Blog Archives
Yakima Folklife Festival comes Downtown on July 11 and July 12 - July 01, 2008 - Looking for a marathon musical experience? Come to Downtown Yakima on the for the 26 th Annual Yakima Folklife Festival on the evenings of Friday July 11 Friday July 12. Downtown live music venues for the festival are Santiagos, Masset Winery, Yakima Sportscenter, Greystone Restaurant, Bob's Keg and Cork, Burhmaster Bakery and the Depot Restaurant. That is seven, count them, seven places to ...
Downtown Ideas for Dad - June 12, 2008 - This Sunday belongs to the Dads of the world and downtown is your place to give your dad a special thanks for all he does. To start, you may want begin your Sunday with a trip to the Yakima Farmers' Market to have a bite to eat, visit with friends or bring home some fresh produce. If you want to make a special picnic for dad, I suggest dropping into Essecia or Burhmaster Bakery and bringing home ...
Live Music at Nine Venues this First Friday - June 05, 2008 - Ah, the feel of an alive downtown! Nine, count em nine, venues will have live music this Friday Night (June 6) as part of Downtown First Fridays. Gather up your friends and put the walking shoes on and jump place to place enjoying the new feel of your downtown. New this month is Santiagos (111 East Yakima Avenue) as a music venue. Owner Jar Aarcand has had a vision of the sound of music flowing ...
Taj Mahal at the Seasons - May 29, 2008 - Stop what you are doing right this second and head over to the Seasons and buy your ticket for tomorrow's (Friday, May 30th) Taj Mahal concert. This is one you won't want to miss! Taj is a music legend who is destined for the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame (somehow Madonna has beat him). Taj is celebrating his 40th anniversary in the music business and just like fine wine, just gets better with age. ...
You Thought It Would Never Come! - May 15, 2008 - Well, we made it! The weather that Yakima is internationally famous for is at our doorsteps and it's time to soak up the rays and spend time with friends. To me, a glass of wine or a pint of beer and good food just taste better when you are sitting outside and enjoying the comfortable weather. There is no better place to soak it up than Downtown Yakima as we've had a little explosion of outside ...
10th Anniversary Farmers's Market Begins Sunday - May 09, 2008 - The Yakima Farmers' Market kicks off this Sunday in front of the Capitol Theatre on South 3rd Street. This year, the market celebrates its 10th anniversary and many changes are being put into place to make this the best market yet. The Market has partnered with the Central Washington Agriculture Museum who will be doing a number of displays of vintage farm machinery used right here in the Yakima ...
Downtown First Fridays Return May 2nd - May 01, 2008 - Come on out this Friday, May 2nd and enjoy Downtown First Fridays. This month, there are a number of exciting things happening downtown. You could begin your night at Red Gallery at 5:00 p.m. with a special opening of artwork by Heritage University Students. Then you could head to Burhmaster Bakery and join in on their seasonal beer tasting before going to dinner at one of downtown's fine ...
The Seasons Spring Music Celebration - April 21, 2008 - The Seasons Spring Music Celebration is just another reason to celebrate the new life and energy spring brings to the Yakima Valley. The music festival features a wide variety of music styles and feels and features five concerts over the next two weekends. Music lovers can purchase tickets for each concert or buy a five show pass and enjoy each show. The first show on April 24th features Linda ...
Downtown Establishments In The Making - April 17, 2008 - On Monday of this week, I ate a nice piece of carrot cake to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the opening of Essencia Bakery. Looking back where our downtown was five years ago, I bet people thought they were nuts to open downtown as the downtown economy was losing steam at the time. To me, Essencia is a downtown hero and now an establishment and I couldn't imagine a morning without an Americano ...
Final Yakima Symphony Concert of the 2007- 2008 Season on April 12 - April 10, 2008 - This Saturday, April 12th, will be your last chance to enjoy the Yakima Symphony for the 2007 - 2008 season. To have a symphony is such a small market is simply an amazing accomplishment and this show won't dissapoint. Please join the Yakima Symphony Orchestra for the final performance of the 2007-2008 season and enjoy two one act operas. The Seattle Opera Young Artists will be here in force - 14 ...
