park Library, 402 S. Pittsburgh St. spokanelibrary.org (509-444-5300)
WHEATLAND BANK HORSE & CARRIAGE RIDES A free, eight-minute horse-drawn carriage ride through Riverfront Park. Fri from 4-8 pm through June 20. Free. Riverfront Park, 507 N. Howard St. my.spokanecity.org/riverfrontspokane (509-625-6600)
CIVIL WAR COME ALIVE: THE BATTLE FOR SIEMERS FARM An immersive experience feaurting Civil War battle reenactments, interactive characters and campground scenes to explore. May 2426; Sat-Sun from 9 am-5 pm, Mon from 9 am-noon. $5-$10. Siemers Farm, 11125 E. Day-Mt. Spokane Rd. siemersfarm. com (509-238-2548)
DEAREST SPRING: A PORTRAIT AND PETTICOAT AFFAIR A Bridgertonthemed content day featuring sets inspired by the show, hair and makeup, snacks, drinks and more. May 24, 12-3 pm. $40-$130. Dream Studio, 811 W. Second Ave. dreamstudionw.com BOOTS ON THE GROUND DISPLAY A static display of post-9/11 and Vietnam fallen heroes from Washington. Boots will be on display Sunday and Monday of Memorial Day weekend, with a flag change at 5pm on Sunday. May 25-26. Free. Illuminating Courage Memorial, 700 W. Mallon Ave. facebook.com/WAFallenHeroesProject (509-994-5613)
BITCH ‘N’ STITCH Grab your crochet, knitting, embroidery, weaving, cross stitch, felting, looming, macrame, friendship bracelets and craft casually in the company of others. Every second and last Thursday at 6:30 pm. Free. Lunarium, 1925 N. Monroe St. facebook. com/Lunarium.Spokane
BLIPPI: JOIN THE BAND TOUR Blippi is joined onstage by Meekah and live musicians to explore what makes music, including sounds, rhythms and instruments throughout all the favorite Blippi hits. May 29, 6 pm. $40-$84. The Fox Theater, 1001 W. Sprague Ave. foxtheaterspokane.org (509-624-1200)
2025 STATE OF DOWNTOWN Peter Kageyama, author of For the Love of Cities, shares his insights on community passion and urban development to inspire Spokane’s continued growth and vibrancy. The event also features the presentation of the annual Legacy and Impact Awards. May 30, 9-10:30 am. $75-$65. Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. downtownspokane.org (509-456-0580)
COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS: THE CREATIVE FIGHT Hosted by local podcast host Jonathan Shuffield, this talks is about the different ways to stand up, to resist and to be seen in our current cultural climate. May 30, 6-8 pm. Free. Lunarium, 1925 N. Monroe St. thequeercentric.com
24 YEARS of Blitz Build!
This unique fundraiser builds a ordable homes for low-income families in our community to BUY. Join us on the job site with friends and co-workers. Make a huge impact while having FUN! No experience necessary!
EVENTS | CALENDAR
FILM
MOSCOW FILM SOCIETY: VELVET
GOLDMINE In 1984, British journalist Arthur Stuart investigates the career of a 1970s glam superstar who was heavily influenced in his early years by hard-living and rebellious American singer Curt Wild. May 22, 7-9 pm. $8. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org
SINNERS Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. May 23-15, 7 pm. $8. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org (208-882-4127)
50 HOUR SLAM Watch the top 15 short films created in just 50 hours by local filmmakers. May 24, 7-9 pm. $10-$15. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland Ave. 50hourslam.com (509-327-1050)
KUBRICK FEST: FULL METAL JACKET
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue. May 27, 7-9 pm. $8. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org
MOSCOW FILM SOCIETY: CABARET A female girlie club entertainer in Weimar Republic era Berlin romances two men while the Nazi Party rises to power. May 28, 7-9 pm. $8. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org
NEW WAVE FILM SCREENING
The closing event of ACL Spokane’s month-long celebration of Asian American Heritage Month. In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and resettlement of Southeast Asian refugees in the United States, watch the feature film, New Wave. May 28. Free. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland Ave. aclspokane.org
FOOD & DRINK
CRAFT BEER & CHOCOLATE PAIRING
Celebrate Craft Beer Week with a journey through flavor featuring four craft beers paired with four artisan chocolates. May 17-25; times vary. $18. Natural 20 Brewing Company, 1303 N. Washington St. natural20brewing.com (509-919-3595)
