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. It’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 cowpies). 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:

THURSDAY
9 a.m.-Noon — Open Practice (all classes)
Noon-1 p.m. — Lunch Break
1-5 p.m. — Open Practice (all classes)
7-8 p.m. — Autograph session with 12 of the top gravity athletes in the world. At the Goldendale McDonald’s.

FRIDAY
9 a.m.-noon — Open practice (all classes).
Noon-1 p.m. — Lunch break.
1-5 p.m. — Qualifying run No. 1. (Order: downhill skateboard, street luge, inline skating, classic luge, gravity bike.)

Saturday
9 a.m.-noon — Open practice (all classes).
Noon-1 p.m. — Lunch break.
1-p.m. — Qualifying run No. 2 (Order: downhill skateboard, street luge, inline skating, classic luge, gravity bike.)
8 p.m.-midnight — Fastest qualifier awards and rock concert at the Klickitat County Fairgrounds, 965 N. Fairgrounds Road. All ages. Beer garden. Free admission.

Sunday
8:30-9 a.m. — Morning warm-up.
9-10 a.m. — Junior downhill skateboard race; inline skate race; gravity bike race.
10-11 a.m. — Classic luge race.
11-11:30 p.m. — Afternoon warm-up.
11:30-11:45 a.m. — Downhill skateboard rider introductions.
11:45 a.m.-noon — Invocation, national anthem.
Noon-2:30 p.m. — Downhill skateboard race.
3-4:30 p.m. — Street luge race; women’s downhill skateboard race.
8 p.m.-midnight — World championship awards and rock concert at the Klickitat County Fairgrounds, 965 N. Fairgrounds Road. All ages. Beer garden. Free admission.

For more information, visit www.maryhillfestivalofspeed.com.

And check Friday’s Yakima Herald-Republic for my complete story on the festival.

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

You can see more photos HERE, and check back later to see a video of this morning’s demonstration.

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.

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:

Tuesday, Aug. 26
10 a.m.-5 p.m. — Registration & Technical Inspection

Wednesday, Aug. 27
9 a.m.-5 p.m. — Registration & Technical Inspection
9 a.m.-Noon — Open Practice (all classes)
Noon-1 p.m. — Lunch Break
1-5 p.m. — Open Practice (all classes)

Thursday, Aug. 28
9 a.m.-5 p.m. — Registration & Technical Inspection
9 a.m.-Noon — Open Practice (all classes)
Noon-1 p.m. — Lunch Break
1-5 p.m. — Open Practice (all classes)
7-8 p.m. — Autograph session with 12 of the top gravity athletes in the world. At the Goldendale McDonald’s.

Friday, Aug. 29
8:30-8:45 a.m. — Riders Meeting
9 a.m.-5 p.m. — Registration & Technical Inspection
9 a.m.-Noon — Open Practice (all classes)
Noon-1 p.m. — Lunch Break
1-5 p.m. — Qualifying Run #1 (Order: DS, SL, IL, CL, GB)

Saturday, Aug. 30
8:30-8:45 a.m. — Riders Meeting
9 a.m.-5 p.m. — Registration & Technical Inspection
9 a.m.-Noon — Open Practice (all classes)
Noon-1 p.m. — Lunch Break
1-p.m. — Qualifying Run #2 (Order: DS, SL, IL, CL, GB)
8 p.m.-midnight — Fastest qualifier awards and rock concert at the Klickitat County Fairgrounds, 965 N. Fairgrounds Road. All-ages. Beer garden. Free admission.

Sunday, Aug. 31
8-8:15 a.m. — Riders Meeting
8:30-9 a.m. — Morning Warm Up (J-DS, IL, CL, GB Only)
9-10 a.m. — Junior DH Skateboard Race (Top 16 Qualifiers); Inline Skate Race (Top 12 Qualifiers); Gravity Bike Race (Top 12 Qualifiers)
10-11 a.m. — Classic Luge Race (Top 24 Qualifiers)
11-11:30 p.m. — Afternoon Warm Up (DS, SL, W-DS Only)
11:30-11:45 a.m. — DS Rider Introductions
11:45 a.m.-Noon — Invocation, National Anthem
Noon-2:30 p.m. — Downhill Skateboarding (Top 96 Qualifiers)
3-4:30 p.m. — Street Luge Race (Top 32 Qualifiers); Women’s DH Skateboard Race (Top 16 Qualifiers)
8 p.m.-midnight — World championship awards and rock concert at the Klickitat County Fairgrounds, 965 N. Fairgrounds Road. All-ages. Beer garden. Free admission.

Key:
DS — Downhill skateboard
J-DS — Junior downhill skateboard
W-DS — Women’s downhill skateboard
IL — Inline skating
SL — Street luge
CL — Classic luge
GB — Gravity bike

*****Schedule times during the event are subject to change*****

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.
*NEW* • 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.
*NEW* • 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.

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.

Holla, Blayne is still in.

And, Daniel, the guy who’s always talking about his high-end tastes and style, is out.

Surprisingly, Joe, the guy who complained about “too many queens” a couple weeks ago, is the winner.

You can read a brief re-cap HERE, or watch the show yourself at 9 p.m. on the Bravo channel.

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

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 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.

Fair admission tickets and carnival wristbands are available at all branches of the following credit unions: Catholic Credit Union, Yakima Valley Credit Union, Calcoe Federal Credit Union, State Highway District 5 Credit Union, Washington State Employees Credit Union, Lower Valley Credit Union, HAPO Community Credit Union and the Yakima Community Federal Credit Union.

Carnival wristband vouchers are also available at the following locations: all Wray’s Thriftway grocery stores, most AM PM convenience stores, Fiesta Foods (in Yakima and Sunnyside), and the State Fair Park ticket office, 1301 S. Fair Ave.

Pre-sale pricing ends at 5 p.m. Sept. 24. For complete information about this year’s fair, visit www.fairfun.com.

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.

The glasses cost $25 each and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 5:30 p.m. (But you don’t have to wait in line the whole time this year, numbers will be assigned as you walk in.) There will also be a silent auction component to the party, which is free to attend.

Proceeds benefit the Allied Arts of Yakima Valley.

The Painted Pints Party is presented in conjunction with the Fresh Hop Ale Festival — another Allied Arts’ fundraiser — and those who purchase a pint glass will get $5 off on a ticket to the downtown brew-haha, which is Oct. 4 at the Millennium Arts Plaza.