Inlander 01/30/2020

FAKEOUT! NO, VALUE VILLAGE IS NOT A NONPROFIT PAGE 13

THE HALFTIME SHOWS THE BEST AND WORST OF THE SUPER BOWL PAGE 38

WORDS FOR WOODWARD FREE ADVICE FOR SPOKANE’S NEW MAYOR PAGE 6

l l a b n i P val

JANUARY 30-FEBRUARY 5, 2020 | VOTE NOW AT BESTOF.INLANDER.COM

i v e R

WHY IT’S COOL AGAIN

BY NATHAN WEINBENDER PAGE 22

FREE SPEECH VS. PUBLIC SAFETY 20 MICHELLE WOLF 30 LATE-NIGHT EATS 32

Whatever it is, we’ll help you get there.

See how our Spokane banking team provided Movher the high-touch service they deserve.

Hear more from Movher and see other stories at watrust.com/awesomebusiness.

2 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

INSIDE

VOL. 27, NO. 16 | THE COVER: BERSERK BAR; YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

COMMENT NEWS COVER STORY CULTURE

5 13 22 27

FOOD FILM MUSIC EVENTS

32 35 38 44

I SAW YOU GREEN ZONE ADVICE GODDESS BULLETIN BOARD

46 48 52 53

EDITOR’S NOTE

T

here is a cycle to fashion and fads — a rise, a peak, a rejection and, later, a triumphant return. Such is the twisted story of PINBALL. “It went from treasure to trash and back to treasure,” says Tyler Arnold, a pinball collector who owns Jedia Alliance, a local arcade. “People grow up with things, they have this nostalgia for it when they’re in their 20s and 30s, and then when they start getting to the prime of their life, they buy it back.”

Staff writer Nathan Weinbender dives into this phenomenon and unpacks his own “fuzzy, neon-tinged memories” of youth in this week’s cover story (page 22).

Also this week: Staff reporter Josh Kelety takes a deeper look at Value Village, the for-profit thrift store chain that has been sued for misleading consumers into thinking it’s a nonprofit and that purchases they make from it directly benefit charities. Don’t miss that report on page 13.

— JACOB H. FRIES, Editor

Sun-Thurs 7am-9pm Fri-Sat 7am-10pm • 509.443.4215 • 909 W 1st Ave. Ste. A

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SUPER GAME. EPIC PARTY.

A TASTE OF TEXAS PAGE 34

STORIES IN MINIATURE PAGE 35

SUN, FEB 2

Enjoy the Big Game along with food, drinks and giveaways in front of our 30΄ LED HDTV! Details at northernquest.com

LIVE AT THE DIPPER PAGE 42

WHAT TO DO HERE HERE PAGE 44

INLANDER

SPOKANE • EASTERN WASHINGTON • NORTH IDAHO • INLANDER.COM

1227 WEST SUMMIT PARKWAY, SPOKANE, WA 99201 PHONE: 509-325-0634 | EMAIL: INFO@INLANDER.COM THE INLANDER is a locally owned, independent newspaper founded on Oct. 20, 1993. It’s printed on newsprint that is at least 50 percent recycled; please recycle THE INLANDER after you’re done with it. One copy free per person per week; extra copies are $1 each (call x226). For ADVERTISING information, email advertising@inlander.com. To have a SUBSCRIPTION mailed to you, call x213 ($50 per year). To find one of our more than 1,000 NEWSRACKS where you can pick up a paper free every Thursday, call x226 or email frankd@inlander.com. THE INLANDER is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. All contents of this newspaper are protected by United States copyright law. © 2020, Inland Publications, Inc.

JANUARY 30, 2020 INLANDER 3

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COMMENT STAFF DIRECTORY PHONE: 509-325-0634 Ted S. McGregor Jr. (tedm@inlander.com)

WHAT ARCADE GAME WOULD YOU WANT IN YOUR HOUSE?

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J. Jeremy McGregor (x224) GENERAL MANAGER

EDITORIAL Jacob H. Fries (x261) EDITOR

Dan Nailen (x239) MANAGING EDITOR/ARTS & CULTURE

MARK RICHARD Shuffleboard.

Why? Just because I think it’s interactive. It’s a great game where you’re actually moving, and it’s a lot of fun.

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I don’t think I know many arcade games. Oh wait, Donkey Kong for sure.

When was the last time you were in an arcade?

Over 10 years ago.

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I’d probably go for the classic Dragon’s Lair.

And did you play Dragon’s Lair a lot in arcades?

Not really, it was kind of too expensive for a kid.

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Oh my god, it would be the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video game that they used to have at the mall when I was a kid.

And where would you put it in your house?

Downstairs in the man cave, I guess. Oh, I hate saying “man cave.”

Ali Blackwood (x228) CREATIVE LEAD

Derrick King (x238), Tom Stover (x265) SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Rachael Skipper (x231) GRAPHIC DESIGNER

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THERESE COVERT I’m not that old, or I’m too old. Oh my gosh, it’s just been so long. Foosball, I suppose.

And where would you put the foosball table?

Well, if I still had a house I would put it in the family room, by the television.

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A Nickel’s Worth

CALEB WALSH ILLUSTRATION

An open letter to Spokane’s new mayor, Nadine Woodward

BY MICHAEL ALLEN

C

ongratulations on your win! Now you only get three months to get a second term. That sounds ridiculous, but it isn’t.

It takes a long time to move an institution like the city of Spokane in a direction. The first 100 days are key to setting up your success. Start with your administration staff: Hire the right people, not the convenient people. Mayor David Condon got this right and it was a big factor in getting that second term.

OK, you ran on Spokane Solutions, time to start delivering because you don’t have years to plan them.

Deliver on your campaign pledge: The downtown homeless issue. That is a big pledge considering the large sums of money that have been tossed at this issue for five years now, and we just get more of it. We are at a tipping point, we don’t want to be Portland or Seattle. We are counting on you!

But you also need a bigger vision than the homelessness issue. As important as that issue

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SAY WHAT?

DO SOMETHING!

“I assumed that when I shopped here, it was going towards work programs, housing programs, all kinds of social assistance.”

FILM & DISCUSSION: THE FOREIGNER: “Who is the foreigner? Am I the foreigner in my own home? Who decides?” Such were the questions posed by renowned author Toni Morrison at her 2006 guest-curated exhibit at the Louvre, The Foreigner’s Home. In celebration of Black History Month and Morrison’s birthday, this film screening includes refreshments, Morrisonthemed door prizes and mixed-media art based on her literature by local artist Tracy Poindexter-Canton. Sat, Feb. 1 at 2 pm.

Free. East Side Library, 524 S. Stone St. spokanelibrary.org/calendar (444-5300)

A customer at Spokane’s Value Village reacts to the news that the business is not, as she thought, a nonprofit. A judge in Washington state recently ruled that Value Village has been misleading customers. Find that story on page 13.

is, we need a vision of where we are going as a city. Communicate that vision. Some ideas: Revitalization of Division Street from downtown to Francis Avenue, to include more housing and transportation frequency; bringing this mythical community policing model into existence; or perhaps annexation of certain areas that has been needed for a long time. There is no shortage of opportunities, so find yours. Otherwise, you will be subject to the City Council’s agenda and vision, and you will be perceived as reactionary.

We are at a tipping point, we don’t want to be Portland or Seattle. We are counting on you!

Don’t be afraid to make decisions. I watched Mayor Mary Verner kick the can down the road on many issues including problems in the Police Department. The result was having them all land back on her lap five weeks before the general election. She had won the primary by almost 30 percentage points and then lost the general. That lack of decision-making at the appropriate time cost her a second term.

Pick your battles. Especially with a veto-proof council. There is always a natural conflict between the mayor and council president, even when they view the world in a similar way. From my experience, most of the time you can find a solution, but sometimes you can’t. It’s not personal and don’t let it become personal. If you do, it degrades into a toxic environment and puts city staff in a very difficult place. Compromise is only dirty when it benefits the few instead of the many.

Rebuild relationships with key for-profit and nonprofit organizations in our community. If done right, they can be your greatest asset and most faithful allies. As mayor, you don’t run everything within the city limits and they don’t LETTERS need to bend to your will. Also, Send comments to listen and understand the staff at editor@inlander.com.

City Hall because their institutional memory is invaluable. To me, this is a simple one and can be a huge win for you and our community.

Your time is tight, and this is a 24/7 job, but don’t forget the citizens who helped to get you elected. There are going to be some very rough days, so just keep your head. Take a few minutes every day to keep those relationships, because you will need them in the future.

Finally, don’t be so driven by ego that you fail to ask for help if you need it. Everyone wants you to be successful. Your success is our success. n Michael Allen is a business and entrepreneurship professor at Spokane Community College. A longtime Republican, he previously served six years on the Spokane City Council.

JAN. 31 — FEB. 6, 2008 n FREE

FROM THE VAULT

INLANDER T H E PAC I F I C N O RT H W E ST

SPOKANE n EASTERN WASHINGTON n NORTH IDAHO

NEWS The biggest snowstorm in 15 years 11

BEST OF Your ballot is inside; fill it out today! 23

Vis Tour ual Arts 2008

Spokane

29

JAN. 31, 2008: Thirty-three big ideas to change Spokane: That was the focus of this particular issue. While Spokane may not have changed all its one-way streets to two-ways and parking meters still don’t offer ice cream and a smile, some other ideas have come to fruition. Riverfront Park has been revamped and, in line with Idea No. 31 to “Speak (And Sing) Out,” downtown Spokane has hosted women’s marches, climate strikes and student protests in recent years.

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JANUARY 30, 2020 INLANDER 7

COMMENT | NEWSMAKERS

Q&A JESSICA ENGELMAN The founder of a new alternative transportation advocacy group seeks to make Spokane more friendly for cyclists, pedestrians and others

BY JOSH KELETY

T

o Jessica Engelman, a 32-year-old who recently moved here from Portland, transportation advocacy isn’t just a question of getting more bike lanes or better sidewalks. It’s about fighting climate change, pushing for equity, reducing housing costs and commute times with better urban planning, and helping humans be healthier and happier.

To help pursue those goals, she founded a new community transportation advocacy group, Spokane Active Transportation (SpokAT), which is focused on making Spokane more friendly to non-car users like cyclists and pedestrians.

They’ve already made gains, such as getting the Spokane City Council to endorse enhancing bike and pedestrian infrastructure on Boone Avenue after nearby Cataldo Avenue was vacated to make room for the Sportsplex.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

INLANDER: Why did you form SpokAT? Why should people care about active transportation?

ENGELMAN: Our drive or official mission is to make Spokane a place where anyone who wants to walk, cycle, take public transportation or use micro-mobility feel that it is an option that is safe, comfortable, accessible and available to them. So pretty much anybody who wants to bike feels that they can bike and anyone who wants to walk feels that they can walk.

Finances are the really big one, especially here in Spokane as rents go up. We are going to start seeing issues of displacement increase homelessness, families that were doing OK are suddenly struggling. Because for low-income families, the number one burden to the household budget is housing and number two is transportation. So if we can address that, we can actually help a lot of our low-income population. People who are homeless and people who are very-low income actually have extremely high cycling rates because it’s even cheaper than a bus pass.

Climate change is a big one. The transportation sector is the largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions. So, if we want to save our planet, we have to reduce the amount of driving that we do.

What are Spokane’s biggest obstacles to creating better pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure?

From the cycling perspective, the lack of bicycle infrastructure downtown. Because, other than the Centennial Trail, there is nothing that I would recommend to anyone but the most courageous, experienced cyclists downtown.

For walking, our lack of good crossing infrastructure on arterial streets is a huge barrier. Even the intersections that have signals, you have to press the button, and sometimes the button doesn’t work, and it might not be an accessible intersection or a crossing, and the crossings don’t line up with the bus stop so they’re not necessarily where you want them to be. The crossings are definitely for cars. They were not designed for people who aren’t in cars.

There’s a sense that we’re late to the game, but since we’ve started playing, we’ve done a really good job. We are years behind some other places. And that would hurt us more if we weren’t also years behind these other places in terms of overcrowding and development, you know, gentrification and displacement.

What are some of the projects that SpokAT is currently working on?

Our most recent undertaking is that we’re making a crowdsourced bike route map for the city, because there are a lot of really good ways to get around the city by bicycle, but very few of them are part of the official bike route map. So if you’re new to the city or new to cycling and you try to follow the official routes, there’s a good chance you’re not going to continue cycling because a lot of them are very uncomfortable and don’t feel very safe. But there are a lot of wonderful routes in the city, so we’re picking everyone’s brains and putting all of the best secret routes into an online map.

And then we’re doing unofficial greenway [calm residential streets that are well-suited for biking and walking] development. We’re hoping that we can create a greenway network that creates a network of streets that may not have accessible sidewalks, but at least their traffic calms down to the point that if you’re in a wheelchair or other mobility device, you feel comfortable riding in the street, and you know that when you get to a major arterial crossing, you will have a safe way to get across. n

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M A R T I N

W O L D S O N

T H E A T E R

A T

T H E

F O X

CALENDAR OF EVENTS Spokane Symphony Pops

Spokane Symphony Movies & Music

Fox Presents

Saturday, Feb. 1, 8pm

Friday, Feb. 21, 8pm

Wednesday, March 18, 7:30pm

Spokane Symphony Masterworks

Spokane Symphony Masterworks

Spokane Symphony Movies & Music

Saturday, Feb. 8, 8pm Sunday, Feb. 9, 3pm

Saturday, Feb. 29, 8pm | Sunday, March 1, 3pm

Saturday, March 21, 8pm Sunday, March 22, 3pm

Spokane Symphony Chamber Soirées

Tuesday, March 3, 7:30pm

Tuesday, Feb. 11, 7:30pm Wednesday, Feb. 12, 7:30pm

MULTICARE: HEART STRINGS ACOUSTIC STORYTELLING CONCERT

CHERRY POPPIN’ DADDIES

FRENCH MUSIC FOR VALENTINE’S

SOIRÉE ON THE STAGE: VALENTINE’S SOIRÉE AT ROCKWOOD: VALENTINE’S

Thursday, Feb. 13, 7pm At Rockwood South Hill Event Center

GONZAGA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WITH MIDORI

Thursday, Feb. 13, 7:30pm

SPOKANE STRING QUARTET WITH SPOKANE KANTOREI CHOIR

Sunday, Feb. 16, 3pm

BACK TO THE FUTURE IN CONCERT

APPALACHIAN SPRING

WSU SCHOOL OF MUSIC CONCERT

THE ALLMAN BETTS BAND

STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE IN CONCERT

RONNIE MILSAP

Tuesday, March 24, 8pm

LOVETT OR LEAVE IT: LIVE ON TOUR

Thursday, March 5, 7:30pm

Thursday, March 26, 8pm

PRINCE ROYCE: THE ALTER EGO TOUR

Spokane Symphony Masterworks

Friday, March 6, 8pm

Spokane Symphony Pops

EILEEN IVERS: IRISH FIDDLER

RUSSIAN PASSIONS

Saturday, March 28, 8pm | Sunday, March 29, 3pm

THE GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA

Saturday, March 7, 8pm

Monday, March 30, 7pm

SPOKANE YOUTH SYMPHONY 70 YEARS OF VIRTUOSITY

Fox Presents

Sunday, March 8, 4pm

WALT WAGNER TRIO

Saturday, April 4, 8pm

Spokane Symphony Masterworks

Spokane Symphony Movies & Music

Spokane Symphony Pops

FOR VALENTINE’S DAY

IN CONCERT

IRISH FIDDLER

Feb 8

Feb 21

FRENCH MUSIC

Celebrate romance with music by two of the greatest French composers: Debussy’s impressionist Nocturnes and Ravel’s passionate love story of Daphnis et Chloé. Plus a rare chance to hear Tomasi’s brilliantly difficult Concerto for Trumpet with soloist Allen Vizzutti.

8PM

Feb 9 3PM

BACK TO THE FUTURE

8PM

Power up your DeLorean… recharge your flux capacitor… and get ready to experience this unforgettable movie classic accompanied by the Spokane Symphony!

Come early to see the DeLorean Time Machine.

EILEEN IVERS

Mar 7 8PM

Conductor: Constantine Kitsopoulos

Conductor: Morihiko Nakahara

Conductor: James Lowe Sponsored by Anonymous Donor

Tickets

•

10 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

5 0 9 6 2 4 12 0 0

Presentation licensed by Universal Studios. © All rights reserved

•

SpokaneSymphony.org

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Eileen Ivers, a nine-time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion, star of Riverdance, and founding member of Cherish the Ladies. The New York Times called her “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin.”

Sponsored by the Spokane Symphony Associates

•

FoxTheaterSpokane.org

COMMENT | FROM READERS

Readers respond to an article on Inlander.com about (another) plan to build a new high school stadium downtown (“Louder for the People in the Back: The New High School Sports Stadium is not the Sportsplex,” 1/24/20): LETTERS

Send comments to editor@inlander.com.

STEVE DUNN: We voted it down.

Why is this still an issue?

CHAD SWENSON: I get it, and I’ve posted my opinion earlier. The people said no for a downtown high school stadium. I’ll leave it at that.

DIANA POSTLEWAIT: This is good to read since it clears up which project is which. And the people in charge are still not listening to the voters. Time to vote them out.

PETE O’BRIEN: After reading online comments and talking to a lot of voters, it is clear to me that people did not understand. Some confused the Sportsplex and the stadium, some thought they were voting to keep Albi Stadium. The school board should have made this decision.

ISAIAH PAINE: Many people I’ve talked to thought a “no” vote meant retaining the current stadium and not spending any money. The ballot measure wasn’t worded well enough to make it clear that the existing Joe Albi Stadium is getting demolished and that a new stadium is being built. The only question is about location: In a remote corner of the district with inordinate parking or central to all the high schools with adequate parking.

MARGIE DAVIS: Parking downtown is a problem! There is so much room out at Albi Stadium and it’s easier to get in and out. So I don’t understand why they are promoting the downtown location.

TIM SHUSTOFF: We didn’t vote it down, we just voted against the ill-fated initial proposal. The downtown location would generate exponentially larger hospitality/tax revenues and would cost less to operate as a shared facility with SPFD. This concept deserves a polished second glance.

MARY BADINGER: All I’m saying is, can’t we do better as a city with downtown land than high school sports? I’m all for sports but to dedicate such a big place in the heart of the city to high school level events seems a little short of our potential.

TOM GREEN: So the public is too stupid to know what they voted for, so instead of following the will of the people — the people whose tax dollars are being used, mind you — we’re just going to build it downtown. I mean, after all, the people of Spokane don’t know what they voted for, right? n

Australia’s Thunder From Down Under Fri, Mar 27 / 8pm Sat, Mar 28 / 7 & 10pm Sawyer Brown Jan 30 Conquest of the Cage-MMA Feb 8 Brian Regan Feb 12 & 13 Sara Evans Feb 23 Rodney Carrington Mar 22 Yanni Apr 9 Champions of Magic Apr 11 Charley Pride May 3 Celtic Woman May 16 & 17 Boz Scaggs May 27

877.871.6772 | SPOKANE, WA

JANUARY 30, 2020 INLANDER 11

Region’s Premiere Celebration of Food and Wine

February 7th - 9th, 2020

This tasty event is back for a third year of delicious eats and exquisite wines from the best regional winemakers!

Join us for three days of wine tasting seminars, intimate luncheons with hand-selected wine pairings, unforgettable award-winning chef dinners and MORE! FRIDAY FEB 7th:

SATURDAY FEB 8th:

TASTE AT TWILIGHT

PERFECT PAIRINGS WINE CLASS’S Each wine class will be instructed by the winemakers themselves. They will showcase their wines and walk you through how they are created and their unique properties. $35 per person

6pm-10pm | Resort Convention Center Kick-off our Food & Wine Festival weekend with the elegant flavors of winepouring stations, high-end small plates & skewered delicacies, entertainment & MORE! Participating Wineries: Barrister Winery | Bontzu Cellars | Camas Prairie | Goose Ridge | J. Lohr | L’Ecole | Maryhill Winery | Seven Hills Winery | Tahoe Kitchen Company $69 per person

• Class #1: Winery: Forgeron | 10am-11am • Class #2: Winery: Thurston Wolfe Winery 11:30am-12:30pm

THREE COURSE WINE - PAIRED LUNCH

WINE DINNER

1pm-3pm | Cedars Floating Restaurant

7pm-10pm | Beverly’s Join us for an elegant night of distinctive wine and exquisite cuisine! This exclusive wine-paired dinner is crafted uniquely by Beverly’s Executive Chef Jim Barrett with Doubleback Winery. $225 per person

Join The Cedars Chef team as they collaborate with Coeur d’Alene Cellars to bring us an afternoon of distinctive wine & exquisite cuisine! This exclusive winepaired lunch will feature knowledge and conversation from the culinary and wine team themselves. Come hungry! Paired with Coeur d’Alene Cellars. $69 per person

THREE COURSE WINE - PAIRED LUNCH 1pm-3pm | Beverly’s You asked, we listened! The dynamic duo of Beverly’s Executive Chef Jim Barrett & Barrister’s Winemaker Greg

Lipsker is back again for a third year of exquisite cuisine, authentic wines & unbeatable views of Lake Coeur d’Alene!

This exclusive lunch, crafted uniquely by Chef Barrett, will be artfully paired with the award-winning wines of Barrister from Spokane, Washington. Paired with Barrister Winery.

SOLD OUT

LAKESIDE DINNER EXPERIENCE 6:30pm-11pm | Hagadone Event Center * Cruise Boat Boards at 6pm & departs at 6:30pm

Enjoy a wine cruise to the beautiful Hagadone Event Center followed by a grand dinner celebration! Featuring winetasting tables, chef-action stations, live music & more!

Participating Wineries: Castaway Cellars | Forgeron | J.Lohr | Reininger Winery | Sheridan Vineyard | Treveri | Tahoe Kitchen Company $125 per person

WINE DINNER | 7pm-10pm | Beverly’s

SUNDAY FEB 9th GRAND TASTING | 11am-2pm Resort Convention Center Experience an afternoon of distinctive wines & exquisite cuisine! Explore the variety of flavors at Wine-Tasting Stations, enjoy gourmet hors d’oeuvres & watch Chef Demonstrations live on the big screen. We are beyond excited to welcome Bravo TV’s Top Chef Chad White back again for another year of unforgettable flavors & extensive culinary knowledge. New to our festival will be an appearance by Chef Ricky Webster, winner of Hallmark Drama’s ‘Christmas Cookie Matchup. Come hungry - and thirsty!

Participating Wineries: Bontzu Cellars | Camas Prairie | Forgeron | Goose Ridge | Palencia Wine Co. | Seven Hills Winery | Sheridan Vineyard | Thurston Wolfe Winery | Treveri | Tahoe Kitchen Company. $52 per person

Join us for an elegant night of distinctive wine and exquisite cuisine! This exclusive wine-paired dinner is crafted uniquely

by Beverly’s Executive Chef Jim Barrett.

Paired with L’Ecole wines. $125 per person

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ROOM PACKAGES: TASTE OF TWILIGHT PACKAGE

LAKESIDE DINNER EXPERIENCE PACKAGE

Includes: Overnight accommodations and Two tickets to Friday Taste of Twilight

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12 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

BUSINESS

The Wrong Impression

Value Village, a for-profit thrift store, engaged in deceptive advertising for years, a Washington judge recently ruled

BY JOSH KELETY

If you thought Value Village was a nonprofit you’d be wrong, but you also wouldn’t be alone. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

O

n a recent Friday afternoon, the Value Village thrift store on Boone Avenue in Spokane is hopping. A steady stream of drivers offload donations from their cars while customers comb clothing racks and shelves of appliances for potential deals. Outside, on the store’s facade, a massive green sign features giant text stating “Donate to a nonprofit here,” while interior signage nudges customers to “tidy up” their homes by donating to the store. In return, customers can “feel pretty (dang) good about” their deed, the signage declares. The store feels like a Goodwill and peddles do-gooder vibes left and right.

But, unlike Goodwill, Value Village isn’t a nonprofit. It’s a for-profit business that rakes in an estimated $1 billion annually and was sued in 2017 by Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who alleged the company used deceptive marketing. And last November, a King County Superior Court judge agreed with Ferguson, ruling that Value Village and the Bellevuebased company that owns it, TVI Inc., misled the public by giving the impression that the business is a nonprofit and that in-store purchases benefit charities.

Value Village is appealing the ruling. But outside of the Value Village on Boone last week, shoppers were surprised to hear both about the lawsuit and the thrift store’s business model — anecdotal evidence seemingly supporting the judge’s conclusion in the case.

“I assumed that when I shopped here, it was going towards work programs, housing programs, all kinds of social assistance,” says 36-year-old Bryn Kimberly, adding that she has been going to Value Village “forever.”

When asked if she thinks Value Village’s marketing is deceptive, she says “yeah!” and points to the “Donate to a nonprofit here” sign above the store’s entrance.

“You assume [purchases are] going to help people in the community,” Kimberly says.

Her sentiment basically sums up much of Ferguson’s argument in the original lawsuit. In the original 37-page filing, the attorney general calls out Value Village for “hiding its for-profit status behind a veneer of charitable goodwill,” slamming its marketing and advertising practices as “deceptive” and misleading.

T

he company, which operates 20 stores in Washington state and 330 stores worldwide, sources its retail products “almost exclusively” from solicited donations accepted on behalf of one of Value Village’s contracted “charity partners,” such as Northwest Center and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound, who are currently paid at a per-pound rate for said donations. However, despite advertising claiming that Value Village paid its charity partners every time customers donated, the company “paid nothing for a large sub-set of non-clothing donations” like furniture until 2016, the lawsuit claims.

“For years, well-intentioned donors in Washington and elsewhere believed that their donations provided a financial benefit to charities, when in reality, they did not,” the lawsuit alleges.

While Value Village has since changed its contracts in Washington state so it also pays charities for hard goods like furniture, the sums were still fairly meager. A 2015 contract with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound pegged the payment rate at roughly 4 cents per pound of soft goods and 2 cents per pound of furniture and other large items, according to a 2017 news release from the Attorney General’s office.

Additionally, the lawsuit claims that Value Village’s “deceptive advertising” — like its in-store announcements and store signage — creates an impression that products bought at their stores “resulted in a charitable benefit” to other organizations. But Value Village’s charity partners don’t receive any money from in-store purchases.

Value Village keeps all of it. ...continued on next page

JANUARY 30, 2020 INLANDER 13

NEWS | BUSINESS “THE WRONG IMPRESSION,” CONTINUED...

The lawsuit goes on to cite a state-commissioned consumer survey that found that three-quarters of individuals who had either shopped or donated at Value Village or were thinking about doing so believed that the company was a charity or nonprofit.

“By creating the deceptive net impression that Value Village itself is a charity or nonprofit and/or that purchases and donations significantly benefit its charity partners, Value Village downplays its for-profit status,” the filing reads.

In his November 2019 ruling, King County Superior Court Judge Roger Rogoff upheld the allegation that Value Village created the “deceptive” impression that it is a nonprofit through its own “‘do-good, feel-good’ descriptions of its own business operations” and its “constant conflating of itself with the charity suppliers with whom it contracted for supplies of used goods to sell in its stores.”

Rogoff also found that said marketing created the perception that in-store purchases benefited charities.

“By inundating consumer[s] with its connection to charities without clear explanation of its position as a business who gave nothing to charities, TVI Inc. was deceptive,” Rogoff writes.

A

The state attorney general has argued that Value Village’s signage is misleading. The signage pictured is currently displayed outside the location on Boone Avenue in Spokane. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO Value Village strictly had an arrangement with Rypien to pay them a flat fee of $4,000 per month to use its charity logo during that time period.

Rich Medway, Value Village’s general counsel and chief compliance officer, writes in a statement that the company will appeal the counts they lost on. (The company ultimately beat the state on four out of seven total claims, such as an allegation that they created the perception that only certain charities were benefitting.) A motion filed by the company in the state court of appeals on Jan. 7, 2020, argues that Value Village is protected by the First Amendment,

“Our stores have signage that has always clearly explained our business model for customers.”

dditionally, the state won its claim that two Value Village stores in the Spokane area falsely advertised that donations to those stores benefited the Rypien Foundation — a Spokane-based nonprofit that serves families dealing with childhood cancer — between 2014 and 2015. In fact,

stating: “Representations about charitable solicitations are fully protected speech.”

“Value Village won the majority of claims in this misguided lawsuit, and we have been fully transparent with customers about our relationship with our nonprofit partners,” Medway writes. “We are appealing the court’s ruling with respect to the other claims, which hinges on a handful of signs we voluntarily removed from our stores years ago.”

When asked by the Inlander for more specifics about the changes to Value Village’s signage referenced in Medway’s statement, company spokeswoman Sara Gaugl sent a written response vigorously defending the company’s marketing practices.

“Our stores have signage that has always clearly explained our business model for customers and Value

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Village has always been transparent in describing our model in our marketing campaigns,” she writes. “Like most businesses, we are constantly updating our signs in our stores. The court did not find any consumers who were deceived by any signage. We have a unique business model we are proud of, and we take every effort to explain it.”

Laura Smith, legal director at Truth in Advertising, a Connecticut-based nonprofit advocacy organization, says that the lawsuit and the recent ruling hinge on “net impression theory,” a concept adopted by the Federal Trade Commission that says advertisers are responsible for both literal and implied messages in a given ad, all of which compose the “net impression.”

“The courts and the regulators will look at the impression made by the advertising as a whole,” she says. “[Value Village] seems to be quite sophisticated in their marketing. It’s an example of how advertising can be literally true but still deceptive.

“There seems to be no question that they were involved in deceptive marketing,” Smith adds. “This is clear-cut deception.”

The 2017 lawsuit isn’t the first time Value Village has tussled with state officials in Washington and elsewhere. In 2014, after pressure from state officials, Value Village finally formally registered as a for-profit fundraiser in Washington state, forcing it to disclose certain internal records. A year later in 2015, the Minnesota Attorney General sued the company over similar allegations of consumer deception, resulting in an eventual $1.8 million settlement.

Back at the Value Village store on Boone, Bonni Barcus, 62, says that she didn’t know about Value Village’s business model or its legal battle with state officials. And the new information is going to make her think twice about shopping at Value Village.

“It’ll color my world. I’ll start going to Union Gospel Mission because I like them, too. I know 100 percent of their stuff goes back to the community,” she says, adding, “That’s what I thought was going on here.” n joshk@inlander.com

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NEWS | BRIEFS

The Tampon Tax Fifth time’s a charm? Lawmaker wants to exempt feminine hygiene products from sales tax

F

or the fifth year, Sen. Lynda Wilson (R-Vancouver) is sponsoring legislation to exempt FEMININE HYGIENE PRODUCTS from sales tax similar to other necessities, including food and medical supplies.

During a hearing on the bill Monday, the Senate Ways and Means Committee heard the simple logic behind the change: Women unfairly pay hundreds of dollars in taxes over their lifetime on products that are medically necessary to go about their daily lives.

Washington state would lose $4.5 million per year in taxes if the bill passes.

“That seemed like a fair amount of money,” concerned citizen Lisa Kremer said during the public hearing. “And I was thinking, ‘Wow, all of that money is paid solely by women of childbearing age.’ That doesn’t seem fair either.”

Her daughter Nora McCarthy, a senior in high school, also testified. McCarthy shared that she and her sister put on an event to educate people about menstruation last year, and they were surprised at the level of misinformation out there.

“The one that we got the most was the misconception that women can hold in their periods like it’s going to the bathroom,” McCarthy says. “I don’t know who needs to hear this, but that’s not the case. Women can’t hold in our flow. Menstrual products are a necessity, they enable

women to participate in society, to go to school, to go to work.”

Indeed, Wilson noted that women trying to save money might use products longer, which can actually be dangerous, as wearing a tampon for too long increases the chance of potentially deadly toxic shock syndrome.

The bill would permanently remove feminine hygiene products, including pads, tampons and menstrual cups from the list of products subject to state and local sales taxes. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)

GROWING TOO FAST?

Idaho is the FASTEST-GROWING STATE in the country, and Idahoans are worried about it, a new statewide survey conducted by Boise State University shows.

Last week, the Inlander’s cover story looked at the population growth in North Idaho, the people shaping it, and how some citizens fear the consequences. The Idaho Public Policy Survey released by BSU this week confirms that attitude: Respondents cited growth as the most important issue facing Idaho, and 57 percent said that Idaho is growing too fast.

Most Republicans surveyed, 63 percent, viewed the growth as too fast, while only 46 percent of Democrats agreed.

Idahoans aren’t happy about their growing numbers.

The survey was conducted in December 2019 and included 1,000 adults living in the state. It’s meant to represent the population of the state geographically and demographically.

New Idahoans were also asked where they moved from. Unsurprisingly, the most common answer was California (26 percent) followed by Washington (14 percent), Utah, Oregon and Nevada. It also didn’t come as much of a surprise that the political affiliation of those Californians was usually Republican — 65 percent identified as Republicans, with only 22 percent saying they were Democrats.

Besides growth, the survey found education to be the second most important issue facing the state. And people in Idaho don’t seem to be satisfied with the schools.

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16 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

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Nearly 65 percent said that the quality of K-12 schools was either “fair” or “poor,” while less than 30 percent said schools were “excellent” or “good.” (WILSON CRISCIONE)

DISPARITIES IN DEATH

Premature deaths in Washington state, defined as deaths before the age of 65, are far more prevalent among non-whites and low-income communities, a new study from Washington State University found.

Between 2011 and 2015, almost one-quarter of all deaths in Washington state were premature. Using 242,667 of those fatalities and associated demographic, address, census tract education and gender characteristics, researchers found that whites experienced the lowest rates of premature deaths at 22 percent of deaths, while the highest rates were among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders at 55 percent of deaths, followed by Native Americans and African Americans.

Pablo Monsivais, a co-author of the study and an associate professor at Washington State University, says that the gap in the rate of premature deaths between racial demographics stands out.

“What is surprising is the size of those gaps, like the fact that some racial groups in the state experience premature death twice as much as whites,” he says.

The study did not analyze the factors contributing to the disparate rates in premature deaths, but Monsivais points to broader issues like poverty and inadequate access to medical care as possible root causes.

“You have a combination of factors that we don’t entirely understand, but being in some racial categories is just a huge health risk and it could be because of things like poverty, lack of resources like medical care, and social factors like stress and facing discrimination,” he says.

Locally, central and northern parts of Spokane experienced the highest prevalence of premature deaths, in addition to the Airway Heights area, the study found. (JOSH KELETY)

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NEWS | ENVIRONMENT

Request Denied

Washington’s Ecology Department fines the federal Energy Department $1 million over access to Hanford documents

BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL

S

itting on a large nuclear reservation in Central Washington, Hanford is by far the largest cleanup project for the Department of Energy, hugely complex both on paper and in practice for contractors dealing with radioactive waste there.

The Energy Department partly regulates itself and contractors on the site, including when it comes to employee safety. But many other elements of the cleanup, including permits for specific cleanup tactics and inspections, are overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Ecology under the terms of an extensive “Tri-Party Agreement.”

In the more than three decades since the agreement was signed, it’s been updated many times, with Ecology at times taking Energy to court to enforce deadlines and milestones.

18 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

The Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

But while access to the data and documents needed to oversee work on the site has not been much of a problem in the past, Ecology employees in Richland now say that for the better part of three years, they haven’t had full access to all the information they need to ensure the environment and people are being protected.

Since the 1990s, the three agencies have met every other year to update the way they share information, as that regularly changes with advances in technology, explains Randy Bradbury, communications manager for Ecology’s Nuclear Waste Program. But in 2016, when Energy updated its processes for data storage, Ecology lost access to some information that was easy to access before.

One Ecology staffer writing a waste treatment permit needed to know how the treatment unit works, but documents explaining that process that were previously

SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL PHOTO

available by computer now show an error saying access is denied, Ecology reports. Another staffer working on a permit for a waste tank wanted to see how safety alarms and detectors are tested, but access to that process was denied, “with Energy erroneously asserting that the Ecology staff member didn’t need it to write a permit.” In another instance, an inspector asked to see records that detail how waste is managed properly, but the inspector couldn’t get those records right away, and when Energy did provide them, it appeared the records hadn’t been entered into a database as required until after the inspection.

After multiple years of failed negotiations on data access, Energy now argues that it has fulfilled its duty to provide information, and doesn’t need to provide Ecology with additional access to its internal database known as the Integrated Document Management System (IDMS).

“Every couple of years we’ve met and talked about what was needed to keep our access to data up to date, and we were always able to work it out,” Bradbury says. “We haven’t been at loggerheads like this before.”

It’s not to say that Ecology can’t access any of the information needed to effectively regulate Hanford, Bradbury says, but that they can’t access all the information they need. In some cases, Energy has said that Ecology can just request the information, which then often takes days, weeks or even months for Ecology to get copies of, he says.

In early December, Ecology’s then-Director Maia Bellon issued a determination that Energy was out of compliance and could be fined. With no change by Energy, Ecology followed through on Jan. 6 and imposed a $1.065 million penalty for not complying with the rules.

Energy appealed the director’s determination from December to the Pollution Control Hearings Board, a governor-appointed three-person panel that oversees appeals of certain environmental decisions made by Ecology and other state agencies.

In part, Energy argues that providing access to the IDMS database would break privacy rules, because it includes confidential employee and human resources information.

But Ecology hasn’t asked for access to everything, Bradbury says. “We only ask for things we believe strongly are highly relevant to what we need to know to effectively regulate,” he says.

Energy spokesmen who work at Hanford declined to comment on the specific examples of issues Ecology has had accessing documents, instead sticking to a written statement about the department’s appeal: “We will continue to provide appropriate access to information in a way that allows us to continue to adhere to federal laws and requirements for protecting certain types of information in our data systems.”

A phone hearing on the matter is scheduled with the Pollution Control Hearings Board for Feb. 26. n samanthaw@inlander.com

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NEWS | ACTIVISM

Last year’s Drag Queen Story Hour brought out lots of protesters — and police — as well as supporters like Nova Kaine, left.

Divided They Stand

YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

At EWU and the Spokane Public Library, local protests highlight difficulty police have in balancing constitutional rights and public safety

BY WILSON CRISCIONE

W

hen religious activists set up in the middle of Eastern Washington University’s campus in November — intending to share their anti-abortion and anti-LGBT beliefs — there was little question that they had a right to be there.

There was also no question that the hundreds of students who engulfed them in opposition had a right to be there as well. This was a public space, after all. They were protected by the First Amendment.

But did police have the right to keep two groups separate?

That’s the question posed by Steve Graham, an attorney representing an EWU student who was arrested during the protest on Nov. 7. Police were worried that the protest could turn violent, so they created a “safety zone” to separate the students from the religious activists.

But the EWU student, named Maya Caruth, crossed the invisible barrier to get closer. Cheney Police Officer Zebulon Campbell stopped her. Caruth argued that he had no right to tell her where to be. After continuing to refuse the officer’s request, Caruth was arrested for obstruction.

Graham argues the arrest was unconstitutional and invoked the First Amendment in asking Cheney Municipal Judge Robert Leland to dismiss the charge.

Last week, Leland declined to do so, saying in his order that “law enforcement had to make decisions to protect the safety and interests of the public,” and that Caruth’s actions “created a significant safety concern.”

Graham, however, thinks the charge will be dismissed once video evidence of the encounter comes out.

20 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

“I think it’s clear that Ms. Caruth was singled out,” Graham tells the Inlander. “I think [video evidence] would also show that the order of the Police Department not to enter this zone was not clearly communicated whatsoever.”

It’s a case that’s indicative of the difficult balance that local police must strike when handling large protests. Yet the EWU protest is just one local example of that.

I

n June of last year, protesters and counter-protesters gathered outside the Spokane Public Library on the South Hill because of the planned Drag Queen Story Hour, where drag queens read stories to children.

Afshin Yaghtin, a pastor at the New Covenant Baptist Church, wanted to go in the library to speak against the event. Spokane Police wouldn’t let him, so he and a small group of people gathered on a strip of grass in the parking lot, separate from the other crowds, which had been divided into protesters and counter-protesters.

When asked to move to a designated protest zone, he refused. Spokane Police arrested him.

Yaghtin, like Caruth, argued that it was an unlawful arrest that violated his First Amendment rights. But unlike Caruth, he was successful in that argument. Spokane County Judge Tracy Staab threw out the case last month.

In the order, Staab wrote that “the command to move to a protest zone was not narrowly tailored to apply to only those who wished to protest” and that the grass strip where he stood was not closed to the public but “apparently closed to persons who manifested a certain belief

regardless of whether that belief was being conveyed to the public.”

As Jorge Ramos, attorney for Yaghtin, puts it: “Beliefs alone are not enough to tell someone to go here or there.”

Of course, there are exceptions. It can depend on whether or not an event is permitted, and what kind of public space it is. Some college campuses may be a traditional public forum, just like a sidewalk, and others may not be, depending on where they’re located, says Nancy Talner, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington.

Balancing free speech rights with public safety only became more difficult after the Charlottesville protests in 2017, which resulted in a woman being killed by a neoNazi who intentionally drove his car into a crowd. Police want to err on the side of caution. If a group of people is marching down the street and another group is heckling them, police will generally try to keep space between them to reduce the risk of violence. In Portland, police regularly keep far-right and far-left groups separated to avoid violence — though some have argued that only increases tension.

“It’s hard for the police to make these distinctions,” Graham admits.

But he says the case with Caruth at EWU should be dismissed just like Yaghtin’s case. Once more evidence is gathered, he’ll likely try to get it dismissed again.

“I’m really confident this is going to go the way of Yaghtin’s case,” he says, “once we establish just how similar it is.”

A

side from police separating groups based on their beliefs, the Drag Queen Story Hour and EWU protests both raise other concerns with free speech, attorneys say.

In January, Yaghtin filed a lawsuit against the city and Police Chief Craig Meidl claiming his First Amendment rights were violated in the protests at the downtown library for the Drag Queen Story Hour — days after he was arrested at the South Hill location. He claims he went downtown as a journalist for Saved Magazine and that police — through threats and intimidation — prohibited him from conducting interviews.

Graham takes a different angle when it comes to the First Amendment. He argues the religious “street preachers” who went to EWU in November could have consequences for the things they’ve said LETTERS targeting students. One Send comments to of the activists Caruth editor@inlander.com. was protesting against, Thomas Meyer, was accused of slapping a different student’s butt and calling her a “whore” and “harlot,” according to police reports — though no charges have been filed.

“I’m not sure that the students really need to tolerate a lot of the verbal abuse and threats by these agitators,” he says.

Graham knows that the First Amendment protects the right to make derogatory statements generally in public spaces. But when they single out individuals, he argues those can be “fighting words.” A U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1942, Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, established that words inflicting injury or incite violence could be an exception to free speech.

Graham imagines what would happen if a woman was called a “whore” in a tavern: The people making those statements would be “picking up their teeth off the floor,” he says.

