Free bowling, pizza and movies for Ritzville’s National Night Out
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 month, 2 weeks AGO
Ritzville residents check out Ritzville Police Chief Mike Suniga’s truck at last year’s National Night Out. Ritzville’s event will be held Aug. 4 and 5 this year.
FILE PHOTO
Ritzville’s National Night Out event will include free bowling and pizza at Bronco Lanes, followed the next day by a free movie at the Ritz Theater.
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. | July 17, 2026 3:15 AM
RITZVILLE— Ritzville’s National Night Out will look a little different this year, said Ritzville Police Chief Mike Suniga.
“This year, we’re going to rent out the local bowling alley, and we’ll have bowling and free pizza,” Suniga said. “And we’re finalizing a movie at the Ritz Theater next door.”
The segment of Main Avenue in front of the theater and bowling alley will be blocked off for displays of fire trucks, ambulances and police cars, Suniga said.
This is Suniga’s second year as chief hosting a National Night Out, he said. Last year’s event was held at the city park. This year’s event was funded through a grant from Big Bend Electric, Suniga said.
It wasn’t clear Wednesday which movie would be shown. Suniga said several of his first choices were unavailable due to issues with obtaining the rights. Whatever film is selected will be rated PG, he said.
The bowling alley, which had been closed down for a number of years, reopened last summer under new ownership as Bronco Lanes, according to its social media.
“It’s up and running, and it’s been very good in our community,” Suniga said.
Ritzville is the only community in Adams County holding a National Night Out this year. The other city with a municipal police department, Othello, held them in the past but having had two new chiefs in less than a year, Chief Brent McFarlane said it just wouldn’t be feasible this year. He expressed hope that Othello could resume National Night Out at some time in the future.
National Night Out began in 1970 as a local event in a Philadelphia suburb, according to the event’s website, and became a national event in 1984. Today, about 17,000 communities participate, according to the website.
“It allows people to interact with officers in a different setting from what they would (ordinarily),” Suniga said. “It’s really good to get out there and interact with everybody and get to know your neighbors and have a good time.
Ritzville National Night Out
Tuesday Aug. 4
Bowling and pizza 5-8 p.m. at Bronco Lanes, 119 E. Main Ave.
Movie 8 p.m. at Ritz Theater. 107 E. Main Ave.
An earlier version of this story gave the wrong time for the movie. It has been corrected above.
Ritzville’s National Night Out event will include free bowling and pizza at Bronco Lanes, followed the next day by a free movie at the Ritz Theater.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.