Pia Hallenberg

If the first thing that comes to mind when someone says “square dance” is dresses, the second thing should be RVs. During the 61st National Square Dance Convention, which opened Wednesday and runs through Saturday, more than 200 RVs are parked at the Spokane Fair and Expo Center.

The Pumpkin Patch Community Garden was bustling Monday evening. Boy Scout Troop 430 from Millwood Presbyterian Church was helping move heaps of mulch and bark, spreading it in aisles between beds and doing landscaping around the garden’s sign. “There are a lot of people here tonight, but there’s usually someone here no matter when you stop by,” said Teresa Sadler, garden coordinator.

They come from 49 states and nine foreign countries, and they come here to dance. More than 5,200 dancers are expected to participate in the 61st National Square Dance Convention, which begins at the Convention Center today and runs through Saturday, sharing one day with Hoopfest.

Behind every Ironman competitor is a dedicated support team. Take Team Mattison, for instance: Their day began at 4:30 a.m. when they helped Matt Mattison, 27, set up for the swim portion of Sunday’s Coeur d’Alene Ironman. And well past noon, when Mattison came running down Seventh Street, they broke out in cheers, screams and high-fives worthy of a rock star. Mattison beamed while running by. “It looks like he’s doing good,” said his dad, Greg Mattison, with a huge smile on his face. “We just follow him around. We’ll find another spot to watch now, and then we’ll head on to the finish line.”

There’s a bright purple bunch of blooming chives in the middle of East Central Community Garden. Raspberries climb the chain-link fence and on this Friday volunteers are putting woodchips down on the paths between the garden plots. Alexandra Montague is the leader of the garden, a post she said she inherited when no one else wanted to do it.

Being part mountain goat is a great advantage when volunteering for Friends of the High Drive Bluff, but it’s not a requirement. Over the past couple of years, the group has gotten increasingly involved in maintaining the steep bluffs that dip off High Drive on the South Hill. The area is crisscrossed by trails and is a destination for dog walkers, runners and bikers – and the view, especially during sunset hours, is stunning.

OTHELLO, WASH – In the small town of Othello, a short drive south of Moses Lake, sits an old hotel. It was built in 1912 – just two years after the city was incorporated – at a time when the Milwaukee Road ran several trains through the fast-growing city every day. It’s a plain building. Two levels of no-fuss rooms housed mostly railroad workers until the early ’70s when transients and prostitutes took over. The old hotel emptied quickly in 1974, when a young man was shot and killed inside.

The Gaiser Conservatory – or the Manito greenhouse as it’s affectionately known – is turning 100 years old. On Saturday the Friends of Manito are putting on a grand birthday party for the stately building.

Mothers and their children often share life events such as birthdays and holidays and family celebrations. Still, it’s somewhat unusual for them to share the same college graduation day. On Saturday, Ann Long and her son Austin Long will be graduating together as members of Eastern Washington University’s class of 2012.

Stacy Benoscek is the reigning Mrs. Spokane Valley and she’s decided to go all the way: In November she will be competing in Mrs. Washington America for a chance to go to the national finals of Mrs. America. “My husband saw it on TV and he said, ‘You can do that,’ ” Benoscek said. “I said, ‘Look, they are all young and tiny and tall, what on earth makes you think I can do that?” Yet she couldn’t say no to the challenge.

When Joan Waters retired from her job as a draftsperson at Avista Utilities in 2008, she wasn’t looking forward to retirement. It was her diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease, combined with other health issues related to a car wreck more than 30 years ago, that made it impossible for Waters to continue working 40 hours a week. “I missed work terribly. It took me a full two years to adjust to retirement,” said Waters. Then she smiled. “Now I don’t mind so much anymore.”

A group of Spokane women got together in 1905 and formed the Woman’s Club of Spokane. Just five years later, the women had raised enough money to build their own building on West Ninth Avenue; by 1936 they had paid off the mortgage, ensuring that they would always have a place to gather. The beautiful brick building is still the home of the Woman’s Club of Spokane, and on Sunday the club is playing host to a girls and dolls tea, inviting area children to enjoy tea and baked goods together with their favorite doll or stuffed toy. Proceeds from the tea will go toward building maintenance.

Rena Bunting stood surrounded by her family on a dusty corner lot in Airway Heights looking at the foundation for her new home. Behind her, hamburgers were sizzling on a giant grill and what looked like a group of high school students were playing hacky sack. “We are all dressed in black today,” said Bunting, “because today is the death of our old, crummy life and the beginning of our new, much better life.”

Hillyard ChalkArtWalk on Saturday

When Frank Herner III arrived at Bancroft School in eighth grade, life hadn’t been kind to him. He lost his mom to breast cancer when he was 10 years old and was living with his grandmother. Today he wears a black “I love boobies” rubber bracelet in his mother’s memory.

It’s difficult to believe Sarah Gotzian, 18, when she says she’s not compassionate. After all, she spent countless hours, morning, noon and night, helping her aunt, Jill Gotzian, who had muscular dystrophy. As her illness progressed, Jill Gotzian needed help with pretty much everything, from personal hygiene to meals and getting in and out of bed. She died on March 1, and Sarah Gotzian spoke at her memorial service about how much helping her aunt taught her.

It’s fair to say that Felicia Claxton, 17, grew up quickly. When she was a child, her dad was diagnosed with heart failure and put on the waiting list for a donor heart. He was in the hospital a lot, and Claxton spent a lot of time there with him. A donor heart never became available, and Claxton was there when her dad died. She was 10 years old.

If anyone had told Katie Olberg, 17, that she would be tutoring a middle school student in math and English just two years after she arrived at MAP High School, she probably would have laughed out loud, except she didn’t laugh or talk much at the time. “I had a really hard time socializing, and I don’t like large groups of people,” said Olberg.