“But on a college campus, you make the same statements about these women face-to-face,” he says, “and police haven’t taken action on that.” n wilsonc@inlander.com

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t l i T l l u F

WITH A THRIVING COLLECTOR’S MARKET AND A RISE IN COMPETITIVE LEAGUES, PINBALL IS COOL AGAIN

22 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

BY NATHAN WEINBENDER

E

very serious pinball player remembers their first machine. Ask any of them, and they’ll tell you about it.

Maybe it was glittering in the back corner of the neighborhood arcade, or pinging and clanging over the din of the local tavern. Or, if you were lucky, you had a friend whose parents bought one for their den, and you could play it all afternoon without ever having to put a single quarter into it.

I had my own childhood pinball machine, and its silver spheres have been bouncing off the bumpers of my brain for years. It sat in the game room of the pizza parlor that my grandmother owned, and I sometimes had it to myself in the hours before the restaurant opened. I remember marveling at the artwork on the machine’s back panel — a femme android floated in the void of space, striking a regal, balletic pose as menacing cyborg hands with pinball flippers for fingers enveloped her, shooting electricity into the cosmos. On the side of the machine’s cabinet was a red-and-yellow egg-shaped robot, its spindly mechanical arms frozen in a comical shrug.

There was a drawer in the restaurant’s back office with a Styrofoam cup that magically replenished itself with coins. I’d plug that machine with a fistful of quarters, but I don’t think I ever got more than a few seconds on each credit, furiously smashing the buttons as the balls sailed right past my flippers and into oblivion. But I was nonetheless hypnotized by this contraption — its flashing rainbow of colors, its intergalactic sound effects, its weird cast of characters.

I’ve been trying to remember more details about this particular pinball machine for years, but it has been shoved into a corner of my memory, its title covered by a layer of dust and cobwebs.

Pinball seemed to me like a grown-up game, and not just because you had to stand on your tiptoes to play it. When the adolescent boy in the 1988 comedy Big transformed into adult Tom Hanks, I was less impressed by his beautiful Manhattan loft than the pinball machine he had in there. Surely Marcus Schmick (left) and Bryce Rich that was the sign that you were a play during a recent tournament for capital-A Adult.

Berserk’s pinball league.

YOUNG KWAK PHOTO It’s fuzzy, neontinged memories like this that have no doubt inspired pinball’s resurgence in recent years, as the generations who grew up during the arcade boom (and its eventual bust) or witnessed the game’s unlikely 1990s renaissance are rediscovering its unusual charms. It’s hardly a world-shifting movement, but consider that there are more active pinball manufacturers in 2020 than there were in 2010.

Of course, lots of old-school video games have been recreated for contemporary gamers: Look no further than the popular Nintendo Classic toys, preloaded with a selection of 8-bit titles from the ’90s, or the online emulators that allow you to download retro games to your computer in seconds. But pinball is not so easily replicated, and unless you know somebody with their own machine, you have to seek it out to play it.

That’s why I set off on a freezing Wednesday afternoon to meet up with pinball fanatic Bryce Rich at the downtown bar Berserk. The place has eight operating pinball cabinets, ranging from a 1975 Western shootout called Fast Draw to the 1996 billiards game Breakshot. Rich puts some credits on an early ’90s machine titled Game Show, in which you score points and collect “fabulous prizes” — a new car, a Caribbean

vacation, a color TV. I pay careful attention to his approach. He gently rocks the machine at just the right moments, jockeying the ball between the two flippers as he carefully considers his next move. I’ve always thought of pinball as a game of breakneck speed, of distracting lights and noises. Yet he’s managed to slow it down into an activity of almost zen-like concentration.

In between turns, I ask him why pinball appeals to him.

“It’s the entire package. The way they look, the way they sound,” Rich tells me. “Being able to rally with your friends — drink beer and play pinball.

You can’t play it on your Xbox, you can’t play it on your phone. There’s no cheat codes. And it’s super competitive.”

After downing my first Miller High Life, I figure I can use Rich’s encyclopedic pinball knowledge to my advantage, and I start quizzing him with vague details of that old pinball machine I loved when I was a second grader: It was in space, I think? And there was this robot on the side… He picks up his phone, types in a couple words, and holds it out to me. There it is on the screen: Pin-Bot, a 1986 machine that was so popular it was turned into a Nintendo game. It’s also the same machine that Tom Hanks owns in Big. “I get asked that sort of thing all the time,” he says as I scroll through the pictures.

CRAZY FLIPPER FINGERS

Like any arcade game, pinball takes some time to learn and master. And like arcade games, each pinball machine is different from the next, not just in design and theme but in its construction and prescribed set of rules.

But the basic strategy of every modern pinball machine is the same: Those silver balls come flying at you on a downward-slanted playfield, and you use the flippers to prevent them from falling into the pocket at the base of the machine known as the drain. Rack up points by completing certain objectives, which will set off a chain reaction of even more objectives. A really good game of pinball is a symphony of on-the-spot hand-eye coordination and calculated strategy.

“The thing that people don’t understand about pinball machines, even the old ones, is that there’s a deep rule set,” says Tyler Arnold, a local pinball collector who owns the arcade Jedi Alliance, off Napa Street in the Chief Garry Park neighborhood. “It’s not just ‘whack the ball around and see what happens.’”

In pinball, gravity is both your friend and your enemy. You can nudge the machine to make the ball obey, but too much jostling and the machine immediately ends your turn (that’s a “tilt” in pinball parlance). The amount of force you apply to the flippers determines where the ball goes, and at what velocity.

“I became a teenager when video game arcades started popping up everywhere,” recalls James Hunt, a co-owner of Berserk. “But before that, I was playing pinball at burger joints with my dad. … It’s the same thing as video games — you work on developing these shots and techniques — but I think you can be a little more nuanced with pinball.”

And then there’s the art. You can trace the evolution of pinball through its visual trends — the fairground aesthetics of the 1940s, the art deco-like simplicity of the ’50s, the spaceships and astronauts that dominate machines in the wake of Star Wars and the more cluttered, movie poster-style layouts of the ’90s.

Within pinball circles, specific artists and designers like Steve Ritchie, John Youssi, Gordon Morison ...continued on next page

JANUARY 30, 2020 INLANDER 23

Pinball

From left: Star Wars (1992), Charlie’s Angels (1978), Judge Dredd (1993) and Pin-Bot (1986), all at Jedi Alliance.

YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS

“FULL TILT,” CONTINUED... and the wonderfully named Python Anghelo are revered.

Arnold likens the very design of the pinball machine to a display case, and to Jedi Alliance as a museum. “But people are allowed to come in and play with the artifacts,” he says.

THERE HAS TO BE A TWIST

Pinball’s historical trajectory is about as winding and serpentine as one of the ramps inside your standard machine.

Its origins are usually traced to tabletop games that were popular in pre-Revolutionary France, but the true progenitors of the contemporary pinball machine — simplistic games at bar counters that allowed players to navigate balls around wooden or metal pegs — first thrived in America during the Great Depression as a form of inexpensive amusement. The game became more elaborate as its popularity increased, with pinball designers inventing features (plungers that send the ball onto the playfield, obstacles accompanied by sound effects and flashing lights, mechanized flippers) that remain standard.

Multiplayer capabilities soon followed, as did digital scorekeepers and more intricate, interactive doodads.

According to the 2009 documentary Special When Lit, pinball companies raked in more money between 1955 and 1970 than the entire movie industry. The Who’s 1969 rock opera Tommy — it’s about a deaf and blind boy whose inexplicable pinball wizardry inspires religious hysteria — no doubt spurred its popularity. Director Ken Russell’s gloriously baroque 1975 film adaptation of the Who album features Elton John performing the hit song “Pinball Wizard” in a knit beanie and towering platform shoes, which ensured that both the movie and Sir Elton became two of the first pop-culture properties to have their images licensed for pinball machines.

While these innovations were happening, one place missed out on all of it: the Big Apple.

24 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

In the late 1930s, New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, concerned that the proliferation of coin-operated gaming would merely encourage gambling, outlawed pinball within city limits. Machines were confiscated from businesses and either smashed with sledgehammers or dumped into the Hudson River. Other major cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago (where most of the country’s pinball machines were produced), followed La Guardia’s lead, although the severity of those laws varied from place to place and tended to be loosely enforced.

New York remained steadfast, however: Like booze during Prohibition, pinball was relegated to back rooms and secret compartments, and rumor has it that the mob cornered New York’s contraband pinball market.

The ban remained in place until 1976, when journalist and pinball aficionado Roger Sharpe was brought before the New York City Council to prove that pinball was a game of skill over luck, and therefore not a form of illegal gambling. As six glowering councilmen looked on, Sharpe called out a complicated trick shot, Babe Ruthstyle, before effortlessly nailing it, and it was a power move that convinced the local government to overturn La Guardia’s antiquated edict.

The popularity of arcades would dwindle in the aftermath of the 1980s video game crash, and so, too, did interest in pinball. According to Adam Ruben’s book Pinball Wizards, the company Williams Electronic Games produced 50,000 pinball machines in 1980. Three years later, only 2,300 left their factory. The demand simply wasn’t there.

Production picked up steam again in the ’90s when a pinball machine inspired by the 1991 film The Addams Family became an unexpected smash, and it’s still the most commercially successful machine ever made. That unexpected uptick encouraged companies to increase production volume, which inevitably led to oversaturation.

Coupled with the fact that pinball machines aren’t exactly

a breeze to maintain, and the market slumped yet again.

“Pinball had been in a precarious position to begin with,” Ruben writes. “The abundance of pinball machines outran the efforts of the technicians, and machines fell into disrepair. Disrepair meant less interest from players, which meant fewer locations sinking their cash into pinball.”

By the year 2000, most of the former titans of the pinball industry — Bally, Gottlieb, Capcom, Midway, Sega — were no longer producing machines.

THE DIGIT COUNTERS FALL

But like a compulsive player feeding a machine with quarters, pinball hasn’t met a “game over” it couldn’t brush off. It has repeatedly fallen out of fashion, only to be rediscovered and brought back from almost certain death by the next generation down the line.

“It went from treasure to trash and back to treasure,” Arnold says. “People grow up with things, they have this nostalgia for it when they’re in their 20s and 30s, and then when they start getting to the prime of their life, they buy it back.”

Jedi Alliance houses the city’s largest public pinball collection, with 35 or so working pins at any given time.

Arnold considers himself a collector first, and every corner of his nerdly mecca is filled with vintage arcade cabinets, Star Wars memorabilia, comic books, action figures and, of course, pinball machines.

He bought his first pinball machine when he was 17 for $100 — it was at a used car lot, and it didn’t work. But his collection started in earnest around 2003, a period when pinball was passe, and he got his hands on some older machines for a pittance.

“After we had a couple machines, we got a couple more,” he says. “Then it became

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another, then another one, and another one, and so on.”

The collector’s market has gotten much more competitive in the 17 years since, Arnold says, and prices for in-demand machines (even mass-produced titles like the Addams Family) are higher: His most recent acquisition is a 1992 Creature from the Black Lagoon game, which ran around $6,000.

The handful of companies producing new pinball machines are selective in their output, and it’s a busy year when a dozen unique titles hit the market. Most new pinball games are linked to recognizable properties: Stern, the country’s preeminent pinball manufacturer (for years it was the only manufacturer), recently released Stranger Things and Deadpool machines, alongside reproductions of popular retro games like Black Knight and Star Wars. Thus far, the only new pinball title announced for 2020 is a hotly anticipated Rick & Morty game from the boutique retailer Spooky Pinball, while other independent manufacturers like Chicago Gaming Co. and Jersey Jack have made names for themselves.

Most of these new machines are produced in batches of 2,000 or fewer: That seems like nothing compared to the recordbreaking 20,000 units of The Addams Family that exist, but it’s also overshadowed by the once-typical production orders of common titles like 1985’s Comet (8,100 units) and 1990’s FunHouse (10,750 units). That’s because most of these machines are going straight into the hands of collectors, and it’s why most new titles are produced in multiple editions, which vary in special features and increase in price relative to their scarcity. (Consider: A standard copy of Stern’s 2018 Beatles game starts around $6,000, and it’s special editions go up in price from there.)

There’s another aspect to collecting that a lot of novices don’t take into consideration: Machines can break in any number of ways, and it takes time and know-how to contend with the couple thousand feet of wire snaking around inside one.

Rich, who has been rehabbing arcade cabinets and pinball machines for a decade now, taught himself basic electrical skills so that he could repair his machines, watching YouTube tutorials and talking to other pinball fanatics in online forums. He says he usually acquires new machines through a network of collectors who keep each other informed: Someone texts him about a pinball machine that’s languishing in a relative’s basement, or about a friend of a friend who’s looking to unload several nonworking machines. Sometimes he sells them, or trades them for another machine. Sometimes he keeps them, or leases them out to businesses.

“Once you have a pinball machine in your house and enjoy having your friends come over and rally on it, you’re always going to want one,” Rich says. “And one’s never really enough.” ...continued on next page

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Pinball

Debbie Tansy plays the Taxi pinball machine as her husband, Ray Tansy, right, David Strom, left, and Kacie Strom look on at Berserk. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

“FULL TILT,” CONTINUED...

BUZZERS & BELLS

I had always thought of pinball as a solo activity, a barroom timepasser for when you’re waiting for your friends to show up. But it’s best enjoyed as a group activity, as a party game. That’s reflected in the increasing interest of pinball leagues, which continue to pop up around the country: The International Flipper Pinball Association (yes, that is a real organization) lists about 75 currently active leagues on its website, and a couple hundred are set to start within the year.

Spokane’s only pinball league, which meets at Berserk and is known as the Pinheads, begins its next season Feb. 3. During each week of its 10-week run, a pinball machine somewhere in town is chosen, and league members are encouraged to rack up points on that machine and submit their high scores. It’s $35 to join each season, and members not only receive a commemorative T-shirt but can participate in bracketed tournaments that happen throughout the season. The last few seasons have attracted 30 to 40 players, says Berserk co-owner Beth McRae, and about half of them tend to participate in the various tournaments.

Marcus Schmick, who owns the lower South Hill bar the Park Inn, is a member of the Berserk league and won their first-ever tournament.

“It’s just another level of competition,” he says. “Everybody’s playing, everybody’s putting up a score. And just the cocky nature of being able to talk trash. There’s not too many pinball players who don’t talk trash to each other. It’s like any other kind of competitive event.”

Kaiti Black, co-owner of Spaceman Coffee, became obsessed with pinball as a Berserk regular, and she joined the league last year thinking it was a solitary hobby.

“It evolved from this thing I went out and did on my own into a ‘hey, we’re all here, let’s play together’ kind of thing,” she says.

It’s no secret that the pinball industry has skewed toward men, something that the manufacturers themselves were vocal about. (You can see their one-track minds reflected in the buxom, scantily clad women in so many vintage designs.) Black is one of only two or three women who have regularly played in the league, and while she acknowledges that the game is something of an “anachronism,” the genuine rapport amongst her fellow players is not.

“That’s the cool part of the community and the culture behind

26 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

it,” she says. “We’re all here to play a f---ing game, but we’re all helping each other and we’re all having fun.”

I’VE PLAYED THE SILVER BALL

The Moezy Inn Tavern has been in owner Jason Huston’s family since 1999, and it has almost always had a working pinball machine in it. Huston’s late father was an ace pinball player, and in the early ’80s he won a pinball competition at Critter McCoons, a restaurant that later became the now-shuttered Five Mile Heights Pizza Parlor.

The grand prize of that competition: A pinball cabinet of his very own, which eventually took up residency in the basement of their house.

“We’d go down there and see him put up the high score, and then we’d spend hours on the machine,” Huston says.

That machine, a 1978 Gottlieb game called Dragon, is now sitting in the corner of the Moezy Inn. Huston feels underneath the machine and flicks the power switch. The game comes to life, illuminating the back glass illustration of a warrior woman astride a reptilian creature, a lick of flame dancing on its protruding tongue. It’s more of a sentimental keepsake than a game for customers to play, Huston’s electronic memorial to the man who got him into pinball in the first place.

The back room at Jedi Alliance, meanwhile, holds about a dozen of Tyler Arnold’s pinball machines, but one of them stands out above the rest. The 1996 GoldenEye cabinet has a commemorative plaque above it in honor of Arnold’s late father, a massive James Bond fan.

“When I buy a machine, I don’t think to myself, ‘Is it going to bring in more money?’” Arnold says. “The side effect of my collection is that it also makes other people happy, which is pretty awesome.”

It’s a Sunday evening, and the doors to Jedi Alliance have just been unlocked. Customers have been milling outside for the last 15 minutes, and so Arnold heads back to the front counter. I turn my attention back to his collection, and that’s when I see it — Pin-Bot, that machine from my youth, its lights twinkling at me like faraway planets. It’s like I remembered it: the flipper fingers, the vogueing android, the shrug-bot on the side of the cabinet. The memories come flooding back.

I walk up to the machine and push the glowing start button. n

ABOUT THE

AUTHOR

Nathan Weinbender is the Inlander’s music and film editor.

Although far from being a pinball wizard, reporting on this story reignited his love of the game, and he has half a roll of quarters in his jacket pocket right now. He can be reached at nathanw@inlander.com.

CLASSICAL

LONG TIME

COMING When you want your ska/punk/swing band to go classical, who you gonna call? Try the Spokane Symphony’s David Armstrong. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies tap one of Spokane’s own to help create the music for their first-ever symphony show

BY DAN NAILEN

D

avid Armstrong grew up listening to “almost entirely classical music,” which makes sense considering his mom was a violinist and he started on the instrument himself when he was five years old and growing up on the West Side.

Even with that laser focus that took him to a master’s degree in music performance and his current role as assistant principal second violinist with the Spokane Symphony, the 36-year-old Armstrong still knew about the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies — at least tangentially.

“They were really big when I was growing up,” Armstrong says of the Eugene-based band. “I don’t know if it was just a Northwest thing, I assumed they were known nationally … It was definitely a name I was familiar with growing up.”

Indeed, the Daddies were a bit of a regional phenomenon in the punk and ska scenes well before a sonic swerve into swing music in the late ’90s made them platinum-selling international stars. And while the socalled “swing revival” only lasted a couple of years, the Daddies kept right on chugging, with bandleader Steve

Perry leading a seemingly ever-changing lineup through all manner of musical styles — everything from jazz to blues, psych-rock to lounge, and then some — on albums and tours in the years following their 1997 mainstream breakthrough album Zoot Suit Riot.

This weekend, Armstrong’s classical expertise and the Daddies’ diverse catalog have a chocolate-in-my-peanut-butter moment as the band plays its first-ever show backed by a symphony, joining the Spokane Symphony Saturday night and using classical arrangements created

by Armstrong over the last year.

T

he Daddies’ Perry says the symphony-backed version of the band has been a long time coming.

Literally.

“We were asked in 1998 to do a Boston Pops show, but we were in Europe so we didn’t do it,” Perry says.

“That was the first inkling that we would do something like this. A lot of bands of our ilk have done some of these shows, but it actually fits us better … A lot of our material has had classical aspects to it. We used string

quartets, and some of our slower songs have these long arrangements. So we’re seizing this opportunity.”

The show Saturday won’t be exactly what you might expect; rather than simply a Cherry Poppin’ Daddies show backed by the symphony like some pops performances, the audience will get to taste a couple different flavors of the Daddies’ treats. Half the show will be the Daddies on their own, and half will be with the symphony and Daddies playing together with Armstrong’s arrangements.

Choosing which songs to play in which portion of the show has been a big part of Perry’s thinking as he coordinated this show. The swing-heavy music of the band will mostly be played just by the Daddies, since that style is “tight and punchy” and “a little tougher to integrate” with the symphony’s abilities in an interesting way. But the more expansive side of the band, the side capable of veering in dramatically different directions, is the one Perry wanted to focus on with Armstrong and the full orchestra. ...continued on next page

JANUARY 30, 2020 INLANDER 27

CULTURE | CLASSICAL “LONG TIME COMING,” CONTINUED...

“The Daddies are basically all about arrangements that add to the song,” Perry says. “The music is not just a backdrop for the music, it’s never been that way. So a lot of the tunes [I chose] are the ones where the music does something interesting and where I think the orchestra can really shine, can bring out the depth of the music.”

F

or Armstrong, the challenge of working up the Daddies’ music for the symphony was two-fold. On the one hand, he had to take the songs Perry sent him and create rather straightforward arrangements that essentially follow the same path as the originals.

“Almost all of the work I’ve done has just been by ear, listening to the recordings and writing it out,” Armstrong says. “When one does [music] theory in college, you also do training where you’re listening to music and figuring out what it is that you’re hearing, to the point where you can just write out the music by listening to it.”

But the Daddies weren’t interested in simply having a symphony play along in the background of their songs. They wanted to push some of the music in new directions, and that was Armstrong’s second challenge: Actually composing new parts from thin air that would showcase both the symphony and the Daddies.

“In that aspect of it, it felt a little bit more along the lines of actual composition and not just strictly orchestrating or arranging the music itself,” Armstrong says. “It’s one of those things where you don’t always have a clear idea of what it is you want to do … There were different songs or portions of songs that every once in awhile I’d get kind of stumped and have to take a little break and come back to it.”

Armstrong and Perry swapped files back and forth,

The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies look like they’ll fit right in with an orchestra. and Armstrong has heard the final arrangements on his computer, but neither will know exactly how the Daddies and Spokane Symphony will sound together until the band arrives from Eugene for rehearsals before Saturday’s show.

Armstrong says he has a pretty good idea of what the show will sound like, but notes “there’s always those things that end up sounding a little bit different” on stage.

Perry, for his part, is excited to hear songs that, in his

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CULTURE | DIGEST

Wonderful Women of Warhammer WHERE NO ONE HAS GONE BEFORE President Donald Trump recently unveiled the new U.S. Space Force logo, which bears an uncanny resemblance to another familiar spacetraversing entity. The designers seemingly ripped off Star Trek’s iconic Starfleet Command insignia.

Maybe they were hoping the design would get sci-fi nerds excited and rallying behind what Trump dubbed the “world’s newest war-fighting domain,” despite the fact that Starfleet was way more into exploration, scientific research and diplomacy than in creating intergalactic conflict. (CHEY SCOTT)

I

BY QUINN WELSCH

’ve never played a single game of Warhammer 40,000 in my life, but I’ve loved painting and building the models since I was a teenager.

Maybe you’ve seen them at your local hobby store.

Players collect, build and paint miniature armies and pit them against each other. Warhammer’s been around for more than three decades, catering to a mostly male basement-dwelling demographic. But in 2020, that seems like it’s changing.

Warhammer manufacturer Games Workshop recently released a much-anticipated facelift of some extremely outdated models known collectively as the “Sisters of Battle” or, more affectionately, the “Nuns with Guns.”

There have been hundreds of new characters and updates from Warhammer over the last several years.

The majority of them have not been women, and none of them have been this badass. There’s still much room for improvement, but Games Workshop seems to be

THE BUZZ BIN

THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST Some noteworthy new music hits online and in stores Jan. 31. To wit: DESTROYER, Have We Met. Dan Bejar leans into some New Wave stylings on songs like “Cue Synthesizer.”

KESHA, High Road. Brian Wilson and Sturgill Simpson are among the guests on Kesha’s fourth album.

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS, The Unraveling. One of America’s best rock ’n’ roll bands is back with another slab of righteous guitar rock recorded at the Memphis studio where Elvis and Johnny Cash got their starts. (DAN NAILEN)

making a real effort to add dynamic new miniatures to its range. And behold! Models that aren’t just white dudes!

Unfortunately, the Warhammer 40,000 fanbase appears slow to catch on. The Sisters are a generally beloved staple, but many fans in online forums are hostile to some of the other changes, often suggesting that efforts to diversify the model range are motivated by pressure from the “social justice warrior crowd.”

The game seems to harbor an unusually large number of these fans compared to other sci-fi franchises.

This isn’t hard to imagine, considering that its most iconic characters, the Space Marines, form a warrior class of exclusively male religious fundamentalists with a penchant for xenophobia (sound familiar?). And I get it. Hobbies are an escape for a lot of people, and no one wants their every waking moment to be constrained by social conformity.

Yet, a fantasy world where nearly anything is possible seems like a great way to facilitate a discussion on sex — do cyborgs retain gender? I often wonder — or, more in the spirit of science fiction, a discussion on authoritarianism and discrimination. Those discussions are taking place, regardless of the hostility from the fan base, and Games Workshop doesn’t appear to be slowing down, either.

The model releases are frequent, and they just get better. In addition to the many novels, video games and an upcoming partnership with Marvel Comics, the company recently announced a new animated series slated for 2020.

The Warhammer 40,000 franchise’s slogan has been: “In the grim darkness of the future, there is only war.” But the future actually looks pretty bright. n

ENJOY THIS GAME’S DROID, YOU WILL Jedi: Fallen Order, or “DarkSide Souls” as you might call it, takes the gaming trend of difficult dodge-parry melee combatters and thrusts it into the Star Wars universe. But the best part isn’t the lightsaber or Force powers, it’s your adorable droid buddy, BD-1. Looking a bit like the Star Wars version of the binoculars toy from Toy Story, he rides on your back, tosses you healing stims, alerts you to the locations of secrets and, most importantly, gives you someone to talk to. You’d never even consider going to the Dark Side, knowing it would mean BD-1 chirping mournfully. (DANIEL WALTERS)

LEND A HAND A recent fire in downtown Coeur d’Alene left six businesses at least temporarily homeless, including the Emerge art gallery and teaching space. While a fire wall protected much of the work on display, smoke damage means Emerge will have to find different digs for upcoming events. You can help them rebuild and support the artists who taught and worked there by making a donation to the gallery’s GoFundMe campaign (search for “Rebuild Emerge” at gofundme.com) and watch for updates at emergecda.com. (DAN NAILEN)

LIGHTING THE WAY Ted S. McGregor Jr., the Inlander’s founder and publisher, was awarded the King Cole Luminary Award on Saturday.

The award, named after the “father” of Expo ’74, was created by the group Leadership Spokane to recognize exceptional servant leadership that “lights the way” in the community; in selecting McGregor, Leadership Spokane highlighted his contributions as chair of the Riverfront Park Committee. “Receiving the award named for the man who brought us Riverfront Park in the first place is fitting for the one that is ensuring it is enjoyed for generations to come,” the award citation reads. Past honorees include Bloomsday founder Don Kardong and past WSU president Elson Floyd. (JACOB H. FRIES)

JANUARY 30, 2020 INLANDER 29

CULTURE | COMEDY

Can’t Knock the Hustle Just a month after her latest special hit Netflix, comedian Michelle Wolf is back on the road

BY DAN NAILEN

N

o one can accuse Michelle Wolf of taking it easy in her comedy career.

The 34-year-old Pennsylvania native and veteran comedian and writer (The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Late Night with Seth Meyers) shot to fame/infamy on the heels of her incendiary headlining gig at the 2018 White House Correspondents Dinner, speaking hilarious truth to power to the politicians and media members in the room. (If you don’t remember, find it on YouTube right now — the performance so unnerved the White House Correspondents Association that they quit booking comedians.)

Just a few days after that gig landed her on newspaper front pages and in Donald Trump’s Twitter crosshairs, she was filming the first test episode of her own Netflix talk show, The Break with Michell Wolf. In the brief pause between the monumental career highlights, she took a couple days off to run a 50-mile ultramarathon in the Utah desert.

Likewise, just a month after her latest stand-up special, Joke Show, hit Netflix in December, Wolf is already on the road with a new hour of material she’ll perform this weekend at Spokane Comedy Club. She called the Inlander just a few hours after returning from a trip to the Philippines and Thailand, where she opened for Dave Chappelle and “ate my body weight in mangoes every single day.” The following has been lightly edited for length and clarity: INLANDER: When did comedy first strike you as something you wanted to try?

WOLF: I’d always been such a big fan of comedy. I was a huge [Saturday Night Live] fan growing up. It never occurred to me that it was a thing you could do. After college, I got a job on Wall Street, and I was working and living in New York and some of my friends came to visit me and we went to a taping of SNL. So I was like, “How did these people start?” So I Googled them. And they almost all started in improv. So I just signed up for an improv class. And after that, I was like, “I just want to do more stuff like this.” So I did more and more and eventually, that turned into stand-up.

Was there a lot of access for a beginner to get on stage in New York?

I know a lot of people start other places but I loved starting in New York because you could do three to five open mics a night if you wanted to, as long as you’re willing to hustle around the city. I started at a time when there were a lot of good people around me that were either a couple years in or just starting as well. All the [open] mics were really good, you wanted to impress the other people there. I remember this one mic, it was on Saturday afternoons in Brooklyn, and you kind of worked on a joke the whole week to do it that night.

30 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

Michelle Wolf relaxes between scorching stand-up sets by running ultramarathons. Seriously.

Everyone went to that one. It was very much your peers watching you and judging you. You really wanted to get that joke to work there.

When did touring doing stand-up come into play?

I got a job working at Late Night with Seth Meyers and I didn’t really do too much touring because I was working Monday through Friday. I didn’t do too much road gigging then, just every once in a while. Then when I was at The Daily Show, that’s when I was really getting on the road more and I really liked it straight from the beginning. I love doing jokes in new places. I love working on an hour. And when I got to start bringing my own opener, then it got even more fun because then you have someone to talk to you. You’re not by yourself. It makes it a lot less lonely.

How odd was it to have your name become part of the political and culture wars after the Correspondents Dinner?

It was a little bit bizarre. I knew what I was doing going in. I was very aware that I wasn’t doing exactly what they probably were expecting from me. I didn’t really expect it to blow up as much as it did. I’m not mad that

it did it all. The last time I was in D.C. I was just kind of reflecting on it. And I was like, “Oh, wow, yeah, there was a night I had a night in D.C. where I went in where not a lot of people knew me and I came out the next day on the front of almost every newspaper, and it’s not because I did anything illegal or had some sort of illicit affair!” I said some jokes in front of some people and there you have it. It was very interesting. Someone made me a collage at some point of all the negative newspaper headlines, all the positive newspaper headlines, and it’s fun to look at.

Had comedians who had done the dinner before given you advice beforehand?

A lot of people were like, “Oh, play more to the room” and all that stuff. But I didn’t want to do it for the room. I wanted to do it for the people at home.

That’s what I did. Seth [Meyers], he knows me so well, he knows what kind of jokes I like to write. He probably thought I was easy on them. n Michelle Wolf • Fri-Sat, Jan. 31-Feb. 1, at 7:30 pm and 10 pm • $28-$35 • 21+ • Spokane Comedy Club • 315 W. Sprague • spokanecomedyclub.com • 318-9998

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Diners gather for late night snacks at the Satellite Diner.

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DINING

Tasting Twilight Whether you’re out all night or up before dawn, these local restaurants cater to nontraditional schedules

BY CARRIE SCOZZARO

I

t’s 5:30 am on a cold Tuesday morning, and stars are still visible in the sky that’s yet to blush pink along the eastern horizon. Even now, traffic on Interstate 90 is steady, especially heading into Spokane. Many drivers are on their way to jobs with “normal” hours more akin to Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.” Some, however, are just ending their shift, and are among the 15 percent of American workers whose jobs start or end in the wee hours between dusk and dawn. For them, finding a meal after work can be a challenge.

“The Satellite [Diner] is kind of the obvious choice for late night dining,” says Holly Lodoen, a geology student at Eastern Washington University and bass guitarist for local band Light in Mirrors. “It’s small and diner-like but with that downtown, hole-in-the wall, hipster feel.”

Playing in a band might mean ending your shift as the venue closes, and typically well after most kitchens

32 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

are closed. That’s one reason the diner stays open until 4 am, says Satellite owner Colleen Freeman, “so that the folks closing the bars can get some good comfort food to soak up the evening fun and also so the industry people have a place to go for a meal after closing.”

“Popular late-night orders are the scrambles, breakfast burritos and loaded fries,” Freeman adds. “Also biscuits and gravy.”

Besides the Satellite, Lodoen likes Atilano’s Mexican Food downtown, which stays open until 3 am (hours vary at other locations, including Coeur d’Alene’s, which closes at 2 am).

“It’s burritos and Mexican food, better than Taco Bell. You can sit down in the lobby area and they have a little salsa bar,” says Lodoen, adding that the Zips on Division keeps their lobby open 24 hours.

“It gets interesting in there around 3 am!”

For many in the service industry — hospitality and health care, but also police officers, road crews and utility workers — convenience stores, fast food and chain restaurants provide the scant dining options available. All Inland Northwest Jack in the Box locations, for example, are open 24 hours, as are WinCo Foods and WalMart, both of which have reasonable grab-and-go sections.

Many convenience stores are also open 24 hours, so although Millwood Grocery & Spirits can only sell liquor from 6 am to 2 am, you can microwave something or get a hot dog any time of the day or night.

W

hen we polled social media users on Reddit and Facebook to get their picks, three distinct groups emerged: Places open until at least 11 pm (and later on weekends), including late night happy hours; early morning places whose doors might open

well before sunrise; and 24-hour joints, of which there are very few.

In North Idaho, Pepé Caldo’s Pizzeria, Kaiju Sushi and Spirits and the Oval Office were diners’ top recommendations for late night eats, while Spokane locations tended towards taverns and pubs. Cascadia Public House, Gilded Unicorn, Pentagon Bistro (Liberty Lake), Remedy and the Onion all stay open until around 11 pm (and later on weekends), as does Crave in downtown Spokane and Goodtymes Bar and Grill in Spokane Valley.

Downtown spots Durkin’s Liquor Bar and Hogwash Whiskey Den are both open past midnight and have received rave reviews for their food, as did Max at Mirabeau in Spokane Valley.

Max’s late night happy hour, from 9 pm-1 am, was especially popular with respondents for its reduced drink prices and half-off appetizers, like the cheese fries ($3.45) and coconut chicken satay ($4.45).

Many people, meanwhile, also favored national chain locations like Shari’s Café, which is open 24 hours, as well as IHOP, Perkins and Applebee’s.

These and locally owned diners are also typically open early, offering graveyard workers several dine-in breakfast options. In Spokane, Molly’s Family Restaurant, Dolly’s Café, Kalico Kitchen and Frank’s Diner all open at 6 am. Some bars, like Dave’s Bar and Grill in Spokane Valley, and many hotels, like the Davenport’s Safari Room and Palm Court Grill, not only open at 6 am for brekkie, but will also serve you an adult beverage if you’re so inclined.

The early bird award goes to Frankie Doodle’s on East Third, which currently opens at 5 am (though it used to be open 24 hours).

Steve Brendemihl remembers those days, having cooked at Frankie Doodle’s until 1991 when he left to join the Broadway Flying J Travel Plaza. Run by the Alsaker family since 1963, R E S TA U R A N T the plaza’s Broadway Diner is FINDER open 24 hours, catering to a Looking for a new place to fleet of familiar faces as well as eat? Search the region’s many a long-haul truck driver. most comprehensive bar Broadway Diner used to be and restaurant guide at much busier in the wee hours Inlander.com/places. with more factory shift workers and the like, says Brendemihl, who now runs food services for the Broadway Group, which manages the Spokane and several other Northwest Flying J locations.

He wonders if more stringent DUI laws encourage fewer on-site diners as customers are wisely choosing not to drive. He notes that the diner, which works with Uber Eats, Grubhub and DoorDash, has seen a steady increase in phone-in and online orders.

“In this day and age people are more likely to be on their app,” says Brendemihl.

For other guests, says Brendemihl, Broadway Diner offers a complete menu — breakfast includes the popular chicken fried steak, served all day — and a place for peace and quiet, but also for a little socializing.

“Part of a night server’s job is to try to read that,” he notes.

For regulars like Tom Nilles, who’s been coming there for more than 30 years, the Broadway Diner offers both a quiet respite and an opportunity to be amongst friends.

Sitting in his usual spot at one of two counters inside the modest eatery, Nilles has barely taken a sip of his coffee before someone passes by to refill his mug. He jokes good-naturedly with his server, glancing occasionally at the big-screen TV overhead.

It’s tuned to the news, but the sound is off; not that it could be heard over the steady bustle of the kitchen, background music and the friendly patter of servers, many of whom have worked at the diner for decades.

Nilles is used to getting up early. His old shift in waste management started at 5 am for the 26 years he was in that industry.

Long since retired, the Broadway Diner is now just part of his routine. At 5:30 am on any given morning, Niles is already on the road heading over for his first cup of Broadway Diner coffee. n

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Howdy, Y’all A friendly slice of Texan culture has arrived in downtown Spokane at the new Lil Sumthin’ Saloon

BY CHEY SCOTT

M EVERY

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34 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

osey on up to the bar at Lil Sumthin’ Saloon for a sip of Southern hospitality by way of Texas, and a samplin’ of some old-fashioned country vibes.

The cozy new bar debuted New Year’s Eve night on the corner of Second and Bernard in downtown Spokane, offering a warm respite from the Northwest’s dreary winters.

Owners Kryston Skinner and Austin Estrada opened the little saloon to share a slice of their home state with their newly adopted city.

“We just missed Texas, honestly,” Skinner explains. “There are a lot of cool bars here already, and we thought about what we could add to that scene, and what did we love so much in Texas about going out and nightlife that we could bring to Spokane.”

The couple relocated to Spokane last summer when Skinner accepted a job as executive director of the interactive arts hub Laboratory Spokane.

Estrada soon followed, bringing many years of bartending experience to the project.

At the bar, customers can get to know the couple — they’re the only two employees, and the bar top is decorated with old photos of their Texas-based families — as they sip on spirits from a menu focusing on tequila and whiskey.

The pair curated a list of drinks they haven’t seen served at other local bars, like the Saguaro ($7): tequila, lemon, grapefruit and lime juice, finished with a rim of Tajín, a branded blend of chili powder, lime and sea salt. The drink menu is divided by “dark” (whiskey/bourbon) and “light” (tequila) cocktails, along with a collection of six shots under the heading “Six Shooters,” and aptly priced at $6 each. The Snake Bite, for example, is Yukon Jack, a Canadian honey-whiskey spirit, with lime juice, while the Dulce consists of tequila, watermelon vodka and Tabasco.

Owners Kryston Skinner and Austin Estrada.

DEREK HARRISON PHOTO

To complement their drinks, Lil Sumthin’ offers free chicharrónes (fried pork rinds), served plain or seasoned with lime and Tajín.

Soon they’ll add a popular Mexican street food called cochinadas, a snack-sized bag of corn chips cut open on the side and topped with hot buttered corn, crema, mayo, hot sauce, lime juice, parmesan and Tajín, to their weekend menu for $4 each.

Happy Hour is offered daily from 4-7 pm and offers a special menu of $5 cocktails and the shot of the day, along with $4.50 wells and $1 off bottled beer. Sundays are reserved for all-day bingo and a michelada and bloody mary bar ($12 each). A michelada is beer with lime, spices, hot sauce, tomato and/or Clamato juice, plus garnishes.

For bloody marys, the couple is making their own pepper-infused vodka. It’s also featured in their shooters, along with peach-infused whiskey and watermelon-infused tequila. They also make their own cocktail bitters and syrups.

Besides bingo on Sunday afternoons, visitors to Lil Sumthin’ can enjoy a pinball-esque, multiplayer horse racing arcade game, and occasional live music on a tiny corner stage. The bar displays local art, and a large wall mural in a wavy, scalloped pattern of yellow, orange and brown is already a popular photo backdrop.

Skinner and Estrada went for a sort of kitschy, ’70s-country theme with the bar’s decor, locally sourcing vintage furniture and lighting.

One of their favorite finds is “Lyle” the steer, a large, salvaged fake cow serendipitously found at local vintage shop Boulevard Mercantile. In the bar’s single bathroom, the walls are covered with neon-painted horseshoes and gold sparkles on a black background.

“I keep thinking of the term ‘Southern glam,’ especially when you see the bathroom,” Skinner says when asked to describe the bar’s aesthetic.

“I guess it’s also retro Western with a dash of Hispanic, because Austin’s family is Hispanic, so we tried to marry both together,” she adds.

“In our cocktails I feel like they especially come together.” n cheys@inlander.com Lil Sumthin’ Saloon • 301 W. Second Ave. • Open Wed-Thu 4 pm-midnight, Fri-Sat 4 pm2 am, Sun noon-4 pm • Facebook: Lil Sumthin’ Saloon • lilsumthinsaloon@gmail.com

SHORTS

Stories in Miniature The Oscar-nominated shorts open this weekend, and we predict which films will take home the gold

BY NATHAN WEINBENDER

I

f you’ve ever participated in your office’s Oscar pool, you’ll know that there’s one wild card that could eke you ahead in your guesses: the short film categories.

But few Oscar prognosticators actually take the time to watch those shorts, which means filling out your fake ballot is often a mere guessing game.

Good news: We did the hard work for you. We watched all 15 of the competing shorts in the live-action, animated and documentary categories, and we’ve got a pretty good idea of the frontrunners. The Academy is famously unpredictable when it comes to these particular awards, but we’re factoring in past wins and the actual quality of the films in question.

The live-action and animated shorts packages open at the River Park Square AMC this weekend, and while they’re not easy sits, they’re powerful, diverse and enlightening pieces of filmmaking. (Note: The live-action lineup is decidedly not kid-friendly, but the animated package would likely earn a mild PG-13 rating.)

ANIMATED

Daughter (Czech Republic) — While her father is on his deathbed, a woman reflects on the emotional distance that defined their relationship.

Hair Love (U.S.) — A black father tries to do his daughter’s hair for the first time, following the instructions of a beauty vlogger. What begins as a cute family comedy soon takes a turn toward waterworks.

Kitbull (U.S.) — A stray kitten and a pitbull that is used in dogfighting share the same junkyard, and an

Hair Love

unexpected friendship develops.

Memorable (France) — Through shifting impressionistic painting styles, this film explores the deteriorating mental state of an artist slipping into dementia as his wife looks on.

Sister (China/U.S.) — A man reflects on his childhood in early 1990s China, when his younger sister came into his life and changed everything.

What will win: Don’t be fooled by the “animated” part of the equation: All of these films are different degrees of heartbreaking. Hair Love and Kitbull are easily the sweetest of the bunch, and they have the added benefit of having been distributed by major studios (Sony for the former, Disney the latter). I’ll go with Hair Love here: It has a bright, crisp animation style, it stealthily navigates tones and it’s a lovely celebration of African-American culture.

LIVE ACTION

Brotherhood (Tunisia) — Tensions flare within a rural family when one of the sons returns from a long absence with his pregnant wife, and it stirs his father’s suspicions that he’s with ISIS. Nefta Football Club (Tunisia/France) — Two brothers wandering the Tunisian desert discover a literal drug mule, and bring a haul of cocaine back to their village with the rightful owners on their trail.

The Neighbors’ Window (U.S.) — A married couple with kids can’t tear their eyes away from the open windows of the beautiful young people in the apartment across the way. But looks can be deceiving.

Saria (U.S.) — Inspired by true events, this is a harrowing drama about the young women who were victims of abuse and sex trafficking inside a Guatemalan orphanage, and who planned a daring escape.

A Sister (Belgium) — An emergency telephone operator must use her instincts when her latest caller is trapped in a car with her assailant, trying to communicate her whereabouts without detection.

