Eastern European traditions on display at Basin schools
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 months, 2 weeks AGO
Artists with Trio Barynya perform traditional western Ukrainian song, dance and instrumental music for Grant and Columbia Ridge third- and fourth-graders.
COURTESY PHOTO/COLUMBIA BASIN ALLIED ARTS
Barynya dancer Vladimir Nikitin takes a leap in a traditional Ukrainian dance called Hopak at an international festival. Some of the troupe’s performers are on a tour of Basin schools sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts.
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. | November 20, 2025 3:30 AM
EPHRATA — Columbia Basin Allied Arts kicked off its annual school tour Monday, with a performance for Grant and Columbia Ridge students in Ephrata by Trio Barynya.
The performance is part of CBAA’s school outreach, which has been going on for seven years, CBAA Executive Director Shawn Cardwell wrote in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald. The group will go on to perform at every school district in Grant, Adams and Lincoln counties. This is the first time all the school districts in the three counties have participated, Cardwell wrote, with Rearden-Edwall and Othello joining for the first time. Students from the Creston, Washtucna, Benge, Kahlotus, Soap Lake, Almira, Odessa and Moses Lake districts will also be treated to the show.
“We shifted our children's programming about seven years ago when we realized the same families were coming to our in-theater performances geared for kids,” Cardwell wrote. “We took those funds and applied them to covering half the cost of the performances, travel and overnight stays for performances in schools and are now serving thousands and thousands more K-8 students than before.”
In the past, the program has reached schools in all three counties with programs like the bilingual play “Bienvenidos: Tremendous Tales from the Spanish Speaking World” and the locally written and produced “The Hunt for Yarely,” about the water cycle of the Columbia Basin. The performances come with an activity sheet for the students to help them understand and relate to the show.
Trio Barynya is part of the larger Barynya ensemble, which keeps alive traditional music and dance from a variety of eastern European cultures, including Russian, Ukrainian, Cossack, Jewish, Roma and Tatar traditions, according to its website. The name Barynya comes from a high-energy traditional Russian dance, the website said.
The school programs are paid for through private donations and grants from foundations like the Paul Lauzier and Innovia foundations, Cardwell wrote.
“Hopefully it doesn't take another seven years to reach every school district again,” Cardwell wrote. “Our next goal is to make sure every elementary and middle school are receive a performance sooner (rather) than later.”
Barynya dancer Vladimir Nikitin takes a leap in a traditional Ukrainian dance called Hopak at an international festival. Some of the troupe’s performers are on a tour of Basin schools sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts.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.