A car show is taking place for the first time this year at Cheney Mayfest, weather permitting.
The community has a chance to get out of the house this weekend and enjoy the annual Cheney Mayfest downtown. There are new events this year, with the traditional roots of Mayfest still intact.
One of the main new activities is the community corn hole tournament. Mayfest previously had a three-on-three basketball tournament, but they changed it this year to try and get more people involved.
"Anybody can play corn hole," Jason Williams, a member of the Cheney Mayfest committee, said. "Basketball was harder to do with all the equipment and not enough of a spread of people. There are also a lot of other basketball tournaments around here, so we wanted to do something different."
There will be something for everybody at Mayfest including a car show, live entertainment, a kids carnival, video games, a petting zoo and more.
The live entertainment starts on Friday, May 12, with the Kelly Hughes Band at 7 p.m. There will be a street dance and an intermission performance by the Spokane Aerial Fire Troupe. The entertainment will continue on Saturday, May 13 as former Cheney High School and now Eastern Washington University student, Karen McCormick will be performing at 12:15 p.m. Jim Bundy, a bus driver from Cheney, will close out the live music at 1:45 p.m.
Live music by the Cheney High School Jazz Band and a folk band will also perform.
All the entertainment will take place in "Artist Alley" between F Street and College Avenue. There will be two separate band alleys, one by the Mason Jar and the other near Sweet Pea Boutique.
Vendors are a part of Mayfest as there are local and retail booths to shop from. Some of the merchants include Apple Blossom Soaps, Bark Bark Trading Company, Chloe and Isabel, Debra Neilson Designs, Doterra, Family Hobbies, Jeanne Lynns Lavendar, Lila Rose, Lily Kate, LuLaRoe, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Noonday Collection, Partylites Pretty Fly Tie Dye, See Dee Graffiti and Vesta's Se and Saw.
People can also satisfy their sweet tooth as Rainbow Icicles, and Dippin' Dots will be there along with other food vendors to be added.
"We have numerous informational booths," Debbie Anderson, a member of the Cheney Mayfest committee said in an email. "Miss Cheney Rodeo will be downtown with some kids activities and pictures. In total, we have about 60 vendors."
Eastern Washington University has also been quite the help by setting up the Kid's Carnival near Brewster Hall, running the sound stage for the artists and having SAIL (Student Activities Involvement and Leadership) promote through posters and social media with Sundi Musnicki leading it all.
Another aspect to the event is bringing Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge vendors from the refuge and teaming up with them for the Floods, Flowers and Feathers Festival at Turnbull.
"It combines two communities," Catherine Nero Lowry, a member of the Mayfest committee said.
The festival also takes place at the refuge all day May 13 with numerous activities to attend between 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. which are all free and open to the public, but some events need prior registration. To register and find event times, visit http://www.fws.gov/refuge/turnbull.
This event brings the community together with entertainment, food and shopping for little or no cost at all.
"Our goal with this event from the very beginning was to get the community together," Williams added.
Grace Pohl can be reached at [email protected].
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