Flash back to the ’60s and ’70s at the Moses Lake Senior Picnic
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 3 months AGO
A couple enjoys the dance floor at last year’s Senior Picnic. This year’s event is June 11.
FILE PHOTO
Lunch is served at a previous Moses Lake Senior Picnic, provided by several senior living facilities in the area.
Attendees check out the results from the photo booth at last year’s senior picnic.
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. | June 4, 2025 1:20 AM
MOSES LAKE — It’s time to break out the leisure suits, bell-bottoms and – for the very brave – platform shoes next Wednesday for the 11th annual Senior Picnic.
This year’s theme is “Peace, Love & Party, ’60s and ’70s,” according to an announcement from the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the event. Attendees are welcome to dress accordingly, said Chamber Director Debbie Doran-Martinez.
“People can dress up crazy and have a good time with it,” she said. “Disco, tie-dye, hippie, you name it.”
Of course, there’s no reason folks can’t come any way they like. About 800 people, seniors and others, turned out for last year’s picnic. About 35 exhibitors of all kinds – 16 more than last year – were signed up as of June 2, and there was room for a few more, Doran-Martinez said.
The picnic takes place in the 4-H and Commercial buildings at the Grant County Fairgrounds. There’s a golf cart shuttle for folks who don’t want to make the walk from the parking lot to the buildings, Doran-Martinez said.
“As they pull in (to the parking lot) they can let the tent (at the entrance) know they’re going to need assistance and the golf cart will follow them to their parking spot and pick them up so they don’t tire out just walking to the event,” she said.
The picnic starts at 10 a.m. with a flag ceremony, an invocation and a welcome to acknowledge the sponsors. Lunch will be served at noon, and will consist of all-American picnic fare, Doran-Martinez said: hot dogs, baked beans, salad. The various senior living facilities among the sponsors make up the lunch in their kitchens, she said, each taking a dish so it’s not too much for everyone.
“We try to get all the food distributed within 30 minutes from start to finish so nobody’s waiting forever,” Doran-Martinez said.
After lunch, seniors and their companions can browse among the various exhibitors and enjoy music and dancing. Live music will be provided by the Moses Lake band Cheyenne.
There will also be door prizes, Doran-Martinez said.
“However many vendors we have, we ask all of them to bring a door prize that we give out to the seniors,” she said. “We have runners so that the seniors don't have to get up and go to the front of the building and take the prizes to the winners, because that's a big building when it's full.”
The picnic is free for anyone 55 and older, according to the Chamber’s announcement, and seniors are welcome to bring a chaperone, caregiver or other companion. The charge for the companion is only $5.
Any seniors in the Columbia Basin are welcome, Doran-Martinez said; it’s not just for Moses Lake.
“The ultimate goal is to recognize them, honor them, and make sure that they're aware of all the resources geared towards seniors to help them financially or to make their lives easier,” she said. We want to bring all of those vendors together to answer any questions they might have. You know the old adage, ‘You don't know what you don't know.’ So, we want to make sure that they're aware of all the things out there to make their quality of life better.”
Senior Picnic
Moses Lake
Grant County Fairgrounds
Wednesday, June 11
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Lunch is served at a previous Moses Lake Senior Picnic, provided by several senior living facilities in the area.
Attendees check out the results from the photo booth at last year’s senior picnic.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.