What will win: The Academy often goes for a short with a clever final twist or a big emotional payoff, so it

seems like the two frontrunners here might be film festival favorite Nefta Football Club (which has the former) and The Neighbors’ Window (which has the latter). Both films are pretty strong and are driven by involving short-form plots that build to an unexpected final reveal, but my gut tells me The Neighbors’ Window could take the Oscar.

It’s a compact domestic drama, compellingly told, and its final shot is a haunting one.

DOCUMENTARY

In the Absence (South Korea) — In 2014, a ferry heading toward South Korea sank, and government neglect caused the deaths of most of its passengers, including hundreds of high school students. Years later, the surviving relatives demand an answer.

Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl) (U.K.) — Amidst the war-torn landscape of Kabul, a school is teaching young girls to read and write and take on the world. Oh, and there’s a class where they learn to shred a halfpipe.

Life Overtakes Me (Sweden/U.S.) — An examination of a medical mystery inflicting traumatized refugee children in Sweden, who are falling into a catatonic state known as Resignation Syndrome.

St. Louis Superman (U.S.) — Bruce Franks Jr. went from an activist in Ferguson, Missouri, to a government representative, and his legislative focus takes on the gun violence that has affected his own life.

Walk Run Cha-Cha (U.S.) — A Vietnamese couple who escaped their home country during the tumult of the late 1970s find a second life in the States, and a love for competitive ballroom dancing.

What will win: This category is always reliably heavy, and this year is no exception. Although a few of these end with a glimmer of hope, they are primarily dark stories meant to reflect the challenges of life on our planet. Every one of these films lands like a punch to the gut, but I’m leaning toward Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone as this year’s inspirational winner. Don’t be surprised if it inspires an acclaimed narrative feature somewhere down the line. n

JANUARY 30, 2020 INLANDER 35

FILM | SHORTS

Gretel & Hansel

OPENING FILMS GRETEL & HANSEL

The fairy tale gets a modernist horror twist by director Oz Perkins, as two hungry orphans are taken in by a seemingly friendly old woman after getting lost in the woods. (NW) Rated PG-13

OSCAR NOMINATED SHORTS

In the week before the Academy Awards, see the 10 live-action and animated short films (each package

is screening separately) that received nominations. Parental guidance is suggested for both lineups. (NW) Not Rated

THE RHYTHM SECTION

Blake Lively stars as a woman who goes from grieving about her family’s death in a plane crash to an avenging angel when she discovers the whole thing was orchestrated. (NW) Rated R

NOW PLAYING 1917

Sam Mendes’ WWI epic, which took the Golden Globe for best picture, is made to look like a single unbroken take, with a couple of WWI soldiers sent to deliver a message across enemy lines. (DH) Rated R

BAD BOYS FOR LIFE

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence return for a third team-up, and here they’re partnered with a much younger crew to take down a Miami cartel. A decent action-comedy that could spawn a new franchise. (NW) Rated R

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

A lovely ode to the power of kindness, with an Esquire journalist learning to live more authentically after writing about none other than Mister Rogers.

Tom Hanks, Hollywood’s nicest man, plays the beloved TV personality. (MJ) Rated PG

BOMBSHELL

A mostly toothless but well-acted exposé in the Big Short mold, uncovering the sexual harassment allegations swirling around Fox News and former CEO Roger Ailes. Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie star.

(NW) Rated R

DOLITTLE

Everything that’s old is new again, as Robert Downey Jr. plays yet another version of the whimsical veterinarian who can talk to the animals. (NW) Rated PG

FORD V. FERRARI

From director James Mangold, a slick

36 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

dramatization of the relationship between the Ford auto designer (Matt Damon) and the pro driver (Christian Bale) who set out to beat Ferrari in the ’66 24 Hours of Le Mans race. (ES) Rated PG-13

FROZEN II

Solid sequel to the Disney juggernaut, with Queen Elsa, Princess Anna and friends venturing into the wintry wilderness to save their kingdom from a mysterious force of the past. There’s no “Let It Go,” but it’s good enough. (NW) Rated PG

THE GENTLEMEN

In Guy Ritchie’s latest heist comedy, a drug kingpin creates a bidding war amongst the well-dressed lowlifes who want to inherit his criminal empire. (MJ) Rated R

HARRIET

The abolitionist Harriet Tubman finally gets a biopic deserving of her legacy, anchored by an electric performance by Cynthia Erivo. Old-fashioned filmmaking of the highest order. At the Magic Lantern. (MJ) Rated PG-13

JOJO RABBIT

In Taika Waititi’s WWII-set satire, a little boy with an imaginary friend who looks just like Hitler befriends the Jewish girl being hidden by his mother. Its juggling tones and bleak subject matter might not work for everyone. (ES) Rated PG-13

JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL

Another week, another unnecessary sequel. The teens from the first Jumanji return — with their grandpas this time — and leap back into the video game

CRITICS’ SCORECARD THE INLANDER

NEW YORK VARIETY (LOS ANGELES) TIMES

METACRITIC.COM (OUT OF 100)

1917

79

BAD BOYS FOR LIFE

59

THE GENTLEMEN

51

JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL

58

JUST MERCY

68

LITTLE WOMEN

91

THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

54

DON’T MISS IT

WORTH $10

realm to rescue a missing friend. (MJ) Rated PG-13

JUST MERCY

Inspired by true events, a defense attorney (Michael B. Jordan) takes on the case of a convicted murderer (Jamie Foxx) railroaded by lawyers and attempts to exonerate him. A powerful statement on legal and racial injustice.

(MJ) Rated PG-13

KNIVES OUT

Rian Johnson’s all-star whodunit centers on the death of a wealthy patriarch, and the craven relatives that would profit off his demise. As a mystery, it’s merely OK. As an evisceration of the one percent, it’s satisfying. (NW) Rated PG-13

THE LAST FULL MEASURE

The true story of Air Force pilot William Pitsenbarger, posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor after the Vietnam War. The cast includes Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris and Christopher Plummer. (NW) Rated R

LITTLE WOMEN

Louisa May Alcott’s literary classic about four sisters growing up during and after the Civil War gets a brilliant modernist twist courtesy of Greta Gerwig. A film that’s as timeless as it is timely. (MJ) Rated PG

PARASITE

Satire, slapstick and secrecy collide in Bong Joon-ho’s twisty, Palme d’Orwinning contraption, about a poor

WATCH IT AT HOME

SKIP IT

South Korean family that insinuates itself into the lives of an upper class clan.

Surprises abound. At the Magic Lantern.

(NW) Rated R

SPIES IN DISGUISE

In this animated caper, a superstar secret agent (voiced by Will Smith) is accidentally turned into a pigeon and finds it’s the ultimate camouflage. (NW) Rated PG

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

The nine-episode saga goes out with a few big bangs and even more whimpers, as Rey and company jet across the galaxy to not only find the origins of her powers but stop Kylo Ren. (NW) Rated PG-13

THE TURNING

Another adaptation of the Henry James ghost story The Turn of the Screw, about a governess who is put in charge of two very strange children. (NW) Rated PG13

UNDERWATER

Alien meets The Abyss meets Sphere in this sci-fi thriller, which finds a crew of deep-sea scientists trapped in their submersible and menaced by slimy creatures. (NW) Rated PG-13

WEATHERING WITH YOU

An animated fable from the director of the Japanese hit Your Name, about a teenage boy’s unlikely relationship with an orphaned girl who can control the weather. (NW) Rated PG-13 n

FILM | FESTIVAL THU, JAN. 30 AT 7 PM

FIDDLER: A MIRACLE OF MIRACLES

This documentary by filmmaker Max Lewkowicz untangles the sensational origin story behind the beloved Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof. The SJCFF screening should prove a particularly revealing viewing experience, as it will be introduced via video call by the film’s co-writer and co-producer, Valerie Thomas. Featuring numerous interviews with Fiddler luminaries and contemporary theatrical figures, A Miracle of Miracles has been lauded by critics as a thoughtful, entertaining meditation on the play’s immense cultural impact. Schindler notes the film as his personal favorite in this year’s lineup. “I’m not a big Fiddler fan going back many years,” he says, “and yet I really found this documentary captivating because of how it explored not only how and why the musical was written, but why it resonates still today.” Appetizers will be served in the lobby before the film, and the Meshugga Daddies will provide live klezmer music.

SAT, FEB. 1 AT 7 PM

THE LIGHT OF HOPE Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles

All Are Welcome Here The 16th annual Spokane Jewish Cultural Film Festival promises a cinematic celebration of community

BY ISAAC HANDELMAN

W

hen Neal Schindler relocated from Seattle to Spokane for graduate school, the existence of the Spokane Jewish Cultural Film Festival came as something of a relief to him.

“It was kind of comforting to know that this existed here,” Schindler says. “I don’t know another Jewish event this big that’s entirely open to the public. I think it’s very important.”

Now in his fourth year as the festival’s director, Schindler wants to ensure that this year’s iteration is enriching and welcoming to all attendees, Jewish or not.

“I really want to open the doors as much as possible to the entire Spokane community,” Schindler says.

The world has witnessed a recent, alarming explosion of anti-Semitism concurrent with the rising tide of popu-

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list right-wing regimes and extremist groups. In an era of intolerance and ideological division, Schindler sees events like the Spokane Jewish Cultural Film Festival as integral to bridging society’s worrisome divides. “[Non-Jews] may, on some kind of abstract level, be upset about anti-Semitism, but it doesn’t hit home as much unless you have some kind of connection,” Schindler says. “You tend to come away [from events like this] with more compassion for, caring for, that community.”

This year’s three featured films highlight the diverse experiences of Jews all over the world, past and present.

All screenings occur at the Jepson Center on the Gonzaga University campus; tickets for each screening are $10, with a $3 discount for students.

Originally released in Spain in 2017, attendees of SJFCC will get a rare chance to see this historical drama on a local big screen. The Light of Hope tells the story of Elisabeth Eidenbenz, a real-life Red Cross nurse who opened a birth clinic for Spanish refugees in Nazi-occupied France.

The anti-immigrant sentiment sweeping the modern world makes this a frighteningly fitting centerpiece film for the festival. Natalia Ruiz-Rubio, Eastern Washington University’s Spanish program director, will introduce the film.

SUN, FEB. 2 AT 2 PM

THE UNORTHODOX

SJFCC will close with a Sunday matinee screening of another historical drama, Eliran Malka’s The Unorthodox.

Continuing the festival’s trend of films starkly relevant in today’s political climate, The Unorthodox is a film about activism. Set in Jerusalem in 1983, it centers on a spunky printer named Yaakov who, after witnessing discrimination against his Sephardic Jewish ethnicity, starts the city’s first ethnic political party, which soon becomes a beacon of strength and hope for those it represents. For the festival cap-off, the Washington State Jewish Historical Society loaned out its Shalom! Sefarad exhibit on the history of Seattle’s Sephardic Jewish community, which attendees can see before and after Sunday’s screening. n Spokane Jewish Cultural Film Festival • Thu, Jan. 30 and Sat-Sun, Feb. 1-2 • $10 general, $7 students • All ages • Jepson Center at Gonzaga University • 502 E. Boone • sajfs.org

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JANUARY 30, 2020 INLANDER 37

Beyonce: Queen of the halftime show.

PETE SEKESAN PHOTO

SUPER BOWL

Once Upon a Halftime The good, the bad and the wishful thinking: The best and worst in Super Bowl entertainment

BY DAN NAILEN AND NATHAN WEINBENDER

E

ven if you don’t have a horse in the race that is the upcoming Super Bowl — or you just don’t care about football — there’s still something you can always look forward to: the halftime show.

Our notion of what constitutes a barn-burning halftime performance is generally considered to have started in 1993, when Michael Jackson upped expectations with a set full of pyrotechnics and special effects. His presence reportedly increased viewership of the Super Bowl, and future productions became more and more elaborate.

38 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

This year’s halftime show on Sunday on Fox will be co-headlined by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, which got us thinking: Which have been the best shows, which have been the worst, and what do we hope to see (and hear) this Sunday and in the future?

THE BEST: PRINCE

In 2007, the Super Bowl halftime show got a burst of funky energy in the form of the Purple One. Accompanied by a synchronized drumline and wielding his guitar

shaped like his trademark symbol, Prince sashayed into the stadium like he owned the place and revved through a medley of signature songs (“1999,” “Baby I’m a Star”) and soulful covers (“All Along the Watchtower,” “Proud Mary”). Oh yeah, and he did all of this in the middle of a full-on Florida rainstorm without batting an eye. And when he lit into the finale of “Purple Rain” while torrents of water poured from the heavens, it seemed as if it had been planned all along. I guess Mother Nature is a Prince fan. (NATHAN WEINBENDER)

THE BEST THAT ISN’T PRINCE: BEYONCÉ

Don’t get me wrong: I have a soft spot for all the old timers that have done halftime duty — McCartney, Petty, Springsteen, the Stones, the Who. But even those legends must have whistled in amazement when they saw Beyoncé. Maybe it’s recency bias, but her 2013 headlining gig in New Orleans was, like Prince’s, another example of a solo performer proving the power of their presence. There was a setlist of her best solo songs — “Crazy in Love,” “Baby Boy,” “Single Ladies” — briefly interrupted by a much-publicized Destiny’s Child reunion. And that’s not the only time Queen Bey wowed a stadium full of football fans: In 2016, Beyoncé stole the show right out from under the top-billed Coldplay, premiering her brand new song “Formation” with a Black Panthers-inspired routine. What a power move. (NW)

THE WORST: THE

BLUES BROTHERS & MAROON 5

Someone must have been fired after settling on “Blues Brothers Bash” for the theme of the 1997 Super Bowl. For one thing, half of the “real” Blues Brothers (John Belushi) had died 15 years previous. For another, the Blues Brothers were a vanity projectturned-movie band by Belushi and Dan Aykroyd — not actual blues and soul musicians. You know, like ZZ Top and James Brown, the ones given brief guest spots alongside Aykroyd, John Goodman and Jim Belushi on the Super Bowl stage. Oh, the humanity! Remarkably, though, that travesty was still not as bad as 2019’s show. Somehow the football gods “blessed” the most boring Super Bowl in recent memory with the insufferable Maroon 5 at halftime, featuring human ab Adam Levine and his soul-deadening brand of corporate pop-rock. Any hopes that Big Boi or Travis Scott would save the day went unheeded. Even an appearance by animated characters from SpongeBob SquarePants couldn’t breathe life into Maroon 5’s time on stage. (DAN NAILEN)

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The lack of country music at Super Bowl halftime shows makes some sense, given the international nature of the TV audience.

But country artists are much more popular overseas than they were back in 1994, the only time Nashville took center stage for the Super Bowl show with a lineup featuring Clint Black, Tanya Tucker and the Judds. Imagine a halftime that showcases modern bright lights like Kacey Musgraves and Brandi Carlile alongside a legend like Dolly Parton — I don’t think anyone would complain. (DN) When Justin Timberlake peeled a layer of leather off Janet Jackson’s breast in 2004, who would have thought the repercussions would reverberate as long as they have? In the immediate aftermath, everyone freaked out about “indecency in broadcasting” (even though they didn’t complain about walking indecency offense Kid Rock being part of the same broadcast). We learned the phrase “wardrobe malfunction,” and Jackson’s career momentum stalled in a big way after radio stations and MTV blacklisted her music (not so much for Timberlake, though. Hmmm). Let’s get Janet back on stage, preferably without Timberlake, to make up for one of the most idiotic episodes in Super Bowl history. (DN)

2020 PREDICTIONS

Despite the Oscar snub heard ’round the world, Jennifer Lopez had a great year, and Shakira just wrapped up a giant international tour. So here we have two superstars whose careers are still going strong, and they’re splitting the headlining slot for the 2020 halftime show. Here’s what you can bet the house on: We’ll hear a bunch of J. Lo classics, Shakira will slay “Hips Don’t Lie” and the choreography is going to be electric. But I’m hoping we’ll get cameos from other Latin pop stars, like Gloria Estefan (it’d be her third halftime appearance) or Ricky Martin. Or maybe rapper Pitbull will stop by to rep his hometown of Miami. And don’t forget that Jay-Z is a producer of this year’s show, so could he make an appearance? Could Beyoncé? Well, maybe don’t hold your breath on that one. (NW) n

Community Colleges of Spokane

JANUARY 30, 2020 INLANDER 39

MUSIC | ESSAY

10 years ago, Lil Wayne’s Rebirth didn’t exactly start a fire.

When Rappers Rock A cautionary tale of misguided crossover albums

BY HOWARD HARDEE

R

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40 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

appers have been crossing over into other genres since the golden age of hip-hop, when sampling from an eclectic array of old records emerged as one of the art form’s defining characteristics. They’ve been lifting heavy riffs and stadium-stomping drum beats from rock music for just as long, with Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys leading the charge in the mid-’80s.

The waters between the two genres have only gotten muddier in the years since, with poppy hip-hop crooners like Drake and Post Malone sliding effortlessly between singing and rapping in any given bar, and big-name rock bands such as Muse working with hip-hop producers like Timbaland.

But we’re considering a specific phenomenon here: Rappers who, due to pure hubris, believe they’re capable of writing and recording a straight rock album. These albums are almost always disastrous and offer cautionary tales of overconfidence and artistic overreach.

This week marks the 10th anniversary of Lil Wayne’s album Rebirth, perhaps the most famous example of these ill-fated projects, which dropped to near-universal critical derision in 2010.

Wayne’s releasing a new album Friday called Funeral, but we’re looking back at Rebirth and a couple of others that probably shouldn’t have been wrought upon the listening public.

LIL WAYNE, REBIRTH

Riding his blunts-and-cough-syrup croak and punchline style of rhyming, Lil Wayne had become perhaps the biggest rapper in the world at the turn of the 2010s. He appeared too big to

fail. Then he convinced himself he could play guitar. In 2008, he busted one out during an SNL performance of his single “Lollipop,” despite being the most basic of beginners. Then he went and recorded an entire album of melodically suspect auto-tuned singing over high-gain amplified guitars. “Prom Queen,” the album’s lead single, is interesting only in that it reveals Lil Wayne’s gaudy taste in rock music, like the only cassette in his tape deck is Kid Rock’s Devil Without a Cause.

And that’s just scratching the surface. It’s a slog of an album that combines the worst elements of both genres — cheesy bombast and banal lyrics. Entertainment Weekly aptly compared Rebirth to Michael Jordan’s lone season playing minor league baseball before returning to basketball. It’s a great analogy, because Lil Wayne’s rock album is the sound of someone very confidently stepping to the plate, swinging, and missing — like, 12 times in a row.

KID CUDI, SPEEDIN’ BULLET 2 HEAVEN

Kid Cudi has always had a knack for endearingly off-key singing, which injects a sense of vulnerability into his highly emotional sci-fi hip-hop.

But when that imperfect singing is paired with shaky guitar playing and he drops rapping almost entirely — like he did on the 2015 rock project Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven — the results are totally wack.

To Cudi’s indie credit, it’s a challenging album that places no priority on easy listening for the masses. And unlike Rebirth, its references are 2000s indie bands and grunge rather than mod-

ern butt-rock, demonstrating Cudi’s more admirable taste in guitar-driven music. But as he showed with his inconsistent rock project WZRD, he simply doesn’t have the vocal or instrumental chops to justify abandoning his sing-songy flow. All the bum notes and dissonant chords make for an acutely uncomfortable listen, and it’s like watching somebody who’s bombing onstage but keeps plowing ahead anyway.

LOGIC, SUPERMARKET

This may be the most confounding entry in the annals of rappers who think they can rock, because Logic can really rap. As one of the only MCs alive who holds a candle to Eminem’s insanely technical flow, his playful use of language and tongue-incheek punchlines are truly exceptional.

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Why he thought Supermarket — the 2019 soundtrack accompaniment to his debut novel of the same name — needed to be an alternative rock project is puzzling, to say the least.

The rapid-fire rapping is almost totally absent, replaced with bland and derivative songs like “Lemon Drop” and “Bohemian Trapsody” that sound like the originals a ’90s alt-rock cover band is working into its set. Perhaps more damning than the forced Anthony Keidis and Rivers Cuomo impressions, it’s a concept album with no clear concept.

Like Rebirth and Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven, Supermarket is the work of a legitimately talented rapper who seems to believe he can do anything, but clearly cannot. Here’s hoping that the next generation of MCs takes cues from innovative rap-rock bands like Rage Against the Machine and comes up with something new, rather than mimicking the weary tropes of rock ’n’ roll — or just sticks with rapping. n

, 1970…

y gave up, and Ford gave It was the year the Beatles finall White House, and Apollo 13 the in was n Nixo o.

America the Pint It was exactly five decades s? new was having a problem. The good Heart Hospital room looking out ago, on January 31, in a Sacred ’s when a legend was born. over little old Spokane — that , so you know he’s thrifty!

Who, you ask? Hint: He’s Scottish nifty! His breakfast flakes? ty pret still it’s — His three-point shot key! favorite drink? A nice local whis Duh! He likes them crispy! His 50! ing turn he’s — h myt Jer McGregor — the man, the

app irthday!

JANUARY 30, 2020 INLANDER 41

MUSIC | SOUND ADVICE

ROCK LIVE AT THE DIPPER

I

t’s been a year since we last got an episode of Live at the Dipper, a musical variety show hosted by Naomi Eisenbrey and Ami Elston of the local punk rock band Itchy Kitty (pictured). They’re back again this weekend, and if this second installment is anything like the first, it should be a fun, unpredictable night of video shorts, sketches, interviews and, of course, musical performances. Come for the gargantuan hooks of garage-rock duo Indian Goat, and stay for pop-rock quartet Pine League, who are returning to the stage after a long break. Here’s hoping they’ve got new music on the horizon.

