Sage-N-Sun to feature patriotic theme, drone show
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 months, 3 weeks 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 11, 2026 3:00 AM
EPHRATA — Sage-N-Sun will fill downtown Ephrata this weekend with music, parades, sunshine, fun and a semiquincentennial celebration.
“Everything is patriotic-themed,” said Britney MacLeod, director of the Ephrata Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the event. “From our bands to the decoration of the town and the parade, the festival (will be) red, white and blue.”
The festivities begin Thursday evening with the Youth Parade and then take off in earnest the next morning with the Ephrata Lions Club Fun Run, followed by Grand Parade, according to the Chamber’s online schedule.
The Grand Parade marshals were also chosen with an eye toward patriotism, MacLeod said.
“Our grand marshals are our military veterans and those still serving,” she said. “We’ve partnered with the American Legion and they’re bringing in quite a few people on a couple of semi-trucks.”
Friday’s musical lineup will be themed “Stars, Stripes and Country Nights.” The show will open with Seattle-based Hell on Heels: a Tribute to the Queens of Country.
“Hell on Heels is the ultimate tribute to the queens of country music – an eight-piece powerhouse delivering the biggest hits from legends like Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert and more,” according to the band’s promotional materials. “With show-stopping vocals, fierce harmonies, fiery fiddle, and a high-energy stage presence, Hell on Heels brings a polished, arena-worthy experience to every performance.”
The ladies will be followed by Butte, Montana singer-songwriter Levi Blom. Blom initially played semi-pro hockey before moving into the music scene. Blom has released two EPs of original material and has opened for many well-known performers, according to his promotional materials.
Saturday’s musical theme will be “Red, White and Blue Revival,” and will feature Soul Siren, playing hits of the 1970s and ’80s, and ’90s Rewind, with music from the 1990s and 2000s.
The last concert will be followed by a drone show, with about 100 drones giving a patriotic light show above the Grant County Courthouse, MacLeod said.
Last year’s festival revived the 3-on-3 basketball tournament, which had fallen by the wayside for a number of years. The tournament was a big hit last year, MacLeod said, and it will return this year bigger than before.
“We had lots of out-of-towners, a lot of local teams in the elementary groups,” MacLeod said. “We’re excited about the expansion of it.”
At 116 years old, Sage-N-Sun may be the oldest continuously-held festival in Grant County. It’s proved popular beyond Ephrata, MacLeod said, which means it’s bringing tourism money into the local economy.
“We have been trying to bring in new aspects to the festival over the last couple of years,” she said. “We’re finding we’re getting more foot traffic from lake-goers who are coming through town or people who are hearing about it in neighboring counties. We’ve (done) a couple of surveys, and we’re finding we’re getting more and more people from out of town to enjoy the festival.”
Sage-N-Sun
June 11-13
Grant County Courthouse
35 C St.
Ephrata
For full schedule visit ephratachamber.org
The Hell on Heels country tribute show will headline Friday night at Sage-N-Sun.
Soul Siren will revive hits of the 1970s and ’80s at Sage-N-Sun this weekend.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.