“Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won’t make it ‘white’."
~
Bing Crosby
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FLOAT WORK DAY
Saturday, December 8th
10am-4pm
Float Barn
903 E Pacific
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Our Float Toads need you! This Saturday they plan to strip the chassis that will become the "We Are Spokane" Float for 2019. If you would like to see what the float looks like to start with, this would be the time.
Lunch will be provided. We work from 10 AM till 4 PM or any amount of time you can stay. This will be the last work day for 2018. Our next work day will be January 12th 2019.
Merry Christmas from the Float Toads!
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SLFA Annual Pin Party
Tuesday, December 11th
6pm
Royal Park Retirement Center
302 E Wedgewood
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1999 Past President Bill Phipps and 2017 Royalty Candidate Ellie at the 2017 Pin Party
Photos Courtesy of Hawkinson Photography
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The 2019 "We Are Spokane" pins are in and are ready to be put on boards to send out to local businesses.
Please join us at our annual pin party,
Tuesday, December 11th at 6pm at the Royal Park Retirement Center
(
302 E Wedgewood).
Since we don't have our Royal Candidates yet, we need all the help we can get. Purple Coat attire is NOT required, but please wear purple so we represent the Lilac Festival proudly!
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We are well into the planning for our 2019 Spokane Lilac Festival Year. Many of your Vice Presidents are already busy with their areas – here is a little recap of activity from your Executive Committee this Fall.
Past President and Membership VP
, Nancy Cole, has been in a flurry hosting information nights for potential new Volunteers and Directors! We have 6 new Directors already this year – more than we have had in years! And all are great additions to the organization. Can’t wait for you to meet them all.
Royalty VP’s.
Cecelia Stephens and Clare Patton. have been busy hosting Royalty Candidate information events for our Royal Court. A record 73 girls signed in to the events giving us 21 potential schools for Royalty Candidates this year! That is so exciting! Can’t wait until selection begins in January.
Financial Development VP
, Mike Cressey, has been busy going around to sponsors with plaques thanking them for their contributions last year and meeting with new sponsors for our coming 2019 year. Between he and Marilyn Thordason, we are really making headway with our sponsorship program. We are seeing more dollars and new sponsors – so that is going great!
Military and Community VP
, Alan Hart, has been hitting a multitude of community and military events from the GSI annual meeting to both the Air Force and Navy military Balls. He is a part of Forward Fairchild and has a great relationship with many of our top community leaders ensuring Lilac stays top of mind in city and military planning.
Merchandising VP
, Karen Montague, has had a big job this Fall as pins were ordered early! It is exciting to have pins in hand before the holidays! Also exciting to Merchandising is our new Merchandising Trailer. Karen and her husband are outfitting it for next year’s parade. How exciting to have a new trailer and a big thank you to the Montagues for keeping it at their home to keep it safe!
Parade VP and Chair
, Dan VerHeul and Jamie Dedmon, have the Parade and Vendor applications out already! Trying to get a start on things early this year, the applications are even better than last year as it allows registrants to pay at the time they submit! A huge time saver for all!
Float VP
, Mike Moore, hosted our first float work day and we are prepared to start stripping the old chassis to make this years float! That next work day is Dec 8
th
and if you have not been to the float barn yet – it is a blast! Join us for old float demolition day!
Hosting VP’s,
Angela Wray and Toni Ernst, have already started the planning of the many events for the coming year. They did a fabulous job at our very well attended installation event and already have event chairs lined up. The Christmas Party is next on the list and it will be a grand time thanks to their hard work.
Area Relations VP,
Shelly Sholl, is just getting started! We finally finished our last parade in September to Leavenworth and are ready to start planning for the 2019 parade schedule. If you have not been to a Northwest Festival Hosting parade – try it this year! Some of the faves of the group are Seattle Seafair, Leavenworth Autumn Leaf and Penticton Peach!
Your financial team
. Russ Brown as Treasurer and Dan VerHuel as Finance Committee chair, have been hard at work crunching numbers to make sure we are moving forward with purpose and planning when it comes to the accounts. Lots of moving parts and lots of expenditures that start now so help us get those donation dollars in so we can build up the pot for 2019!
