Look-alike contest was a (Benson) Boone to Spokane doppelgangers

Sat., Aug. 1, 2026

Benson Boone look-alike contest winner Jackson Berry receives the prize of an ice cream-studded jacket. (Cimarron Waldo/The Spokesman-Review)

By Isla Hansen and Cimarron Waldo The Spokesman-Review

Eighteen competitors resembling Washington-born singer-songwriter Benson Boone congregated in front of the Numerica Veterans Arena on Friday. Among them were mostly men and one baby, all decked out in denim and mustaches to vie for recognition as the best Boone look-alike.

After two rounds of audience members cheering for the best doppelganger, KREM employee Jackson Berry pocketed the contest’s prize: two tickets to Boone’s Sunday concert as part of his Wanted Man Tour, and a “moonbeam ice cream-inspired” denim vest embroidered with an ice cream cone.

As an employee of KREM, Berry declined to comment on the event.

Boone, an American singer-songwriter who competed on “American Idol” in 2021, made his Hot 100 debut in 2021 with “Ghost Town,” and his studio debut project “Fireworks & Rollerblades” reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200.

All 18 look-alike entries – one of which was Murphy, a dog sporting glittery attire – received a free cup of ice cream from the Scoop, which partnered with the Spokane Public Facilities District to organize the event.

MacKenzie Belley, marketing coordinator for the Spokane Public Facilities District, said she was inspired to create the event by a Jeremy Allen White look-alike contest in New York City.

“I’ve been plotting and planning for the next time we had somebody as attractive as Jeremy Allen White in our lineup,” she said.

The event was originally scheduled for July 17 but was canceled due to weather concerns.

“We just had to reschedule because it wasn’t safe to have everybody out here for an optional outdoor event on such an unhealthy wildfire smoke day,” Belley said.

“So, we worked with the Scoop, and we worked with everyone to get the message out that we were rescheduling to the Friday before his concert, which I think worked out the best because a lot more fans were in town,” she said.

Judging for the event was determined by audience engagement: For each Boone, organizers estimated who received the most cheers from the crowd.

“The crowd really showed up and cheered for everyone really loud, so the winner had a lot of cheers,” Belley said.

Belley said the arena would like to do more events like this one in the future.

“We hope to … get the community back involved at the Spokane Numerica Veterans Arena and get them to know that we do more than just concerts, that we want to be a bigger member of the community,” she said.

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