Northern Quest Resort & Casino to have weekly summer street festival

Northern Quest Resort & Casino officials have announced plans for a new summer street festival beginning in July that will feature a changing lineup of local artisans, food trucks, kids activities, live music and performance artists.

Northern Quest is partnering with Kimberly Kuehn, founder of the Park Silly Sunday Market, to organize the event and secure vendors for Quest Sunday Fest. The Park Silly Sunday Market in Park City, Utah, which began in 2006, is a nationally recognized event that draws 15,000 to 20,000 people every Sunday and has grown to include more than 230 vendors.

Quest Sunday Fest begins July 14 and will run five consecutive Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Grand Plaza area on Northern Quest Drive.

Kuehn, who has been a consultant for various events and markets around the country for more than six years, said the Quest Sunday Fest will be the first street market encompassing the exact same business model as the Park Silly Sunday Market.

Quest Sunday Fest will provide a forum for local businesses and nonprofit organizations, Kuehn said, adding the Park Silly Sunday Market has been somewhat of a incubator that has helped launch more than 150 businesses.

“People will come and set up a 10-by-10 booth and they actually grow and get their brick-and-mortar store or their restaurant,” she said. “It’s creating an opportunity for people to be successful, whether it’s their hobby or a new business idea. I’m the organizer of the fun, but it’s really the community that makes up the street festival.”

The Kalispel Tribe completed a $20 million expansion project last year at Northern Quest Resort & Casino, which includes an arcade and entertainment center for children, a movie and dinner theater, an RV resort, a multifamily apartment complex, a retail store and a plaza that was built to host summer festivals.

“Our economic development team has been really looking to expand other activities for the whole family on the Northern Quest property and as we build out 300 acres south of us, the long-term vision is to have a whole host of options out there,” said Julie Holland, Northern Quest spokeswoman.

The Kalispel Tribe maintains a variety of business enterprises and provides more than 2,000 jobs in the region. Northern Quest Resort & Casino has supported the tribe’s health and social service programs to increase the quality of life for tribal members and surrounding communities.

Kuehn, who is seeking local vendors for the Quest Sunday Fest, aims for the street festival to replicate the success of the Park Silly Sunday Market by becoming a “go-to” event for the region.

“We are putting a ton of effort into this festival to be the best street festival in the state of Washington,” she said. “That’s our goal.”