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Preliminary Folklife Festival Schedule Boasts A Great Line-Up

The preliminary schedule for this year’s YAKIMA FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL has already been posted.

Among this year’s diverse lineup of performers are the Tavria Dancers, Ockham’s Razor, Brendon Wires, Chad Bault, Tuck Foster and the Second Chance Band, Colin Spring and the Naugahyde Nights, Tracy Spring, Bye Bye Chinook, the Wapato Indian Club, Crescent & Shamrock, the Blue Tropics, Bouncing Love Monkeys, Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs, Westerly, Rävinwolf and Dick Weissman.

This year’s Folklife Festival runs July 11-13.

STAR STRUCK

A favorite at the Yakima Sports Center, alt-country songstress STAR ANNA and The Laughing Dogs are moving into the park. They play from 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday in Franklin Park as part of the Yakima Parks and Recreation Department’s free Summer Sunset Concert Series.

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GIVE INTO TEMPTATION

Legends Casino continues its outdoor concerts with THE TEMPTATIONS, featuring original singer Otis Williams.

The Motown group responsible for such hits “My Girl,” “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” — which are all among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll — take the stage at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Legends, 580 Fort Road in Toppenish.

Also on the bill are The Four Tops and The Spinners.

Tickets cost $25 to $55 through the Legends Casino box office, 865-8800, ext. 5271, or all Ticketmaster outlets, 453-7139.

SMOKE ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM

The Speakeasy’s SMOKE OUT CHOKE OUT kick-starts at 5 p.m. Friday with a show and shine, burn-out contest and other events. Live music by classic rock cover band the X-Band begins at 9 p.m.

Saturday’s events start at 9 a.m. with a pancake feed, followed at noon by a poker run, ultimate cage fights at 6 p.m. and the Led Zeppelin tribute band No Quarter at 9 p.m.

The Speakeasy is at 102 S. Third St. in downtown Yakima. Call 453-4762.

SUMMER SUNSET CONCERT SERIES

 The Yakima Parks and Recreation Department’s Summer Sunset Concert Series begins on Thursday.
The free concerts run from 6:30-8 p.m in Franklin Park. Audience members are encouraged to bring blankets, camping chairs and picnic dinners, but no alcohol.
The concerts kick off with the bluesy rock band Left Hand Smoke (they’ve played at the Yakima Sports Center and at last year’s Fresh Hop Ale Festival.) Here’s the remaining schedule:
— July 19: Star Anna and The Laughing Dogs.
— July 26: Spoonshine.
— Aug. 2: Catch & Release.
— Aug. 9: Wayman Chapman and Friends.
— Aug. 16: Alice Stuart.
— Aug. 23: Flowmotion.

BEN MACY TRIO AT PRINCESS THEATER

Prosser’s newly remolded Princess Theater has been getting a lot of attention lately. On Saturday, it’ll be the site of a homecoming concert of sorts.
The Portland-based jazz group the Ben Macy Trio will play the historic theater along with bluegrass band To String. Although Macy has called Portland home for some time, he grew up in the Yakima Valley, “as my father was a physician with Valley Family Medicine in Prosser and Grandview for almost 15 years,” he writes in an e-mail.
The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Princess Theater on Meade Avenue. Tickets cost $8 to $12 and are available at Something Groovy in Prosser, 786-4850.

JAY THOMAS TWOFER

Jay Thomas is a jazz man’s jazz man. He’s a celebrated multi-instrumentalist and outspoken pundit for jazz — as both America’s contribution to the world of music, and also as the great unifier, a true democratic art form.
This weekend, the Jay Thomas Quartet will celebrate two jazz favorites with back-to-back concerts at The Seasons.
Friday’s concert is titled “I Loves Ya: The Music of Porgy and Bess,” and will feature songs from the George Gershwin favorite. Joining the band will be John Stowell on guitar.
Then on Saturday, the quartet, along with pianist John Hansen, will go back to the birth of the cool with a concert titled “Miles Away: The Music of Miles Davis.”
Both concerts begin at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $15 for each night.

