Buzz Bin

by Michael Bowen & r & & r & Prunus Avium


Are you the kind of gal who can spit a cherry pit 11 yards? If so, you just might break the Green Bluff Cherry Festival record. (Men hoping to become record-breakers have to beat Mike Stephens' mark of 43 feet, 2 inches.) Step up to the line and expectorate for all you're worth on Thursday, July 19, at 5:30 pm. That same evening, there will be a "Tot Trot" and a four-mile run for adults (the "Cherry Pickers' Trot"). Also, both of the next two weekends (July 14-15 and July 21-22) feature all-day cherry-related activities at the nearly three dozen farms located north of Day-Mount Spokane Road and east of Green Bluff Road (about a mile and a half east of Newport Highway). Visit www.greenbluffgrowers.com.





Summer in the City


If you take a noontime walk through Riverfront Park on Friday the 13th and the sights, smells and sounds run toward tie-dye, patchouli and the Lovin' Spoonful, you're not having a bad-luck acid flashback. The blissed-out hippies listening to the Dead Man's Pants concert may be 40 years older than they were during the Summer of Love, but you're ageless, baby. Visit www.kpbx.org or call 328-5729. Peace.





Criticize the Critic


"Always passing judgment on local actors ... I'd like to see him try to act." Well, you can. Grab some decomposing produce and express your opinion of a certain local theater critic during the "Classmates in Comedy Improv Showcase" on Saturday night at 8 pm at the Blue Door Theater, 815 W. Garland Ave. Tickets are $5. Visit www.bluedoortheatre.org or call 747-7015.





Just Study for a Spell


With the "Spokane Is Spelling" weekend (Oct. 20-21 at River Park Square and the Big Easy) just 100 days away, can you spell words based on the following pronunciations and definitions? (They're among the easiest words used in the actual 2004 Scripps National Spelling Bee.) All are nouns unless otherwise indicated; answers next week. And no cheating.


MOO-moo (Hawaiian; "a loose, brightly colored dress")


MISS-uh-bull (adjective; Latin; "capable of being mixed in any ratio")


NAW-kee (Italian; "dumplings made of pasta and filled with cheese or potato")


sa-sir-DOUGH-see (Latin; "priesthood")