ERN ZES LANTM E S E N I CH IVAL MES ERI FEST S VISITOR Rather than simply surpass expectations, the inaugural Washington State Chinese Lantern Festival this past fall simply denied anyone an accurate guess at how positively received it would be. After more than a year and a half of planning and weeks of setup, the grassy slopes of Riverfront Park were awash in vivid colors and light each evening for seven full weeks — two weeks longer than originally scheduled. Organizers with Spokane Parks & Recreation and Visit Spokane projected that the culturally immersive experience would sell around 50,000 tickets (priced between $12 and $17 per person), but final attendance estimates reached 80,000 event-goers. Those visitors also spent an estimated $4.6 million in the city as they attended the festival, booking more than 800 hotelroom nights, Visit Spokane reports. (CHEY SCOTT)
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about The festival drew
. YOUNG KWAK PHOT 80,000 people
COEUR D’ALENE’S URBAN DEVELOPMENT AGENCY MOVES FORWARD
Coeur d’Alene’s urban development agency, ignite cda, faced criticism in the weeks leading up to November’s city council election. Toby Schindelbeck, a local business owner looking to unseat longtime incumbent Ron Edinger, came out in support of dissolving the agency and giving control of the public funds it manages to elected officials. In November, Dan English knocked off conservative incumbent Steve Adams, who also voiced support for nixing ignite cda. State Senator Mary Souza called out the organization for spending $120,000 on a rebranding and “public relations campaign” when the board voted to change the name from Lake City Development Corporation to “ignite cda.” With victories for Edinger and English, and $6.5 million in tax increment funds for the 2015-16 fiscal year, ignite cda is full steam ahead. Projects on its radar in the next few years, according to Executive Director Tony Berns, include a partnership with the city to reconstruct Mullan Road ($1.6 million allocated) and a collaboration with the University of Idaho, North Idaho College and Lewis-Clark State College on a shared education facility ($2.5 million allocated). Also in the works is another partnership with the city to rebuild Seltice Way along I-90 in 2017 ($3.5 million allocated). “Our goal is to create value for the community,” Berns says. “And we’re always looking for partnerships to create that value, both public and private.” (MITCH RYALS)
BEN JOYCE’S ART BLOWS UP Spokane artist Ben Joyce’s work has become familiar to people in the Inland Northwest through a number of public displays of the works he calls “abstract topophilia,” including large pieces at the Spokane Convention Center and Gonzaga University’s Jepson Center, as well as smaller pieces in numerous area galleries. His bright, distinct style of aerial landscapes makes favorite subjects like the Spokane River running through downtown or the area around Lake Coeur d’Alene burst from any wall they’re on. In 2015,
Joyce’s efforts to display his art beyond his adopted hometown kicked into high gear, with abstract topophilia being displayed at Google headquarters in the Bay Area, at bus stops throughout Las Vegas and in the collections of musicians like the Game and Pharrell, who spied Joyce’s work at the L.A. radio station where one of the artist’s childhood friends works as a producer. So enamored were they with Joyce’s style, they took the paintings off the station’s wall after their visits and brought them home. (DAN NAILEN)
DECEMBER 31, 2015 INLANDER 21