Ephrata going chrome
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years AGO
Attendees check out vehicles at last year’s Anything with Wheels Show and Shine car show. This year’s show is Saturday.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Kelly Cash of Coulee Dam shines his 1956 Chevrolet half-ton pickup at the 2023 Anything with Wheels Show and Shine in Ephrata. This year’s show is Saturday.
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 19, 2024 3:10 AM
EPHRATA — The cars — and trucks, and motorcycles, and whatever else — will gleam in the sun again Saturday at the Anything with Wheels Show and Shine car show.
This is the show’s 13th year, according to Rita Witte, director of the Ephrata Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the show.
“It's evolved,” Witte said. “We started with probably about 75 people, and the highest we've had is about 150.”
Witte wasn’t sure how many entries there were this year, because while some vehicle owners register online, others prefer to go old school and fill out registrations in person at the chamber office, she said.
The “anything with wheels” part is for real. Any kind of vehicle is welcome at the show, Witte said.
“We have rat rods, we have Bel Airs, motorcycles, just all kind of things.”
Vehicles can be registered online for $25 at the chamber’s website, www.ephratachamber.org.
C Street will be closed from First Avenue Northwest to First Avenue Southwest, Witte said, and Division Avenue from Basin Street to the alley behind D Street across from the courthouse, Witte said. Along with the vehicles, there will be food and craft vendors set up around the area, she added.
Judging will be from 10 a.m. to noon, Witte said. There’s also a Kids Choice prize, where children get to pick their favorite car, and a poker walk, where attendees stop at five stations to build up a winning poker hand.
Entrants will receive a goodie bag with gifts and coupons from local businesses, Witte said. Each entrant will also be entered in a raffle to win a washer and dryer valued at $1,500, donated by Moore Furniture. Attendees who aren’t showing a vehicle can also buy a raffle ticket for $1, Witte said.
Weather for the event is expected to be in the triple digits, but plenty of cold drinks and cool cars will be on-hand to offset the weather.
Joel Martin may be reached via email at [email protected].
Kelly Cash of Coulee Dam shines his 1956 Chevrolet half-ton pickup at the 2023 Anything with Wheels Show and Shine in Ephrata. This year’s show is Saturday.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Growing fast
Gray Girl Farms nursery springs up near Royal City
ROYAL CITY — It’s one thing to grow and sell flowers. Owning a complete nursery is something else altogether, especially when you have only months to build it. “The learning curve has been really steep,” said Kylie Gray-Eilers. “I just always tell myself that every day is a new day.” Gray-Eilers isn’t a stranger to raising plants; her Gray Girl Farms has sold dahlias for almost eight years, and she holds a Dahlia Days festival every year in October. The dahlia operation was beginning to reach the point where she needed either to scale it back or grow, she said. So when she learned that Robin Prchal, owner of Emerald Desert Nursery in Quincy, was fixing to retire, Gray-Eilers decided it was time to expand.
Looking good
Institute of Beauty Professionals trains barbers, nail techs and more
MOSES LAKE — It takes a lot of training to make people look their best. “(A license to do) nails is 600 hours (of instruction),” said Institute of Beauty Professionals owner and instructor Nicholas Harle. “Cosmetology is 1,640 hours, barbering is 1,000, hair design is 1,440 and aesthetics is 750.” IBP takes its own private students and also serves the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center’s cosmetology program, Harle said. Those students spend 2 1/2 hours a day at IBP and earn credits in lab science, technical science, first aid and fine arts, he said. There were 61 CBTECH students at IBP last year, he said, and there are about 25 full-time students.
BASIN EVENTS: July 24-Aug. 1
COLUMBIA BASIN — It’s hot and smoky outside? This is the Columbia Basin. We’re used to this. Here are some chances to get out and have some fun no matter what the sky looks like. July 25 Christmas in July at the Market Who says you have to wait until December for holiday cheer? Stroll through decorated vendor booths, shop amazing local makers and growers, enjoy holiday-themed fun, festive music, sweet treats, and surprises for the whole family. Wear your favorite Christmas shirt, Santa hat, or holiday outfit. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at Moses Lake Farmers Market, McCosh Park, 401 W. Fourth Avenue. Info: www.farmersmarketml.com.