Pace of park activities picking up markedly

It has been a long time coming, but I think summer is finally here. Hope you all had a safe and happy Fourth of July.

Now that it is really warm, Elk Community Park is bustling with activity. The Simplified Summer Food Program serves free meals to all kids under age 19 from 12:30 to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. The lunches will continue through Aug. 19.

The Elk Music Association members will be offering Kids’ Craft Wednesday at the Park to coincide with the lunch program. Craft Wednesday will start at 12:45 p.m. at the stage area and is open to all youths.

The Elk Music Association is holding the first EMA Artists’ Day at the Park on July 17 from 10 a.m. to 4p.m. There will be a wide variety of artists’ booths for browsing and shopping, food, a wine and beer garden and some afternoon music. If you are interested in renting a booth space, applications are available at the Elk Sentinel office or on the EMA website, www.ElkMusicArts.org. Spaces are $20 and instructions for mailing or dropping off are on the application. You can also call (509) 292-2996 or (509) 292-8049 for information. All mediums of artistic endeavors are encouraged to participate – visual, touchable, wearable, hearable or edible.

For parents who want to have a booth or enjoy the shopping and music, there will be an activity area for the kids. There will be water involved, and there is a swimming hole in the Little Spokane River, so have the kids wear or bring their swimsuits.

Speaking of the EMA website, it’s a good place to advertise entertaining or artistic events for the Elk-Chattaroy area and points north. It offers free listings for nonprofits, inexpensive listings for profit-making activities and advertising space for supporters of entertainment, music and arts.

It currently includes information about the Elk’s Got Talent results, Elk’s own Crystal Mules Band and the EMA Artists’ Day. The EMA Advocate page explains the advertising rates.

• Our neighbor to the north, Newport, will hold its seventh annual Lavender Festival this weekend at Newport’s City Park, First and Calispel. Event hours are Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festival will feature lots of lavender-related crafts and edibles, regional artisans, local growers, beer and wine tasting, model train displays, children’s art tent and lots of music, all in a Tuscan garden setting. For more information, visit the website at www. povlavenderfestival.com.

• During Lavender Festival weekend, the Pend Oreille Playhouse Community Theater, 240 N. Union Ave., will present a One Act Play Festival on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m. Playwrights from all over the United States sent in entries this year.

• Activities and events in and around the Newport area are also listed at the Pend Oreille River Tourism Alliance site at www.porta-us.com. There is a new interesting site at www.americantowns.com that lists a lot of Washington towns including Elk, Chattaroy and Newport. Check out some of these sites and get out there and have some summer fun.