News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Going once! Going twice! Sold! To the lady in the ugly sweater! A virtual auction, a collaborative dinner provided by local restaurants, an ugly sweater contest, wine and beer? What’s not to like? The Vintners and Brewers Auction, hosted by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, will take place on Saturday, Dec. 4, with dinner pickups from 12-2 p.m. at PK’s Culinary on Midway Avenue in Grand Coulee. The virtual auction will be held online from 6 to 8 p.m. The dinner includes loaded potato soup from the Hi-Dam Bar & Grill, smashed map...
Long lines were a good thing, with grinning kids and some contestants scrambling for more candy last Thursday at the PTA's Trunk or Treat event at Lake Roosevelt Schools. Crews on six emergency services vehicles and people with 10 individually themed trunks handed out candy to eager children chauffeured by parents. People could vote on their favorite numbered trunk by giving a monetary donation to the PTA. The trunk that earned the most votes (money) at the end of the night was awarded the...
You can vote for your favorite scarecrow out of 17 total placed outside of local businesses and some residences in the Coulee community. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce is holding the scarecrow contest, which has had "a great outcome," according to Executive Director Rachelle Haven. Haven said she would like the event to be a regular thing depending on community feedback. "The scarecrows have all turned out awesome and very creative!" she told The Star in an email. The chamber has...
Crows might be afraid to fly through the Coulee - with a scarecrow contest coming to decorate local towns. The 2021 Scarecrow Trail is being held by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce and will place scarecrows made by locals at local businesses for people to see and choose their favorite. Those wanting to build a scarecrow have just until Oct. 11 to register with the chamber, and the scarecrows will be displayed from Oct. 16 until Nov. 7 at businesses in Electric City, Grand Coulee, a...
We could all use a morale boost these days, and a little bit of kindness can go a long way. Rachelle Haven, executive director of the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, has started a project called Coulee Kind that encourages people to perform “random acts of kindness.” “I started [Coulee Kind] because I had been hearing from business owners that they were struggling with morale within the community, whether it be employees, themselves, or customers,” Haven told The Star. “I know a lot of people are home right now due to the delta var...
Harvest Fest has been cancelled due to a surge in COVID-19 cases. The board of directors of the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce called a special meeting Sept. 1 to make the decision on the seasonal festival, originally planned for Sept. 18-19, Chamber Executive Director Rachelle Haven said. “The decision was not made lightly,” she said. “While we know that everyone wants to get back to business as usual and in person events again, we felt, with the surge of COVID cases in the community, it would not be responsible of us to host an ev...
On Sunday, July 18, 2021, Colleen Marie (Bryant) Simpson, loving mother and grandmother, passed away at the age of 66 peacefully with her two daughters by her side. Colleen was born on July 18, 1955, to Pauline Vivian (Laufer) Bryant and Dr. Maurice E. Bryant in Lewiston, Idaho. The family moved to the Grand Coulee Dam area in 1967, and she graduated from Lake Roosevelt High School in 1973. Colleen had two daughters, Tara and Laura, with Dale W. Rinker. Colleen loved volunteering and being part...
Ben Hughes, running for Grand Coulee City Council, picks his battles when it comes to the issues, and among them is consolidation of Grand Coulee with Electric City. "I love the town, I want to help," Hughes told The Star on Tuesday about why he's running. "We have a really beautiful town full of great people and I want to help those people live a better quality of life if I can." Hughes, who has lived in Grand Coulee since 2015, is interested in bringing in businesses to the community, which...
It’s the Fourth of July weekend, and with local towns all forbidding or severly restricting fireworks use this year, local residents will just have to enjoy the professional fireworks show that launches from the Grand Coulee Dam on Sunday, July 4, at about 10:30 p.m. following the laser show. In the wake of historically high heat over the last week, some municipalities that simply align with state fireworks laws are banning them this week. That includes Electric City, which held an emergency council meeting on June 29 to outright forbid ...
“Koulee Kids Fest was such a great time!” Grand Coulee Dam Area Executive Director Rachel Haven about last Saturday’s event. “I believe it was a success. Kids were smiling from ear to ear all over town.” Three-year-old Cairo Billups won the iPad Mini and Beats headphones grand prize drawing that kids entered by participating in the event. This year’s Koulee Kids Fest featured L-Bow the Clown. “L-Bow the clown was so much fun!” Haven said. “L-Bow’s act included unicycling and juggling, making balloon animals and hats, and the grand finale of a f...
Get your passports ready; Koulee Kids Fest is taking place on June 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with lots of free activities for kids to participate in around the town. The “passports” are used by the kids to go to various activities and get their passports stamped at up to 16 local businesses offering fun activities to qualify to win prizes. “My hope for Koulee Kids Fest is for it to draw families outside, support the community, and engage in some safe and fun activities,” Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce Chamber Executive Directo...
Although there will be no tours of the Grand Coulee Dam this year, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is working on a plan for the return of the Laser Light Show and for opening its visitor center. USBR Public Affairs Specialist for the Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region Erika A. Lopez told The Star that tours will not be conducted this year at Grand Coulee Dam “because of CDC–recommended COVID-19 restrictions.” “Visitors will be unable to safely maintain social distancing of six feet on the tour buses and dam elevator,” she said. Lopez also said...
