Helping Animals is a Bark in the Park

by Robin Salts Beckett on Sep 8, 2011

By Scott Klepach Jr.

If dogs are our best friends, then why not take them to a party?

Believe it or not, you can do just that right here in Yakima.

The third annual “Bark in the Park” event, a fundraiser for the Humane Society of Central Washington, is Sept. 17 at the Yakima Greenway next to the Humane Society.

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Fair Food!

by Robin Salts Beckett on Sep 8, 2011

By Heather Caro

The world would be a better place if there were more foods on sticks. There. We’ve said it.

Thankfully, we’ve found like-minded folks at the annual Central Washington State Fair. Each autumn, “fair food” makes mouths water with over-the-top treats — and many are served on sticks. So grab your cholesterol medication and prepare to eat sinfully as we taste our way through Yakima’s State Fair Park.

Young Life Barbecue – The enticing aroma wafting from meats rotating on the Young Life Barbecue spit could tempt even the most devoted vegetarian. This perennial booth is known for serving up saucy treats — including yummy barbecue beef sandwiches — and luring generations of fairgoers.

Dairy Barn – This small booth offers some of the yummiest ice cream around. Try the Mud & Cream, a Bavarian brownie topped with marshmallow cream, hot fudge, vanilla ice cream and sprinkled with crunchy nuts. The sugary treat is made to be shared, so be sure to ask for an extra spoon.

Curly Fries – Who can say no to a giant brick of deep-fried potatoes? Be sure to pick up a carton of the curly comfort food when visiting the fair — and don’t forget the ketchup.

Lamburgers – The Lamburger booth has been fair staple since 1925. Run by the Washington State Sheep Producers Women’s Auxillary, these ladies know their lamb. Their tasty burgers topped with homemade relish make our fair food short list, and the booth’s classic signage brings nostalgic charm to every bite.

Elephant Ears – Doughy deep-fried goodness smothered in cinnamon and sugar — no visit to the fair could be complete without an elephant ear. The classic confection can be found at any number of fair booths, but we love the hand-thrown beauties made by the St. Paul Cathedral School booth. Be sure to bring your appetite — these giant ears live up to their pachyderm moniker.

Corn on the Cob – Fair food is not exactly known for being good for you, but grilled sweet corn may be a healthful alternative to the deep fryer, and one that won’t leave patrons wanting. Even when drizzled with butter and sprinkled with salt, we’re fairly certain it still counts as a veggie. Or is it a grain? Who cares!

Walla Walla Burger – Piled high with the grilled sweet onions known the world around, these burgers are so tasty they are worth the after-dinner mints required later. Not quite onioned-out? Try the battered onion rings served here … but only if you have a very tolerant sweetheart.

Cotton Candy – What’s not to love about a spun sugar beehive? Bags of the timeless carnival confection can be found hanging from plenty of booths, but true aficionados prefer the fluffy, colorful candy eaten straight from the stick.

And to wash it all down …

The Saloon – The over-21 crowd may enjoy libations from the Saloon on Rodeo Drive near the Lamburger booth. Cold beer and “cowboy drinks” are available, as well as a cool place to sit a spell and people watch. For those so inclined, The Wine Shop and Garden located in the Agricultural building annex will also feature wines by the glass, micro brews and wine slushies. The garden is open from noon to 8 p.m. daily during the fair.

The Central Washington State Fair has been an annual tradition in Yakima since 1892. From livestock to grandstand shows, carnival rides to giant vegetables, the fair celebrates the agricultural background of the Valley and serves up a heaping helping of nostalgia on the side. This year the theme is “The Fair is in the Air,” and it will run from Sept. 23-Oct. 2.

For fair details, including hours of operation, ticket prices and daily schedule, visit fairfun.com.

Read the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Sept. 22 edition of On magazine for more fair coverage as well as a daily schedule.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Back-to-the-Future Remodel

by Melissa Labberton on Sep 8, 2011

 

By Melissa S. Labberton

How do you transform a 1970s house, complete with a rabbit warren of dark paneled rooms, in order to suit a 21^st century lifestyle? That was the question that confronted Karen and Jim Gilbert in 2008 when their Realtor showed them just that in Terrace Heights. The home, while dated, was close to the Yakima Country Club, where Jim works as the golf pro.

