Your locally owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
Wildcats welcomed to 4A with shutout win Page 8
September 11, 2014
North Bend welcomes third annual Jazz Walk
Fashion show expected to sell out quickly By Sherry Grindeland Feeling lucky? Then wait until the last minute and purchase your tickets to the third annual Fall Fling Fashion Show at the door Sept. 14.
If you go Third annual Fall Fling Fashion Show q To benefit House of Hope q 6 p.m. Sept. 14 q Boxley’s q 101 W. North Bend Way, North Bend q Tickets: $32 q Tickets available at Birches Habitat, 202 W. North Bend Way, North Bend, by calling 292-9390, or at the door
Nancy Wray, the organizer of the benefit for the House of Hope, won’t give you good odds on tickets being available at Boxley’s. The event, she said, has sold out the first two years. “Last year, we had to turn away people at the door,” she said. Wray owns Birches Habitat, the North Bend store that sponsors the show. She started the fundraiser in 2012 after reading a story in the SnoValley Star about the House of Hope shelter for women. “I wanted to do something to help,” she said. “I talked to people and said, ‘Let’s do a fashion show.’” Three weeks later, Wray and five friends watched in awe as supporters scooped up every ticket to the fashion show that features volunteer models from the local community. She repeated the event last year, commenting that even the husbands of the volunteers willingly signed up for a second goaround. The men had complained a lot when they were recruited the first year to help with the heavy hauling and other tasks. This year’s show will again be held at Boxley’s. The party — and See FASHION, Page 2
By Greg Farrar
Pamela Wickard, manager for the North Bend Visitor Center, is ready to welcome residents and share information with traveling guests at the newly completed office at Park Street and Bendigo Boulevard.
VISITORS WELCOME North Bend opens new, impressive Information Center By Sherry Grindeland Hollywood couldn’t have planned it better. While a lot of cities have visitor centers to welcome tourists, few have such drop-dead gorgeous backdrops. Imagine coming into town for the first time. You get off Interstate 90 at what is billed as the main North Bend exit and head north. After passing the outlet mall and the usual freeway exit gas stations and fast food spots, you head toward downtown. On your right you notice a cleared patch of forest land. While it isn’t obvious yet what will go on the to-be-developed site, the removal of trees has a benefit for the visitor: There’s a view of the river. A few yards further and you cross a bridge. Then, you see a giant wheel outside the Snoqualmie Valley Historical Museum. Just beyond that, at the corner of Bendigo Boulevard and Park Street, the North Bend Visitor Center welcomes you. And then there’s that dropdead Hollywood-style background.
If you go Grand Opening Celebration q Visitors Information Center and Mountain View Art Gallery q 4-6 p.m. Sept. 13 q 250 Bendigo Blvd. S., North Bend The Snoqualmie Valley’s local mountain — Mount Si — beckons in the background. The scene typifies North Bend, a combination of nature and small-town structures that house active and vital businesses. That’s exactly what the North Bend Downtown Foundation planned. “When we began planning, we said how great it would be to have a visitor center right there,” said Geoff Doy, president of the group. “We said how great it would be to see Mount Si behind it.” The modern Northwest lodge-style visitor center structurally matches the Bartell Drug Store right behind it, both the brainchild of property developer, Tom Sroufe, of Brook Water
Advisors. The foundation and the city of North Bend have a five-year lease with Sroufe for the visitor center building. The center opened for visitors the last week of August and will celebrate its Grand Opening from 4-6 p.m. Sept. 13 with music, refreshments and a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The look and feel of the center, Doy said, was something the community-volunteer foundation discussed for eight or nine weeks. It reflects the group’s vision for downtown — a modern Northwest look. Inside the building, open Wednesday through Sunday, visitors will find more than just brochures about the area. The building also houses the Mountain View Gallery that currently features work from photographer Greg Schatzlein and sculptor Brian Ferril. Two touch-screen computers offer up-to-date information about local sites and activities, and a larger monitor displays photographs from local photographers. New artists will be featured every couple of months accordSee OPENING, Page 2
The Jazz Walk returns to the historic section of downtown North Bend from 6 p.m. to midnight Sept. 13. Eighteen venues are participating this third annual Jazz Walk. They will feature more than 20 different artists and groups — all within strolling distance of one another. One ticket gets you into all shows. Come hungry for food as well as entertainment. Several venues are restaurants and a number of the nontraditional sites offer snacks. One of the featured artists is Danny Kolke. He was one of the main founders of the Jazz Walk and its springtime cousin, the Blues Walk. His group, the Danny Kolke Trio, will perform at the music club he started, Boxley’s on North Bend Way. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 the day of the event. Purchase them at http://bit. ly/1lQXjin. The Jazz Walk will feature the following performances: 6-9 p.m. q North Bend Theater — Future Jazz Heads q Emerald City Smoothie — Chuck Deardorf & Gene Argel q Pioneer Coffee — Kelly Eisenhour Trio q Valley Center Stage — Jay Thomas and the Cantaloupes q Boxley’s — Danny Kolke Trio & Guests 7-10 p.m. q Snoqualmie Valley Moose Lodge — Bernie Jacobs Quartet q Birches Habitat — See JAZZ WALK, Page 3 Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER