Family Picnic Day to offer free family fun
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 2 months AGO
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 9, 2025 1:15 AM
MOSES LAKE — Now in its third year, the Downtown Moses Lake Association’s Family Picnic Day is hitting its stride.
“The food and booth vendors are all going to provide an activity of some sort for kids to do,” said DMLA Director Mallory Miller.
One exhibitor will show children how to make a battery out of a penny, Miller said, and another is planning on helping them make hats and T-shirts. The DMLA itself will organize something from picnics of yore: potato races.
“I got some potato sacks donated from Simplot,” Miller said. “I’m really excited to see how those go.”
The Malditos Car Club will bring a small car show, on the grass so children can interact with them, and there will be free face painting. The dunk tank was a success last year, and it’s returning as well, she said. There will also be beanbag toss games, a story time with the Moses Lake Public Library and an obstacle course for children to work out their wiggles on.
As the event has grown, the focus has been more and more on family participation, Miller said. In the past there has been as open mic for live music, but that’s off the schedule for this year.
“It's really hard to get musicians to sign up, and it was from 12 to 1 (p.m.), so it was kind of a short period of time. I decided to ax it for this year because I want to focus more on the family fun side of it, like fun kids’ music, instead of taking away from the kids’ activities and having live performers.”
There will be a collection of food vendors, including one selling Dippin’ Dots, Miller said. But families who want to are perfectly welcome to bring their own food, spread out a blanket and enjoy the afternoon.
“People can just come and hang out and have a good time,” Miller said. “There will be some things that they can purchase, but most of it will be free.”
Family Picnic Day
Moses Lake
Neppel Landing
104 S. Alder St.
Saturday, June 21
11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Family Picnic Day on June 21 will include free face painting, as well as a host of other activities for children.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.