Local Chefs Craft Menus For Craft Beers

For the second year in a row, downtown restaurants are partnering with breweries from the upcoming Fresh Hop Ale Festival for a BREWERS’ DINNER next Friday, Oct. 3.

Chefs at each restaurant have created menus to match a selection of the craft brews, and representatives from the breweries will be there to talk shop.

Here’s who paired up:

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Feels Like The First Time: Bassist Talks About Current Foreigner Configuration

When it comes to songs that you can’t help but belt out at the top of your lungs while playing some serious air guitar, Foreigner’s string of ’70s and ’80s hits certainly top the list: “Feels Like the First Time,” “Cold as Ice,” “Urgent,” “I Want to Know What Love Is,” “Hot Blooded,” “Say You Will,” “Jukebox Hero,” “Double Vision.”

“I’ve always been a Foreigner fan,” says bassist JEFF PILSON, originally of the 1980s hard rock band Dokken. “It’s still hard rock, like I like, but very melodic.”

Pilson was asked to join Foreigner in 2004, when songwriter and lead guitarist Mick Jones — a founding and only remaining original member — revamped the group.

Jones and Pilson, along with Kelly Hansen (lead vocals, percussion), Tom Gimbel (rhythm guitar, saxophone), Michael Bluestein (keyboards) and Brian Head (drums), make up the current Foreigner configuration that will be playing the Central Washington State Fair this weekend.

But despite lacking the distinctive voice of original Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm, who left the band twice, Pilson doesn’t see this group as “Foreigner: The Sequel.”

“I feel like it’s Foreigner the way it always was — a hard rock band with melody,” he says from a hotel room in Salt Lake City. “Perhaps we’re a little heavier now … but people forget what a hard-rockin’ band it always was.”

Foreigner was founded in 1976 and went on to have more than 10 years of success before grunge and alt-rock began ruling the airwaves. In recent years, however, Jones’ retooled band has hit the road with Styx and REO Speedwagon, Def Leppard and, most recently, Bryan Adams.

This past summer, Rhino Records released “No End in Sight: The Very Best of Foreigner,” a double-disc anthology that includes the band’s hits, as well as the new song “Too Late,” and a new acoustic version of “Say You Will,” which, says Pilson, fans have been loving.

“You hit the word on timeless,” says Pilson. “It’s music that still sounds good to you 30 years later.”

• Foreigner plays at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday on the Central Washington State Fair’s Budweiser main stage at State Fair Park, 1301 S. Fair Ave. The concert is free with admission to the fair. Reserve seats, which cost $25, can be purchased through TicketsWest, 800-325-7328, or the State Fair ticket office, 248-7160.

Sunfair Parade on Saturday; Claim Your Spot Now!

On Saturday, folks will be up bright and early to claim their spot along the route for the 47th annual Sunfair Parade — which ceremoniously marks the beginning of the Central Washington State Fair.

The parade starts at 10 a.m. and runs along Yakima Avenue from 16th Avenue down to Eighth Street — two blocks longer than usual so the residents of the Sun Tower Retirement Home can watch, says Gene Dawson, president of the parade board.

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IT’S FAIR TIME: Here’s What You’ll Need To Know

WHAT: Central Washington State Fair.

WHERE: State Fair Park, 1301 S. Fair Ave.

WHEN:
• Friday (Sept. 26): Noon-11 p.m.
• Saturday (Sept. 27): 10 a.m.-11 p.m.
• Sunday (Sept. 28): 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
• Monday-Thursday (Sept. 29-Oct. 2): 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
• Oct. 3: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
• Oct. 4: 10 a.m.-11 p.m.
• Oct. 5: 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

HOW MUCH: Admission is $11 for adults, $9 for seniors (65 and older), $7 for ages 6-12, and free for ages 5 and younger. Parking is $6.

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Starbucks Open In Toppenish

According to my friend who works in Toppenish: “Hallelujah! Toppenish now has a Starbucks! Just got back from there!”

Yes, now the Lower Valley can join us “big city folk” in the joys of Caramel Macchiatos and Cinnamon Dolce Frappuccinos.

The Toppenish Starbucks kiosk is in the newly remodeled Safeway store at 711 W. First Ave.

Remembering David Foster Wallace

Last week, Yakima Herald-Republic reporter Pat Muir contributed a heartfelt column to ON Mag reflecting on the suicide of author David Foster Wallace.

And now, Pat alerts me that the Cold War Kids — currently one of my most favorite bands — has paid tribute to DFW in a poem that most likely will become a song.

Also, my friend Simon wrote in to say that Harper’s has put up all of its various DFW pieces for free, on its Web Site, “which I guess, like, one or two lonely (and probably weirdly so) readers might be interested to know.”

Does Your Dog Have Talent — Besides Being Totally Cute

Central Washington University’s Central Theatre Ensemble is looking to cast one well-trained canine in its fall production of Shakespeare’s comedy “The Two Gentlemen of Verona.”

Auditions for the part of Launce’s scene-stealing dog, Crab, are at 6 p.m. this Wednesday in CWU’s Milo Smith Tower Theatre, off East University Way in Ellensburg.

The role is open to either sex and any breed, however, the dog actor must not be a puppy. Aspiring thespian pooches must be able to walk on a leash quietly, be calm in front of a large and noisy audience and not bark or cry while on stage.

Final casting may also hinge on availability. Both the dog and owner must be available to attend several rehearsals, which begin in October, and all performances, which are Nov. 13-15 and Nov. 20-23.

“It’s a large time commitment, but it should be a lot of fun, and any dog who can meet the requirements and schedule will be considered,” director Brenda Hubbard said in a news release.

For more information, call Hubbard at 856-5616.

GRAB A COPY OF ON — FOR FREE!

Did you know you don’t have to buy Friday’s Yakima Herald-Republic to get On Magazine? (Although you should buy the paper, newsprint lowers your cholesterol.)

Free copies of On are available at these locations:

• Allied ArtsCenter, 5000 W. Lincoln Ave.
• Bob’s Keg & Cork, 27 N. Front St.
• Columbia Steppe Northwest Coffeehouse, just outside Macy’s in the Valley Mall, 2529 Main St., Union Gap.
• Community Living, 421 S. 47th Ave.
• Cyclops Tattoo, 1406 Fruitvale Blvd.
• Gasperetti’s G-Spot bar, 1013 N. First St.
• Golden Wheel, 9 S. First St.
• Holiday Inn Express, 1001 E. “A” St.
• Inklings Bookshop, 5629 Summitview Ave. in the Chalet Place shopping center.
• Kana Winery, 10 S. Second St.
• Nob Hill Casino, 3807 W. Nob Hill Blvd.
• North Town Coffeehouse, 28 N. Front St.
• Off the Record, 901 Summitview Ave.
• Oxford Suites, 1701 E. Yakima Ave.
• Perry Tech, 2011 W. Washington Ave.
• Santiago’s, 111 E. Yakima Ave.
• The Seasons, 101 N. Naches Ave.
• The Speakeasy, 104 S. Third St.
• Susie’s Bourbon Street Bistro & Bar, 1023 N. First St.
• The Visitors and Convention Center, 101 N. Fair Ave.
• The Yakima Sports Center, 214 E. Yakima Ave.

Nickelodeon’s Backyardigans Coming To The Capitol Theatre

Tickets for the touring stage production of THE BACKYARDIGANS LIVE! THE TALE OF THE MIGHTY KNIGHTS, go on sale at 11 a.m. today.

Performances are at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Oct. 22.

Tickets cost $15, $27, $22 and $35 and are available through TicketsWest, 800-325-7328, or the Capitol Theatre box office, 853-2787.

YO HO! It’s A Pirate’s Life For All

Yarrr mateys, if you be a Brethren of the Coast then prepare to set sail for a number of upcoming events that prove it’s a pirate’s life for all:

• Tomorrow is TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY, the internationally-observed celebration of sea-voyaging vernacular created by Oregonians John “Ol’ Chumbucket” Baur (who just moved to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands), and his shipmate Mark “Cap’n Slappy” Summers.

Here are a few basic pirate words and phrases to help make the switch from a lily-livered landlubber to a swashbuckling sea dog:

• Ahoy — Hello.

• Avast — Stop and give attention or exclamation of surprise.

• Aye — Yes.

• Bilge rat — An insult referring to the rats that infested the ship’s lowest level.

• Blimey! — An exclamation of surprise.
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Tix For New Warren Miller Film On Sale Today

Tickets for the latest extreme snow sports opus from Warren Miller just went on sale this morning.

“Children of Winter” will show at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29 at the Capitol Theatre, 19 S. Third St.

And according to the White Pass Ski Resort Web Site, “Word has it that White Pass local Andy Mahre has an epic part in this year’s film.” (Let’s hope so; the Miller folks have been promising that for the past couple of years.)

Tickets cost $16.50 and are available through TicketsWest, 800-325-7328, or the Capitol Theatre box office, 853-2787.

What’s Up With The Movie Theatre Bag-Checking Policy? (Or, Getting Bottles of Booze In: Hand ‘Em To Your Guy Friends)

Ladies, have you noticed that at all of the Yakima/Union Gap movie houses they now check your purse — EVERY TIME?

Based on a previous conversation I had several months ago with Dale Carpenter, general manager for Yakima Theatres Inc., the bag-checking policy was up to the ticket-taker’s discretion, but now it seems all bags get a glance.

However, I’ve yet to have any of my male movie-going (and, admittedly, non-purse-carrying) friends searched.

The lesson being, then, not that this is a sexist policy, but that if you’re going to sneak snacks in, hand ’em over to your guy friends.

Especially because one local vino fan — a man — managed to sneak an ENTIRE BOTTLE OF WINE into one of our local cineplexes, plus plastic cups. (Look for his next equally indignant column about getting kicked out for smoking pot at “Pineapple Express.”)

Halloween Store Opens Today

The Halloween Store, that seasonal costume shop that appears each September to help you with all your dressing up needs, opens today in the Valley Mall Plaza next to Maurices.

This is seriously one of my most favorite places to shop — for Halloween costume stuff, sure, but if you like to live a Rob Zombie lifestyle as I do, it’s also great for home furnishings and everyday clothing items, too.

Brooke Creswell To Step Down After 2008-08 YSO Season

Yakima Symphony Orchestra music director Brooke Creswell, the man behind the baton for more than 40 years, announced this week that he will be stepping down from the podium after the YSO’s 2008-09 season, which begins Oct. 11.

However, Creswell will serve as artistic director for the 2009-10 season.

“On the podium (that season),” he explained during a phone interview Friday, “will be the finalist candidates to succeed me.”

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Get Ready For The Tourists

Downtown Yakima as a vacation destination?

Well, I could have told you that. And in today’s Seattle Times’ NW Weekend section, there’s a huge spread highlighting all that’s going on in downtown. (I suggest you send it to your Westside friends who are reluctant to come visit and still call the area Yakivegas.)

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