Bloglander

Fashion Week is riding high in New York City, but on Saturday you can get a taste of local fashion designs at Runway Renegades. Previously held during the Garland Block Party, the 8th annual fashion show — which includes more than 125 local artisans working together — is taking to the runway at Northern Quest Resort & Casino for the first time.

Ronnie Ryno, of Glamarita Clothing & Accessories, says the move to a new location was a more efficient way to raise funds for the event’s charity, Blessings Under The Bridge, as before they couldn’t charge for tickets. Having it at the casino also means native designers are participating for the first time and, best of all, the new digs are inside.

“This is the first time I’ve been able to do this event with jackets,” Ryno says. “Before I never made them because I didn’t want any models to pass out from the heat.”

Ryno started Runway Renegades after being turned away from other fashion shows for not having a boutique. She did open one eventually in the Garland District, bit it closed last September.

Shuttering her shop was like having a death in the family, Ryno says. But now she’s back at it, inspired to design again and hopefully get a mobile bus version of the store up and running by spring.

“I loved Glamarita and we had a loyal following but we… I don’t want to bash Spokane at all. There wasn’t enough people coming in often enough,” she says.

Now back in action with Runway Renegades, Ryno is amazed at how far the event has come.

“I look back at pictures from our first couple years. We didn’t know what we were doing at all,” she says. “Every year we learned something, and this move is the next step to continue to grow.”

Pre-sale general admission tickets are $20, or $25 at the door. Blessings Under The Bridge, which works to serve the homeless, will receive 50 percent of the event proceeds. Fashion fans can also check out the vendor market happening today through Sunday in front of the pavilion at Northern Quest. A fashion show after-party is happening at Club Impulse and is $10.

Here’s a look at the designers:

Ronnie Ryno, Glamarita Clothing & Accessories (partnering with Assassin Apparel)
This collection has a 1970s rock ‘n’ roll/glam vibe.

Lynne Blackwood, Blackwood Art Clothing & Accessories 
Inspired by the 10 most infamous queens in history, this collection is called “Dancing Queens.”

Chet Bluff and Angelena Campobasso
Heading up two different Kalispel Tribe design teams, their looks will include modern native wear as well as more traditional pieces.

Gianna Morrill, Kuriio
This seasoned local designer went with a Startribe theme for this year’s show.

Linda Graff and Patricia McClain Osborne, A Sewing Shoppe
The designers experimented with hand-dyed techniques for their collection.

So no offense to anyone, really, but most of my Instagram feed is one of two things: 1) cats, or 2) arts-related accounts, like the ones I shared below. A mix of Inland Northwest-based and not, these Instagram-ers are all inspiring, creative and often breathtaking. Following celebrities is boring — these are definitely not.

@cobralilyshop
This near-Seattle artist is a paper flower maven like few others I've come across. Constantly challenging herself to create complex and unexpected blooms, Kate Alarcon also teaches classes around the West Side so if you're lucky, you can learn some of her stunning techniques yourself.


@sistergoldenshop
Keeping with the flower theme, I've also been continually stunned at the creative pieces coming out of this mother-daughter team's account. Undoubtedly the big draw is the foliage collage portraits by the mom half of the duo, which fans of her work can buy online in print form. 


@thelovelyave
Paper flower art is a long-time obsession of mine, and just like the previously mentioned account, the Salt Lake City-based artist Margie Keates is making stunning, realistic blooms from paper that you have to see to believe. 




@anemonepaperflorist
We'd be remiss not to include Spokane's own paper florist, Anemone Paper Flowers, whose Instagram account is equally full of mesmerizing displays of flowers made right here in our city.



@spokanedecay
There is beauty in everything, and few other Instagram accounts capture the intrigue of the abandoned like this Spokane-centric account.




@socalitybarbie
This account has been abuzz all over the Internet in recent weeks, and its sarcastic take on the trendy, hipster-ified approach to Instagram is spot on.




@christinehmcconnell
This California-based artist, photographer, seamstress, baker and model's all-around stunning throwback to the domestic arts might make you feel inadequate, but it's definitely worth clicking "follow."

With Pope Francis coming to the United States next week, how about another quick game of “Who Said It?” Test your knowledge on the following 11 quotes from one of three men of destiny. Enjoy!

What makes Cheap Trick truly "classic" among the still-touring classic-rock bands is their ability to make a show seem utterly fresh, even as the band members approach 70 and their most popular hits near 40. 

Take their show Thursday at the Spokane County Interstate Fair as a prime example. It was a loud, boisterous explosion of power-pop and hard rock songs that blended the obvious, monster hits from Cheap Trick's catalog with some deep cuts, surprising covers and unreleased new songs. Put it all together, and it was as satisfying a rock show as any you're likely to see this year. 

