Wild And Windblown: Maryhill Festival of Speed Day 1

So, I don’t want to brag, but sometimes I do get the coolest assignments at the paper.

Today, YH-R photographer Sara Gettys and I headed down to Goldendale for the first day of practice for this year’s Maryhill Festival of Speed. This is only the festival’s second year and it’s already hosting the International Gravity Sports Association’s World Championships.

I was told several times today, that’s a pretty big frickin’ deal. This is the first time the world championships — which include downhill skateboarding, inline skating and street luge — have been held outside of Europe. And, IGSA President Marcus Rietema accidentally let it slip that next year’s IGSA World Championships won’t be in Europe either. They’ll be in Australia.

But this year, Goldendale — and John Ozman, who founded the Maryhill Festival of Speed — have the privilege of hosting 200 speed freaks from more than 10 countries as they risk life and limb, and some serious road rash, to race down the historic Maryhill Loops Road.

You can check out my amateur photos and videos from today’s practice HERE.

“It’s a fantastic road,” said Switzerland’s Martin Siegrist, who’s one of the major competitors in the downhill skateboard race. (He’s got three to one odds to win it.)

“Finally we got a strong tail wind; we were waiting for that last year,” he noted. (Strong is an understatement, the wind was blowing so hard it was knocking over the hay bale barricades.)

Plus, he added, the golden grass and blue skies make for some great pictures.

“It’s just a perfect spot for a race,” said Siegrist.

Today and tomorrow the racers will practice navigating the road’s more than 20 curves. The first qualifying run is from 1 to 5 p.m. Friday.

The races (and the practices) are free to watch. A shuttle — which will take spectators to two sites with bleachers and shade — runs Saturday and Sunday only, otherwise you have to walk (watch out for the cow pies). The free shuttle leaves from the bottom of Maryhill Loops Road, which is to the left, just past the Stonehenge Memorial turn-out on Washington Scenic Route 14.

You can also catch a good view of the road from the scenic viewpoint on U.S. Route 97.

Here’s the schedule, which is subject to change:
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*VIDEO ADDED* Strange Fruit Come to Yakima

This morning, Nami Hall and Grant Mouldey, of the Australian performing arts company STRANGE FRUIT, swayed and swooped over the kids from St. Joseph/Marquette schools during a sneak peek at the troupe’s unique aerial ballet, which is performed on flexible fiberglass poles.

Strange Fruit will perform its show “Swoon!” in Yakima on Thursday as part of the SummerEnder festival.

You can see more photos HERE, as well as a VIDEO of the deomonstration.

SUMMERENDER FEST WILL MAKE YOU ‘SWOON!’

To make an audience swoon, the performing arts company Strange Fruit takes a love story, colors it with whimsical costumes and makeup, and acts it out through a magical mix of theater, dance and circus techniques.

Oh yeah, and they do it while perched on flexible poles 13 feet in the air.

“People do get spellbound with how we move through space, which is part of the magic, really,” says 33-year-old Kathryn Jamieson, who’s been with the Melbourne, Australia-based troupe for seven years.

It’s the closest thing you can get to flying, Jamieson says with a laugh during a phone conversation earlier this week while on the road from South Orange, N.J., to the Big Apple. She and three other Strange Fruit performers are currently on a U.S. summer tour.

Since mid-July, they’ve performed “Swoon!” — a love story — at such venues as Chicago’s Millennium Park and the Bank of America Plaza in Los Angeles, and will end the tour at Bumbershoot, Seattle’s annual music and arts festival held Labor Day weekend.

But before that, they’re coming to Yakima to perform in Thursday’s second annual SummerEnder, an outdoor festival presented by The Seasons, the Capitol Theatre and the Committee for Downtown Yakima, along with support from Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center.

The eclectic event will take over a shady stretch of Naches Avenue in downtown Yakima. Here, folks will find food offerings from Buhrmaster Baking Co., Santiago’s and Café Melange. Masset, Kana and Plaza Socievole wineries will serve up their best vinos in the wine and beer garden, where the new Yakima Craft Brewing Co. will also have some suds on tap.

For the little ones, there’s a kids zone with hands-on activities and games.

Over on The Seasons’ front porch, there’ll be performances by The Senate, Carrie Rodriguez and the Bill Frisell Trio.

Seattle’s The Senate are no strangers to Yakima. Several weeks ago, the raucous unplugged trio — which prides itself on playing “face-melting acoustic riffage” — took the stage at Franklin Park for a Summer Sunset Concert, then played the next night as the Yakima Sports Center.

