By JOHN McCALLUM
Managing Editor
The sixth annual Cheney Mayfest takes place this Friday and Saturday downtown.
Coupled with the eighth annual Floods, Flowers and Feathers Festival at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, the pair of celebrations offer residents a great way to get out and finally enjoy spring.
Mayfest swings into action Friday evening, May 11, at 6:30 p.m. with a street dance featuring local favorites, The Kelly Hughes Band. At approximately 8:30, things get tropical with a hula performance by Eastern Washington University’s Hawai’i Club, which is followed by free line dancing instruction by the Country Swingers.
The entertainment continues Saturday with a line up of talent on the main stage at First and F streets, starting at 9:45 a.m. and running through 5 p.m.
The fun actually gets started at 8 a.m. with the second annual “Mayfest Cornhole Tournament,” with online registration available at http://www.cheneymayfest.org.
The annual Friends of the Cheney Library Book Sale runs from 9 a.m. — 2 p.m. with a variety of merchandise available. For the more actively inclined, the Cheney Wetlands Trail Run is a four-mile run/walk on a marked, dirt trail through area wetlands, hosted by Cheney’s The Flightless Bird Club.
There is a $15 fee and registration required by midnight May 11. Registration is available also at the Mayfest website, and a Discover Pass is needed to access the trailhead start area on Cheney-Spangle Road. There will be additional parking across the road at Dave’s Auto for overflow and those without a pass.
All other activities begin downtown at 10 a.m. with a variety of vendors’ booths and local shops open for shopping pleasure. There will be food and drink at local restaurants, with some food trucks added this year to increase the dining delight.
For the kids — and even adults — there will be the 2nd Chance Ranch Petting Zoo, mobile video games at the Game Truck and the Kids Zone, which features an assortment of games and activities provided by the Cheney Faith Center. New this year will be a massive sand box, courtesy of Dow Excavating and Landscaping materials.
There will be face painting, sports demonstrations at Brewster Hall’s parking lot by Eastern Washington University Club Sports, fun photos as the Happy Camper Photo Booth and bundles of Mother’s Day flowers by Pistol Packin’ Posies for those who want to get something special for Sunday.
Artist Alley returns in the alleyway between College Avenue and F Street, with displays and activities for the family. There will also be artists demonstrating their work all day at “PLAiCe.”
Turnbull’s Floods, Flowers and Feathers Festival marks its second year running in conjunction with Mayfest. A variety of booths will be set up downtown, but most of the action takes place about five miles out Cheney-Plaza Road at the refuge from 8 a.m. — 4 p.m.
Some of the all-day activities include a firefighting demonstration, bird ID scavenger hunt and live birds of prey presentations. There are a number of walks, hikes, trips and other demonstrations that run in a limited timeframe, and information on all activities can be found at the refuge’s website, http://www.fws.gov/refuge/turnbull.
Cheney Mayfest entertainment lineup
9:45 a.m. — Yoga in the Pop-up Park
10:30 a.m. — Karen McCormick
Noon — The Jim Bundy Band
2:15 p.m. — Brian Stai
3:34 p.m. — ME/MV Mutual Endeavors of the Musical Variety
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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