Nathan Weinbender

Every year since 2004, slam poets from all over the country (and some from outside the United States) have convened for a weekend in some city to compete for the glory of being named the top performer in the world of slam. It’s the Individual World Poetry Slam (iWPS), and Spokane is serving as host city for this year’s events. Think of them as the Linguistic Olympics, except there’s only one gold medal. The 2013 iWPS (the poets pronounce it “eye-whoops”) begins with a wild card slam on Wednesday, followed by two days of preliminaries in which the competition will be whittled down from 72 poets to a mere dozen. On Oct. 5, the final 12 will perform, and whoever receives the highest score will be the winner.

When Spokane Civic Theatre announced they’d be kicking off their newest season with a production of the epic musical “Les Misérables,” it was hard not to be a little, well, incredulous. That’s not to speak poorly of the abilities of the Civic’s outstanding cast and crew, but rather to the sheer scope of the show itself, which is so enormous that I couldn’t imagine it being properly executed without a Broadway-size stage and a million-dollar budget.

As a child living in Russia, Ilya Kaler knew he would become a professional musician. He grew up in a musical environment – his father was a professional violinist in Moscow – and he began studying the violin himself when he was 7 years old. “Like most small kids, I was resisting the routine of practicing,” Kaler said from his home in Chicago. “But when I was 10 or 11, I became more enthusiastic.”

As a child living in Russia, Ilya Kaler knew he would become a professional musician. He grew up in a musical environment – his father was a professional violinist in Moscow – and he began studying the violin himself when he was 7 years old. “Like most small kids, I was resisting the routine of practicing,” Kaler said from his home in Chicago. “But when I was 10 or 11, I became more enthusiastic.”

Although comedian Jebb Fink’s website dubs him “the American in Canada,” his first stand-up gig was actually in Spokane, sometime in the early 1980s. It was at an open mic night at the Red Lion BBQ and Pub on Division Street, and Fink said he still doesn’t know how he gathered up the courage to go onstage. “I did a bunch of local references,” he said of his material that night. “I just went through the paper and picked things that were current.”

Sometimes a movie works not because of what it does but because of what it doesn’t do. Destin Daniel Crettin’s “Short Term 12” is like that: It has countless opportunities to run itself off the rails, to devolve into a soap opera or an afterschool special, but it never does. In favoring small, intimate moments over contrived plot revelations and grand dramatic gestures, Crettin has built a strong, deeply effective personal story out of potentially problematic spare parts.

Although comedian Jebb Fink’s website dubs him “the American in Canada,” his first stand-up gig was actually in Spokane, sometime in the early 1980s. It was at an open mic night at the Red Lion BBQ and Pub on Division Street, and Fink said he still doesn’t know how he gathered up the courage to go onstage. “I did a bunch of local references,” he said of his material that night. “I just went through the paper and picked things that were current.”

Let’s take a moment to touch on a near-universal truth: You’re never too old to enjoy the fair. After all, it’s practically impossible to resist the allure of carnival rides, pig races and deep-fried food. This year’s festivities start off with two days of roping cattle and bucking broncos presented by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. General admission to the rodeo is $5 while reserved seats are $8, and $1 from each ticket sold for today’s show will be donated to local breast cancer awareness charity Because There Is Hope.

“The Odd Couple,” Neil Simon’s iconic comedy about the world’s most mismatched roommates, has been performed countless times since it premiered on Broadway in 1965. It’s also been adapted into two separate but equally famous screen incarnations – first on film in 1968 with the legendary comedy duo of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, and later on TV in a 1970 series that ran for five seasons and starred Tony Randall and Jack Klugman.

Let’s take a moment to touch on a near-universal truth: You’re never too old to enjoy the fair. After all, it’s practically impossible to resist the allure of carnival rides, pig races and deep-fried food. This year’s festivities start off with two days of roping cattle and bucking broncos presented by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. General admission to the rodeo is $5 while reserved seats are $8, and $1 from each ticket sold for today’s show will be donated to local breast cancer awareness charity Because There Is Hope.

It’s been 45 years since the last hydroplane races were held on Lake Coeur d’Alene, but that changes this Labor Day weekend with the Coeur d’Alene Diamond Cup Race. The Diamond Cup has had a particularly checkered history in Coeur d’Alene, which author Stephen Shepperd painstakingly details in his new book “Hydromania: A History of the Diamond Cup.” Evolving from the summertime regattas that started back in 1913, the first competitive boat races were held 1958 and continued every summer until 1968, when the races just stopped.