— NATHAN WEINBENDER

ALICIA HAUFF PHOTO

J = THE INLANDER RECOMMENDS THIS SHOW J = ALL AGES SHOW

Thursday, 01/30

A&P’S BAR AND GRILL, Open Mic Night with KC Carter BERSERK, Vinyl Meltdown BEVERLY’S, Robert Vaughn BOOMERS CLASSIC ROCK BAR & GRILL, Unplugged Series: Tin Cup Monkey J BOOTS BAKERY & LOUNGE, The Song Project BRIDGE PRESS CELLARS, Charles Swanson J BUCER’S COFFEEHOUSE PUB, Open Jazz Jam with Erik Bowen THE CORK & TAP, Pamela Benton CRUISERS, Open Jam Night GILDED UNICORN, Nick Grow J HOUSE OF SOUL, Jazz Thursdays LION’S LAIR, Karaoke with Donny Duck J LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, Down North, Left Over Soul; Datenite, Tyler Alai MICKDUFF’S BEER HALL, Benny Baker MOON TIME, Larry Myer MOOSE LOUNGE, Last Chance Band MOUNTAIN LAKES BREWING CO., Jonathan Tibbetts MY PLACE BAR & GRILL, DJ Dave J J NORTHERN QUEST RESORT & CASINO, Sawyer Brown THE NYC PIANO BAR, Dueling Pianos NYNE, DJ Storme THE RIDLER PIANO BAR, Dueling Pianos feat. Christan Raxter & Steve Ridler THE ROCK BAR & LOUNGE, The Rock Jam Series ZOLA, Blake Braley Band

Friday, 01/31

219 LOUNGE, Jason Perry Trio 291 BREWHOUSE, Devon Wade J 2231 CONCERTS, Daniel Champagne A&P’S BAR AND GRILL, DJ Shanner

42 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

ROOTS BAND OF DRIFTERS

Live at the Dipper with Indian Goat, Pine League and Itchy Kitty • Sat, Feb. 1 at 7:30 pm • $10 advance, $13 day of • All ages • The Big Dipper • 171 S. Washington St. • livebd2.bpt.me

F

ounded in Tennessee and now based partially in Montana, Band of Drifters fuses those wildly divergent geographical climes — the rustic drawl of the American South with the wide open spaces of Big Sky country. It’s the project of singer-songwriter Ian Thomas, who takes influence from Americana, folk and blues, which means that even new songs sound like classics. He’s currently on tour as a duo, which brings him to Di Luna’s in Sandpoint for what promises to be an intimate show. Call the restaurant to make reservations; dinner is served before the show at 6 pm.

— NATHAN WEINBENDER Band of Drifters • Wed, Feb. 5 at 7:30 pm • $12 advance, $15 day of • All ages • Di Luna’s Cafe • 207 Cedar St., Sandpoint • dilunas.com • (208) 263-0846 ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Nobody Famous Trio BEVERLY’S, Robert Vaughn BIGFOOT PUB, Tracer BLACK DIAMOND, Antonio’s 21 BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Chris Rieser and the Nerve BRIDGE PRESS CELLARS, The Rub J BUCER’S COFFEEHOUSE PUB, Spotswood Abbey THE BULL HEAD, Joey Anderson CASTAWAY CELLARS, Mountains in the Sea CHINOOK STEAK, PASTA AND SPIRITS (CDA CASINO), Kyle Swaffard CORBY’S BAR, Karaoke COSMIC COWBOY GRILL, Just Plain Darin CRUISERS, Karaoke with Gary CURLEY’S, Haze EICHARDT’S PUB, Bright Moments Jazz HIDDEN MOTHER BREWERY, Nick Grow

HOP MOUNTAIN TAPROOM AND GRILL, Jesse Quandt HOUSE OF SOUL, Pure Soul Old Skool with New School IDAHO POUR AUTHORITY, Mike & Shanna Thompson IRON GOAT BREWING CO., Miller’s Sun J JACKLIN ARTS & CULTURAL CENTER, PB & Jam THE JACKSON ST. BAR & GRILL, Kenny James Miller Band JOHN’S ALLEY, The June Bugs KOOTENAI RIVER BREWING CO., Truck Mills LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, Jazz Night with Branden Cate and the Matt Henson Group; DJ AYZIM MARYHILL WINERY, Gil Rivas MATCHWOOD BREWING CO., Mobius Riff MAX AT MIRABEAU, Still Kickin’ MOONDOLLARS BISTRO, Pamela Jean

MULLIGAN’S BAR & GRILLE, Echo Elysium MY PLACE BAR & GRILL, DJ Dave NASHVILLE NORTH, Ladies Night with Luke Jaxon and DJ Tom NIGHTHAWK LOUNGE (CDA CASINO), Dragonfly THE NYC PIANO BAR, Dueling Pianos OLD MILL BAR AND GRILL, Steve Starkey & Cassandra Wheeler PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Nick Wiebe J THE PIN, Free Fridays: Rock Edition REPUBLIC BREWING CO., Jeff Scroggins & Matt Sircely THE RIDLER PIANO BAR, Joshua Belliardo; Dueling Pianos feat.

Christan Raxter & Steve Ridler J SARANAC COMMONS, Kevin Partridge SILVER MOUNTAIN SKI RESORT, Larry Myer (at Noah’s) STORMIN’ NORMAN’S SHIPFACED SALOON, DJ Danger

THE VIKING, Light in Mirrors, Frisson, Munson ZOLA, Gig A Watt

Saturday, 02/1

219 LOUNGE, Kenny James Miller Band 1210 TAVERN, One Sunday ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Sara Brown J BABY BAR, Griffey, Old Friends, David Joseph BEEROCRACY, Maxie Ray Mills BEVERLY’S, Robert Vaughn J J THE BIG DIPPER, Live at the Dipper with Itchy Kitty, Indian Goat & Pine League (see above) BIGFOOT PUB, Tracer BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Chris Rieser and the Nerve BRIDGE PRESS CELLARS, Sean Owsley and The Rising J BUCER’S COFFEEHOUSE PUB, Izzy Burns & Luke McG

THE BULL HEAD, My Own Worst Enemy CHINOOK STEAK, PASTA AND SPIRITS (CDA CASINO), Kyle Swaffard COSMIC COWBOY GRILL, Christy Lee CURLEY’S, Haze THE FISCHIN’ HOLE SALOON, Dallas Kay GARLAND PUB & GRILL, Last Call Band J THE GRAIN SHED, Dario Ré HIDDEN MOTHER BREWERY, Joey Anderson HOP MOUNTAIN TAPROOM AND GRILL, Just Plain Darin J HUCKLEBERRY’S NATURAL MARKET, Talmadge & Kassandra IDAHO POUR AUTHORITY, Justin Lantrip THE JACKSON ST. BAR & GRILL, Karaoke JOHN’S ALLEY, Scott Pemberton Electric Power Trio LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, Evergreen Afrodub Orchestra; Storme J J MARTIN WOLDSON THEATER AT THE FOX, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies MAX AT MIRABEAU, Still Kickin’

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MULLIGAN’S BAR & GRILLE, Kosh NASHVILLE NORTH, Ladies Night with Luke Jaxon and DJ Tom NIGHTHAWK LOUNGE (CDA CASINO), Dragonfly THE NYC PIANO BAR, Dueling Pianos PACIFIC PIZZA, Ghost Divorce & The Canned Vegetables PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Truck Mills J THE PIN, Dead Poet, Wild Card, Knothead & more POST FALLS BREWING COMPANY, Son of Brad THE RIDLER PIANO BAR, Dueling Pianos feat. Christan Raxter & Steve Ridler SILVER MOUNTAIN SKI RESORT, Ron Greene (at Noah’s) STORMIN’ NORMAN’S SHIPFACED SALOON, DJ Danger ZOLA, Gig A Watt

Sunday, 02/2

CHEAP SHOTS, Rev. Yo’s VooDoo Church of Blues Jam CRAVE, DJ Dave GARLAND PUB & GRILL, Karaoke HOGFISH, Open Mic THE NYC PIANO BAR, Dueling Pianos O’DOHERTY’S IRISH GRILLE, Traditional Irish Music PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Annie Welle RED ROOM LOUNGE, Jason Perry Trio ZOLA, Glass Honey

Monday, 02/3

THE BULL HEAD, Songsmith Series J CALYPSOS COFFEE ROASTERS, Open Mic COSMIC COWBOY GRILL, Pat Coast CRAVE, DJ Dave EICHARDT’S PUB, Monday Night Jam with Truck Mills THE NYC PIANO BAR, Dueling Pianos RED ROOM LOUNGE, Open Mic with Lucas Brookbank Brown ZOLA, Perfect Mess

Tuesday, 02/4

219 LOUNGE, Karaoke with DJ Pat CRAVE, DJ Dave GARLAND PUB & GRILL, Karaoke J LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, BoomBox, ETHNO THE NYC PIANO BAR, Dueling Pianos RAZZLE’S BAR & GRILL, Open Mic Jam THE RIDLER PIANO BAR, Country Swing Dancing THE ROXIE, Open Mic/Jam SWEET LOU’S RESTAURANT AND TAP HOUSE, Sam Leyde ZOLA, Desperate 8s

Wednesday, 02/5

219 LOUNGE, Truck Mills & John Firshi BEVERLY’S, Robert Vaughn CRAVE, DJ Dave CRUISERS, Open Jam Night Hosted by The Jam Band J J DI LUNA’S CAFE, Band of Drifters (see facing page)

GENO’S TRADITIONAL FOOD & ALES, Open Mic THE JACKSON ST. BAR & GRILL, Karaoke LEFTBANK WINE BAR, Carey Brazil LUCKY’S IRISH PUB, DJ D3VIN3 MAD BOMBER BREWING COMPANY, Open Mic MATCHWOOD BREWING CO., Dallas Kay THE NYC PIANO BAR, Dueling Pianos PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Dwayne Parsons THE PIN, Ladies Night w/ DJ Dreadfull RED ROOM LOUNGE, Blowin’ Kegs Jam Session THE RIDLER PIANO BAR, Dueling Pianos feat. Christan Raxter & Steve Ridler STORMIN’ NORMAN’S SHIPFACED SALOON, Sara Brown ZOLA, Cruxie

Coming Up ...

LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, City of the Sun, Kiltro; The Blank Tapes, Uh Oh and the Oh Wells, Feb. 6 J BING CROSBY THEATER, The Lonely: Celebrating the Music of Roy Orbison, Feb. 8 J KNITTING FACTORY, Piper’s Rush, Feb. 8 LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, Thrpii, The Drag, The Dead Channels, Deschamp, Feb. 8 J THE PIN, Avoid w/ Widmore, BYSTANDER, Traveler, Feb. 11 J KNITTING FACTORY, EOTO, Red Giant, Feb. 12

MUSIC | VENUES 219 LOUNGE • 219 N. First, Sandpoint • 208-2639934 A&P’S BAR & GRILL • 222 N. First, Sandpoint • 208-263-2313 ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS • 4705 N. Fruit Hill • 927-9463 BABY BAR • 827 W. First • 847-1234 BARLOWS • 1428 N. Liberty Lake • 924-1446 BEEROCRACY • 911 W. Garland BERSERK • 125 S. Stevens • 714-9512 THE BIG DIPPER • 171 S. Washington • 863-8098 BIGFOOT PUB • 9115 N. Division • 467-9638 BING CROSBY THEATER • 901 W. Sprague • 227-7638 BLACK DIAMOND • 9614 E. Sprague • 891-8357 BOLO’S • 116 S. Best • 891-8995 BOOMERS • 18219 E. Appleway. • 755-7486 BOOTS BAKERY & LOUNGE • 24 W. Main • 703-7223 BRIDGE PRESS CELLARS • 39 W. Pacific • 838-7815 BUCER’S COFFEEHOUSE PUB • 201 S. Main, Moscow • 208-882-5216 THE BULL HEAD • 10211 S. Electric • 838-9717 CALYPSOS COFFEE & CREAMERY • 116 E. Lakeside, CdA • 208-665-0591 CHEAP SHOTS • 6412 E. Trent • 535-9309 COEUR D’ALENE CASINO • 37914 S. Nukwalqw, Worley • 800-523-2464 COEUR D’ALENE CELLARS • 3890 N. Schreiber Way, CdA • 208-664-2336 COSMIC COWBOY GRILL • 412 W. Haycraft, CdA • 208-277-0000 CRAFTED TAP HOUSE • 523 Sherman Ave., CdA • 208-292-4813 CRAVE• 401 W. Riverside • 321-7480 CRUISERS • 6105 W Seltice, Post Falls • 208-7734706 CURLEY’S • 26433 W. Hwy. 53 • 208-773-5816 EICHARDT’S PUB • 212 Cedar, Sandpoint • 208-263-4005 FIRST INTERSTATE CENTER FOR THE ARTS • 334 W. Spokane Falls • 279-7000 FIZZIE MULLIGANS • 331 W. Hastings • 466-5354 FOX THEATER • 1001 W. Sprague • 624-1200 THE HIVE • 207 N. First, Sandpoint • 208-457-2392 HOGFISH • 1920 E. Sherman, CdA • 208-667-1896 HONEY EATERY & SOCIAL CLUB • 317 E. Sherman, CdA • 208-930-1514 HOUSE OF SOUL • 25 E. Lincoln • 598-8783 IRON GOAT BREWING • 1302 W. 2nd • 474-0722 IRON HORSE BAR • 407 E. Sherman, CdA • 208667-7314 IRON HORSE BAR & GRILL • 11105 E. Sprague, CdA • 509-926-8411 JACKSON ST. BAR & GRILL • 2436 N. Astor • 315-8497 JOHN’S ALLEY • 114 E. Sixth, Moscow • 208-883-7662 KNITTING FACTORY • 911 W. Sprague • 244-3279 LAGUNA CAFÉ • 2013 E. 29th • 448-0887 THE LANTERN TAP HOUSE • 1004 S. Perry • 315-9531 LEFTBANK WINE BAR • 108 N. Washington • 315-8623 LION’S LAIR • 205 W. Riverside • 456-5678 LUCKY YOU LOUNGE • 1801 W. Sunset LUCKY’S IRISH PUB • 408 W. Sprague • 747-2605 MARYHILL WINERY • 1303 W. Summit Pkwy, Ste. 100 • 443-3832 MAX AT MIRABEAU • 1100 N. Sullivan • 924-9000 MICKDUFF’S • 312 N. First, Sandpoint • 208-255-4351 MONARCH MOUNTAIN COFFEE • 208 N 4th Ave, Sandpoint • 208-265-9382 MOOSE LOUNGE • 401 E. Sherman • 208-664-7901 MOOTSY’S • 406 W. Sprague • 838-1570 MULLIGAN’S • 506 Appleway Ave., CdA • 208- 7653200 ext. 310 NASHVILLE NORTH • 6361 W. Seltice Way, Post Falls • 208-457-9128 NORTHERN QUEST RESORT • 100 N. Hayford, Airway Heights • 242-7000 THE NYC PIANO BAR • 313 Sherman, CdA • 208930-1504 NYNE • 232 W. Sprague • 474-1621 O’SHAY’S • 313 E. CdA Lake Dr. • 208-667-4666 PACIFIC PIZZA • 2001 W. Pacific • 443-5467 PEND D’OREILLE WINERY • 301 Cedar St., Sandpoint • 208-265-8545 THE PIN • 412 W. Sprague • 385-1449 POST FALLS BREWING CO. • 112 N. Spokane, Post Falls • 208-773-7301 RAZZLE’S BAR & GRILL • 10325 N. Government Way, Hayden • 208-635-5874 RED ROOM LOUNGE • 521 W. Sprague • 838-7613 REPUBLIC BREWING • 26 Clark Ave. • 775-2700 RIDLER PIANO BAR • 718 W. Riverside • 822-7938 SEASONS OF COEUR D’ALENE • 209 E. Lakeside • 208-664-8008 THE SHOP • 924 S. Perry St. • 534-1647 SOULFUL SOUPS & SPIRITS • 117 N. Howard • 459-1190 SPOKANE ARENA • 720 W. Mallon • 279-7000 STORMIN’ NORMAN’S SHIPFACED SALOON • 12303 E. Trent • 862-4852 ZOLA • 22 W. Main Ave. • 624-2416

JANUARY 30, 2020 INLANDER 43

OUTDOORS SOUP ’N’ SNOW

A borderline national holiday in America, Super Bowl Sunday is fast approaching and along with it comes the 15th annual “Souper” Bowl Snowshoe and Cross Country Ski Sunday. An event by women and for women, “Souper” Bowl proceeds benefit the Women and Children’s Free Restaurant & Community Kitchen (WCFR), a local nonprofit supporting women and children in need in Spokane. Give back to the community while adventuring around snow-capped Mount Spokane in your best spandex neons to fit this year’s ’80s theme and enjoy prizes, a light breakfast and delicious soup lunch provided by the WCFR. Online registration ends Feb. 1, so don’t wait to snag a spot to participate in this much-loved winter tradition.

— MACIE WHITE Souper Bowl Snowshoe and Cross Country Ski Sunday • Sun, Feb. 2 from 8:30 am-1 pm • $45 • Selkirk Lodge at Mt. Spokane State Park • souperbowlspokane.com

44 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

THEATER SISTER ACT

WORDS WELCOME ENCORE

If you haven’t been inside the still-new Myrtle Woldson theater on the Gonzaga University campus, consider checking it out during the upcoming production of Brian Friel’s drama Dancing at Lughnasa, which is being performed by the university’s theater department and directed by Jack Delehanty. Set in the 1930s in the fictional Irish hamlet of Ballybeg, it’s the story of five sisters all living in the same small house, and it’s told in wistful flashback by one of their grown sons. The script won the Tony Award for best play in 1992, and was adapted for the big screen in ’98 with a cast that included Meryl Streep, Michael Gambon and Catherine McCormack. That’s quite a pedigree.

— NATHAN WEINBENDER

Tommy Orange’s debut novel There There was one of the best books of 2018, and you don’t have to take my word for it — it was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, won a slew of awards and landed on myriad year-end Top 10 lists. More important, it’s a stirring read from the author of Cheyenne and Arapaho ancestry that follows a large cast of Native American characters as they converge on a powwow in Oakland. Through those characters’ lives, and a stunning essay Orange uses to open the book, readers get a revealing look at the modern lives of urban Native Americans. If you missed Orange at last year’s Get Lit! Festival, here’s another chance to hear the author speak, courtesy of Gonzaga’s Visiting Writers Series.

— DAN NAILEN

Dancing at Lughnasa • Jan. 31-Feb. 9; Fri-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm • $10-$20 • Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center • 211 E. Desmet Ave. • gonzaga.edu/ticketcenter • 313-2787

Tommy Orange • Tue, Feb. 4 at 7:30 pm • Free and open to the public • Gonzaga University Hemmingson Ballroom • 702 E. Desmet Ave. • gonzaga.edu/visitingwriterseries

COME 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.

BEST

Esperanza Flamenco & Celtic Music & Dance • Fri, Jan. 31 at 7:30 pm • $27 • Bing Crosby Theater • 901 W. Sprague Ave. • bingcrosbytheater.com

FOOD COFFEE CULTURE

Sandpoint-based Evans Brothers Coffee has landed in Spokane. Founded in 2009 by brothers Rick and Randy Evans, the coffee roasting biz now has three Inland Northwest locations: Sandpoint, Coeur d’Alene and a new Spokane cafe inside the recently rejuvenated Wonder Building just north of the downtown core. To celebrate, the Evans Bros. are throwing a grand opening shindig, complete with a latte art throwdown (6:30 pm), blind coffee tastings, live DJs, a coffee cocktail bar and breakdancing performances by local group SOL Tribe (8:30 pm). Since most of us can’t subsist just on coffee through hours of revelry, neighboring High Tide Lobster Bar is serving a special chicken tinga roll ($7) and other bites, and there’ll be a Bean & Pie pop-up shop. Wear your 1970s-’90s winter best to fit the party’s theme.

— CHEY SCOTT Evans Brothers Coffee Grand Opening Throwdown • Fri, Jan. 31, 6 pmmidnight • Free • Wonder Building • 835 N. Post St. • bit.ly/2TkLBBH • 808-2749

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Looking to escape the cold? Transport yourself out of Spokane for a night with a vibrant mix of local and Latin flavors. For the fourth time, Quiero Flamenco is bringing flamenco sounds and steps to Spokane for the live show Esperanza. Translating from Spanish to “hope,” Esperanza also features Spokane-based Celtic group An Dochas (which also means “hope” in Gaelic).

This blend of flamenco and Celtic music and dance stylings offers a unique fusion of cultures and traditions, performing at the Bing for just one night in a wildly diverse and inspiring marriage of styles.

— MACIE WHITE

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PERFORMANCE FLAMENCO FUSION

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VOTE NOW! Polls close at midnight on February 11th

bestof.inlander.com JANUARY 30, 2020 INLANDER 45

CHEERS BROWNIES ADDITION Cheers to Sunset Grocery in Browne’s Addition, for being a business not backing down to anyone who’s rude, aggressive, a thief, or street scum giving homeless a bad name.

Special thanks to Talon and April.

I SAW YOU 30 YEARS I first saw you 30 years ago.

We were just teenagers, young, inexperienced, and both damaged. I saw you again 20 years ago. We were both still young, inexperienced, and damaged. We chose to make a life together and love one another. Now you have chosen to walk away, and left us both damaged. I want to see you again and heal. Please find yourself and come see me.

NERVOUS SMILE Saw each other Thursday night at the new Texas Road House. You were on your way out and I was sandwiched between friends in my booth. It made me happy to see you.

We used to read through this section together often. Maybe if you see this we could talk again, like we used to?

