PONDERAY — Won't you be a neighbor?

After all, that's the purpose of Ponderay Neighbor Day — an annual celebration to foster connections in the community.

Ponderay Neighbor Day, held at Harbison Field behind the Hoot Owl, will be held today from 1-6 p.m. 

The event will feature a host of vendors, carnival games and kids crafts, inflatables, pony rides and face painting, food trucks and kettle corn, and more. For adults of legal drinking age, there will be a beer garden. 

From 1:30-5:30 p.m., live music can be heard throughout the event, made possible by the generous contributions from the city's business community. Performing will be the band One Street Over.

At Ponderay's "Little City Hall" the city will have information on its proposed local option tax. The proposal would continue its existing 1-cent on goods and services in the city, excluding lodging and purchases greater than $999.99.

Funds from the local option tax were dedicated to work to provide safe access to the lake, known as the city's Front Porch Project; and construction on the first phase of the Field of Dreams. The city recently celebrated the first phase with a grand opening ceremony Aug. 29.

Launched in 2017, Neighbor Day was originally a one-off event, created as a fun gathering that celebrated neighbors and offered opportunities to gain feedback on how those connections could be enhanced through the development of the Pend d'Oreille Bay trail system and Harbison Field. Everyone had so much fun, the event was made an annual event and is now in its eighth year.

New this year is a partnership between the city and Selkirks-Pend Oreille Transit on a special route to get attendees to and from the event.

Stops on the special route include Bonner Mall Way, next to Carpet One; Triangle Drive, south of Mountain Metals; Kootenai Cutoff at Larkspur; and Kootenai Cutoff at Moonflower Lane.

The SPOT bus will pick up riders, and drop them off at Harbison Field on Railroad Avenue at the east end throughout the event.