Marty To Launch Gondola Early

Riverfront Park’s mascot Marty Marmot will take this year’s inaugural gondola ride over the Spokane Falls today at noon.

Unseasonably warm temperatures - a high of 57 degrees Thursday - mean the gondola will open a month earlier than unusual, said Hal McGlathery, park manager.

Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania ground hog who makes annual predictions about winters’ length, “was wrong when he said winter would last another six weeks,” McGlathery said.

On the other hand, Marty Marmot says “spring is upon us,’ McGlathery said.

After Marty takes his first ride today, Riverfront Park will operate the gondola on the same schedule as the Carrousel, Saturdays and Sundays from from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.