Palouse Music Festival next weekend

PALOUSE — The Palouse Music Festival is up for another year of fun and music in the park Saturday, July 29, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Hayton-Green Park.

This year’s lineup starts at 11 a.m. with traditional Irish band Potatohead, followed by Sesitshaya at 12:15 p.m. Sesitshaya is a Marimbas band, influenced by deep-toned African xylophones.

Americana folk band, Ice Cream Band, will go next at 1:30 p.m., followed by blues and funk artist Peter Smith at 2:45 p.m.

The Lids will play James Lee Harris’s rockin’ originals from 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m., and classic grunge, surf, punk, and rock band Green Flannel will play from 5:45 to 7 p.m.

Secretary of the Palouse Arts Council and Co-Chair of the Music Festival Dona Abderhalden stated that vendors and the pool would also be available next to the park.

“If you are not from Palouse, you must pay to use the pool,” she said.

Abderhalden shared that the festival got started by a local Palouse woman in 2005 as the Palouse Bluegrass Festival.

In 2012, she became burnt out on doing it, so Abderhalden her husband, and their friend decided to save it.

“I love doing it,” Abderhalden said, “We have our official motto is, ‘local is the new awesome,’ which we came up with way back in 2012.”

She further stated that they try to keep all the bands within the region.

“We won’t do Spokane bands, and we kind of go the other direction,” she said, adding that they’ll have groups from Moscow and Palouse.

Abderhalden stated that Palouse has an unusually high number of talented people.

“I would say four of the six groups that are playing have some connection to the Palouse,” she said, explaining that the whole band either lives in Palouse or someone in the band does.

“It’s just a great family event,” she said, “It’s inexpensive; it’s only ten dollars for the adults for the whole day.”

President of the Palouse Arts Council, Shandra Bohn, stated that the Arts Council is doing a presale of tickets through their website, palouseartscouncil.org.

Bohn further shared that often people don’t know they can bring their coolers, as well as chairs and blankets, to the event.

Abderhalden stated that there will be vendors and food served by the Palouse Lion’s Club.

“There’s also a beer garden that is a fundraiser for the Palouse Community Center,” Abderhalden said.

Arts Council Member Karen Peltier said she always looks forward to the event.

“It’s just a really lovely time, and it’s always cool there because there’s so much shade,” Peltier said, adding that it’s one of the reasons she fell in love with Palouse as a place to live.

“It’s just a really delightful event,” Alderhalden said.