Rail jam, bubble wrap huge success
First Night Spokane once again proved to be a popular New Year’s Eve party.
Executive director Chris Martin estimated the attendance at this downtown arts festival at somewhere between 27,000 and 28,000, up a bit from last year. The final tally is still pending.
As for quality, Martin said that this was “without a doubt, the best First Night ever.” He’s biased, of course, but he did offer some evidence.
Thousands of spectators jammed Riverfront Park for the first Snowboard Rail Jam. Snow was trucked in and competitors performed spectacular stunts, such as sliding all the way over the top of an entire 1975 Lincoln.
The free parking idea turned out to be popular, with about 5,000 people riding the free shuttle between the official lots at the Spokane Arena and at Deaconess Medical Center. Maybe it was a little too popular – next year they’ll have to add more buses to keep everything moving.
And the Bubble Wrap Room, a room at Crescent Court lined with the plastic packing material, proved to be wildly popular for popping and bouncing – and not just with kids.
No news at KXMN
“My News @ 10” and several other live local shows are off the air at KXMN-11, the new KXLY sister station.
“We will re-assess our local programming opportunities as our market coverage grows,” said Kirstin Votava, KXLY-TV marketing and promotions manager.
She said the station has had challenges getting picked up by cable carriers throughout the region.
Along with the news, two live shows featuring KXLY Group’s radio personalities are also gone. The only local live show left is the simulcast of Dennis Patchin’s afternoon radio sports-talk show.
The station will continue to air encore presentations of KXLY’s news shows, syndicated material and MyNetworkTV’s prime-time lineup of telenovelas.
Kjerstin Ramsing, who anchored the 10 p.m. news, will continue to report and anchor on the KXLY news. She had been doing KXMN’s newscast since its debut in September.
Scott and Sam return
The morning team of Scott Valentine and Samantha Kelly will debut at a new radio home on Monday: KTSL-FM (101.9, Spirit FM).
Listeners will remember the Scott and Sam team from their previous gigs at KEYF-FM (Oldies 101.1) and KXLY-FM (99.9) in the 1990s.
This version of the “Scott and Sam Morning Show” will feature listener phone calls, and conversations about relationships and family. It will all be family-friendly; KTSL has a contemporary Christian music format.
Voices of The River
The on-air lineup at the new KXLY-FM (99.9, The River) is now firmly established.
The morning team consists of Ken Richards and Abbey Crawford (also known as Spokane’s cabaret-singing chanteuse). Marie McCallister handles middays beginning at 10 a.m., Dave Spencer takes over at 3 p.m., and Jay Alan pulls the evening shift starting at 7.
The River plays an eclectic mix of music best described as Adult Album Alternative or Triple-A. For instance, a recent music sequence went from Sting to Barenaked Ladies to Talking Heads to Elton John to the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Meany heads to EWU
Dave Meany, a familiar face and name for years on KXLY-4, has taken a new job as the media and campaign communications specialist for Eastern Washington University.
Meany has 19 years of experience as a TV journalist in the Tri-Cities, Boise and Spokane, mostly as a government and politics reporter.
No home for ‘Brave’
The original plan for the Spokane-filmed “Home of the Brave” called for a nationwide release two days ago.
Well, you may have noticed that it is nowhere to be found in local theaters or, for that matter, any theaters. The national release was apparently scrapped after dismal results for a limited December release in Los Angeles and New York.
No word yet on the film’s future, but this is clearly not a good sign.
A cowpoke valentine
An event called “Cowboy Love Songs and Stories” is coming to The Bing (yeah, that’s the Bing Crosby Theater, formerly The Met) on Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m.
The headliner will be our region’s very own yodeling cowpoke act, Wylie & The Wild West, with special guest cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell.
Treat your sweetie to an evening of sage-scented songs, poems and stories on Valentine’s Day. Tickets are on sale through TicketsWest outlets (509-325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).
An Eckart award
Eckart Preu, the music director of the Spokane Symphony, has been named Communicator of the Year by the Greater Spokane Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
Which means: Preu is apparently as good at PR as he is at Prokofiev.
An Eckart tour
Speaking of Preu, the Spokane Symphony Associates has organized a European tour called “Eckart’s Germany.”
Preu will escort a number of local music-lovers to Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Dresden, Erfurt (his hometown) and Munich from May 29 to June 10.
For $4,100, you can go along as well. Call Peggy Springer at (509) 448-3079.
From KBPX to the Inlander
Doug Nadvornick, longtime news director and program director at Spokane Public Radio, has taken a job as news editor at the the Inlander.
Nadvornick has been a newsman for 16 years at KPBX-FM (91.1) and, later, at its sister station, KSFC-FM (91.9). His last day on the air was Friday.
He said he had been looking for a change and the Inlander job proved to be the best fit. He’ll still be doing the same job – editing and reporting – “but my stuff will be in print instead of on the radio.”