HALF SPICY HALF SWEET I saw you at Sushi Maru last Tuesday. You got the tonkotsu ramen half spicy. We both were enjoying an early after work dinner and the hilarious mix of tunes. Your smile lit up the room.

MLK MONDAY DRIVE BY Did I see you (D.J.) driving by my house more than once on MLK Monday during the day?

You know how to reach me or stop...

MOONLIGHT IN SPOKANE? Has anybody read the local Spokane poet Anthony Brighton? He wrote two collections of verse about our city: “Moonlight in My Coffee” and “Moonlight in the Urban Forest” and tapes his work to lamp and telephone poles around Spokane.

Cheers to those who appreciate his work, although I imagine he must feel utterly invisible... even in Browne’s Addition.

Postscript-Anyone attend the marmot lecture?

KUDOS TO THE INLANDER STAFF Cheers for publishing a negative “jeers” about your staff, and standing up for people who like to complain about the media.

(Can’t complain now that you’ve been published.) Sorry that you had to deal with jerk who threw a hissy-fit because his first submission wasn’t picked. It was a very entertaining temper-tantrum to read and kept me completely amused on my lunch break.

INCREDIGUY Cheers to the lone cashier/ bartender/server at Incrediburger & Eggs on Sunday night 1/26/2020. You did an amazing job at ALL the jobs. You deserve an incrediRAISE!

JEERS WORKING IN THE KITCHEN Was I uptight and kind of weird? Yes. Was I a dumb teen with crippling anxiety and bad social skills? Also yes. You had no right to bully me for two years straight. You had no right to purposely exclude me, to talk behind my back and blow a gasket when you THOUGHT I was doing the same. You had no right to refuse to help me when I got swamped, or shrug your shoulders when I came to work sick. I didn’t stand

SOUND OFF

up for myself at the time because I didn’t know any better. I’d been bullied most of my life and was used to mistreatment. If I worked that job now, I’d tell you off for repeatedly changing the location of your stupid bowling night so I’d lose interest in tagging along. I’d ask what the f--your problem was when you changed the subject to things you knew would disturb me. I’d ask why you seemed to

“

YOU TRY IT Yes, the work that I do may seem insignificant to you, after all, checking is so far beneath you. It is NEVER ok to berate someone when they are trying to help you, and all you do is complain. Grocery clerks are for the most part know exactly where everything is in the store. We direct, and assist hundreds of people in any one day. So, don’t pick on your checker, we do the best we can.

you and your loved ones safety. Perhaps if the media reported lives saved by guns all concerned would have a better understanding of the right to bear arms.

I pray that I never have to take a life, but will not hesitate to stop dead a criminal indiscriminately killing a man, women or child, especially my family in my own home. I’m sure a thank you would be in order if you and yours were saved by a

We used to read through this section together often. Maybe if you see this we could talk again, like we used to?

derive so much pleasure from changing the rules on a dime to keep me from getting too comfortable, when you could have just ignored me like the adults you allegedly were. Yes, I was dumb, but I needed guidance, not a bunch of catty bitches acting like every bitchy clique on some teen movie.

NEWSPAPER EDITORS I love newspapers! But I’ll be damned if most editors won’t return emails. Damn, that is irritating! They say “contact me” and don’t reply. Could you folks at least let us know you got the email? And don’t say “OK boomer”!

HARD TO READ MOVIE TITLES/TIMES I freely admit to being on the north side of 50 and my corrected vision is not as sharp as it once was. That being said, each week when I check the movie titles and times for the Village Centre Cinemas, I find it a very difficult read. The contrast of the brown titles on white, and the small font make a perusal tough. I have far less trouble with the start times but I’m sure there are those who can’t read them without a magnifying glass. I’m not certain Village Centre is getting their money’s worth?

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

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

Oh yeah, the yelling? Never a good idea, makes you look bad.

WASTED TRIPS Jeers to GROCERY STORES that advertise food in their grocery ads and then JUST STOCK the same amount as when there is no sale and force the customers to have to come back to the store as they don’t usually restock the food item until after the weekend! Quit playing games to make more money and order extra quantities and deliver quality service to your customers.

GUN CONTROL? Sorry, but gun control will never end the violence, maiming and killings perpetuated by crazed individuals, nor prevent those individuals from obtaining firearms, illegally. The law abiding citizens among us have had background checks, purchased our firearms legally, followed by being issued a concealed weapon permit from the police department. Keep in mind the 2nd Amendment, no need to repeat it here, for all legally armed citizens know what it states. For the uninformed people who would like to control firearms, be it registered by name, confiscated, controlled purchases, locked in safe... whatever, this will substantially reduce

”

law abiding gun owner. I’ve never heard of a law abiding citizen commit a firearm tragedy. If a drunk driver kills someone do we blame the vehicle? Do we blame the knife in a stabbing? Do we blame the baseball bat for a beating? You get my point. Place blame on the individuals who made the wrong choice. Stop blaming firearms and/or the manufacturers of the same. Would you really want to restrict the purchase of vehicles, knife’s, etc..? We need a little more common sense folks. Sure, restrict machine guns, high capacity magazines, however leave personal carry weapons alone, otherwise only criminals will have weapons, and god help us, for we will have no way to protect what is dear to us...Human Life! n

THIS WEEK'S ANSWERS T A R A A T E N L I O N S P I E S E N U N S D E E T D I V O M N I H I T C I M E S O S O E S T A E A S T

N T S O R S E L S O S S T U S R E C O L C M O H U R A R E V M O W

I N O C U B A U M O R B E R A O I C S R C H I T O R S A N O L I N A C O C L T I E W M M A O O D

S H O O Z A H N H A S I T G T O I T B E A M E N N E N S C U T O R D E R E P I C K A L A E A S E B U S E Y A R E N A B A S S O

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

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46 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

FAIR TRADE - LOCAL - EARTH FRIENDLY 35 W. Main, Spokane • Mon-Sat 10-5:30 • (509) 464-7677 • kizurispokane.com

EVENTS | CALENDAR

BENEFIT

HOSPICE WINE TASTE A formal fundraising event with games and prizes, access to sample 100s of wines, gourmet appetizers, auctions and more. Proceeds support Hospice of North Idaho. Feb. 1, 5 pm. $0-$125. Coeur d’Alene Resort, 115 S. Second. cdaresort.com HARRY POTTER TRIVIA FUNDRAISER Gather your team of four and prepare for the ultimate battle of wizarding wits. This annual fundraiser supports EWU’s Get Lit! Programs. Offering three sessions: 11:30 am, 2:30 pm and 5:30 pm. All ages; those 12 and over must have a ticket. Feb. 2, 11:30 am. $8. Iron Goat Brewing Co., 1302 W. Second. inside.ewu.edu/getlit CDAIDE 2020 CARE AFFAIR The third annual event supports those who work in the region’s local restaurants and hotels.

Feb. 6, 5 pm. $15-$350. Coeur d’Alene Resort, 115 S. Second. cdaresort.com (208-765-4000) DARE TO BE DIFFERENT ANNUAL FUNDRAISING GALA This event to support PRIDE Schools includes hors d’oeuvres, beverages, silent/live auctions, a student fashion show, digital music performances and more. PRIDE Schools is a free public charter school district in Spokane. Feb. 6, 6-8:30 pm. $65. PRIDE Prep, 811 W. Sprague. prideschools.org/gala ISAAC FOUNDATION TASTE OF HOPE AUCTION Proceeds help maintain and expand the Foundation’s programming and enrich the lives of local families touched by autism. The event consists of dinner, drinks, music and a large array of auction items. Feb. 7, 6-10 pm. $75.

Shriners Event Center, 7217 W. Westbow Blvd. theisaacfoundation.configio.com/ page/supports-34tasteofhope-124

COMEDY

MICHELLE WOLF Wolf debuted her first hour-long special on HBO in 2017, which tackled a wide range of topics from feminism and the environment and more of life’s everyday absurdities. Jan. 30-Feb 1 at 7:30 pm; Feb. 1 at 10 pm. $28+. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com (509-318-9998) PHILLIP KOPCZYNSKI Phillip placed second at the 2018 Seattle International Comedy Competition and has performed in venues from Vancouver, BC, to Orlando, Florida. His clean Drybar Comedy Special is titled “Full Grown Man;” his unclean album is “Hillbilly Glamorous.” Jan. 30, 7:30 pm. $11.49. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org LATE LAUGHS A variety show featuring improv duos/teams, sketch comedy and special guests. Rated for mature (16+) audiences. First/last Friday of the month at 9:30 pm. $8. Blue Door Theatre, 815 W. Garland Ave. bluedoortheatre.com THE RANT The BDT take your pet peeves, annoying habits and exasperating events that derail your day and turn them into chortles and laughs. Fridays in January at 7:30 pm. $8. Blue Door Theatre, 815 W. Garland. bluedoortheatre.com SAFARI The BDT’s version of “Whose Line,” a fast-paced, short-form show that relies on audience suggestions. Rated for mature audiences Saturdays at 7:30 pm. $8. Blue Door Theatre, 815 W. Garland. bluedoortheatre.com FIRE BRIGADE IMPROV The theater’s in-house, family-friendly comedy troupe performs the first Saturday of each month at 7 pm. $5. Ignite! Community

Theatre, 10814 E. Broadway (795-0004) THE SOCIAL HOUR COMEDY SHOWCASE Featuring comics from the Northwest and beyond, hosted by Deece Casillas. Sundays from 8-9:30 pm. Free. The Ridler Piano Bar, 718 W. Riverside Ave. socialhourpod.com (509-822-7938)

COMMUNITY

MOUNT ST. HELENS: CRITICAL MEMORY An exhibit commemorating the 40th anniversary of the eruption on May 18, 1980 of Mount St. Helens, which remains the most destructive volcanic event in U.S. history. Through July; Tue-Sun 10 am-5 pm; third Thursdays until 8 pm. $5$10. The MAC, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org (456-3931) FOOD SUMMIT: GROWING COMMUNITY SELF-RELIANCE Listen to presentations, participate in community round tables, enjoy local food tastings and help create a vision and actionable steps for growing our local food system. Jan. 31, 9 am. $15-$25. Latah County Fairgrounds, 1021 Harold St. pcfoodcoaltion.org KOOTENAI COUNTY SHERIFF CANDIDATE MEET & GREET Come meet the candidates, ask questions and register to vote. (Calypsos is not formally endorsing any candidate, simply giving the community a platform to inform themselves on an upcoming county-wide election.) Feb. 1, 1-3 pm. Free. Calypsos Coffee Roasters, 116 E. Lakeside Ave. (208-665-0591) MASON BEES Helping pollinators can boost your garden yields. Learn what beneficial Mason bees need to thrive and how to easily make your garden into a great habitat for them. Make and decorate a small bee house to take home.

All materials provided. All ages. Feb. 1, 10:30-11:30 am. Free. Deer Park Library, 208 Forest. scld.org/events (893-8300) KSPS EVERY CHILD READS Spark a love of language and literature in children ages 3-5. This fun-filled hour is dedicated to reading, interactive stories, songs, crafts and offers free take-home educational resources. First Monday of each month from 10:30-11:30 am. Free; registration required. KSPS Public TV, 3911 S. Regal St. ksps.org/storytime (354-7724) THE TROUBLE WITH QUANTUM PHYSICS, AND WHY IT MATTERS Join Gonzaga’s Phi Beta Kappa faculty for its second annual lecture on quantum physics’ successes and challenges. Presented by author, journalist, and astrophysicist, Adam Becker, Ph.D., this lecture focuses on the theory’s many paradoxes and inherent tensions. Feb. 3, 7-8:30 pm. Free. Gonzaga Hemmingson Center, 702 E. Desmet Ave. gonzaga.edu (509-313-6942) APPY HOUR Is your digital device driving you crazy, or do you want a device and don’t know what to choose? Community technology staff are available to answer questions relating to anything digital.

Feb. 4, 3:30-5:30 pm. Free. South Hill Library, 3324 S. Perry. Also Feb. 5, 3-5 pm, Downtown Spokane Library, 906 W. Main. spokanelibrary.org PREVENT FRAUD & IDENTITY THEFT Learn how to be proactive to protect your hard-earned money from predators and scams. Register at link. Feb. 5, 6-7 pm.

Free. Argonne Library, 4322 N. Argonne Rd. stcu.org/workshops CENSUS 2020 PUBLIC FORUM Learn more about the 2020 Census: Why it matters, how to respond and ways to get involved in outreach. Refreshments provided along with a presentation and panel of local experts. Learn more at spo-

kanecensus.org. Feb. 6, 5:30-7:30 pm.

Free. Shadle Park High School, 4327 N. Ash St. spokanecensus.org COLLEGE FINANCIAL PLANNING NIGHT This workshop covers the FAFSA form and other important information to understand in order to maximize the amount of financial aid your student is eligible for. Feb. 6, 7 pm. Free. Ferris High School, 3020 E. 37th Ave. spokaneschools.org/ferris (354-6000) DECADES DANCE A night out swing dancing through the decades. Includes a beginner lesson at 7 pm, followed by dancing from 8-10 pm. Come dressed as your favorite decade. Feb. 6, 7-10 pm. $10. Woman’s Club of Spokane, 1428 W. Ninth. strictlyswingspokane.com/dances GENEALOGY: RESEARCHING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY Donna Potter Phillips introduces the hobby of genealogy and shows you how to find information about your family’s history from online resources. Learn how to find names, dates, and places and even the geographical and social history of your ancestors. Feb. 6, 10:30-11:30 am. Free. Argonne Library, 4322 N. Argonne Rd. scld.org/events NIGERIA & ITS CULTURE Sanya Ala presents a program on this dynamic country and its culture. Located in West Africa and bordering the Atlantic Ocean, Nigeria is a country know on the African continent for its large population and economy and has a government structure much like the United States. This program is one of the library’s events celebrating Black History Month. Feb. 6, 6:30-7:30 pm. To Be Continued: A Spokane Public Library, 4750 N. Division St., Suite 1074. spokanelibrary.org TRANSPORTATION SLAM Listen, learn and share thoughts about how we all get around. How should we build or improve the transportation systems in Spokane?

What works? How can we make transportation better, safer, cleaner and affordable for everyone? Beer and wine available for purchase; light refreshments served. Hosted by 350 Spokane and Climate Solutions. Feb. 7, 6-8 pm. Free.

Community Building, 35 W. Main. actionnetwork.org (206-915-2528)

FILM

PARASITE Showing in the Little Theater, Parasite won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, and is nominated for six Oscars including Best Feature Film. Rated R. Jan. 30-Feb. 2; times vary. $5-$8. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave. panida.org (208-255-7801) SPOKANE JEWISH CULTURAL FILM FESTIVAL Catch a glimpse of the reality of Jewish experience with three diverse films, chosen to appeal to a wide audience. The theme of this year’s festival is “Untold Stories.” On opening night, enjoy light appetizers, a performance by the Meshugga Daddies klezmer band, and a video-call intro from Valerie Thomas, who co-wrote and co-produced “Fiddler.” Jan. 30 at 6:30 pm, Feb. 1 at 7 pm and Feb. 2 at 2 pm. $7-$10. Gonzaga University Jepson Center, 502 E. Boone Ave. sajfs.org/our-programs/sjcff/ OSCAR SHORTS See the 2020 Oscar nominated shorts in action, animation and documentary categories. Not rated.

Jan. 31-Feb. 2; times vary. $8-$22. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave. panida.org FILM & DISCUSSION: THE FOREIGNER’S HOME “Who IS the foreigner? Am I the foreigner in my own home? Who decides?” Such were the questions posed

by renowned author Toni Morrison at her 2006 guest-curated exhibit at the Louvre, The Foreigner’s Home. In celebration of Black History Month and Toni Morrison’s birthday, this film screening includes refreshments, door prizes and mixed-media art based on Morrison’s literature by artist Tracy PoindexterCanton. Feb. 1, 2-3 pm. Free. East Side Library, 524 S. Stone St. spokanelibrary. org/calendar MOVIE NIGHT: THROUGH A LENS DARKLY A film that explores how African American communities have used the camera as a tool for social change from the invention of photography to the present. Not rated. Feb. 5, 6-7:30 pm. Free.

Downtown Spokane Library, 906 W. Main Ave. spokanelibrary.org

FOOD

2 TOWNS CIDER TAP TAKEOVER Along with some favorites, 2 Towns cider is debuting two new seasonal ciders. Includes giveaways and drink specials all night.

Jan. 30, 5-8 pm. Free. Coeur d’Alene Cider Company, 1327 E. Sherman Ave. cdaciderco.com (2087042160) ALL-STAR APPETIZERS Join Chef Brandon Dallara of Red Rock Catering and learn how to create appetizers perfect for upcoming Super Bowl gatherings. Jan. 30, 5:30 pm. $25. Second Harvest, 1234 E. Front Ave. secondharvestkitchen.org COMMUNITY COOKING CLASS: HEALTHY APPETIZERS & SMALL BITES Get ready to wow your friends and family at your Super Bowl watch party, or any other gathering, with these small bites.

This class is designed to teach families with limited resources how to cook nutritious meals on a budget. Registration required. Jan. 30 at 11:45 am. Free. Second Harvest, 1234 E. Front Ave. secondharvestkitchen.org/ (534-6678) INSTANT POT COOKING Instant Pot maven Meegan Ware shares basic tips for pressure cooking, how to create at least two recipes and hands out additional recipes that can be prepared and cooked quickly. For adults. Jan. 30, 7-8 pm. Free.

North Spokane Library, 44 E. Hawthorne Rd. scld.org/events (509-893-8350) GRAND OPENING THROWDOWN Celebrate Evans Brothers’ grand opening at Spokane’s Wonder Market with a latte art throwdown, coffee tasting, photo booth, costume contest (retro winter theme), dance party, cash bar, and the SOL Tribe Breaking Crew Performance (8:30). Dinner is available at High Tide Lobster Bar along with a Bean & Pie Pop-Up Shop.

Jan. 31, 6 pm-midnight. Free. Evans Brothers Coffee Roasters, 835 N. Post St. bit.ly/2TkLBBH (509-808-2749) ITALIAN SUPPER CLUB Enjoy Italian charcuterie, soup or salad, chicken piccata with store-made pasta and gelato.

Wine selections available by the glass.

Jan. 31, 6:30 pm. $50. Petunias Marketplace, 2010 N. Madison St. petuniasmarket.com (509-328-4257) BRICK WEST BREWING GRAND OPENING A celebration of the new venue, featuring neighborhood vendors, brewery tours (11 am-4 pm), Spokane’s first Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament, live music, a new beer release at 6 pm (Westbound Train, a hazy pale featuring Citra hops), along with prizes and giveaways. Feb. 1, 11 am. Free. Brick West Brewing Co., 1318 W. First Ave. brickwestbrewingco.com ALTERNATIVE SUPER BOWL HANGOUT Don’t like football? We understand!

Come by for free snacks and drink deals

during the Super Bowl. Feb. 2, 2-5 pm.

Free. Calypsos Coffee Roasters, 116 E. Lakeside Ave. (208-665-0591) CHILI COOK-OFF Sample competing groups’ chili and help raise funds for the GBG Scholarship Fund. Feb. 4, 6 pm. $1$5. Green Bluff Grange, 9809 Green Bluff Rd. greenbluffgrowers.com (979-2607) COOKING WITH CHEF BOB BLACK: MARDIS GRAS RECIPES Celebrate Fat Tuesday with chef Black and enjoy wine, dinner, recipes and more. Feb. 4, 5:30 pm. $50. Jacklin Arts & Cultural Center, 405 N. William St. thejacklincenter.org ELLA’S SUPPER CLUB A classic threecourse dinner from Eat Good Group and live jazz in the historic venue. Feb. 5, 6 pm. $0-$45. Montvale Event Center, 1017 W. First. montvalespokane.com/eventcenter (413-2915) WINE WEDNESDAY Stop in for wine tastings and light appetizers every Wednesday from 4:30-6 pm. $25-$140.

The Culinary Stone, 2129 N. Main St. culinarystone.com (208-277-4166) WINE WEDNESDAY DINNER SERIES 2020 marks the 9th year and 15th session of Nectar’s popular dinner series.

Wednesdays at 6 pm. $25-$140. Nectar Catering and Events, 120 N. Stevens St. nectartastingroom.com (509-869-1572) COOKING WITH CHEF AARON FISH A hands-on cooking class with the chef from Eat Good Group. Feb. 6, 6 pm. $50.

Jacklin Arts & Cultural Center, 405 N. William St. thejacklincenter.org SWEET TREATS WITH EVA OF JUST AMERICAN DESSERTS A special class with local baker Eva Roberts of Just American Desserts. Feb. 6, 5:30-7:30 pm. $25. Second Harvest, 1234 E. Front Ave. secondharvestkitchen.org (534-6678) TAPAS TRANSFORMATION This class references the modern approach to tapas in America, the history of tapas in Spain, and recipes that keep the tradition alive.

