Don Chareunsy

Margaret Cho is a trailblazer. She is credited as being the first successful Asian American comedienne in a field still fairly dominated by men. The Korean American who grew up in San Francisco has always been open about her sexuality and is an LGBTQ icon.

The prestigious James Beard Foundation this morning announced its 2020 Restaurant and Chef Award semifinalists, and the list includes “Top Chef” Season 13 cheftestant Chad White of Spokane for his ceviche restaurant Zona Blanca at 154 S. Madison St. in downtown Spokane.

Three concerts were announced today at the new-and-improved Pavilion at Riverfront as part of the Spokane Pavilion Concerts series.

It’s National Margarita Day! If that isn’t reason enough to enjoy the strong tequila and fruit-flavored libation today – and tomorrow, too, as it’s the weekend, so treat yourself, splurge, you deserve it – the team at House Method conducted research on the cost of making a margarita in each state.

Travis Tveit, lead chef at Iron Goat Brewing Co., and his sous chef, Teague Tatsch, placed third at the All-American Chef Battle in Las Vegas last Wednesday in a three-day national competition that also included David Adlard, chef-owner of Candle in the Woods in Athol, and his sous chef, 17-year-old high school student Sarah Kitchings, also of Athol.

Chris Young and guests Scotty McCreery and Payton Smith are headlining the Spokane Arena on May 7 with their “Town Ain’t Big Enough World Tour 2020,” and tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at ticketswest.com.

“I love the Zags – I really do!” country music superstar Blake Shelton proclaimed unexpectedly during his Friends and Heroes 2020 Tour stop at the Spokane Arena on Saturday night. The four-hour celebration of country music old and new was equally a showcase for Shelton’s natural charisma, talent and humor and Shelton’s friends and heroes – music industry upstarts and legends Lauren Alaina, John Anderson, the Bellamy Brothers and Trace Adkins.

Valentine’s Day and Valentine’s Day weekend are in the history books for 2020 – how did you stack up as a Valentine this year? Food (but not in the form of fondue or chocolates) for thought regarding the second-biggest commercial holiday in the U.S.

With a lineup like this, Blake Shelton’s “Friends and Heroes 2020 Tour” is an early frontrunner for country music party of the year in Spokane. The country superstar and his friends and heroes – the Bellamy Brothers, John Anderson, Lauren Alaina and Trace Adkins – have reunited and are bringing the celebration to Spokane Arena on Saturday night.

When Wichita, Kansas, country singer-songwriter Logan Mize called the morning of Feb. 3, he was looking at about a foot of snow in Salt Lake City, and it was the morning after the Super Bowl in Miami, where Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs orchestrated an incredible fourth-quarter comeback against Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers.

A reverse Happy Hour that could double for dinner, as appetizers – calamari, prime rib sliders, mahi tacos, salmon cakes, hummus sampler and much more – are half price. With the discounted prices on food, enjoy an Old Fashioned made with the resort’s Maker’s Mark Barrel 1 created last year in Kentucky.

Legendary rockers Def Leppard are bringing their “20/20 Vision Tour” with guests ZZ Top to the Spokane Arena on Oct. 18, and tickets go on sale for the concert at 10 a.m. Feb. 21 at livenation.com and ticketswest.com. The 16-city tour kicks off on Sept. 21 at Times Union Center in Albany, New York.

Corbin Cabrera has been named Spokane’s “The Bachelor” for “The Bachelor Live on Stage” at First Interstate Center for the Arts on March 8 co-hosted by “The Bachelor” fan favorites Becca Kufrin and Ben Higgins.

There is little to complain about in life when your job takes you to the fourth-annual Decadence Chocolate Festival at the Davenport Grand on a Friday night and the third-annual Coeur d’Alene Resort Food & Wine Festival in Coeur d’Alene the following afternoon and evening.

Three legendary music acts – a boyband turned, well, man band and two heavy metal groups – announced this morning concert dates at the Spokane Arena. After the success of last summer’s sold-out North American “DNA World Tour,” the Backstreet Boys have announced a second North American tour that kicks off on July 10 in New York and stops at the Spokane Arena on Aug. 7.

The 2020 Academy Awards are today, and the annual Oscars ceremony falls this year on another very important day in America: National Pizza Day.

The latest host-less Academy Awards are here, and sportsbettingdime.com has released its closing odds for the Oscars by its odds-makers. (Never heard of SBD? They’re new to us, too, but they were spot on in predicting a Billie Eilish sweep at the Grammy Awards on Jan. 26.)

Details + don’t miss: Happy Hour at the downtown and north Spokane locations are identical, plus 35% off rose on Sundays, all-day Happy Hour on Mondays, $3 pints starting at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, 20% off sake bottles on Wednesdays and 50% off bottles of wine on Thursdays. The larger north locale, however, also serves sushi, and the Happy Hour crunchy and Washington rolls are standouts.

The cities of Spokane and Coeur d’Alene this weekend are the home of three days and nights of Decadence – in the form of a luxurious chocolate festival at the Davenport Grand Hotel downtown – and the third-annual Food & Wine Festival at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.

Electronic dance music DJ and producer Jauz, who has headlined the nightclubs Hakkasan at MGM Grand and new-and-now-closed Kaos at Palms Casino Resort in the Entertainment Capital of the World, brought his EDM skills and showmanship to Knitting Factory on Tuesday night.

Amid heavy snowfall, the sold-out Coeur d’Alene Mac & Cheese Festival and Beer Tasting crowned two winners in the annual comfort food competition.

According to odds-makers sportsbettingdime.com, newcomer Billie Eilish is favored to capture all four of the most-coveted awards today at the Grammy Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles: Album of the Year (1/1), Record of the Year (3/2), Song of the Year (2/1) and Best New Artist (3/4).

It’s a symphony concert that Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Merida, Fergus, Nemo, Dory, Carl Fredricksen, Russell, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, Miguel and more are certain to enjoy with their family and friends.

The holidays are over, but the Davenport Grand Hotel is offering a new experience that celebrates winter without the use of ice skates, skis or sleds. Six igloos located on the hotel’s second-floor terrace opened on Jan. 15 and boast an evening of luxury, fun and celebration and views of downtown and Riverfront Park.