Brews and Tunes takes over downtown Moses Lake
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 years, 6 months AGO
Sandi Watson, left, pulls a sample of Squirrel Fight Brewing’s On Golden Blonde with her husband, Squirrel Fight co-owner Troy Watson, at Brews and Tunes Saturday.
Joel Martin/Columbia Basin Herald
Joel Martin/Columbia Basin Herald Lake City Blues makes it wail on the sidewalk outside Windermere Real Estate on Third Avenue Saturday. The Moses Lake-based band was one of nine featured at Brews
Free Beer Nuts plays its brand of Irish folk rock and punk at Settlers Country Mercantile for Brews and Tunes Saturday.
Joel Martin/Columbia Basin Herald
Joel Martin/Columbia Basin Herald Rylei Franks performs durinng Brews & Tunes Saturday in Moses Lake.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | March 2, 2020 12:29 AM
MOSES LAKE — Twelve businesses. Nine bands. And a community tired of staying indoors through the winter. It all added up to a great time Saturday afternoon as downtown Moses Lake came alive for the annual Brews and Tunes festival.
Organized by the Downtown Moses Lake Association, Brews and Tunes placed a local (or near-local) brewery in each of a dozen downtown businesses, where each brewer poured samples of two of its creations. Attendees bought tickets and sample glasses to taste the beers, while local musicians gave their performances in the businesses as well. Not all businesses had entertainment, said Downtown Moses Lake Association treasurer Denise Lloyd, because some of them lacked the space.
This year’s event, the third so far, saw a marked increase. Last year the event sold 250 tickets; this year DMLA member and Columbia Basin Herald publisher Caralyn Bess estimated 332 sales. Even more impressive, the event sold out completely the night before, which Lloyd said has never happened.
Only two of the brewers at the event were actually located in Moses Lake: Squirrel Fight Artisan Brewing and Ten Pin Brewing. There was also Ancient Lakes Brewing from Quincy and Rocky Coulee Brewing from Odessa, as well as breweries from Leavenworth, Wenatchee, Pullman and Seattle.
“We try to mainly do Washington (breweries),” Lloyd said.
Attendees picked up their tickets and glasses at stations set up at the Smith Martin Building at Third and Division and Michael’s Market and Bistro, located at Broadway and Beech. From there they tried brews bearing names like Boom Shaka Lager, Peanut Butter Death and On Golden Blonde. Fruit beers were popular, including brews made with blackberry, blood orange and pineapple.
Most of the bands stayed indoors, but Moses Lake-based Lake City Blues took to the sidewalk, spreading guitar licks and harmonica riffs down the street. The band is a staple at Moses Lake community events and is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
“We’ve had a good steady flow of people,” said singer Rick Serra. “Very receptive, showing their appreciation. Very cool.”
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.