Spokane, WA

Spokane’s Browne’s Addition used to be a pretty rough neighborhood, but with the influx of students, a great museum, and delicious eateries, it is now one of the best places to live for young artists, students, and professionals in Spokane. I can’t visit Browne’s without running into a fellow writer pursuing a Master of Fine Arts at the Inland Northwest Center for Writers, and Artfest was no exception.

I’d planned to meet up with Aaron, a friend of mine, for lunch. We grabbed a Slick Rock Burrito downtown and headed out to Coeur d’ Alene Park to check out Artfest, an annual event in the park that coincides in the spring with Elkfest, a great music festival. Aaron and I ate our burritos, listening to an old time country singer doing Johnny Cash-like numbers by heart. After we’d finished eating, we decided to give the booths featuring great local artists a once-over.

We looked at paintings, jewelry, and carvings of all kinds, and finally came around to the Willow Springs booth, promoting EWU’s literary journal. My poet friend Terry was sitting there, looking a little tired, but dutifully handing out free copies of Willow Springs to passers-by. He looked envious that Aaron and I were enjoying the festival rather than working, and gave us a healthy guilt trip, whining about his horrible, booth-sitting lot in life. We just smiled and nodded, wished him well, and moved on.

When we were finished checking out the booths, Aaron and I made use of the rest of the park by hurling his Frisbee back and forth fifty yards apart, near the park’s famous and colorful gazebo. When it was time to go back to the business of the day, Aaron and I didn’t want to leave this pleasant park near downtown.

Coeur d’Alene Park is located in the heart of Browne’s Addition, on the corner of 2nd and Chestnut. These photos weren’t taken during Artfest, but during a subsequent visit to the park.