FILIPINO DINNER POP UP EXPERIENCE
This pop-up menu crafted by Chef Jamie Aquino boasts traditional Filipino dishes made vegetarian and features what Filipino food is best known for, its balance of: sour, salty, sweet and savory. May 22, 3-6:15 pm. $20-$85. The Kitchen Engine, 621 W. Mallon Ave. thekitchenengine.com
PILSNER PICNIC 2025 An afternoon featuring a sampling of pilsners from Brick West Brewing, Whistle Punk Brewing, Perry Street Brewing, Uprise Brewing and others. Attendees receive a commemorative glass. May 24, 2-6 pm. $20. Brick West Brewing Co., 1318 W. First. brickwestbrewingco.com
HOPDASH BREWFEST An after party for the Coeur d’Alene Marathon featuring local and regional breweries serving up beer. May 25, 12-5 pm. $35. Downtown Coeur d’Alene, Sherman Ave. nictf.org/ hopdash (208-415-0116)
KIMCHI MAKING CLASS Learn how to make a batch of traditional Korean kimchi and make kimchi jjigae stew, kimchi bokkeumbap and stir fry. May 25, 11 am-1 pm. $85. The Kitchen Engine, 621 W. Mallon Ave. thekitchenengine.com
BEVERLY’S UNCORKED: SOMMELIER SPOTLIGHTS A monthly sommelier meet and greet spotlighting a different wine region each time. Enjoy a curated tasting that explores the area’s unique flavors and winemaking tradition with an expert sommelier. May 27, 4-6 pm. $25. Beverly’s, 115 S. Second St. beverlyscda.com
GLOBAL FOOD & ART MARKET An outdoor food and art market celebrating Spokane’s international community. It features small businesses from Spokane’s immigrant and refugee community. Tues from 3-7 pm through July 29. Free. The Gathering House, 733 W. Garland Ave. instagram.com/globalfoodandartmarket
MUSIC & CONCERTS
HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD Eastern Washington University’s Music Department performs an evening of soul-stirring melodies that celebrate the world of Hollywood.The annual event raises critical funds that support music students and staff at EWU. May 22, 7:30 pm. $20. The Fox Theater, 1001 W. Sprague Ave. ewu.edu (509-624-1200)
LULLABY CONCERT The Lullaby Project offers parents a creative opportunity to communicate feelings, hopes, and dreams through songs they’ve created, performed by professional musicians. May 23, 6-7 pm. Free. Central Library, 906 W. Main Ave. spokanelibrary.org
NORTHWEST BACHFEST FLUTE AND STRINGS Zuill Bailey (cello) joins a group of musicians from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra to play Reger’s Trio for flute, violin and viola, Dohnanyi’s Serenade for String Trio and Beethoven’s String Trio in C minor. May 31, 7-9 pm. $10-$45. Barrister Winery, 1213 W. Railroad Ave. nwbachfest.com
SPORTS & OUTDOORS
THIRSTY THURSDAYS WORKSHOP: LAWN ALTERNATIVES Join Water Wise and industry experts to learn how to grow a thriving lawn without excess water, waste or hassle. May 22, 6-7 pm. Free. Shadle Library, 2111 W. Wellesley Ave. spokanelibrary.org (509-444-5300)
OPEN PLAY PICKLEBALL Play pickleball at the HUB. Every week Mon-Thu from 10 am-noon or 1-3 pm. $5.50-$7. HUB Sports Center, 19619 E. Cataldo Ave. hubsportscenter.org (509-927-0602)
RANGE MEDIA’S COMMUNITY BIKE
RIDE Join urbanism expert Lauren Pangborn, city hall reporter Erin Sellers and the rest of the RANGE news team for a nine mile, party-pace ride to check out south bank bike infrastructure east of downtown. May 22, 5:30-7:30 pm. Free. Spokane City Hall, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. rangemedia.co (509-850-0488)
SPOKANE INDIANS VS. TRI-CITY DUST
DEVILS Regular season home games. Promotional schedule includes: $10k Grand Slam Night (May 22), Jurassic Ballpark & ZOOperstars! Night (May 23), Storybook Princess Night (May 24) and Dollars in Your Dog & Grandparent’s Day Game (May 25). May 22-23, 6:35 pm, May 24, 5:09 pm and May 25, 1:05 pm. $11$30. Avista Stadium, 602 N. Havana St. spokaneindians.com (509-535-2922)
SPOKANE RIVER ROLL A seven-mile ride along the Centennial Trail in Spokane. Bring bikes, skates, scooters and
other human-powered wheels to participate in the leisurely ride. May 24, 1 pm. Free. No-Li Brewhouse, 1003 E. Trent Ave. spokaneriverkeeper.org (509-242-2739)
GIRLS ON THE RUN CELEBRATORY 5K
A celebratory 5k serving as the culmination of Girls on the Run’s season-long program. Registration includes a t-shirt, race bib and post-race refreshments. May 31, 9 am. $30. Riverside Memorial Park, 211 N. Government Way. gotrspokane.org