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A Whimsical Cottage Garden Escape

by Heather Caro on Jul 8, 2011

 

 

By Melissa S. Labberton

Photos by Chad Bremmerman

Marrying her passion for gardening and collecting, third-grade teacher Claudia Tabayoyon has transformed her small backyard into a delightful retreat from her busy life. Her whimsical cottage garden was featured in the Yakima Area Arboretum’s annual tour of gardens this year — and for good reason.

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Style Freak: Seduced by Color

by admin on May 6, 2011

By Pamela Edwards

Photos by Stephen Stokesberry

I’m pretty sure I was in primary school when I became aware of my fascination with color. Mrs. Evans was passing out the solid sheets of colored poster paper and the last sheet had a cloudy effect of all the colors blended together. Right then and there I was transported. Fortunately, she was a tenderhearted soul and gave me the sheet, but I wouldn’t fulfill the required craft project and ruin such perfect beauty. Needless to say, I was profiled “day dreamer” on that tiny report card.

Fast-forward to charming, sunny Yakima with my husband, Stephen, of 25 years and I’m still a day dreamer. The view outside my window is the chicken coop that Stephen is building for our four very fat hens. There, a shocking yellow forsythia branch bends gracefully toward a weathered blue window. The two colors complement one another and I grab Stephen’s camera. He has a knack for finding and fixing all sorts of things and I take full advantage of his many talents. Part cabinetmaker, part artist, part historian and photographer, I thank the fates daily for pairing us. We feed each other’s need for creativity.

Born scavengers, we can be serious junk-yard and salvage hunters. For six years we ran an antique and home décor store in Seattle. We learned together and still cherish that stage of our lives. It was exhausting, exhilarating and the learning curve was steep. We were featured in a national magazine, won awards and made many new friends. I fine-tuned my furniture placement skills, played with color and learned that retail is a tough and exciting business.

A student of color, I never cease to be amazed by its many ranges. How many shades of green are there, anyway? I googled that and the answer is: infinite. Green, blue and yellow are my current favorite “neutrals” along with their parents, cream and ivory. Just don’t be too shocked by the coral and hot pink pillowcases peeking out under a mountain of my neutrals. I am so easily led astray …

My workweek allows me creative diversity as I have the pleasure of managing the Gift Shop at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital. There I can play with product and color, creating small vignettes, one of my favorite pastimes. When customers ask me what style and colors I use in my home, there is no easy answer. The whole house is a “studio” where I stage collections. I start out creating a minimalist, modern country corner and in creeps layers of fabric, pillows and paintings in a riotous mix of color.

Understated and serene, modern country is one of my favorite styles, and I try to have a couple of areas in the main living spaces where this is achieved. It gives the eye a chance to rest before scanning up to the new accent color adorning the stairway wall. The real beauty of modern country is its simplicity. An old dresser with beautiful lines holds a vase. No catchall for coins, keys or crammed with family photos; the dresser takes center stage and the opposite wall can be festooned with the botanical prints you adore. Certain pieces of furniture need space and breathing room. Why can’t that pine dresser with hand-carved details (hiding in the basement) live upstairs? Just remember that this look is all about keeping it simple and comfortable. Modern and country live together harmoniously with a turquoise dresser found somewhere in Iowa, if memory serves me right!

Color can and will enhance your mood. Find the colors that “transport” you and you will have found what I like to call, your “color core.” It takes time, patience and a quiet place to reflect about what truly makes you happy.

I’m not an expert on design or color; but more like a student. I have the oil pastels but lack the discipline to read the book on blending colors. Darn daydreamer! Darn report cards!

Photo by Jennifer Dagdagan

Style Freak is a new column — devoted to home and fashion that’s beautiful and trendy — that will publish in every other issue of Yakima magazine.

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Life at Folklife

by Christina McCarthy on May 6, 2011

A variety of performers travel from all over to entertain the crowds.

By Christina McCarthy

File Photos by Andy Sawyer

Quick! No thinking about it. Just say what comes to mind when someone says the words … FOLK MUSIC.

Is it acoustic guitars and harmonicas? Hippies and flower children? Voices with a quaint Southern twang?

If you said yes to any or all of these, that’s not surprising. Folk music’s roots lie in the songs that tell the tales of courage … the music of singer-songwriters, whose souls are just begging to be made into music that must be shared.