ARTIST TALK

Artist Suzanne Lamon will give an informal talk about her work at 1 p.m. Saturday at Gallery One in downtown Ellensburg.

Lamon’s current body of work represents a sliver of her life living near the ocean as well as her personal experiences with battling cancer. She will recount how these experiences have influenced her work and her use of imagery.

TROLLEY TIME

A parade marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Yakima Valley Transportation Company will begin at noon on Sunday on Pine Street between Third Avenue and Tieton Drive.

All operable trolleys and locomotives will participate in the parade which will go up and down Pine Street. Trolley rides and tours of the Yakima Electric Railway Museum will also be available.

For more information, call 249-5962 or click here.

CATCH & RELEASE

Get ready to hoot ’n’ holler — at the appropriate times, of course, — when local bluegrass favorites Catch & Release play The Seasons Saturday.

The concert will be recorded for a possible live album, says the band’s mandolin player John Young. There’s been a demand from fans for an album but the band members’ — Young, Mark Rupert (banjo), David Eichwald (guitar), Rich Riggs (fiddle) and Jerry Comiskey (bass) — busy schedules have kept them from recording.
“Going into the studio hasn’t worked out for us,” says Young.
Besides, he adds, “We think we’re at our best when we perform live.”

The concert begins at 8 p.m. at The Seasons, 101 N. Naches Ave. Tickets cost $15. Call 453-1888.

DEPOT ANNIVERSARY

The Depot Restaurant and Lounge will celebrate its fifth anniversary Saturday with a parking lot party beginning at 6 p.m.

There’ll be food and drinks and live music. From 6:30-8:30 p.m., young electric blues guitarist Alex Wilson will play followed by the Caribbean-pop grooves of the Blue Tropics at 9 p.m. Cover is $5.
(And if there’s a good turn-out, this could become a monthly affair, says Depot owner Karl Pasten.)

The Depot is at 32 N. Front St. Call 469-4400.

BUILT TO GRIND

If you look up the word “mellow” in the dictionary, there’s probably a picture of Vito Luppino.

But while he may be laid-back, man, can he skate.

Luppino, along with some skateboarding buddies from Seattle, Portland and Spokane, as well as locals, will celebrate the second anniversary of Luppino’s Midstate Skateboard Shop on Saturday.

Teams from Midstate, Manik and Bacon skateboards and Dirty Bearings will rip it up beginning at noon at the Selah skate park before moving over to the Yakima skate park at 4 p.m.

So bring your board and loosen up your shwag-catching arm because if you’ve been to one of Luppino’s skate soirees before, you know there’ll be a product toss or two.

For more information, drop by Midstate at 3602 Fruitvale Blvd., or call 469-5400.

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SHINE ON

The popular Monkeyshines: Kids’ Day at the Museum program returns this weekend to the Yakima Valley Museum, 2105 Tieton Drive.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday there’ll be physics exhibits from the Pacific Science Center, Wuppets (weather puppets) and hands-on activities from local organizations.
Admission is free.
Monkeyshines is a collaborative effort between the museum, the Yakima Junior Chamber, Celebra la Ciencia and the Child Abuse & Neglect Coordinating Council of Yakima.

For more information, click here.

I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL

On Fridays, Pete’s Night Club will become Yakima’s only dueling piano bar.
Working in conjunction with Seattle’s popular Chopstix Dueling Piano Bar and Restaurant, Pete’s will be the place to watch — and participate — in this show where you get to request your favorite numbers to be played by amazingly talented musicians working their fingers off on conjoined pianos. (FYI: How long it takes to get your song played depends directly on the size of the tip you attach to the request.)
There’ll be shows at 8 p.m. and at 10 p.m. every Friday through August at Pete’s, 28 N. Second St. Cover is $8. Call 469-1486.

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