HOT WHEELS MONSTER TRUCKS
LIVE: GLOW-N-FIRE Watch fan favorite Hot Wheels Monster Trucks come to life including Mega Wrex, Bone Shaker, Gunkster and more. May 31, 12:30 & 7:30 pm and June 1, 2:30 pm. $17-$77. Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon Ave. hotwheelsmonstertruckslive.com
THEATER & DANCE
THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL When the citizens of Bikini Bottom discover that a volcano will soon erupt and destroy their humble home, SpongeBob and his friends must come together to save the fate of their undersea world. Thu-Sat at 7 pm, Sat-Sun at 2 pm through May 26. $13-$15. TAC at the Lake, 22910 E. Appleway Ave. tacatthelake.com
WAITRESS Jenna, a waitress and pie maker, is stuck in a small town and a loveless marriage. Faced with an unexpected pregnancy, Jenna fears she may have to abandon the dream of opening her own pie shop until a baking contest in a nearby county and the town’s handsome new doctor offer her a recipe for happiness. Wed-Fri at 7:30 pm, Sat-Sun at 2 pm through June 15. $15-$42. Spokane Civic Theatre, 1020 N. Howard St. spokanecivictheatre.com (509-325-2507)
FORAY FOR THE ARTS: THE DANCE A night dedicated entirely to movement spotlighting local dancers, spinners and flow artists. Co-hosted by local literary artists and Foray for The Arts organizers Sarah Rooney and Greg Bem. May 23, 5-8 pm. Free. Patera Temperance Lounge, 1507 E. Sprague Ave. foray4thearts.org
MARY POPPINS When Jane and Michael, the children of the wealthy Banks family, are faced with the prospect of a new nanny, they are pleasantly surprised by the arrival of the magical Mary Poppins. May 23-June 7; Fri at 7 pm, Sat-Sun at 2 pm. $12-$18. Spokane Children’s Theatre, 2727 N. Madelia. spokanechildrenstheatre.com (509-328-4886)
RIVERDANCE 30: THE NEW GENERATION Irish and international dance and music from the original Riverdance production with new and innovative additions. May 2-29, 7:30 pm. First Interstate Center for the Arts, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. broadwayspokane.com
VISUAL ARTS
ANDREA JOYCE HEIMER: NO NAME THAT I KNOW OF Through collage-like layers of detail, Washington-based artist Andrea Joyce Heimer reconstructs tangled memories of her upbringing in rural Montana. The artist combines autobiography, fantasy, and dark humor to explore themes of loneliness and belonging. Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm through May 25. $9-15. Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org (509-456-3931)
JEANETTE KIRISIAN: KEYSTONE ANIMALS Jeanette Kirishian pays homage to
a few of nature’s keystone species, those that are vital to the health and enrichment of specific environments. Mon-Fri from 10 am-5 pm through May 30. Free. Spokane Art School, 503 E. Second Ave., Ste. B. spokaneartschool.net
JOSEPH R. TOMLINSON: “...” Illustrations inspired by comic books, album art, movie posters and more by local artist Joseph R. Tomlinson. Daily from 11 am-6 pm through June 2, 11 am-6 pm. Free. Entropy, 101 N. Stevens St. instagram.com/ entropygalleryspokane (503-913-3124)
TRACY POINDEXTER-CANTON: VI -
GNETTES & WANDERINGS New mixed media works inspired by poetry and prose by Tracy Poindexter-Canton. Daily from 11 am-7 pm through May 24, 11 am-7 pm. Free. Liberty Building, 203 N. Washington St. spokanelibertybuilding.com
MASTER OF FINE ARTS THESIS EXHIBITION A collection of work from current WSU Master of Fine Arts candidates Cameron Kester, Anna Le, Abigail Nnaji and Sara St. Clair. Tue-Fri from 11 am-2 pm, Sat from 10 am-4 pm through June 28. Free. Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU, 1535 NE Wilson. museum.wsu.edu
MYTHOS This exhibition featuring artists Jesse Albrecht, Sally Jablonsky and Hannah Koeske looks broadly at the idea of mythology in contemporary Northwest art. Wed-Fri from 11 am-5 pm through May 30. Free. Kolva-Sullivan Gallery, 115 S. Adams St. kolva.comcastbiz.net
POSTHUMANS A multi-medium group exhibition about technology’s impact on the world by artists Sarah Barnett, Joe Hedges and Reza Safavi. Thu-Sat from 4-7 pm through May 24. Free. Terrain Gallery, 628 N. Monroe. terrainspokane.com
VISIONS UNVEILED: THE WOMEN