But folk music goes even deeper than that, touching on nearly ever other genre of music, as well as other areas of life. For evidence of that, one need go no further than Franklin Park, where the Yakima Folklife Festival has celebrated the wonder, joy and art of — well, all that is folksy, for most of the past 30-some years.

Grass Roots
Back in the early 1970s, when it all began, the event didn’t happen annually. There was just too much going on, and the dedicated volunteers couldn’t quite pull it off every summer. But since the 1980s, the Yakima Folklife Festival has been going (and growing) strong, and this year, from July 8-10, the event celebrates its 29th birthday.

Brian Felix is the current president of the Yakima Folklife Association, and one of the last founders still serving on the association. He’s quick to share what makes this Franklin Park event so special to the area.

“It’s the community,” he maintains, “and the community-driven nature of the organization that has kept the festival — as well as our Winter Concert Series — alive and well.”

The original group just wanted some “good, clean fun for families.” The first festival, held in 1974, “was free to the public and the musicians didn’t get paid,” he says. “People brought food to share, and made sure that everyone was fed. It was a good time, and a pretty good definition of a ‘community event.’”

Today

Felix says it’s that kind of thinking that has kept the festival alive over the years, and many of those original ideas still exist today. The Folklife Festival remains free to the community. Musicians still receive no artist fees (though they do get to sell CDs). Even the Folklife Association remains completely voluntary. “Our theory has been: do the best we can for the musicians, do the best we can for the audience, and everything else will pretty much fall into place. It’s been working now for almost 30 years.”

In other ways, though, the Folklife Festival has grown just as the community has, and it now offers experiences that are sure to please everyone, from music junkies to business people to the kids.

Music and dance now span five separate stages, each carefully designed with professional sound equipment that maximizes music potential, without bleeding sound into the other staging areas. Musicians come from across the U.S. and Canada. Everything from blue grass to salsa to high school rock bands perform, and on Friday and Saturday evenings, seven to 10 downtown Yakima venues are added, each offering free performances with changing performers every hour.

“Truly,” Felix explains, “you can sit at North Town Coffee(house) or Bob’s Keg ‘n Cork and hear five or six different acts for the price of a drink or two. There aren’t many other places around where you can do that. What we have here is really special.”

But That’s Not All!
Today’s Folklife Festival is more than just music. Each year, vendors come from far and near to sell their wares: cookies or ethnic foods, handmade jewelry or pottery are among the items for sale.

Hunger is not an issue at the event. If you’re craving something sweet, there’s baklava, candied apples and homemade scones. For those in need of something a little more savory, the Greek gyros are a hit and are made fresh on the spot. It’s easy to find a cool respite from the July heat, too — with iced espresso drinks, fresh-squeezed lemonade and root beer floats.

Once tummies are topped off, kids can try their hands at many of the activities designed just for the younger set. Ride the kiddie train around the park, cool off with the Yakima Fire Department’s giant water slide, or head inside the Yakima Valley Museum to hang out in the (air-conditioned) Children’s Underground for a spell.

Of particular interest is the Society for Creative Anachronism’s Medieval Faire demonstrations. Chain mail-clad “knights” duel with huge, heavy swords. The society also operates a real forge, where passers-by can watch in fascination as red-hot iron is slowly pounded into fighting weapons.

Though pushing 30, the Yakima Folklife Festival continues to shine as one of the region’s longest lasting, family-friendly events. It continues to improve with age. Whether you enjoy the music and festivities in Franklin Park, or take in the tunes downtown, you’ll want to make sure that you join the party.

Yakima Folklife Festival
July 8-10, 2011
Franklin Park and various downtown Yakima venues
yakimafolklife.org

Here’s just a sample of the live entertainment at this year’s festival:
Stroughmatt Creole Band
Reggie Garrett and the Snake Oil Peddlers
Bye Bye Chinook Band
Pat Moss Blues Band
Wild Coconuts
The Southern Blue Grass Band
The Rod Giles Band
Reggae Allstars
Tracy Spring
Aloha Hawaiian Band
The Irish Green Celtic Band
Locust Street Taxi
Brandan Wise
Dan Mahre on Inland Folk

…and a list of the downtown venues for 2011
Bob’s Keg n Cork
Kana Winery
Bill’s Place
Sports Center
North Town Coffeehouse
Russillo’s

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