Masquers Theater gala coming Saturday
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year AGO
A buccaneer band plays at last year’s Masquers Theater gala, which had a pirate theme. This year’s theme is “Masquerade.”
COURTESY PHOTO/MASQUERS THEATER
Masquers Theater board member Allison Pheasant is inducted into the Hall of Fame at last year’s gala.
The Masquers gala and membership drive Saturday will include free hors d’oeuvres from Cloudview Kitchen.
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. | August 19, 2025 3:00 AM
SOAP LAKE — The Masquers Theater will hold its annual gala Saturday, with a theme that may be long overdue.
“We’re actually kind of laughing, because we’ve never done a masquerade at Masquers, so we thought it would be fitting,” said Masquers Board Secretary Cecily Hendricks.
The gala will include free food provided by Cloudview Kitchens, masquerade-themed music, live reprise performances of the troupe’s shows from the last year and a preview of the fall musical, “Little Shop of Horrors.” The whole thing is free and open to the public, Hendricks said.
“(There will be) all kinds of different snacks and hors d'oeuvres,” she said. “We'll have free wine and beer for our patrons and anyone that comes, and a fun photo booth for people to take pictures of themselves in their masks.”
Masks and related costumes are encouraged but not required, according to the Masquers website.
A large part of the gala is celebrating the end of the Masquers season and looking forward to the next, Hendricks said.
“(It’s) a time for us to celebrate all that the theater’s done this past season,” she said. “Last season was one of our most successful yet in terms of audience turnout, so we're going to be sharing some data around that. It's also a time for us to update our members on where the theater is standing financially.”
The Masquers will also give out some awards at the gala, Hendricks said.
“We give out the Masquers Hall of Fame, which always goes out to someone that has been on stage or off stage for over 10 years,” she said. “Past Hall of Fame members get to vote on the incoming Hall of Fame members. And we also give out an award for Super Volunteers, acknowledging someone who’s gone above and beyond to volunteer their time at the theater every year.”
The other part of the gala is the Masquers’ annual membership drive. Memberships come in a number of tiers. Patron members pay $35 and are recognized in the program at every performance, while season memberships come with passes to all performances at different donation levels for families, seniors and students. Corporate memberships come at gold, silver and bronze levels with a variety of perks.
“Membership is a huge way to support the theater,” Hendricks said. “We're all volunteers. We have no staff at Masquers, so becoming a member is a really good way to stay engaged in the loop of what's coming up. And a lot of our members end up volunteering at the theater, which we're very grateful for.”
This will be the Masquers’ 46th season, Hendricks said.
“We're one of the longest-standing community theaters in the state, and we're really excited to see what next season holds,” she said.
‘Masquerade’
Soap Lake
Masquers Theater
322 E. Main Ave.
Saturday, Aug. 23
Cocktail hour 5:30 p.m.
Program 6 p.m.
Food and drinks provided
Free to the public
Masquers Theater board member Allison Pheasant is inducted into the Hall of Fame at last year’s gala.
The Masquers gala and membership drive Saturday will include free hors d’oeuvres from Cloudview Kitchen.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.