PAINTERS OF WASHINGTON A contemporary fine art showcase revealing new perspectives from the Women Painters of Washington. Wed-Sat from 5-8 pm through June 27. Free. Trails End Gallery, 204 E. Main St. chewelah.org
YOUR COLLECTION: FACULTY REMIX
EXHIBITION This unique showcase brings together works by WSU studio art faculty and highlights their creative dialogue with the museum’s permanent collection. Through thoughtful curation, faculty artworks are placed alongside pieces from the permanent collection, sparking conversations across time, space and artistic expression. Tue-Fri from 11 am-2 pm, Sat from 10 am-4 pm through June 28. $0. Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU, 1535 NE Wilson. museum.wsu.edu
TAKE IT AS IT COMES Paintings and prints by Sironka, Ralph Noll, Katie Frey, John Thamm, Darrell Wilcox, Roch Fautch, Matt Wolf, Audreana Camm and Kodi McQuillen featuring a unique blend of scenics and animals. Fridays from noon-7 pm through May 31. Free. Shotgun Studios, 1625 W. Water Ave. ShotgunStudiosSpokane.com
THE LILAC MENACE ZINE SWAP A gettogether for zine-makers, readers and collectors. Fourth Friday of each month from 6:30-9:30 pm. Free. Lunarium, 1925 N. Monroe St. lunariumspokane.com
CROCHETING FRIENDS Learn new stitches, share patterns, crochet items for hospice or those in need and make friends with fellow crocheters. Every Tuesday from 4-5:30 pm at the Clark Fork Library. Tues., 4-5:30 pm. Free. Clark Fork. ebonnerlibrary.org
HEARTISTRY: ARTISTIC WELLBEING A relaxed and inspiring environmnt for self-discovery. Participate in basic artistic
concepts and activities or respond to a mindfulness prompt. Every Tuesday from 3-5 pm Free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. spark-central.org
FROM ZOURNAL TO ZINE An illustrated journal workshop led by an awardwinning artist and writer Emma Noyes. Register to attend. May 31, 2:30-3:30 pm. Free. Central Library, 906 W. Main Ave. spokanelibrary.org (509-444-5300)
ZINE IN A FLASH: CREATE & SHARE IN AN HOUR In just one hour, you’ll learn how to make a mini zine from a single sheet of paper. Register to attend. May 31, 1-2 pm. Free. Central Library, 906 W. Main Ave. spokanelibrary.org
WORDS
NO NEUTRAL: POETRY NIGHT WITH SHIN YU PAI Award-winning poet and former Seattle Civic Poet, Shin Yu Pai, presents a special retrospective reading featuring her latest work, No Neutral which explores identity, place, activism and voice. May 23, 6-7 pm. Free. Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main. aclspokane.org
LINDSAY HILL: TIDAL LOCK PEN-Award winning author Lindsay Hill reads from his new novel accompanied by WA State Book Award and PNBA Award recipient Sharma Shields who will read a new short story she wrote about Elon Musk. May 23, 4:30-5:30 pm. Free and open to the public. Liberty Park Library, 402 S. Pittsburgh St. spokanelibrary.org (509-444-5300)
AUNTIE’S BOOK CLUB: QUEER & WEIRD Discuss The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin at the May meeting. May 24, 6-7 pm. Free. Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main Ave. auntiesbooks.com
QUEER BOOK CLUB Join bookseller Beth this month to talk about the book Family Meal by Bryan Washington. Last Mon. of every month, 6-7 pm. Free. Wishing Tree Books, 1410 E. 11th Ave. wishingtreebookstore.com (509-315-9875)
SANDPOINT STORYMAKERS A group focused on helping creative people achieve their dream whether it’s a novel or a video game. Every Tuesday from 5-6:30 pm Free. Sandpoint Library, 1407 Cedar St. ebonnerlibrary.org
TEEN WRITE CLUB Teen writers are invited to get feedback on their work and explore all things prose and poetry. Every Tuesday from 5:30-7 pm. Free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. sparkcentral.org (509-279-0299)
BROKEN MIC A weekly open mic reading series. Wednesdays at 6:30 pm; sign-ups at 6 pm. Free. Neato Burrito, 827 W. First Ave. bit.ly/2ZAbugD (509-847-1234)
CREATIVE WRITING CLUB Stretch your writing skills with fun prompts, character creation, world building and more. Every Wednesday from 3:30-4:30 pm. Ages 8-12. Free. Moscow Public Library, 110 S. Jefferson St. latahlibrary.org
FORAY FOR THE ARTS Foray For The Arts is a collective space where artists, writers, musicians, and creatives to come together to showcase their work, share their stories, and support one another. May 30, 6-8 pm. Free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit. foray4thearts.org
