Downtown streets lined for Spring Fest parades
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 3 months AGO
The Moses Lake High School Molahiettes dance team performs at the Spring Fest Grand Parade Saturday.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Miner Services’ float in the Grand Parade was an elaborate affair complete with aliens and flying saucer.
The Moses Lake High School band plays at the Spring Fest Grand Parade Saturday.
Edward Chamberlain drives his 1960 hearse and ambulance in the Spring Fest Grand Parade.
The Moses Lake High School cheerleaders are all smiles at the Grand Parade Saturday.
Nichole Hernandez, right, and her family circus walk down Third Avenue in the Moses Lake Spring Fest Kiddie Parade. From left: Sammy Sanbria, 6; Abraham Sanbria, 9; Nahlay Hernandez, 5, riding in the lion cage; and Ava Hernandez, 8.
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. | May 29, 2025 1:20 AM
MOSES LAKE — A seemingly endless line snaked through downtown Moses Lake Saturday: fire trucks, businesses, political candidates, bands, dancers — all part of the Spring Fest Grand Parade.
“We usually do one parade a year, either this one or in the fall we do our Othello Fair parade,” said McFarland Middle School band teacher Brett Hoffmeister as about 60 of his students tweeted, cronked and rat-a-tatted on Third Avenue before the parade. “You get used to all the chaos. They’re good kids; they have lots of energy.”
There were 63 entries in the parade, according to organizers, about the same number as last year. Spectators had been reserving space on sidewalks with chairs since the middle of the day, and by the time the parade began the entire route down Third Avenue to Balsam Street and back up Fourth was lined two and three deep. Children played in the street and drew chalk art as they waited.
The event began with a less-formal kiddie parade, which included families, children and the Endeavor Middle School cheerleaders walking from Frontier Middle School and Sinkiuse Square. The Grand Parade wasn’t until 8 p.m., but already at 6 the staging area between Frontier Middle School and Ivy Avenue was filled with floats and vehicles. Some were simple, riders waving from horseback and emergency vehicles with blaring sirens and glaring lights. Some were more elaborate, like Miner Services’ alien-driven flying saucer and the Sons of Norway Viking ship that’s become a staple of Moses Lake parades. Some even came from out of town, like Miss Sunnyside and her court, who were awarded Best Overall entry, according to their social media.
“We have two princes and one queen,” said Amy Campos, part of the Miss Sunnyside entourage. “All the moms are in pink, and we put the dads and brothers in blue.”
A sizable contingent was the line of classic cars that roared along the route, although not all of them were meticulously restored. Edward Chamberlain drove a rust-riddled vehicle he’d picked up a couple of years ago.
“It’s a 1960 ambulance (and) hearse,” he said. “It was used as both. You could either die or be born in it … I got it in Everett, so just by bringing it over here I slowed down the cancer.”
When he brought the vehicle home, he discovered a mummified rodent under a seat, he said. He spray-painted it, mounted it on a board and drives around with it on his dashboard.
“He’s the last guy that died in here,” Chamberlain said.
Miner Services’ float in the Grand Parade was an elaborate affair complete with aliens and flying saucer.
The Moses Lake High School band plays at the Spring Fest Grand Parade Saturday.
Edward Chamberlain drives his 1960 hearse and ambulance in the Spring Fest Grand Parade.
The Moses Lake High School cheerleaders are all smiles at the Grand Parade Saturday.
Nichole Hernandez, right, and her family circus walk down Third Avenue in the Moses Lake Spring Fest Kiddie Parade. From left: Sammy Sanbria, 6; Abraham Sanbria, 9; Nahlay Hernandez, 5, riding in the lion cage; and Ava Hernandez, 8.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.