The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce is asking for cooperation in keeping everyone safe during Colorama. The chamber issued the following guidelines: “Masks are to be worn at all times (except when actively eating or drinking) at all Colorama Festival activities, including all events being held in North Dam Park (Beer Garden, Food Fair, Arts and Crafts, Kids Festival Zone, Helicopter Rides), and the Parade down Midway. “We ask the community to do their best at making personal choices that keep themselves and their families safe whi...
The Colorama parade will be held like normal along it’s Midway Avenue route, but button raffles will be held online with multiple prize drawings held over multiple days. “The parade is on!” Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rachel Haven told The Star in an email. Haven received official word that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will be opening B Street, which runs near the fire station they are constructing, as an alternate route which allows Midway Avenue to be used for the parade. Colorama buttons are also out and f...
With five more dead in Grant County from COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy apparently on the rise, health officials issued pleas this week for people get use the available “tools to take the fight to the virus.” The five deaths reported by Grant County Health District Monday night bring the county’s total fatalities to 120, and officials noted the ages of those who don’t survive is trending younger than it was early on as seniors were the first non-healthcare group to be allowed to get vaccinated. All Moses Lake residents, they were man in his...
The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce said Tuesday that Siam Palace, Coulee Construction, and Centerline Development have come together to sponsor 20 Kids Festival Zone day passes to the community. The passes will be raffled off and posted on the GCDA Chamber of Commerce Facebook page and in The Star. To enter, provide your name and contact info by email to chamber@grandcouleedam.org, message the chamber at https://www.facebook.com/gcdachamber, or stop by the chamber office (17 Midway Ave, Grand Coulee). It’s limited to one entry per p...
The chamber of commerce is seeking volunteers to help with the “Kids Festival Zone” part of the Colorama festival this year, which will feature attractions such as a mechanical bull, a bungie jump and more, as well as tamer stuff for little kids. The area will also offer traditional carnival games, which is what the chamber needs volunteers to staff. Think of those subtle skill games like throwing a hoop on top of a bottle from 10 feet away. Executive Director Rachelle Haven says she needs at least six individuals to staff games over the cou...
Vendors are being selected for the Colorama festival, and the usual parade looks likely. Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rachelle Haven told The Star in an email that roughly 20 food and market vendors are being selected, and that the chamber is still receiving applications. The parade is still being finalized but looks like it will happen as it has traditionally. "We have applied for all the proper permitting and worked with the Grant County Health Department to...
The Community Crab Feed and Triple Fish Challenge events held this past weekend and sponsored by the local chamber of commerce were judged a success, especially by the angler who has been trying to win that tournament since he was 7. “The Community Crab Feed went great!” Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rachelle Haven told The Star in an email. “The meals were delicious. We heard that many people were planning at-home crab feeds, which sounded like a lot of fun.” She said 300 pounds of crab from Pacific Seafood...
This year, Colorama will give kids the opportunity to ride a blow up mechanical bull, ride a 34-foot long slide, and more. The "Kids Festival Zone" will be staged at North Dam Park in the upper baseball field on Friday and Saturday, May 7-8, from 12-8 p.m., and on Sunday, May 9 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. "We found All-Star Jump, a rental company out of Spokane that will be joining us for Colorama," Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rachelle Haven told The Star in an email....
With the Lions Club's annual Easter egg hunt canceled this year, kids can take part in an "Alternative Egg Hunt" next week in which 26 different homes in Electric City will participate. Those homes will display colored paper eggs with letters on them in their windows starting Sunday, March 28 until Saturday, April 3. It's organized by Shannon Hitchcock of the Faith Community Church. Kids can go around the Electric City area south of Coulee Boulevard and east of Gold Avenue to find all the...
Will the Laser Light Show and Visitor Center at the Grand Coulee Dam, which saw nearly 200,000 people in 2019, open this spring? The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation didn’t answer the question from The Star with a straight yes or no, but did answer. “At this time, the laser light show and Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center will remain temporarily closed in support of the recommended guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” said Public Affairs Specialist Erika Lopez, who works in Boise, Idaho, in an email. Lopez said that the G...
Popular local events that didn't happen last year are at least tentatively scheduled to happen this year. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce will tentatively be hosting 10 events in 2021, including Colorama, the Festival of America, and Harvest Festival. "We are really looking forward to providing the community with some fun and excitement this summer," Executive Director Rachelle Haven told The Star in an email. "We have the opportunity with our events to try new things and create a...
Santa Claus has been getting courtesy rides from local firefighters this week, doing goodwill tours through Coulee Dam Monday night, Grand Coulee Tuesday and tonight (Wednesday) in Electric City. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce is posting schedules that start at 6 p.m. on its Facebook page. - Scott Hunter photo...
Robert Louis Pachosa, age 78, passed away in his residence, surrounded by family, on Sunday December 13, 2020 in Spokane, WA. Born on March 21, 1942 in Mason City (Coulee Dam), WA. Bob spent his entire childhood in Grand Coulee, graduating from Grand Coulee High School In 1960. Bob's Grand Coulee Tigers boys basketball team won the State B Basketball Tournament in 1960 and Bob, with most points scored in the tournament, was named to the all state class B basketball team soon after. This led to...