TALK LOUDER BOOK BIRTHDAY PARTY Janelle Cordero’s poetry collection Talk Louder turns one. Cordero discusses the collection along with Spokane poets Thom Caraway, Mery Smith and Tim Greenup. May 30, 7-10 pm. Free. Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main Ave. auntiesbooks.com (509-838-0206) n
Equity and Expansion
New retail cannabis licenses are coming to Washington in the name of social equity
BY WILL MAUPIN
Washington’s Cannabis Social Equity Program is looking for applicants for a new round of licenses to be issued later this year.
Established by the Legislature in 2020, and updated in 2023, the program aims to address systemic flaws
NOTE TO READERS
in the state’s legal cannabis market in an effort to right historical wrongs.
“We know that certain communities were disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs and are underrepresented in legal cannabis spaces, and so this program specifically seeks to award retail cannabis licenses to those who qualify for the program,” says Samantha Guter, communications consultant with the Washington state Liquor and Cannabis Board.
Under the provisions of the program, 52 new retail cannabis licenses will be awarded to qualifying applicants. The window to apply for one of the new licenses opens on June 2 and runs through July 1.
To qualify, applicants must have a majority ownership share in the proposed business and meet at least two of the following four criteria:
• Have lived in a specified area of Washington disproportionately impacted by previous drug policy for at least five years between 1980 and 2010.
• Has been arrested or convicted, or is a family member of someone arrested for or convicted of a cannabis offense.
• Have a household income below Washington’s median household income.
• Be classified as socially and economically disadvan-
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.
taged as defined by the state in chapter 39.19 of the Revised Code of Washington.
When the state opened its legal marketplace in 2014, members of these groups were underrepresented. For example, LCB data from 2021 showed that just 4% of legal cannabis businesses in the state were Black-owned. These criteria were specifically selected to direct the new round of licenses to members of those underrepresented communities.
A previous round of the Social Equity Program awarded 45 licenses in 2023. However, those were existing licenses that had been either forfeited or revoked. The 52 licenses available in this round are all new, marking the largest expansion of the state’s legal market since its establishment over a decade ago.
Senate Bill 5080, passed in 2023, expanded the program and opened up this second window. The 52 licenses made available this time around are exclusively retail, but Guter says that the Legislature’s action allows for new producer and processor licenses to be issued as well, though LCB is still working out those details.
Overall, the most visible impact of this round of the Social Equity Program will be the creation of new businesses owned by members of communities that took the brunt of previous drug policy. n
Those impacted by the War on Drugs are meant to benefit from a new round of cannabis retail licenses.
GREEN ZONE
BE AWARE: Marijuana is legal for adults 21 and older under Washington State law (e.g., RCW 69.50, RCW 69.51A, HB0001 Initiative 502 and Senate Bill 5052). State law does not preempt federal law; possessing, using, distributing and selling marijuana remains illegal under federal law. In Washington state, consuming marijuana in public, driving while under the influence of marijuana and transporting marijuana across state lines are all illegal. Marijuana has intoxicating effects; there may be health risks associated with its consumption, and it may be habit-forming. It can also impair concentration, coordination and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. Keep out of reach of children. For more information, consult the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board at www.liq.wa.gov. Marijuana use increases the risk of lower grades and dropping out of school.
Fist-bump greeting
“As I see it,” in a text
Somebody
Les Jeux Olympiques d’___ de Paris
“___ bene!”
At right
the tagline “Accentuate the negative”
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