Coming from the other coast is Rodriguez, a classically trained Brooklyn-based beauty (via Austin, Texas) who plays a feisty fiddle and meshes bluesy alt-country with indie singer-songwriter sensibilities.

Lastly is Grammy-winning contemporary jazz guitarist Frisell, who’s called Seattle home since the late 1980s.

In between musical acts, Strange Fruit will be twirling, spinning and swaying above the intersection of Naches Avenue and A Street.

Performed without dialogue, but backed by a beautiful score, “Swoon!” is part aerial ballet, part theatrical performance that tells a tale of love, loss, joy and freedom.

Strange Fruit has a repertoire of seven shows that explore different themes; all are performed on poles and typically play to an audience in the round.

“And where you sit,” explains Strange Fruit’s Jamieson, “you get a different story and a different experience.”

Standing on a perch, the performers are attached by a harness to the sway poles, which are 4 meters high (that’s a little more than 13 feet). The male performers have what’s called a tilt harness that allows them to move their feet off the perch — sure to draw gasps from the crowd.

“Most other equipment, like circus equipment, people usually have to hold on to something, so you don’t have the freedom of expression like we have,” says Jamieson, who has a background as a gymnast and a diver.

As you can imagine, to gracefully pull off this aerial ballet requires movement and manipulation of the whole body.

Weather is also a factor. If it’s too cold, the sway poles spin more. Too hot and they bend more. If it’s raining or too windy, the show can’t go on.

But performing in the elements is part of the fun, says Jamieson. And each new environment changes the feel of the show.

“It really is as fun as it looks,” she says.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Second annual Sweet SummerEnder.

WHO: The Senate, Carrie Rodriguez, the Bill Frisell Trio and Strange Fruit, plus a beer and wine garden, food vendors and a kids zone.

WHEN: Gates open at 3:30 p.m. Thursday (Aug. 28).

WHERE: In front of The Seasons, 101 N. Naches Ave.

HOW MUCH: Advance tickets cost $20 for adults, $10 for students ages 13-20, and are free for children 12 and under. Tickets purchased at the gate cost an additional $5.

A family package (two adults and two students) is also available for $45. Additional children’s tickets cost $5.

Tickets may be purchased through TicketsWest, 800-325-7328, www.ticketswest.com, or the Capitol Theatre box office, 853-2787. (The family package is only available through the Capitol box office.)

INFO: Visit www.capitoltheatre.org or www.seasonsmusicfestival.com.

SNEAK PEEK: To see a video clip from one of Strange Fruit’s “Swoon!” performances, click HERE.

*UPDATED* Get Stoked: Extreme Athletes Coming to Goldendal Aug. 27-Aug. 31

That’s right, for five days, 200 extreme sports athletes from 12 countries will zoom down the historic — not to mention steep and swervy — Maryhill Loops Road just south of Goldendale.

They’re coming for the Maryhill Festival of Speed, which is hosting the International Gravity Sports Association’s World Championships.

According to the IGSA Web site, this will be the first time the world championships — which include downhill skateboarding, inline skating and street luge — have been held outside of Europe.

And these are some serious speed freaks, just check out these VIDEOS from last year.

The races are free to watch. A shuttle — which will take spectators to two sites with bleachers and shade — runs Saturday and Sunday. The free shuttle leaves from the bottom of Maryhill Loops Road, which is about 500 yards, to the left, past the Stonehenge Memorial turn-out on Washington Scenic Route 14.

Here’s the complete schedule:

Read more

Tonight’s Episode of ‘Project Runway’ (Spoiler Alert)

I can’t wait for tonight’s episode of “Project Runway,” when the designers have to create an outfit fit for a queen — a drag queen.

Last week, the challenge was to design a day-to-night outfit for Brooke Shields’ character on “Lipstick Jungle,” and homeboylicious Blayne Walsh just barley avoided elimination with a garment that judge Michael Kors called “uninteresting.” (Which was much nicer than Hiedi Klum’s comment that Blayne’s model “looks like a woman that didn’t have a mirror.”)

How will Blayne do this week? Well if you don’t want to know, stop reading NOW.

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Send In Your Favorite Family Movies For Next Year’s Outdoor Series

By chance, this year Allied Arts included one of my all-time favorite movies — “The NeverEnding Story” — as part of its Outdoor Summer Cinema Series.

And now they’re taking suggestions for family-friendly films (G and PG only) that you’d like to see included next year.

You can send your list to info@alliedartsyakima.org.

Also, here are a few stats from this year’s series:
• 1,950 people attended
• 1,220 pounds of food and $40 collected for the Northwest Harvest food bank
• 1 surprise by Gilbert Park’s sprinkler system

‘The Rocker’ Opens Tomorrow

The new comedy “THE ROCKER” opens here tomorrow.

