Hold Peace: A Hope Piece
August 9, 2009 
1 Comment
Does Spokane have an underground party culture? We’ve heard tales of what People’s Park was like back in ’74 when employees of the Expo got together to unwind at the end of the day. We’ve also heard a lot recently about the punk rock/new wave community that added character to our nightlife back in the 80′s. Then there is Spokane’s legendary rave scene that saw thousands of young people appearing in industrial parking lots out along Trent and elsewhere. Last week we read a story in the West Central community newspaper about a middle-aged couple that hosts a block party for hundreds of their neighbors every 4th of July.
Such gatherings are as diverse as the people who attend them. We contend that Spokane’s “big-small-town” vibe makes its social environment highly event dependent. We also observe Spokanites maintaining close-knit social networks. Combined, this is a cultural recipe for wild and crazy parties where you’d least expect them to go down. Where is that party spirit manifest today?
Well, for one you could head on over to a quiet residence somewhere between Garland and Northtown to witness a modern day Spokane “happening”.
Art by Naaman Cordova-Muenzberg
Roommate duo Naaman C.M. and Jillian Foster invited everyone they knew to a potluck-style political performance art get-together in their backyard. Most people get anxious just having friends over for dinner. By comparison, these kids are doing something different to blow the predictability of the average summer BBQ out of the hemisphere.
Dear Friends of Beautiful Things in Spokane,
It is actually one part fundraiser for PJALS, one part art-peace from Black Rabbit Magic, one part community love extravaganza! August 9th is the 64th Anniversary of the Bombing of Nagasaki. We are hosting a garden party to create peace and to raise resources for PJALS. Called “HOLD PEACE (A Hope Piece): A Celebration of a World Without Bombs/Dreams for Nagasaki,” we want to bring as many friends of love together as possible to create community magic here in Spokane!
It would be great to include a range of performing artists, poets, passive-resisters, peace-mongers, politicians, and plain old people. We are inviting all who attend to fold origami cranes that we will hang on Sept. 11 in the Community Building in time for the Main Street Fair and Community Minded Enterprises’ Sustainable Uprising (a youth event in partnership with Youth Sustainability Council). At the end of the party, we are inviting everyone to a bed-in for peace, a la Lennon-Ono style.
Angry skeptics may call them delusional hippies or whatever other derisive epithets they can come up with. In the end the party-goers will probably be having too much fun meditating on world peace to notice.
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well, in a word, no, Spokane dose not a much of a party culture.
part of the problem are the authorities, who will visit a loud party on the premise of “noise complaint” and search for underage drinkers. Cheney and the Gonzaga area are notorious for this. in Pullman, the cops walk right on by, preferring to spend their time investigating real crimes.
many new transplants try to replicate their Pullman experience here (See the Pegasus room) find that the powers that be are not accommodating.
the only instances of house party culture that do see takes place out in the sticks, (Rockford was the last one I went to) where the cops wont find them.
I wondered about the feasibility of a Block party a little while ago, they spontaneously erupt in hillyard in the first warm weeks of summer as a half dozen BBQ’s colelece into a neighborhood shindig, when some one breaks out a guitar and couple keg. but as far as I can tell, these things aren’t really planned. they are fun when they happen though.