Thanks dad! The Salty Dog rocks

Ken LaBarbera of Naples will perform in the first-ever Riverfront Blues Festival — Blues, Brews and BBQs — from noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, in the Riverfront Pavilion on Highway 37 in Libby, Mont.

Other acts will include Too Slim and the Taildraggers, Kenny Neal, Back Adit, Bridge City Blues and Ben Rice Band.

Advance tickets are $15. Tickets are $20 at the door. Students get in for $10. All proceeds will benefit the community.

Children 6 and under get in free with a donation to Libby Food Pantry.

Libby Revitalization and Kootenai Heritage Council are sponsoring the event.

• Bonners Ferry Summer Youth Theatre’s production of the musical “Grease” was a tremendous success.

Director David Carpenter said about 800 attended the shows on Friday and Saturday evening and for a Sunday matinee.

Ben Heart starred as Danny Zuko and Chloe Cavender played Sandy Dumbrowski.

Other lead characters were Thunderbirds Colton Gibbins as Kenickie, Jesse Tobin as Roger, Toby Elliason as Doody and Jake Merz as Sonny.

The Pink Ladies included Sara Owinyo as Betty Rizzo, Sorrelle Gibbins as Jan, Charena Branscum as Frenchy and Jaymie McGinn as Marty.

Other characters were Andi Floyd as Miss Lynch, Laura Worley as Patty Simcox, Nathan Grow as Eugene Florczyk, Evan Dornfeld as Johnny Casino and Teen Angel, Bailey Cavender as Vivian Fontaine and Tali Darrow as Cha Cha DeGregorio.

Company members were Misha Brady, Chase Dinning, Samantha Earle, Shelby Hanson, Austin Kerr, Klaryssa Michaels, Ayla Nuemeyer, Lauren Palmer, Brooke Roney, Dani Robbins, Joshua Smith, Katrina Svec, Tasha Thissell and Liz Wilder.

Melanie Schreiner did the choreography with assistance from Bonners Ferry High School Dance Team Capt. Charena Branscum.

Bailey was the assistant director and stage manager. Hanna Northrup and Brooklyn Wilson were in charge of sound. Olivia Stahl ran the spot light and Josiah Owinyo handled backstage duties.

• The final wood chips were spread last week for the new playground at Evergreen Elementary School — a $25,000 project that’s been in the works for more than five years.

Volunteers were Brett and Megan Brown, Lori Plato, Wendy and Tim Bertling, Marsha and Al Eberhardt, Brian Hopper, Jim Tompkins, Jim Nash, Kim Dinsmore, Paula Schulte and Eric Skeen.

Evergreen custodian Gary Forrester volunteered to construct most of the playground, and Bill Miller with Halo Excavation provided his equipment and did the excavating.

“He did a nice job,” said Evergreen PTO President Megan Brown. “He doesn’t have children out there, but has friends with children. He donated all of his time.”

Other major donors in addition to Halo Excavation were Kootenai Tribe and Fodge Wood Pulp.

“The tribe has contributed for the past couple of years — almost half of it,” Megan said.

Other funding came from the annual Mt. Hall auctions and the PTO’s yearly dessert auction and chili feed.

The new playground features a $21,000 purple metal structure that features four slides, two sliding poles, two set of monkey bars and more. The apparatus is big enough for 50 children.

• Bob Hovish won $50 during the recent weekly drawing for Bonners Ferry Rotary Club calendar drawing.

Winners of $10 were Peter Wilson, Tony Cooper, Richard Hollenbeck, Carol McCoy, Roger Kramer and Dave Kramer.

Bonners Ferry Rotary Club draws seven names weekly for its 2009 calendar raffle. Ticket holders can win $10, $50 or $200. Rotary funds community projects and college scholarships.

Spreading the Word is about the people of Boundary County. If you’ve gone on a vacation, have a wedding planned, are moving or anything else you’d like to share, call Gwen Albers at 267-5521, or send an e-mail to galbers@cdapress.com.