The Air National Guard was one of the featured floats.
The Spokane Sons of Norway navigate the main drag in Medical Lake.
Medical Lake Mayor Terri Cooper is a willing participant at the dunk tank.
Runners at the start of the 5K race.
The Spokane Lilac Festival Royal Court.
Area youth enjoy time in the chicken and rooster pen.
MEDICAL LAKE – Hundreds of people braved chilly conditions and uncertain skies to attend Medical Lake's annual Founder's Day events last weekend. The celebration began Friday evening with a relaxed picnic in Waterfront Park, where families dined on Toby's BBQ and listened to Alchemy's set of R&B classics.
On Saturday morning, a rendition of the national anthem by Heather Cederblom kicked off the annual Founder's Day Parade and a host of other events across the city.
The parade lineup included first responders, veterans organizations and demonstrations from Mountain View Gymnastics and Medical Lake High School's robotics team. Visiting was Coeur d'Alene's Blazer Divas, a float representing the Spokane Lilac festival and a B-52 bomber float driven by the Washington Air National Guard.
Monroe Bridge Live bluegrass band Monroe Bridge performed a lively set of country and folk standards punctuated by magic shows by illusionist and hypnotist Taylor Kyle.
Sunwest Automotive's annual Founder's Day Car Show drew a parking lot full of impressive entries, from the earliest Fords to modern muscle. Larry McAdams's 1954 Hudson Hornet took home Best in Show, followed by Louis Dassow's V8-swapped 1959 Nash Metropolitan (Best Modified) and Beth Dassow's 1977 Chevrolet Corvette (Best Stock).
The Trailblazer Triathlon, Duathlon and 5K race started at 1 p.m. The race, founded by the late Dave Perry in 1984, was the first held in its traditional form since 2019 due to interference by the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 100 contestants signed up, the highest attendance the Trailblazer has ever seen.
Craig Kitti placed first in the Male Overall Group category with a time of 17:38. Jodi Dooyema's time of 22:28 was good enough for a first-place finish in the Female Overall Group. Glacier Gilbert took first in the Male 19-under category with a time of 40:46, edging out Daetyn Moore by one-hundredth of a second. Skylia Gilbert took the top spot in the Female 19-under category crossing the finish line at 32:04. See the Re*Imagine Medical Lake website for a complete list of results.
Vendors, food trucks and kids' inflatables provided by Redemption Church dotted the Medical Lake downtown area. Demonstrations by Spokane Aerial Performers and local student wrestlers drew spectators throughout the day.
Re*Imagine Medical Lake volunteers were pleasantly surprised by how many people stayed in town after the parade.
"It's been a lot better that what people have been anticipating, especially with the weather," Leslie Apiez said. "We expected people to peter out after the parade or hang out for a little bit, but everyone's staying."
Reader Comments(0)