Friday, April 03, 2026
48.0°F

Allied Arts fundraiser set for Friday

CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years, 1 month AGO
by CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | February 8, 2018 2:00 AM

photo

Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald Audience members were urged to get up and dance along with the Masquers Theater cast during their performance of ‘Under the Sea’ at the Columbia Basin Allied Arts soiree last year.

photo

Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald Masquers cast members urged the audience to get up and dance during the company’s performance ‘Under the Sea’ during the 2017 Columbia Basin Allied Arts soiree.

MOSES LAKE — Columbia Basin Allied Arts will present its annual fundraising soiree Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the ATEC Building at Big Bend Community College.

This will be the ninth year for the soiree, which is the CBAA’s main fundraiser. “Red” is the theme for 2018, and participants are encouraged to wear that color.

Proceeds go to the organization’s program of live music, theater, dance, poetry and other art events, and promoting the arts in the Columbia Basin. The organization also has a separate outreach program for children, called the Green Turtle series.

The soiree is a dinner, wine tasting and auction with music and an art show. Angela Greene is the featured artist for 2018. Other artists with works in the live auction include Erika Mueller, Don Nutt and Kim Matthews Wheaton.

Live auction items include tickets to a Seattle Seahawks game, tickets to a Seattle Mariners-New York Yankees game, gift packages for children and pets, among others, said new CBAA director Shawn Cardwell.

The rock and blues band Foolish Fortune will perform live. Wines for dinner and the wine-tasting are provided by the Charles Daniel Winery, Quincy.

Tickets are $65 per person, $500 for an eight-person table. Tickets can be purchased at ArtGarden Pottery, 509-765-1333, or the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce, 509-765-7888.

Columbia Basin Allied Arts sponsors live theater, music, comedy and dance performances. The “Premiere” series is for adults and families, with the separate “Green Turtle” series targeted at children.

Annual visits from the Missoula Children’s Theater are part of the Green Turtle series – in fact, MCT makes two visits to Moses Lake in the 2107-18 season. The company’s performance of “Aladdin” is scheduled for Feb. 17. Auditions will be Monday, and rehearsals are scheduled for each night next week. The company will cast 50 to 60 local children.

The next Premiere performance is scheduled for March 26. The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players will present “The Pirates of Penzance.”

Allied Arts also is sponsoring an ongoing art project at the Grant County Fairgrounds, murals painted during the Grant County Fair. The murals are displayed during the summer.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].

ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER

Road closures, roundabout, mean construction season underway
April 3, 2026 3 a.m.

Road closures, roundabout, mean construction season underway

EPHRATA — The grass is starting to turn green, the trees are starting to leaf out, construction crews are starting to build roundabouts – hey, it’s spring. At least one roundabout project is in its final phase, held over from fall 2025. The intersection of State Route 282 and Nat Washington Way will be closed the week of April 6 to allow crews to install permanent lights. “This really is the final (closure),” wrote Grant County Administrator Tom Gaines in a media release. “The roundabout will close at 6 a.m. Monday, and we plan to reopen by Friday, possibly sooner if the work finishes early.”

Ybarra announces run for Washington Senate
April 2, 2026 1:48 p.m.

Ybarra announces run for Washington Senate

QUINCY — State Representative Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, has announced his candidacy for the Washington Senate. If he’s elected, he would replace Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, who announced her retirement in March.

Othello Community Museum to open April 25
April 1, 2026 3:45 a.m.

Othello Community Museum to open April 25

OTHELLO — With a couple of new exhibits, a new heating-cooling system, rearranged displays and a thorough cleaning, the Othello Community Museum will open for the summer April 25. The goal, said Molly Popchock, museum board secretary, is to operate for a full season.