It stars the very funny Rainn Wilson (best known as Dwight Schrute on the TV series “The Office”), who I interviewed back in May at the Sasquatch! Music Festival.

That’s when I also found out Rainn has family ties to the Yakima Valley: His cousin lives here, and for a long time his mom called Wapato home.

“So I used to come over as a teenager to scenic Wapato, Washington,” said Wilson, who was born in Seattle.
“Oh yeah, there’s definitely a Rainn Wilson-Wapato connection.”

Discounted Carnival Ride Wristbands And Fair Admission Tickets On Sale Today

Beginning today, thrifty thrill-seekers and dollar-wise dare devils can now save some cash on the carnival rides at this year’s Central Washington State Fair — which means more money to spend on corn dogs.

Discounted carnival ride wristbands are on sale for $22 and may be used any day at the fair, which runs Sept. 26-Oct. 5 at State Fair Park. (Wristbands purchased at the fair cost $25 or $30.)

Also, advance purchase of fair admission tickets is available. Tickets cost $10 for ages 13-64, $8 for seniors and $6 for ages 6-12. This is a savings of $1 per ticket. Children 5 and younger are free.

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Get A Sneak Peek At This Year’s Painted Pints

“Glass lust” is already in full effect, confirms Allied Arts executive director Jessica Moskwa.

Folks have been trying to sneak a peek at the pint glasses — each adorned with hand-painted, one-of-a-kind works of art by more than 30 artists — that will be sold at the second annual Painted Pints Party, which is Sept. 3 at the G-Spot bar in Gasperetti’s Restaurant, 1013 N. First St.

Well, you don’t have to wait any longer. You can get a look at a few of the pint-sized paintings at On’s Flickr page.

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Tonight’s ‘Project Runway’ (Spoiler Alert)

Once again, if you don’t want to know who is out on tonight’s episode of “Project Runway,” stop reading NOW.
Read more

Princes of Comedy Tour To Make Up Missed Yakima Show This Friday

Last week, the Princes of Comedy tour missed its gig at the Capitol Theatre — something about getting held up at the Las Vegas airport.

But instead of totally blowing Yakima off, the tour is swinging through town to make up the show.

“A lot of promoters would say, ‘Oh, well.’ But that’s not the reputation we wanted to have,” says Julian Young, who’s promoting the show that features a number of young stand-up comics hand-picked by actor/comedian D.L. Hughley.

The Princes of Comedy will be taking the Capitol Theatre stage at 8 p.m. THIS FRIDAY.

Tickets are available at a discount for $10 through TicketsWest, 800-325-7328, or the Capitol Theatre box office, 853-2787. According to Young, a portion of ticket sales will be donated to the Children’s Wishes and Dreams foundation.

But if you paid full price ($35) for the canceled show, which was Aug. 8, those tickets will also be honored — as well as grant you admission to a meet-and-greet reception with the comedians.

That kind of makes up for the price difference, right? ON says only if there are free snacks and boozes.

Call the Capitol box office for details.

Carlos Mencia Returns For Fall Show

Stand-up comic Carlos Mencia, the creator of Comedy Central’s “Mind of Mencia,” is returning to the Yakima Valley this fall. He brings his “At Close Range” tour to the Capitol Theatre on Oct. 12.

Tickets cost $42 and are available through TicketsWest, 800-325-7328, or the Capitol Theatre box office, 853-2787.

Mencia, known for his racially-charged, and widely popular, comedy routine, visited Toppenish in 2006, when he performed at the Yakama Nation Legends Casino.

I’ll Drink To That

Have you noticed that Rainier beer is once again touting its connection to the great Pacific Northwest?

Although the Seattle brewery and iconic red “R” are long gone, Rainier now proudly states on its label “Made with Yakima Valley Hops.”

It’s a well-known fact that 70-percent of the nation’s hops are grown right here in the Valley, and according to the Rainier Web site, this brew is made with Chinook, Mt. Hood and Willamette hop notes.

Personally, I like a beer with a little local pride — as you can see by the stockpile of “Vitamin R” I have in my fridge.

Holla At Your Bronze Boy

So, I just finished catching up on last night’s episode of “Project Runway,” and I have to say Blayne and his tanning addiction is hilarious. It’s like UV crack or something.

His best line:

“In tanning, I’m an Olympic athlete … It only goes to bronze metal.”

Totally Total Fest

Next week, the notoriously laid-back college town of Missoula, Mont., will be besieged by all brands of punk, metal, garage and stoner-rock, not to mention some insurgent alt-country thrown in for good measure.

Hailing from Portland to Bellingham and San Francisco to the Brooklyn boroughs, these independent bands — about 40 of ’em — will be traversing I-90 on their way to Total Fest, the growing DIY music festival founded by Yakima native Josh Vanek.

Now in its seventh year, Total Fest runs next Thursday through Aug. 16 at Missoula’s Badlander and Palace, two venues interconnected within the same building. Plus, there’s a record swap, barbecues and, since it’s Missoula, river floats.

“It has more of a community feel rather than the bands are inaccessible and locked away,” explains Vanek, a 1992 Eisenhower High School graduate.

“It doesn’t have the air of like a Sasquatchy thing,” he says, referring to the Sasquatch! Music Festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre. “It’s fun and positive — and legitimately that way.”

The bill includes a number of regionally well-known bands such as Black Elk, the sneering, spitting, super loud group out of Portland; Seattle’s PBR-fueled Akimbo; and Bellingham’s Black Eyes and Neckties, who you may (unfortunately) remember — they showed some serious skin when they played the Yakima Sports Center in December.

Also, there are The Pasties (Olympia); Pure Country Gold (Portland); The Trucks (Bellingham; pictured at left); Miss Lana Rebel (Portland); Triclops! (San Francisco); the one-time reunion of Disgruntled Nation (Kalispell, Mont.); and the only live show this year by Federation X, the Bellingham-Brooklyn band featuring local boy Bill Badgley.

Past Total Fest acts have included Old Time Relijun, the Fleshies, the Thrones, Yogoman Burning Band, Mountain High, Madraso, Volumen, Japanther and the Cherry Valence.

“It’s bands whose music we think is exciting,” says Vanek.

While the first fest in 2002 was simply a concert featuring a handful of Vanek’s favorite bands, it’s now grown into an event that, this year, drew submissions from more than 100 bands. A listening committee sifts through all that rock ’n’ ruckus to select the lineup.

“Obviously, there are many more than 40 that we would have liked to have,” says Vanek.

And although the Thursday night show is 18 and older, the rest of the festival is all-ages.

“Growing up in Yakima, the opportunity for shows being under 18 was few and far between,” says the 34-year-old Vanek. “It might be way easier to do it 21-plus, but what’s the point?”

Total Fest — an ambitious name that comes from the concept of “total music,” as dubbed by the San Francisco band The F***ing Champs — was born out of Vanek’s record label, Wäntage USA.

And the label was born, in part, out of a few of those few-and-far-between all-ages shows here in his hometown. Held in the parking lot of Yakima music store Off the Record in the mid-1990s, Vanek remembers seeing hard-hitting Northwest acts such as Karp and Zeke.

“Yakima gets skipped over a lot (by bands), so when it did happen, I remember it being super special,” recalls Vanek.
“Those shows kind of blew a lot of our minds,” he says. “They personally inspired me to get involved as a nonmusician.”

Vanek founded Wäntage in 1993 after his freshman year of college at the University of Montana in Missoula (where he’d eventually make his permanent home after returning from the Peace Corps).

Back in Yakima for the summer and working for a local frozen food company, Vanek (pictured at left) had a little cash in his pocket, so he started his own record label. (His brother Matt came up with the name, and brother Ian helped run the label for a long time.) The first release was a split cassette tape by Yakima bands Squelch and Clever.

Wäntage now has about 50 releases to its name, mostly from loud, fiercely independent bands, several of which — Fed X, The Lights, The Narrows, Squalora, Volumen — will be playing at next week’s Total Fest.

“They’re bands that are kind of do-it-yourself,” says Vanek, “and whose music I think deserves more attention.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Total Fest VII.
WHO: Federation X, Squalora, Volumen, Akimbo, Black Elk, Black Eyes & Neckties, Disgruntled Nation, JackTop Town, Lopez, The Pasties, Pure Country Gold, Saviours, Pierced Arrows, the Sherlocks, The Trucks and Triclops!, among others.
WHEN: Aug. 14-16.
WHERE: Downtown Missoula, Mont.
• Live music: 8 p.m. Aug. 14-16 at the Badlander/Palace, 208 Ryman St.
• Record swap: Noon-2 p.m. Aug. 16 at Big Dipper Ice Cream, 631 S. Higgins Ave.
HOW MUCH: $35 for a three-day pass and $25 for two-day pass (Aug. 15-16).
INFO: Tickets, band descriptions and the like are available at www.wantageusa.com and wantagetotalfest.blogspot.com.

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