The Drums Of Manito A New Beat Generation Flocks To Manito Park To Bang On Instruments And Dance To The Music

Sitting atop a grassy knoll under a brightly lit moon in Manito Park, 10 young men bang on drums.

In a circle near them is an entourage of 10 female dancers who keep to the beat of the ad-libbing percussionists.

A crowd of kids is kicking a hacky-sack while another group is plopped down on the grass to absorb the vibes.

It’s Woodstock, Spokane style.

“Spokane has so little to do,” says 17-year-old Molly Wirtz, a student at Spokane Falls Community College who sways to the beat.

“This is something positive. Don’t you feel the energy?”

“Would you like to dance?” Wirtz asks a young male onlooker.

He obliges.

For the past four years during warmweather months, groups of young people have flocked to this hill just south of the park’s duck pond every Thursday night to socialize from 9 to 11.

They communicate through the beat.

“It’s fun, and it’s a way to meet new people,” says 19-year-old Dwight Smith, who joined the drummers last year.

Smith pounds on a gorgeous, $100 drum adorned with hand-crafted Egyptian tile.

The drummers don’t need permits to play in the park because they don’t use amplifiers and they leave at 11 p.m., the park’s curfew.

None of the drummers or dancers seems to know who came up with the idea.

“They’ve been out there for a few years now, and for the most part, they don’t bother anybody,” says Taylor Bressler, city parks manager.

The drummers first performed in areas that were too close to homes adjoining the park. After some initial complaints, the drummers found a spot farther away from Manito’s neighbors.

“I don’t know why anybody would be bothered by us,” Wirtz says. “It’s really good vibes. There are worse things going on that we could be involved in, and there are worse things to hear, for that matter.”

“They’re good about picking up after themselves,” says Bressler, who lives near the park. “Believe me, my neighbors are quick to tell me about any problems they might have encountered.”

Three weeks into the current drumming season, Bressler says no neighbors have complained.

Wirtz drives to Manito Park almost every week from her home in Chattaroy.

Another young man who declined to give his name skipped work just to get ready for a night of drumming.

“It’s a total stress reliever,” he says.

Wirtz says she likes to dance, but being underage, she isn’t allowed to go to local dance clubs.

While Wirtz dances, 23-year-old Andrew Fromm gives her a beat. Fromm, from Vancouver, British Columbia, is passing through Spokane on his way to Montreal.

“I heard about this scene on the streets, man,” Fromm says. “It’s pretty cool. I’m traveling. The goddess and the god brought me up here.”

Tony Straka, 21, is here for the first time. He travels the country acting and playing music at community renaissance festivals.

“I like it up here,” Straka says. “I like this crowd. This is an interesting hangout, man.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo