Tea Dancing Accentuates Elegance Of The Davenport Hotel
It’s time to try something different.
This weekend, there are four events that give you the chance to get out and do something you’ve never tried before. Forget the movies; we’re talking shed-yourinhibitions type stuff.
OK, so it’s not that wild; this is Spokane, after all. But there’s fun to be had.
Tonight is opening night for the year’s Tea Dance at the Davenport Hotel series that runs every Friday night through May.
The hotel’s Grand Lobby, which has been restored and updated to show off its historical beauty, will be the setting for Jim Baker’s Big Band. Dancing lessons will be provided by Universal Dance Studio. And, for the first time, the Isabella Tea Room will be an elegant addition for tea, coffee, espresso and tea cakes. No-host bars will be open in the lobby.
The tea room opens at 5:30 p.m. Dancing starts at 6:30 p.m. and runs through 9:30 p.m. Admission is $10.
If you’re looking for something with more of an exotic feel, join Whitworth College on Saturday as its International Student Club hosts its annual International Banquet.
Twenty-six countries will be represented by Whitworth’s international students, who will share their food and cultures with visitors.
The banquet begins at 5 p.m. in Whitworth’s fieldhouse with three main dishes (chicken, beef and pork). There will also be a vegetarian dish, as well as salads, breads and desserts. Later, the students will perform a variety of cultural demonstrations.
Tickets are $12, $7 for children and students with identification. Proceeds go to support international events at the college and in the community. More information is available by calling 466-3232.
Well-known Spokane artist and teacher from Tanzania Peter Urio will host a colorful tribute to Ghana and Ashanti culture at the Spokane Art School from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Guest presenter Josephine Opong, EWU’s student body president, will provide dishes from Ghana for sampling, such as Kenke fish with native herbs and Jelop rice.
Urio teaches a nine-week “Africa in Art and Culture” series at the school. Other classes will highlight Eritrean foods and arts (March 11) and Nigerian folkways and foods (March 18).
A one-time visitor’s fee of $6 is required at the front desk.
If you’re looking for something a bit more on the edge, check out the All Ages Concert at T.C. Auto, S17 Fiske, at 8 p.m. Saturday.
Beggars Opera headlines the show. The group is known for its progressive hard-rock sound, reminiscent of early Rush and Yes, with the hard edge of bands like Metallica. Beggar’s Opera has opened for local and national acts that include Medusa, Citizen Swing and Wiser Sin.
Junk Box and Serpents Crutch will open. Cost is $3.
Get crafty
It’s that harbinger of spring: the 18th annual Spring Arts and Crafts Sale at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds this weekend.
The sale is the largest of its kind in the Inland Northwest, attracting 300 artists and craftsmen from seven states. You’ll find blown glass, pottery, floral arrangements, jewelry, quilts, photography and more.
About 15,000 people are expected. Admission is $3.50, children 12 and under get in free. Hours are noon-10 p.m. today, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday.
Some music events
Who knew you could find cool, light and crisp jazz in Metaline Falls? But if Rusty Sabella lives up to his reputation, that’s exactly where you’ll find it. The Sabella Consort performs Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Cutter Theatre.
Sabella is best known for his improvisational jazz guitar, mandolin and mandocello. “Renaissance Jazz” is his blending of original jazz compositions, lively Irish reels and haunting melodies from the past.
The concert, sponsored by the Washington State Arts Commission, costs $6 at the door or by reservation (call 446-4108).
Spokane Mayor Jack Geraghty has declared Sunday Handbell Day, so you might as well celebrate by attending the 16th Annual Handbell Ring In at 4 p.m. at the Spokane Junior Academy.
Several local handbell choirs will present solo and mass ringing numbers of sacred and secular music. There’s no charge, but an offering will be taken.
Eastern Washington University will perform its Winter Choral Concert at 3 p.m. Sunday in Showalter Auditorium in Cheney.
The concert features the 60-member EWU Symphonic Choir, the 20-member EWU chamber Choir and the Spokane Falls Chorus of Sweet Adelines.
General admission is $5, $3 for seniors and non-EWU students, free for Eastern students with ID.
The Gonzaga University Wind Ensemble will perform a concert of American music at 4 p.m. Sunday in the Spokane Room of the COG on the GU campus. Selections from Leonard Bernstein, Frank Ticheli and John Barnes Chance will be performed.
Admission is free.
Author readings
Brenda Givens-Hill, a celebrated poet, will discuss “passionate lifetimes” at Auntie’s Bookstore from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday.
Givens-Hill, originally from Spokane, has performed at Seattle’s Jazz Alley, as well as at other engagements in California and around the Northwest. Her unique style of poetry reflects the struggles, achievements and realizations that cross racial and gender boundaries.
Spokane author Charles R. Grizzle will autograph copies of his book “Riding the Bomb, True Stories of Young People Surviving the Insanity of World War” between noon and 4 p.m. Saturday at the Shadle Park Hastings.
Both events are free.
Later this week
The Spokane AIDS Network is hosting the National Touring Company of “Oliver!” in a theaterbased evening of cabaret on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. at Hour Place, W415 Sprague.
A minimum donation of $5 is suggested. Proceeds go to the AIDS network.
xxxx Getting out Go West … : Spring is the best time to head into the Central Washington deserts - OK, technically it’s not spring, but it LOOKS like it is. One of our favorite destinations is Potholes State Park because it’s warm there even on a chilly day. The water is down in, well, potholes, and protected from breezes. Hiking trails wind through the park and past the waterways where red-winged blackbirds cling to last year’s cattails and red-tailed hawks soar overhead.