For the hardcore Cheap Trick fans standing from start to end and crowding the front of the stage, the show had everything they could desire. Lead singer/guitarist Robin Zander strutted around in an all-white suit and fedora (complete with feather) over a white T-shirt with an important message: "Music has value." His voice was in stellar form, whether delivering poppy tunes like "If You Want My Love" or "The Flame," or rockers like "California Man" or "Daddy Should Have Stayed in High School."  Given the range of rock styles Cheap Trick tackles in its tunes, they're lucky his voice remains as strong as it is, even if some of the high notes were a stretch after more than four decades on the road. 

Guitarist Rick Nielsen threw guitar picks into the crowd by the dozen, had a checkerboard-pattern pedestal to step up on for select solos, and wore a T-shirt with a picture of himself on it, because why not? He delivered most of the between-song banter for the night, cracking jokes about songs like "Borderline" — "It never got played on the radio. It never got played in anyone's homes, either" — doing his patented spoken-word interlude during "Dream Police" and breaking out his five-neck guitar during the show-closing "Surrender." He even spent some time chatting up the sign-language interpreters working on the side of the stage in the middle of some songs. 

Bassist Tom Petersson was more low-key than his long-time partners, lurking in back and occasionally hitting the front of the stage to harmonize with Zander. He did shine, though, during a bass solo that segued into an utterly unexpected and total awesome version of Velvet Underground's "Waiting for the Man" that included a mid-song side trip into VU's "Heroin" with Petersson on lead vocals.  

With Nielsen's son Daxx ably sitting in on drums in place of long-timer Bun E. Carlos, the band played with an energy that belied their years, and did far more than simply recreate their biggest hits for a fair audience. Songs like "Come On, Come On," "On Top of the World," "Need Your Love" and the new, unreleased "Bang Zoom Crazy Hello" all added some nice flavors to a set peppered with the most popular songs from the Cheap Trick canon, but those were there, too in "Ain't That A Shame," "I Want You To Want Me" and "Surrender." 

At show's end 19 songs and a bit more than 90 minutes after its start, Zander bowed to the audience and said Cheap Trick "will see you down the road." Given the energy and excitement the band still brings to a stage more than 40 years after its formation, there's no reason to think the road trip will end any time soon. 

Here is the complete setlist from Thursday's show: 

Hello There 
Come On Come On
Big Eyes 
Lookout 
California Man 
If You Want My Love
On Top of the World 
Borderline 
Ain’t That a Shame 
Need Your Love
Daddy Should Have Stayed in High School
In Crowd 
Waitin’ for the Man 
The Flame 
I Want You to Want Me 
Dream Police 
Bang Zoom Crazy Hello 
Surrender 
Goodnight 

Here's a little taste of "Ain't That A Shame" from the show: 

FROM INLANDER.COM
• A local legend, Tambourine Man, is leaving town
• MOD Pizza opens in downtown Spokane
• Another inmate escapes from the county fair

• The murder-for-hire trial moved to Richland
A Spokane judge agreed to move James Henrikson's trial to the Tri-Cities after his attorneys argued that the volume of media coverage had tainted potential jurors. Henrikson is accused of masterminding two murders over business deals; three men pleaded guilty earlier this week and are expected to testify against him. (KXLY)

• Restrictions lifted on business and travel to Cuba
The new rules will enable Americans to open businesses in Cuba. Pope Francis is visiting the island nation tomorrow. 

• Washington's wildfires gave a sea otter asthma
That's the thinking anyway.


• It's National Cheeseburger Day.
Enough said.

Thursday at noon, MOD Pizza downtown opened its doors to a crowd of hungry customers, eagerly awaiting their promised free pizza.

The opening event for Spokane's third MOD location boasted a line of customers snaking out the door and down the street for an event complete with music and free pizza for the first 52 MODsters. For those of you who haven't yet visited the other locations, MOD is a artisan-style pizza parlor where customers can create their own pizzas, choosing from over 30 different toppings or selecting from a set menu of classics. The Seattle-based chain also offers local craft beer and wine, house-made lemonades, ice teas, and milkshakes.

If you missed your chance for free pizza, there's still reason to check out the new location today — MOD will be donating the rest of the day's profits to local organization Big Brothers, Big Sisters, so you can feel good about treating yourself to some pizza. 

To keep up with all the restaurant openings, closings and news, be sure to sign up for Entree, our food newsletter delivered right to your email box. 

Daniel F. Murinko, an inmate at Geiger Corrections Center, walked away from his first day of work detail at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center, according to corrections Lieutenant Joanne Lake. 

"When you're dealing with people, you do everything you can with respect to putting them in the least restrictive environment and trying to promote community service, but you do take a certain amount of risk," Lake says.

Murinko, 26, had been held since Sept. 9 on two counts of DUI and two counts of driving with a suspended license and was held on a combined bail of $20,500.

He was assigned to pick up trash at the fairgrounds as a part of the inmate work release program, which includes a total of 44 inmates. He drove away in a golf kart to perform a task and never returned, Lake says. 

Murinko is the third inmate to escape from Geiger's work crew program in 2015. Riley Smith escaped while picking up litter in February, Lake says. Devin Johnson stole a Spokane County Fairgrounds truck in his escape two months ago. Spokane police arrested Johnson days later at a hotel.

There were three escapes from work crew in 2014, Lake says, including Robert Reed, and Courtney Cate. 

Work crew is a program in which qualified inmates are allowed to perform tasks in the community while serving their sentence. Judges can authorize work crew, but it is up to corrections staff at Geiger to make the final decision based on an inmate's risk. 

A risk assessment that factored in Murinko's criminal history indicated that he was at a low risk to reoffend, Lake says. 

"These are low-risk offenders," she says. "It's a tragedy when they decide to do this because it adds another layer of charges. Anytime we put people on these programs there's risk because people are messy. I don't think that means we shouldn't pursue jail alternatives." 

Murinko is described as 5'9, 185 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. He has numerous tattoos on his arms. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is encouraged to call Crime Check at 509-456-2233.

In case you hadn’t heard, the U.S. is going to elect a president next year and there are many people campaigning for the position. Part of campaigning requires convincing people and corporations (same thing) to part with their money. The Hill newspaper reported in January that election could cost $5 billion.

In the Inland Northwest, people are giving money to presidential candidates. Here’s who they’re giving it to and who they are not.

The Colvilles like Clinton

Early in her campaign, former Secretary of State and presidential contender Hillary Clinton made outreach efforts to Native Americans. She might have done something right because earlier this year, the Confederated Tribes Of The Colville Reservation, an Eastern Washington tribe, gave $2,700 to Hillary Clinton, a drop in the campaign bucket, but still.

Spokane likes Bernie more than Hillary
To date, Spokanites have given $1,300 to Clinton. They’ve given $3,979 to independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is challenging Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Most contributors list “not employed” or “retired” as their occupation.

From late-night dive bar shows to huge community festivals, the Spokane music scene will soon be missing one of its biggest characters. Michael Ransford, commonly referred to as Tambourine Man as he’s often wielding the clanging instrument, is leaving Spokane.

He’s not going too far away, just far enough to make it tough to shake his buns at local shows nearly every night of the week. Ransford is moving back to Moses Lake, his hometown. He’s moving back to rest his aching body and clear his mind. Pushing 60, he wants to be comfortable as he ages, he says. He should be all moved by the end of the week.

“If I put the tamb down for a while, it’s whatever,” says Ransford, mid-move from the road earlier this week. “The dance floor is beating me up. People don’t understand that it’s getting to be harder out there for me.”

Since this year’s Volume, Ransford’s already notable 6-foot-3 frame was made more noticeable with a new bleached blonde hair look. This summer, he attended all the important shows around town, large and small — his strutting rooster-like moves and incredibly tight clothing on full display. Wherever he goes, excited whispers of “there’s Tambourine Man” follow. He is a curiosity as well as a scene mascot of sorts. He knows this.

“People want to touch me, they want to talk to me and take pictures with me. I know I’m kind of out there.” Ransford says. “Just today a band wanted to collaborate with me. I’ve collaborated with so many bands.”

Ransford says he should still be around for some of the bigger Spokane events in the future, but for now, he’s taking a much-needed breather.

In the meantime, does Ransford believe someone else should take up his tambourine torch?

“Whoever wants to do it, they can do whatever they want,” Ransford says. “I never cornered the market on what I do and I never will and if someone wants to go out there and match what I’ve done… like I’ve said, you need skills and talent."

But Ransford’s reticent to say someone could truly be the next him. “I don’t know anyone who can play the tambourine as well as me. I have that metronome, that inner tick-tock.”

Just for a little nostalgia, check out this 2014 “Hey Mr. Spokane Tambourine Man!” song made by a Gonzaga University student filmmaker.

After Donald Trump was done arguing with Carly Fiorina on CNN last night, he called Hillary Clinton with some advice for her campaign. 

OK, no he didn't. But Jimmy Fallon's impression was pretty good. After the Fallon-as-Trump skit, Clinton did her own Trump impression: