Third annual Mayfest planned for Cheney

By BECKY THOMAS

Staff Reporter

Mayfest is just around the corner, with a shift in leadership but a familiar schedule.

The event, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 22, will bring a car show, street fair, multicultural performances and bike events to downtown Cheney.

City of Cheney parks and recreation director Paul Simmons is heading the planning for this year's event. He said that the Parks and Recreation Department launched Mayfest in 2008 as a three-on-three basketball tournament, and it was taken over by the Pathways to Progress organization last year after the Wren Pierson Building collapse made the city rethink its priorities. Simmons said Pathways was able to revamp the fledgling event.

“They came up with the car show and the bike races and some of the other events and it was incredibly popular,” Simmons said. Around 3,000 people attended the free event last May.

After Pathways was dissolved, Parks and Recreation took back the reins, with help from the Historic Downtown Cheney Partnership and Eastern Washington University.

The day begins at 9:30 a.m. with a car show and street fair. First Street will be blocked off from C to F streets, with more than 50 cars from the Inland Northwest Car Club Council to the south and vendors offering arts, crafts and food items lining College Avenue and spilling onto First Street.

A stage will be set up downtown as well, with multicultural performances beginning at 10 a.m. and musical acts planned to perform throughout the day.

Kids are encouraged to bring their bikes downtown for the bike rodeo, also starting at 10 a.m. Volunteers will teach kids the rules of the road, provide helmet fittings and bike checks, and give kids a chance to register their bike with the police department. The tune-ups will prepare the junior cyclists for the bike races.

Participants ages 5-12 must register in front of the Cheney Library by 12:45 p.m., with races beginning at 1 p.m. Racers go head-to-head in a sprint down First Street.

For more information about Mayfest, call the parks and recreation department at 498-9250.

Becky Thomas can be reached at [email protected].