Buzz Bin

All Grown Up


Sitting at a sidewalk table outside Madeleine's downtown on a recent weekday afternoon, Spokane suddenly seemed like a big-time city.





Golly, it was like being in Portland: Sidewalk buskers, artists peddling their wares, passersby ranging from suits to street kids, from soccer moms to dreadlocked musicians. A sunny afternoon with a lived-in feel: not just stylishly dressed people flaunting name shops' bags before driving off to the 'burbs, but a mix of people who work and live in downtown and have a stake in it. Nice.





Playing Like a Million Bucks


At the Symphony's penultimate INB Center Classics concert, one highlight was the interplay between the woodwinds and soloist Louis Lortie in the slow movement of the first Ravel piano concerto (the one for both hands).





Executive Director Brenda Nienhouse announced an anonymous $1 million grant to the Fox fund.





Pro Bono, Pro Kids


The Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery recently honored the Spokane branch of the miller.whiterunkle marketing agency for handling Vanessa Behan's advertising. For 20 years. For free. [Cue applause.]





Playing With Paint


You've seen all the graffiti. Why doesn't somebody cover that up? And you've driven by those "People's Gallery" murals (over on the Maple Street Bridge or between Wall and Howard streets). You're thinking you could create paintings as good as those, maybe better.





Well, time to put up: This Saturday, Sept. 22, anytime between 10 am and 2 pm, show up at Third and Ash in some sturdy shoes and your grungies and paint to your heart's desire (within the bounds of your own little square, of course, and nothing corporate or offensive, please). The paint's free; the splatters on your face are your own doing. Call 625-6730.





A 30-Day Spell


It's one month to Spokane Is Spelling. Here's your final tune-up; answers next week.





Parr-JELL-uh-sall (noun, Latin): permafrost; permanently frozen ground.





Oh-DAWN-tuh-lock-see-uh (noun, Greek): irregularity of the teeth





RASS (noun, Cornish): a tropical fish with thick lips and bright coloring.