Royal raises the roof
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 1 month AGO
A Seattle Cossacks rider prepares to jump over a Royal City Police officer at Summerfest Saturday.
Joel Martin
Marv Scott of Moses Lake buffs his 1956 Chevy at the car show at Royal City’s Summerfest Saturday.
Members of the Seattle Cossacks motorcycle team help 5-year-old Camila Solis pose for a photo at Summerfest Saturday in Royal City.
A young buckaroo stays in his seat on a mechanical bull at Summerfest Saturday in Royal City.
Ballet Sol Y Luna dancers whirl in the park during the Royal City Summerfest Saturday.
The Seattle Cossacks motorcycle stunt team does the apparently impossible during the group’s performance at Summerfest in Royal City Saturday.
Grand Marshals Bill and Donna Rexius wave to the crowd at the Summerfest parade in Royal City Saturday.
The Royal High School Class of 1972 takes a ride through their hometown in the Summerfest parade.
Four-year-old Daymon Lauriano, left, and Mia Sotello, 2, go after candy tossed to the crowd at the Royal City Summerfest parade Saturday.
The Royal City Summerfest parade makes its way down Camelia Street Saturday morning.
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. | July 12, 2022 1:20 AM
ROYAL CITY — Once again, Summerfest brought out huge crowds in Royal City Friday and Saturday.
“I think we had about 400 people that bought barbecue tickets,” said volunteer Tiffany Workinger, one of four committee members. “I bet we had close to 1,000 people in the park on Friday night for the fun run and the dinner and the fireworks, which is about half the town, I think.”
Summerfest, Royal City’s big annual event, started on Friday evening with a barbecue that included the traditional cookout fare of hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad and baked beans. The Royal High School volleyball team contributed strawberry shortcake for dessert, Workinger said. Organizers ran into a snag with the barbecue, she added, because the family that usually handles it wasn’t available, but Junior Hernandez and his team at Performance Tire stepped up to the plate and took it on.
The barbecue was followed by a talent show, the glow run and fireworks.
Saturday morning, about another 1,000 people lined the streets of downtown Royal City for the Summerfest Parade. The parade included the usual local dignitaries and candidates for office, as well as the Royal High School Class of 1972, celebrating its 50-year-reunion, and the Seattle Cossacks, a motorcycle stunt team.
“I think this is the third year in a row that we've had them,” Workinger said. “They seem to be quite the crowd-pleaser.”
The Cossacks stuck around after the parade and put on a full show of jaw-dropping stunts, including several human pyramids, one man riding two motorcycles simultaneously and finally, a rider jumping through a human hoop over a Royal City Police officer who lay on the ground. The Cossacks have been putting on shows like this since 1938, said Andrew Nicholson, the Cossacks member who announced the show. Members all ride vintage Harley Davidsons dating from 1934 to 1949, he said, and many of the riders are second- and third-generation members. The precision riding and stunts were led by Team Captain Sam Chedester and Team Lieutenant Jimi Wright.
After the show, the Cossacks let people pose for photos on their bikes, while the crowd headed to the park for food, craft vendors, a cornhole tournament and a car show, the last also spearheaded by Performance Tire. Among the vintage vehicles on display was Marv and Lilly Scott’s 1956 Chevy Hardtop, which Marv built himself.
“I’ve had it 12 years,” he said. “It took seven years to build it. I did all the work besides the paint and upholstery. It’s got tons of accessories – air bags, cruise wheels, disc brakes.”
The park also had a stage set up where various entertainment acts, including the folkloric dance troupe Ballet Luna Y Sol, performed for the crowd. For the kids, there was a wide array of bouncy houses, inflatable slides and even a mechanical bull.
The entire event was coordinated by a committee of four people, Workinger said, two of whom won’t be returning next year. If more people don’t volunteer to help coordinate, she warned, Summerfest might have to become a one-day event instead of two.
“I'd love to see it still be the two-day event,” she said. “I think it's good for the community. When I try to think of what we would cut out, it just leaves a hole ... There's nothing that I would want to cut out. So I'm hoping that we can get some new volunteers to step up and join and keep it a two-day event.”
Joel Martin can be reached via email at [email protected].
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.