Welcome to Spokane new Mamas!
I loved living in the Garland Neighborhood but was not excited about the 2 schools that my Son could have gone too. I now live in the Audubon/Downriver neighborhood... about 2 blocks off the golf course & I LOVE IT! I love the school my Son goes too.
I compiled all this spokane info for new Moms in a playgroup I am in:
Why I love Spokane by Rachelle S.
People are always dissing Spokane. I'm not quite sure why.
I love it here, there are mountains, lakes & rivers right outside our doors, the scenery here is breathtaking. The camping is wonderful. Our parks are amazing & we have so many.
It's true that there is a lack of liberal minds here as say compared to Seattle or Portland but hey... were not as big as either of those fair cities.
We have a very active political group here called the peace & justice action league (PJALS.)
We have a community building here that hosts many liberal businesses, PJALS, KYRS Community Radio, a Community Meditation Room, The New Priorities Foundation, Peach Safe Food, Save our Wild Salmon, Global Folk Art which is a fair trade store, a daycare & many others.
I love our downtown, its fun & there are so many historical buildings. We have lots of vintage store, thrift & funky shopping.
Fathers Day was started here in Spokane in the 1940's.
Websites of the City of Spokane
Official Website of the City of Spokane
http://www.spokanecity.org/
Tour the Inland Northwest
www.tourtheinlandnw.com
Visit Spokane
http://www.visitspokane.com/
Spokane City Guide
http://www.hellospokane.com/
Spokane Tribe of Indians
http://www.spokanetribe.com/
Arts & Entertainment
Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture
http://www.northwestmuseum.org/northwestmuseum/
Mobius Children's Museum & Science Center
http://www.mobiusspokane.org/
Spokane Opera House
http://www.spokanecenter.com/aboutOH.htm
Spokane Arena
http://www.spokanearena.com/
Spokane Convention Center
http://www.spokanecenter.com/CCX_info.htm
Spokane Civic Theatre
http://www.spokanecivictheatre.com/
Interplayers
http://www.interplayers.com/
Spokane Symphony
http://spokanesymphony.org/ind.php
Spokane Public Library
http://www.spokanelibrary.org/
Outdoor Recreation
Spokane Parks & Rec Department
http://www.spokaneparks.org/
Riverside State Park
http://www.riversidestatepark.org/
Manito Park
http://inlandtour.debut.net/south-hill/manito.html
Splashdown Water Park
http://www.splashdownwaterpark.net/welcome.htm
Spokane County Fair
http://www.spokanecounty.org/fair/Welcome.htm
Spokane Indians Baseball
http://www.spokaneindiansbaseball.com/
Spokane's Riverfront Park
http://www.spokaneriverfrontpark.com/
Golf in Spokane
http://www.golfinspokane.com/
Cat Tales Zoological Park
http://www.cattales.org/
Liberal/Natural/Other Alternative Websites
Spokane Community Building
http://www.communitybuildingllc.org/
Peace & Justice Action League of Spokane
http://www.icehouse.net/pjals/
Spokane Farmers Market
http://www.spokanefarmersmarket.com/
The Future is Organic/Tolstoy Farms/Spokane Tilth
http://www.thefutureisorganic.net/index.html
Huckleberry's Natural Market
http://www.huckleberrysnaturalmarket.com/mainPage.htm
4,000 Holes Records & CD's.
http://www.4000holes.com/
Local Media Outlets
The Inlander
http://www.inlander.com/
The Local Planet
http://www.thelocalplanet.com
KYRS Thin Air Community Radio
http://www.thinairradio.org/
KSFC Spokane Public Radio
http://www.kpbx.org/ksfcprog.htm
KREM 2 News
http://www.krem.com/
KXLY 4 News
http://www.kxly.com/new/
Spokane 7: Arts & Entertainment
http://www.spokane7.com/
Local Yearly Events
Late January; early February
Spokane International Film Festival - (509) 624-2615
http://www.spokanefilmfestival.com/
Annual Northwest Bach Festival - (509)-326-4942
http://www.nwbachfest.com/
Early May
http://www.bloomsdayrun.org/
Annual Lilac Bloomsday Run is Spokane's premier 12k run held annually on the first Sunday in May. First run in 1977, it is the largest timed road race in the country. For most residents, it's impossible to imagine spring in Spokane without Bloomsday.
http://www.lilacfestival.org/
Annual Spokane Lilac Festival has been a "Lilac City" tradition since 1938. It was an effort originated by the Associated Garden Clubs & the Spokane Floral Society to exhibit the beautiful spring lilacs & to showcase area youth. They organized a parade & a royalty program to honor young women from the Spokane area. The festival has added several events & remains a highlight each year.
