SOAP LAKE — Soap Lake will spread its cultural wings this weekend with the first-ever Soap Lake Food and Folk Festival.

The festival, which goes all day Saturday at Smokiam Park, will feature musicians from a variety of traditions, as well as food and craft vendors and periodic raffle drawings throughout the day. It’s put on by the Friends of the Lower Grand Coulee.

“We've got Mexican music, we've got country music, we've got contemporary folk music, we've got southern folk music, we've got Delta blues,” said Kim Anderson, a lifelong Soap Lake resident who came up with the idea for the festival. “So we're all over the place.”

Musicians include conjunto band Tejano Skyz, singer-songwriters Carl Tosten and Billy Stoops, country singer Myra Pearce, blues musicians The Delta G Band and Leif Totusek, whose compositions blend jazz, blues and soukous, a dance music style from central Africa. Many of the musicians have ties to the area, Anderson said; Pearce and Tejano Skyz are based in Moses Lake, and several members of the Delta G Band graduated from Soap Lake High School. Tosten also grew up in eastern Washington, according to his online biography.

The food part of the name will be well represented as well, according to the Friends of the Lower Grand Coulee website. Blacky’s Smokin’ Sweet, Unique Kettle Korn and Taqueria El Tapatio will all be serving up. There are local artists and artisans galore as well.

Many local businesses have donated items for the raffle, according to the website, and so have several of the performing artists. 

“We ended up with 16 sponsors, some in-kind, some cash donations,” said Ruthann Tobiason, another of the festival’s organizers. “And that was phenomenal, I think, considering we've never done this before.”

Raffle drawings will be held during each half-hour break between performers, Tobiason said. 

It’s not an accident that this weekend was selected, Anderson said.

“I was thinking about when Woody Guthrie came through with the Bonneville Power Administration (in 1941) and wrote all those songs about the Columbia River,” she said. “His birthday was July 14, so I picked the second weekend in July.”

Because that’s also the weekend after Soap Lake’s Suds ‘N Sun celebration, Anderson said organizers hope to make both of them an annual tradition, so people visiting Soap Lake can stay for the week and enjoy both.

The Friends of the Lower Grand Coulee are hoping  that the festival will move the city closer to having a creative district, said Tobiason, who has spearheaded the effort to qualify Soap Lake for state arts funding. Designating part of Soap Lake as a creative district, much like Moses Lake did a few years ago, would enable the state to kick in as much as $60,000 in funding for local arts programs, according to the state’s website.

The organization is planning to do a site survey for visitors to get an idea of where people are coming from, how long they’re staying and things like that.

“If we get good data, it makes it easier to apply for grants from tourism and other entities outside of government, like private foundations who support the arts, and festivals and community events,” Tobiason said.

“Soap Lake has turned a corner and it’s a beautiful thing,” Anderson said. “Really good things are happening there. People need to keep their eye on Soap Lake because I think they're gonna be really surprised in the next few years how much that little town can offer.”

Joel Martin may be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.

Schedule

9:30 a.m. opening ceremony

10 a.m. Tejano Skyz

11:30 a.m. break, announcements, raffle

12:30 p.m. Myra Pearce

1:30 p.m. break, announcements, raffle

2 p.m. Billy Stoops

3:30 p.m. break, announcements, raffle

4 p.m. Leif Totusek

5:30 p.m. break, announcements, raffle 

6 p.m. Carl Tosten

7:30 p.m. last break, announcements and final raffle

8 p.m. Delta G Blues Band

Vendors

GriffGear3D — raffle donor

Garb and Gizmos — raffle donor

GoTags

Kindhearted Mini Therapy — raffle donor

Lavish & Lather — raffle donor

Terri's Treasures

The Knotty Broomstick — raffle donor

Mountain Meadow Crafts — raffle donor

The Sweet Edition

Grant County Fire District 7

Jamie's Custom Metal Art

Amy's Artistic Expressions

Blacky's Smokin' Sweet

Unique Kettle Korn

Renewal by Andersen Windows

Taqueria el Tapatio 

The Glass Cactus

Maria Benson — LifeWave

Denise Keegan

Youth Empowerment Program

OIC of Washington

Grant & Adams County Parent to Parent

Michelle's Custom Tumblers — raffle donor

Rudy Gonzales — Vintage & Collectibles

    Singer-songwriter Billy Stoops will be among the performers at the Soap Lake Food and Folk Festival Saturday.