Feb. 6, 6-8 pm. $59. Spokane Community College, 1810 N. Greene St. (279-6030)

MUSIC

GERRY MULLIGAN’S ALL STARS Enjoy the music of Gerry Mulligan, performed by the musicians who worked with him: Bill Mays on piano, Dean Johnson on bass, Ron Vincent on drums, David Larsen on baritone sax and Dave Glenn on trombone. Jan. 30, 6:30-8:30 pm. $12-$18. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave. panida.org (208-255-7801) ESPERANZA: AN EVENING OF FLAMENCO & CELTIC MUSIC & DANCE Featuring Celtic music by Spokane based group An Dochas, Irish dancing by the Haran Irish Dancers and Flamenco dancers and musicians from Spokane and around the country. Jan. 31, 7:30 pm. $27/$30. Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. bingcrosbytheater.com FACULTY ARTIST SERIES: EQUINOX + LIVESTREAM The WSU School of Music presents Equinox, the WSU Faculty Brass Quintet in concert. The ensemble performs many standard works from the repertoire, along with several small ensemble works. Jan. 31, 7:30-9:30 pm. $10/Free. Bryan Hall Theatre (WSU), 605 Veterans Way. events.wsu.edu/event/ faculty-artist-series-equinox-livestream/ COMMUNITY DANCE Enjoy lines, contras, folk and easy square dances. Family friendly, no experience necessary. Feb. 1, 7 pm. $8 suggested donation. Western Dance Center, 1901 N. Sullivan Rd. squaredancespokane.org (979-2612)

JANUARY 30, 2020 INLANDER 47

EDIBLES

Super Snacks Take Super Sunday to the next level

BY WILL MAUPIN

T

he game will be on and you’ll watch, at least a little, even if you couldn’t care less. It’s the Super Bowl after all. But for many, it’s the food, not the football, that matters most.

Sure, you could be a stereotypical stoner who smokes a joint before munching down a pound of finger food. Or you could step it up and throw down on some infused snacks for the big game. As the edible market has expanded from cookies and brownies into ingredients and condiments, it’s become easier than ever to come across as a cannabis chef no matter your culinary acumen.

Here are some products available at local dispensaries to consider for a stoney, snacky Sunday.

SRIRACHA TINCTURE FROM FAIRWINDS

It wouldn’t be a true Super Bowl party if someone didn’t bring the heat. And boy, does this THC-infused take on the wildly popular Thai chili sauce bring it. Clock-

48 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

ing in at 6,000 units on the Scoville scale — traditional sriracha ranges from 1,000 to 2,500 units and jalapenos range from 2,500 to 5,000 — this stuff is definitely hot.

It punches you in the mouth but not in the wallet. A 100-milligram bottle goes for $25 to $30.

Toss into the mix for Asian style hot wings, or throw it onto some cauliflower for a vegetarian-friendly version.

CANNABEES HONEY FROM SWIFTS

While hot wings are a staple of Super Bowl Sunday, a

good spread is imperative. You’ll want something to help ease the burn, and honey does the trick. Cannabees come in a few varieties with different levels of THC and CBD, but each package contains 50 grams of honey and costs around $30. You won’t find many simpler edibles, as Cannabees is made with just two ingredients: honey and cannabis oil.

Combine Cannabees with the traditional stuff for some honey-glazed wings. ...continued on page 50

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JANUARY 30, 2020 INLANDER 49

EDIBLES

GREEN ZONE

“SUPER SNACKS,” CONTINUED...

DANK CHOCOLATE SYRUP FROM CRAFT ELIXIRS

Savory meats and salty chips take center stage on the snack table, but don’t forget about the sweets. Seattle’s Craft Elixirs, as the name implies, is basiLETTERS cally a mixologist’s brand Send comments to in a market dominated by editor@inlander.com. bartenders. They make numerous products, but their line of syrups stands out. Three varieties of chocolate syrup are available — CBD, indica and sativa — and all pack a 100-milligram punch in a 200-milligram bottle.

Put out a bowl of the syrup and some strawberries for a semi-healthy, super-stoney dip. n

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

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JANUARY 30, 2020 INLANDER 51

RELATIONSHIPS

Advice Goddess FROM HEAR TO ETERNITY

My roommate has this need to tell me all about his day when he gets home. Making matters worse, his main form of communication is complaining. I need quiet time when I come home, not a second job as an unlicensed therapist.

I’ve hinted at this, but he isn’t catching on. —Weary

AMY ALKON

Your hopes and dreams change as you go through life — like when you get a roommate who won’t shut up and you regularly fantasize that masked violent orthodontists are holding him down in an alley while they wire his jaws

together.

The thing is, you can live this dream — minus the gangland orthodontists.

Retiring from your nightly gig as your roommate’s emotional garbage can just takes asserting yourself — asking for what you want instead of merely hinting at it. Assertiveness is the healthy alternative to being passive — silently sucking up another person’s upsetting and/or unfair behavior — or going aggressive: eventually blowing up at them after you repeatedly say nothing and they, in turn, change nothing.

The foundation of assertiveness is self-respect — believing you’ve got a right to have and express desires and preferences that conflict with others’ desires and preferences. Sure, you might sometimes put somebody else’s needs first — but if you’re assertive, you’re generous by choice, not because you just automatically go all Wimpy McWimpleton.

In contrast, clinical psychologist Randy J. Paterson explains, “When you behave passively, control of your life is in the hands of people around you.” He also notes that not asserting yourself leads to stress, the “bodily reaction to the perception that we are under threat.” When that stress is chronic — happening on the regular — it’s poisonous and damaging. It’s associated with, for example, decreased immune function and an increased risk for heart attacks, strokes, and other fun ways to get to the morgue ahead of schedule.

Assertiveness is best exercised as soon as you realize you want somebody to change their behavior. When you don’t let your annoyance fester, you’re more likely to have the composure to open with a little positivity, like saying to your roommate, “Hey, I really admire your openness about your life...” Yes, that’s the sound of the truth being sacrificed on the altar out back, but it’s for a good cause — making him feel appreciated rather than attacked. This sets him up to be more amenable to your request that follows: “When I come home, I need an hour or so without conversation so I can decompress.”

For best results, keep the next part of that silent: “Also so I can refrain from the temptation to bludgeon you with a potato and cut your vocal cords out with a butter knife.”

BALD EAGER

Are there any psychological hacks for getting people to like you?

—Self-Improvement Junkie In social interaction, there’s a balance between keeping it real and keeping it strategic. Going mad-enthusiastic over somebody you’ve just met is cute — if you’re a labradoodle. (That also makes it more forgivable when, in your excitement, you pee on the person’s shoe.)

There are two essential pieces of advice for getting people to like you: 1. Cool pursuit instead of hot pursuit. 2. Shut up and listen.

1. Cool pursuit: A popularity contest is the one competition where it pays not to try — or, rather, to seem like you aren’t trying. You do this, for example, by making some A-lister wait to talk with you — “Gimme a sec while I nab that appetizer...” — even though it’s probably killing you inside.

Erring on the side of seeming undereager is important, per psychologist Robert Cialdini’s “scarcity principle”: The less available something appears to be, the more valuable it seems and the more we want it. Accordingly, my rule: Try to seem more hard to get than hard to get rid of.

2. Shut up and listen: People think they can talk somebody into liking them, but really, you’re most likely to listen somebody into doing that. Listening doesn’t just mean hearing. It takes effort. It means paying close attention to what somebody’s saying and drawing on your emotions to connect with it. That sort of listening is a form of emotional generosity. It ultimately sends the message “I’m talking to you because I’m interested in you and what you’re saying,” not “...because I haven’t had sex since there were dinosaurs grazing where the 7-Eleven now stands.”

Listening is also important because it helps you see whether the person you’re interested in is actually worthy of your interest. Ideally, you aren’t chasing somebody simply because you’ve been chasing them, and, clever you, you’ve seen through the liberties they’ve taken in staging their own death. You, shoving aside a medical examiner and yanking open a bit of the zipper: “Pro tip...the actual coroner does not offer body bags by Louis Vuitton!” n ©2020, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. • Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405 or email AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com)

52 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

EVENTS | CALENDAR LIVE AT THE BIG DIPPER The second show in the series, hosted by Itchy Kitty with interviews, video shorts and live performances by Indian Goat Pine League and Itchy Kitty. Feb. 1, 7:30 pm. $10. Big Dipper, 171 S. Washington. bigdipperevents.com SPOKANE SYMPHONY POPS FT. CHERRY POPPIN’ DADDIES Put on your zoot suit and swing with the energetic sounds of the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, backed by the Spokane Symphony. This Eugene, Oregon-based band, established in 1989, set the bar for the neo-swing movement of the 1990s with their hit, Zoot Suit Riot. Feb. 1, 8-10 pm. $43-$95. Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, 1001 W. Sprague Ave. foxtheaterspokane.org (624-1200) THE LOWEDOWN ON MASTERWORKS 6: MUSIC FOR VALENTINE’S DAY Spokane Symphony Music Director James Lowe offers an in-depth preview on upcoming Masterworks concerts. He’ll use music clips to talk about the concert, followed by a Q&A session. Feb. 6, 121:30 pm. Free. First Avenue Coffee, 1017 W. First. spokanesymphony.org

SPORTS & OUTDOORS

SPOKANE CHIEFS VS. KELOWNA ROCKETS Promo of the night is the Boomer the Bear piggy bank giveaway.

Feb. 1, 7:05 pm. $11-$25. Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon. spokanearena.com SOUPER BOWL SPOKANE Spend the day playing in the snow while supporting the Women & Children’s Free Restaurant and Community Kitchen. This year’s event is an 80s theme, and includes lunch, prizes, a ski and snowshoe hike, transportation (optional; $10) and more. Feb. 2, 8:30 am. $0-$45. Mt. Spokane State Park, 26107 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. souperbowlspokane.com COEUR D’ALENE BOAT EXPO Browse new boat inventory at the Hagadone Marine Center. Feb. 5-9 from 11 am-8 pm. Free admission. The Coeur d’Alene Resort, 115 S. Second. cdaboatexpo.com SPOKANE BOAT SHOW The 66th Annual Spokane Boat features more than 50 major dealers representing new model boats and accessories from around the nation. Feb. 5-8 from 10 am-8 pm; Feb. 9 from 10 am-6 pm. $4$10. Spokane Fair & Expo Center, 404 N. Havana. spokaneboatshow.com

THEATER

FUN HOME When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm through Feb. 2. $23-$25. Lake City Playhouse, 1320 E. Garden Ave. facebook.com/lakecityplayhouse A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER When the low-born Monty Navarro finds out that he’s eighth in line for an earldom in the lofty D’Ysquith family, he figures his chances of outliving his predecessors are slight and sets off down a far more ghoulish path. ThuSat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm through Feb. 23. $10-$35. Spokane Civic Theatre, 1020 N. Howard St. spokanecivictheatre.com (325-2507) PRESENT LAUGHTER Present Laugh-

ter premiered in the early years of the WWII just as formerly privileged lives were threatened with fundamental social change. Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm through Feb. 2. $15-$25. Spokane Civic Theatre, 1020 N. Howard St. spokanecivictheatre.com (325-2507) DANCING AT LUGHNASA This extraordinary play is the story of five unmarried sisters eking out their lives in a small village in Ireland in 1936. Jan. 31-Feb. 9; Fri-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm. $10-$20. Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center, 211 E. Desmet Ave. bit. ly/2RaBzBG (313-2787) THE THREE MUSKETEERS Enjoy this adaptation of Alexander Dumas’ classic swashbuckling story of three swordsmen, plus one young man who dreams to become one of them, who seek to save their King from the scheming of Cardinal Richelieu. Fri at 7 pm, Sat-Sun at 2 pm through Feb. 9. $12-$16. Spokane Children’s Theatre, 2727 N. Madelia. spokanechildrenstheatre.org MET LIVE IN HD: THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY & BESS The Gershwins’ modern American masterpiece has its first Met performances in almost three decades, starring bass-baritone Eric Owens and soprano Angel Blue in the title roles.

Feb. 1 at 9:55 am; Feb. 3 encore at 6:30 pm. $15-$20. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org AUDITIONS: SPOKANE VALLEY SUMMER THEATRE 2020 SEASON Sign up for a 5-10 minute closed appointment to audition for roles in this year’s season: “Little House on the Prairie the Musical,” “The King and I” and “Sister Act.” Details online. Feb. 3-6 from 4-9 pm.

Central Valley High School, 821 S. Sullivan. svsummertheatre.com (927-6848)

VISUAL ARTS

PAREIDOLIA The Spokane Falls Community College Fine Arts Gallery presents this exhibition of nine artists from the Portland, Oregon, area working in a variety of media. Through Feb. 11; open Mon-Fri 8:30 am-3:30 pm in Building 6.

Closing reception/gallery walk through Feb. 11 at 11:30 am with a workshop from 1-3 pm. SFCC Fine Arts Gallery, 3410 W. Fort George Wright Dr., Bldg.

6. spokanefalls.edu/gallery (533-3710) RECEPTION: COZY The fiber art invitational exhibition includes a viewing of the art in the gallery, “Things with String” demonstrations sponsored by The Yarn Underground, and a no-host bar and refreshments provided by Bloom. Jan. 30, 5-7 pm. Free. Moscow City Hall, 206 E. Third St. ci.moscow. id.us/230/Third-Street-Gallery TO SHALIMAR: ART INSPIRED BY TONI MORRISON’S LITERATURE Mixed media by Tracy Poindexter-Canton based on the literary works of Toni Morrison. Feb. 1-29; Tue 12-8 pm; WedSat 10 am-6 pm. Free. East Side Library, 524 S. Stone St. (444-5300) MEAGAN STIRLING: DIGGING A HOLE “Digging a Hole” was performed from Sept.-Nov. 2018 in the artist’s backyard.

The artwork in this exhibition includes documentation of the performance and printed artifacts that explore ritual, motherhood and crossing boundaries.

Opening reception Feb. 18 at 5 pm, followed by an artist lecture at 6 pm. in Lied Art Center Room 102. Show runs Feb. 4-March 20; Mon-Fri 9 am-5 pm; Sat 10 am-2 pm. Free. Bryan Oliver Gallery, 300 W. Hawthorne Ave. whit-

worth.edu/cms/academics/art/bryanoliver-gallery/ (777-3258) ADVANCED LETTERPRESS PRINTING This three-session class explores techniques of multi-layer printing. Feb. 6, 5 pm. $75. Spokane Print & Publishing Center, 1925 N. Ash. facebook.com/ spokaneprint/

WORDS

READING: U OF IDAHO CREATIVE WRITING FACULTY A reading of new works by faculty: Kim Barnes, Michael McGriff, Brian Blanchfield, Daniel Orozco, Alexandra Teague, Scott Slovic and Tobias Wray. Jan. 30, 7 pm. Free. BookPeople of Moscow, 521 S. Main St. uidaho.edu/class/English (208-882-2669) SPOKANE ARTS: POETRY OUT LOUD REGIONAL FINALS During this afterhours event, watch student representatives from regional schools perform poetry and compete to advance to the state competition in March. Jan. 30, 7-9 pm. Free. Downtown Spokane Library, 906 W. Main Ave. spokanelibrary.org EWU VISITING WRITER SERIES: DINAH LENNEY Lenney wrote “The Object Parade” and “Bigger Than Life: A Murder, a Memoir,” and co-edited “Brief Encounters: A Collection of Contemporary Nonfiction” with the late Judith Kitchen. Other work has appeared in a variety of publications. Jan. 31, 7:308:30 pm. Free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. spark-central.org CONVERSTATIONS WITH SHADES Shades Of Me partners with Wanderlust Delicato to kick off its Black History Month Events. This first event is a luncheon featuring speaker Dianne Patterson-Bailey, who shares the story of her life and growing up during Jim Crow in Indiana. Feb. 1, 12-3 pm. Free.

Wanderlust Delicato, 421 W. Main Ave. bit.ly/3asP7jE (509-869-5441) TOMMY ORANGE The Pulitzer Prizenominated author’s debut novel, “There, There,” follows 12 characters from Native communities, all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, and all connected to each other in ways they may not yet realize. Feb. 4, 7:30-8:30 pm. Free. Gonzaga Hemmingson Center, 702 E. Desmet Ave. (313-6671) BROKEN MIC Spokane Poetry Slam’s longest-running, weekly open mic reading series. Wednesdays at 6:30 pm; sign-ups at 6:15 pm. Free. Neato Burrito, 827 W. First. bit.ly/2ZAbugD POSTCARD STORIES WRITING WORKSHOP Flex your creative writing muscles in this flash fiction generative workshop where we’ll use postcards as writing prompts. Feb. 5, 6:30 pm. $15-$20. Spokane Print & Publishing Center, 1925 N. Ash St. facebook.com/ spokaneprint/ SUNSET STORY SLAM: FIRST CRUSH A live storytelling event where anyone can sign up to tell a story. Signups at 7:30, show at 8 pm. Feb. 5, 8 pm. Free.

Lucky You Lounge, 1801 W. Sunset Blvd. luckyyoulounge.com SPOKANE AUTHORS & SELF-PUBLISHERS MEETING Open to writers of all levels and genres. Guest speaker and author Tom Reppert discusses character development and give tips regarding writing about time travel. Attendees must purchase a meal or drink to attend. Feb. 6, 2:30-4 pm. Golden Corral Buffet, 7117 N. Division. spokaneauthors.org (509-468-1895) n

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69 70 71 72 50. Drink served in a champagne flute 75 51. 2000s events in North Korea, for short 78 53. Play a part (in) “DIRECTOR’S CUT” 56. “Ben-____” 58. Skewered dish 62. Kind of sleep 22. The “L” of UCLA 63. Admit frankly 25. Extremity 64. Wheels of fortune?

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JANUARY 30, 2019 INLANDER 53

COEUR D ’ ALENE

cda4.fun for more events, things to do & places to stay.

Your Everyday Getaway Escape to Coeur d’Alene this week and find live music, boat cruises, ski hills, hundreds of shops... and that’s on Wednesday! Check out our online calendar and plan your Tuesday or Wednesday or any day! There’s always something fun going on. coeurdalene.org

The Coeur d’Alene Resort’s Hot Winter Nights experience continues through Feb. 16

Isn’t it Romantic?

Celebrate love in Coeur d’Alene

L

ove is in the air throughout Coeur d’Alene, especially during Valentine’s Day weekend. And since that’s coming up soon — only weeks away — we want to help you celebrate romance.

Get in the mood with HOT WINTER NIGHTS at the Coeur d’Alene Resort’s infinity pool Feb. 14-16, from 6:30-8:30 pm or 9-11 pm. Your overnight stay package includes private transportation to the heated lakeside pool and a twohour soak and yes, the lakeside bar is open (starting at $199).

Practice self-love that you and your partner can both enjoy with the Resort’s Live Well Retreats, including the ROMANCE & RELAXATION RETREAT. Check into your lakeside room Sunday, Feb. 16, and book a 50-minute couples massage that day or the next. Wake early for partners yoga on Monday, then enjoy breakfast — with champagne, of course — and a late checkout (starting at $175).

54 INLANDER JANUARY 30, 2020

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Ready for a romantic location to plant the perfect kiss? Coeur d’Alene will not disappoint. Walk out by the water or on the boardwalk for sweeping views of the lake. Take a stroll along picturesque Sherman Avenue. At the Art Spirit Gallery, pose for a smooch and a photo next to the giant welded rabbit sculpture with you and your “somebunny” special.

Honey Eatery is one of many romantic spots to settle in for an INTIMATE MEAL, either snuggled into the downstairs lounge chairs or cozied up at the bar.

Nearby, the NYC Piano Bar has brought back their Valentine’s Day special ($69 per couple). Enjoy a gourmet meal, bottle of wine and the alwaysentertaining dueling pianos, Feb. 14-15.

What could be more romantic than a SUNSET DINNER CRUISE, Feb. 14-15? Order a glass of wine, sit back and relax as you tour the lake during one of its most magical times, while a gourmet buffet dinner is readied for you to leisurely enjoy ($58 per person).

How about a change of pace this Valentine’s Day with one of two DANCES? The 11th Annual Sweethearts Ball runs 5 pm-midnight at the Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene Inn benefiting Habitat for Humanity, this delightful event includes a surf-n-turf buffet, live music, a silent auction and a pop-up boutique with gifts for him and her ($60 per person). Dress to impress and join Premier Ballroom Coeur d’Alene for a Valentine’s Ball. Join the waltz group class at 7 pm ($15) or come for the party starting at 8 pm ($15). No partner? No worries. Grab a few friends and dance the night away.

You might even meet your new valentine!

C O E U R

D ’A L E N E

Upcoming Events Food and Wine Festival FEBRUARY 7-9

Don’t wait to buy your tickets! All of the delicious dinners, cruises, tastings and classes at the Coeur d’Alene Resort’s Food and Wine Festival will sell out. The delicious weekend kicks off with the Taste at Twilight opening reception, then leads into a series of wine dinners, pairings classes and finishes with the Grand Tasting. Visit cda4.fun for a detailed

F E B R U A R Y 7 TH - 9 TH, 2 0 2 0

SAVORY FLAVORS & FINE WINES TURN TO PAGE 12 FOR MORE DETAILS

TICKETS STARTING AT

35

$

*

ROOM PACKAGES STARTING AT

269

$

* BENEFITING:

SPONSORS:

For tickets or room reservations visit CDAFOODANDWINEFEST.COM or call 844.819.9171

schedule of events.

Fun Home

JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 2

Fun Home took home five Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Score in 2015. See Lake City Playhouse’s adaptation of this wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grownup eyes. $23-25; Fri 6:30 pm, Sat 7:30 pm, Sun 2 pm; Lake City Playhouse.

Paint Nite FEBRUARY 1

It’s easier to feel creative when you’re painting at Coeur d’Alene Cellars! So grab your friends and unleash your inner artist as a talented, and engaging instructor guides you through the process. You’ll be amazed at what you can create. $35; 2 pm; Coeur d’Alene Cellars.

For more events, things to do & places to stay, go to cda4.fun

COEUR D’ALENE

F R I D AY S & S AT U R D AY S , J A N U A R Y - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 Starting at

199*

$

Includes overnight accommodations and two passes to the heated Infinity Pool.

Additional guest passes are available for $10 (limit 3). *Based on availability. Certain restrictions may apply. Excludes tax and surcharge.

877.749.4858 cdaresort.com

JANUARY 30, 2020 INLANDER 55

Only 3 Jackpots Left.

3 Jackpots GUARANTEED to Hit by $60,000!