June
The Annual Art Fest brings together the region's finest arts & crafts people in a park in Spokane's Browne's Addition neighborhood. Designed to feature high quality original artwork, the festival has steadily grown in attendance, popularity& sales. Art Fest includes continuous musical entertainment, artists' demonstrations, hands-on art activities for children and adults & variety of food concessions.
Pride Festival
http//:
www.outspokane.org
http://www.hoopfest.org/
Annual Spokane Hoopfest Association is committed to organizing & operating the best outdoor 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the country. With the effort & enthusiasm of thousands of volunteers, Hoopfest strives to create a dynamic downtown festival, transcending basketball through the celebration of athleticism, fair play & community involvement. Spokane Hoopfest Association also provides charitable support through distribution of profits to Special Olympics and basketball-related activities.
September
http://www.spokanecounty.org/fair/Welcome.htm
Spokane Interstate Fair. Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds. Features an extensive series of interactive exhibits. Among these is a scavenger hunt of entertaining agricultural facts for visiting students.
http://www.valleyfest.org/
Valleyfest has been a successful event bringing the Spokane Valley, Washington community together since 1990. Valleyfest provides entertainment for the entire family, an opportunity to meet& have
fun with neighbors, while also recognizing area youth for their talents. Valleyfest's day starts with a Fun Run followed by a Pancake Breakfast. The Valleyfest Parade follows & includes community floats & local school bands. Valleyfest also includes entertainment specifically designed for & performed by children. All of these activities are provided at no cost to Valleyfest participants.
December 31 - January 1
http://www.firstnightspokane.org/
First Night Spokane: The event seeks to foster the public's appreciation of visual & performing arts through an innovative, diverse & high quality New Year's Eve program that provides a shared cultural experience, accessible & affordable to all. First Night Spokane began on December 31, 2001 with people of all ages crowding downtown streets. Since then, attendance at this community oriented, alcohol-free celebration of New Year's Eve has grown to over 23,000. First Night Spokane has quickly become the regional New Year's Eve tradition for many in& around Spokane County.
Visitors to Spokane (pronounced Spo-CAN), have a choice of climates at any season of the year. An extensive system of enclosed skywalks offers year-round comfort throughout the downtown area. For those who enjoy outdoor sports, there is Riverfront Park & Splashdown Water Park in summer & the slopes of Mt. Spokane in winter.
The first European trading post in the Pacific Northwest was established in the Spokane area in 1810. Some of the region's early history is on display at the restored Fort Spokane, northwest of the city, which was built in the 1880s to keep the peace between Native Americans & white settlers. Today, the city is the commercial center of an agricultural region & serves as a gateway to the recreation areas of eastern Washington, northern Idaho & western Montana.
Riverfront Park was the site of the 1974 World's Fair. It is located on two islands divided by the spectacular cascading Spokane River & Spokane Falls. Attractions include an IMAX Theater, an amusement park and a hand-carved 1909 carousel.
Spokane's Grand Boulevard is the place to feed the ducks in Manito Park while taking in a view of stunningly Gothic St. John's Cathedral. The park's many gardens are in bloom from May through October.
Spokane's Gonzaga University, one of 28 Jesuit colleges in the country, is home to the Crosby Library, which displays alumnus & native son Bing Crosby's Oscar, gold & platinum records & other mementos.
Spokane's nickname is the Lilac City. The foremost annual event is the Lilac Festival, which is held each year in mid-May. On the first Sunday in May, the city holds its annual Lilac Bloomsday Run, one of the largest timed races in the world in which more than 50,000 runners participate.
Spokane has a rich history that is portrayed in its museums & heritage homes. Campbell House was constructed in 1898 by a prominent Spokane resident & has been restored to its 19th century
splendor. More vintage homes can be found along Riverside Avenue, in the Browne's Addition Historic District & in the neighborhood known as "the Hill." Next to Campbell House is the excellent Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, with a fine collection of Native American artifacts& other historical items from the region. The collection of the Eastern Washington State Historical Society is housed in a portion of the museum.
Spokane has made it easy for visitors to get a sense of the city by mapping a 32 mile Spokane City Drive that takes in the local highlights. The route is well marked by brown & white arrowhead signs. It meanders through the southern & western portions of Spokane & covers all the major attractions. The drive provides a spectacular view from the hills to the south of the city. Finish the tour at the western end of the route with an expedition to Little Spokane Natural Area, where the paddling is top-notch & hundreds of songbirds provide daily concerts.
In 2004, Spokane was one of only 10 cities across the nation to receive the All-America honor. The prestigious All-America City award encourages & recognizes civic excellence, honoring the communities in which citizens, government, businesses & nonprofit organizations demonstrate successful resolution of critical community issues.
Spokane Gets 'A' on Report Card as "Kid Friendly" Population Connection's 2004 report on how well cities treat our children is out. Spokane is ranked #2 out of 80 large cities in the United States for being "kid friendly".
Spokane Home to Largest WiFi Hot Zone in Nation: It's official! The SpokaneHotZone is the nation's largest municipal wireless fidelity (wi-fi) network deployment. A high-speed broadband wireless network that covers a 100-block area is available for free public Internet access by any computer, portable or handheld device that supports "Wi-Fi."The HotZone was recently named as Runner-up for the 2005 Wireless Excellence Awards in the Wireless Innovation Contest.
The City of Spokane has been named one of the Top Seven Intelligent Communities of the Year in 2003 by the Intelligent Community Forum, a project of the World Teleport Association. The organization selects communities for this honor that it determines are "pioneers & role models for the development of vibrant Digital Age communities in the 21st Century." The ICF says the Intelligent Communities have what it takes to gain a competitive edge in the global economy.
Other Spokane Kudos
Lewis & Clark High School named by Newsweek as one of top high schools in country.
America's Promise - The Alliance for Youth names the Spokane region one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People more
#16 in Best Walking Cities in the United States - American Podiatric Medical Assoc, 2005
#5 in Safest Cities in the United States - Forbes Magazine, 2005
#63 in America's Brainiest Metropolitan Area Ranking - Biz Journals, 2005
Second in Medical & Emergency Technology among 127 MSAs - Popular Science, 2005
Fifth Most Walkable City among cities with less than 200,000 population - Prevention Magazine, 2005
One of the 50 Best Places to Live - Men's Journal, 2005
#35 in 150 Best Places for Doing Business in America, Inc. Magazine, 2005
#114 Best Places for Business & Careers, Forbes, 2005
"5 Star" Quality of Life distinction, Expansion Management, 2005 Blue Ribbon awards for Spokane School Districts that are among the top 33% of 2800 school districts nationwide, Expansion Management, 2005
Ninth Best City for Lifestyle for Women, Ladies Home Journal, 2005
"Preserve America Community", Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, 2005
2004 All-America City Award by the National Civic League
55th Best Performing Cities for economic performance & growth in technology jobs & wages, Milken Institute's 2004
Leads the state in historic rehabilitation: total investment of over $27.3 million in Spokane, while developers in all other cities combined spent $30.3 million (2002, State Historic Preservation Office)
"Tree City USA" (National Arbor Day Foundation, 2004)
Nishinomiya Garden at Manito Park one of North America's top 25 Japanese Gardens (Journal of Japanese Gardening)
Ranked no. 6 in Entrepreneur and D&B's 10th Annual Best Cities for Entrepreneurs - Top Midsize Cities in the West 2003
Ranked 41st Healthy City (Organic Style Magazine)
Ranked no. 2 in the nation for temperate summer weather (Custom Weather, 2001)
Named one of the top 10 family-friendly U.S. cities (Family Fun magazine, 2000)
One of 15 Top Dream Towns where baby boomers can "reinvent" themselves (AARP, 2003)
Ranked #91 Best Place for Business & Careers (Forbes, 2004; up from #100 in 2003 and #162 in 2001)
"Most Wired" hospitals in the U.S. (Hospitals & Health Networks Magazine, 2002)
#16 out of 101 Best Cities for Men (Men's Health Magazine, 2002)
One of America's 50 cities that sizzle (America's Restaurant News, 2000 & 2001)
I didn't get to the mountains/skiing, bike trails, centennial trail, wineries yet... I'll do that soon.