Downtown First Fridays - April 03, 2008 - Please join us this coming Friday, April 4th, to celebrate downtown Yakima's newest event: Downtown First Fridays. First Fridays will take place on the first Friday of the month all year long. The goal is to showcase all the great activities, attractions, stores and happenings going on in your downtown. Many stores will be open until 8:00 p.m. and many even later. This month, you will have your ...
A Must Do Downtown Experience - Burhmaster Bakery Brewers Dinner - March 20, 2008 - This past Friday, I attended a beer dinner featuring the Rogue Brewery at the Burhmaster Baking Company in Track 29. The dinner was six courses and featured seven different beers ranging from a Seahorse Pale Ale paired with Spanish Tortilla De Patatas to a Chipolte Ale paired with Cumin Fried Chicken with a Chipolte Dipping Sauce to a dessert combination of Chocolate Stout paired with a scoop of ...
Love the City You're In - March 13, 2008 - This is my official sign-off blog, though I'm planning on being a guest blogger if Sean will let me. My family and I are moving to the Chicago area and will be pulling out in a moving van in just a few weeks. As I've run errands the last few days I've had a number of moments where I realize I'm holding my breath—looking at the sun bathing the hills, seeing the peak of Mt. Adams as I round the ...
Spring Downtown - March 06, 2008 - I'm always ready for whichever season is on the cusp. After what has felt like a long, cold, overcast winter, the sun is shining, the bulbs are popping, and the birds have decided it's time to return. It may not quite be time to eat outside, but it is certainly time to break hibernation and get of the house. Here's a few things to get you moving: *A fabulous array of bulbs @ Garden Girl on ...
Town Hall Lecture Series: Jim Whittaker - February 28, 2008 - The Town Hall Lecture Series was born from creative minds at Allied Arts in the 1970's. City Council lent the Arts organization the funds to kick off the series and to attain their mission of ''bringing the world to Yakima's downtown doorstep.'' This year's series has included Ellen Burstyn, Salman Rushdie, and on March 5th, Jim Whittaker will take the stage at the Capitol Theatre to speak about ...
Downtown Profile: Le Chateau - February 21, 2008 - New Owner Roger Wilson has been working hard to restore the beautiful historic building he bought last summer and he's opening the doors this Friday and Saturday for the public to view the progress. Formerly the YWCA and now rechristened Le Chateau, the historic structure was designed by architect John Maloney and was built in 1935. For years the amazing brick ballroom and another smaller lounge ...
Downtown Profile: Plaza Socievole Winery - February 12, 2008 - Rita Jorgensen and Bryan Eglet are the proud owners of what is soon to be downtown's newest bistro & winery. Plaza Socievole Winery will occupy the historic spot in the base of the Larson Building, home to Dunbar Jewelers for many years. The renovation has included pulling up the carpet and restoring the original marble floors, refinishing the beautiful wood trim, painting with vibrant Tuscan- ...
Downtown Profile: Cafe Melange - February 07, 2008 - Lisa Rembold has been at home at Cafe Melange for eleven years, spending ten years as the restaurant's manager and the last year as its owner. Lisa loves the business and has been particularly happy to hear that long-time regulars of the 24 year old restaurant are enjoying the food and ambiance even more than they have in prior years. Not only does Cafe Melange offer gourmet homemade pastas and ...
Downtown Profile: Lenette Roehl - January 31, 2008 - Garden Girl Lenette Roehl opened her shop on Front Street one year ago and she absolutely loves where she's at. On Saturday she'll celebrate her 1st Birthday with an open house complete with cake and presents (1-4 pm). Everyone is invited to come and have a treat and enjoy the gorgeous array of spring plants and gifts that Lenette has chosen. The store is dotted with small hyacinth plants, ...
