Rendezvous: Fun For Man And Beast Alike

Tue., Aug. 6, 1996

By Paul Turner srpaulturner@gmail.com

A guy standing at the center of the outdoor stage was playing a flute.

Suddenly a lamb over in the nearby Grange-sponsored animal petting area started to bleat.

As you know, sheep can’t carry a tune. But no one at Colville’s treestudded city park seemed to mind the sing-along Saturday afternoon.

With dozens and dozens of crafts booths, food stands and what have you, the Stevens County city’s Rendezvous 1996 was bigger than many Inland Northwest community festivals. But it was no less relaxed.

It was hundreds of people braving dark clouds to sniff fry bread, check out carved Christmas ornaments, see friends and generally move at an unhurried weekend pace.

Bounded on one end by a 3-on-3 basketball tournament and on the other by the metallic clanking of a horseshoes competition, the open-air party proved to be a great place to see:

Little kids walking around holding inflated pool-toy animals bigger than themselves.

People trying to decide if they wanted to go with Cajun food, catfish or Vietnamese fare for lunch. “I’ll have what she’s having,” said more than one person in line at the stand operated by the Egg Roll House.

Enough dogs on leashes to make onlookers from out of town wonder if a Colville ordinance mandates canine companionship.

A swimsuit-wearing man, who must have been a coach, seated on a plank above a dunk tank sponsored by the Colville High wrestling team. He couldn’t resist offering instruction on throwing technique to the kids who were endeavoring to drop him into the water by nailing a release button with a white ball.

And there was lots to overhear. One woman in a small cluster of couples near the monkey bars saw a group of perfectly sedate women coming toward her and called out “There’s those crazy girls! What are you guys doing?”

You didn’t have to hear the answer to know it had to be some version of “Hanging out.”

That’s what Rendezvous is all about.

Scattered raindrops fell as a kiltsclad bagpipe and drum band from Kelowna, B.C., headed toward the stage and struck up a rousing march. The distinctive squealing wheeze of the pipes filled the park.

Conversations paused. Heads turned. Slight smiles broke out.

And that lamb at the petting area, perhaps feeling its Scottish roots, once again joined in.

, DataTimes MEMO: Being There is a weekly feature that visits gatherings in the Inland Northwest.

Being There is a weekly feature that visits gatherings in the Inland Northwest.

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