A Happy Hour (or 2) Downtown - January 24, 2008 - Since one of the most exciting things about a thriving downtown is experiencing the hustle and bustle of people, we are very grateful to the many downtown shop and restaurant owners who work hard to make their businesses places where you can gather and enjoy yourself. And what's more fun than the iconic ''happy hour'' idea? Grab a pal after work, relax and get a deal on delicious things to eat ...
The Extra Mile - January 17, 2008 - Downtown businesses are standing out these days in some rather extraordinary ways. Here are a few of my favorite highlights: *To give people a warm, relaxing place to hang out until the late evening, Masset Winery is now open until 11 pm on Fridays & Saturdays. After an event at The Capitol or The Seasons you can stay downtown and spend some time in the winery reclining by the fire or meandering ...
Downtown Yakima in 2008 - January 09, 2008 - It's a new year, time for resolutions, goals and a return to the things that we each deem important. For the Committee for Downtown Yakima we are embracing our plan for 2008 which revolves around our mission statement of making downtown Yakima ''the premier gathering place of Central Washington.'' Some of my favorite memories from the past year were made as I watched hundreds of people gather at ...
Christmas Eve Shopping - December 19, 2007 - Yes, there are only a few days left until Christmas and you still have shopping left. The good news is that you can come experience a relaxing day of holiday shopping (instead of the mad dash) because a bunch of our downtown shop and restaurant owners have decided to keep their doors open on Christmas Eve. They have just what you need to please every person on your list. Come down to shop, eat ...
Reindeer Memories - December 13, 2007 - If you're looking for the unique, it's hard to beat a live reindeer. And that's just what we had downtown last Saturday thanks to the creative folks at the Capitol Theatre who wanted to make the experience of coming to see the Nutcracker even more special. Santa & Mrs. Claus also made an appearance and the horse-drawn wagon rides around downtown drew many riders. These experiences are part of ...
Christmas Comes Downtown - November 29, 2007 - Downtown is lit up and ready for the Holidays. The next two Saturdays (15th & 22nd) a number of shops, restaurants and wineries will be opening their doors to create an unbeatable shopping experience. Move from shop to shop sampling goodies and enjoying Christmas music, pause to do a little wine tasting, eat lunch or dinner at Yakima's finest restaurants, and enjoy entertainment at a number of ...
Downtown for Thanksgiving - November 15, 2007 - The day after Thanksgiving is usually touted as the busiest shopping day of the year. How about considering it, instead, as a first taste of the Holiday season? Not just a weekend of long lines and crowded parking lots, but a chance to experience the unique elements of our city with out of town friends and family in tow. Come to downtown Yakima where you can do all your Christmas shopping, ...
Masset Winery - November 07, 2007 - This past Friday night, over 300 people came through the grand opening celebration for the new Masset Winery and tasting room in the Grand Hotel on Yakima Avenue. As one who happily attended this celebration, I was thrilled to feel the energy of the night as many smiling faces entered the tasting room for the first time. “Wow, we've needed this type of thing” was overheard a number of times and so ...
A Job Well Done - November 01, 2007 - Five of our downtown Ambassadors finished out their seasonal jobs yesterday after nearly four months of exceptional work. Take a look at these stats: 42,120 lbs. of trash removed 789 Graffiti tags removed About 2000 bike miles ridden by a 2-person team 1437 visitors and community members helped Not only did our safety and maintenance Ambassadors do an excellent job every day, they worked hard ...
Pretty Pumpkins - October 25, 2007 - Who would have thought that planting pumpkins could be so fun. And when I say "planting pumpkins" I don't mean putting seeds in the ground, but rather hollowing out a pumpkin and filling it with soil, ivy, pansies & winter cabbage. This is what our family did last Saturday at Garden Girl on Front St. It was a bit more work for the parents who were scooping out globs of orange, slimy innards ...
Downtown Alive - October 11, 2007 -
What is it about a warm restaurant, great food and great beer that make for a perfect October night? Or how about standing in the middle of hundreds of friends on a crisp evening with a drink in your hand and fantastic live music? Welcome to the Fresh Hop Ale Festival. Last Saturday hundreds of people came out for the Festival, held downtown at the Millennium Plaza. The evening was full of ...