Your 2019 Team have been hard at work and would love to have help! Don’t hesitate to call the Lilac office or any one of us if you have any questions or contributions to a committee. All ideas are welcome! All hands appreciated. It takes a Team and we are thankful to all our Directors and volunteers for all that they do and give to make this Festival the signature event of Spokane!
Photo by Hawkinson Photography
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SLFA Holiday Party
Friday, December 14th
5:30 pm
Hamby Residence
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2017 SLFA Holiday Party
From Left: Kristy Hamby, Nancy Cole and Jamie Dedmon
Photos Courtesy of Jamie Dedmon
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Our annual Holiday get together is next week on
Friday, December 14th
. Below is just a sample of the fun we have planned and what you can bring. If you have any questions, please contact our office team.
- Potluck Dinner (You will be able to specify what you would like to bring when you sign up.)
- Raffle Items (It just wouldn't be a Lilac event without a fun raffle. You can buy tickets at the party or pre-purchase when you sign up.)
- Gift Exchange (If you would like to bring a small gift to add to the pool, its always a great time for a fun, and maybe a tad lively, "Yankee Swap" style exchange.)
- Toys for Tots (If you would like to bring a new, unwrapped, toy, or even $$ to donate to this wonderful cause, please do!)
- Christmas Carols (Warm up those pipes!)
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Spokane Lilac Festival Queen's Crown
Photo Courtesy of Hawkinson Photography
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Last night, some of our members attended the West Valley High School Royalty Candidate selection. There were two very deserving young ladies that would both have represented the Festival and the Lilac City proud.
We are excited to announce the names of our confirmed candidates:
- Allie McGlothlen - West Valley HS
- Madeline Foster - East Valley HS
- Maggie Bailey - Freeman HS
- Megan Munden - Medical Lake HS
- Sierra Stinson - University HS
- Elizabeth Welker - On Track Academy
- Lilian Kay - Liberty HS
School's and candidates have until December 20th to turn in their information to our office. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more Candidate announcements!
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We hope you are enjoying learning more about all the individuals that help make The Spokane Lilac Festival an intricate part and tradition in Spokane and around our Region.
Missed an issue? Click the links to get to know Members we've spotlighted:
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Clare Patton
2019 Co-VP Royalty
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Clare, like many other Lilac Festival volunteers who come from many fields and backgrounds, has found a passion in the efforts and civic support of our youth, military and the City of Spokane offered by the Spokane Lilac Festival Association. After studying marketing in college and working in advertising for 5 years, she became a “stay at home Mom” and an avid volunteer in church, school, and children centered non-profit organizations.
When Clare's daughter was accepted in the 2007 Lilac Festival Royalty Program, and ultimately became Queen, she and her husband, Hal, began their journey as members of the Lilac Festival team of volunteers. When Hal became president of the Lilac Festival organization in 2012, Clare became first lady and VP Royalty, participating in parades across the region and Canada. Her and Hal's royal court had the distinct honor of traveling with Spokane’s Sister Cities Organization to China to volunteer in orphanages and hospitals and serve as ambassadors to Spokane’s sister city, Jinlin City in the Jinlin Province.
Clare now spends her off time traveling and assisting her aging parents and focusing on her family. She especially loves being “Nana” to her 4 grandchildren.
We are so lucky to have Clare on the Executive Committee team this year. We know she and Cecelia, her Co-VP, are going to have a great year in guiding and highlighting some of our community's brightest young women.
Thank you Clare!
Photo by Hawkinson Photography
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Did you know?
- Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the Spokane Lilac Festival Association
- AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service.
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Northwest Festival Hosting Group Conference
Hosted by The Spokane Lilac Festival
January 18-20, 2019
Spokane, WA | DoubleTree by Hilton
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The Spokane Lilac Festival is proud to be the host of the 2019 Northwest Festival Hosting Group Conference, January 18th through the 20th!
Meetings and other events will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Spokane. We have a lot of activities and extra events planned, so we hope to see as many NWFHG members as well as Lilac members there.
This is a great opportunity for our organizations to come together and help make each other better and keep growing. Not to mention, a chance to show off our beautiful Lilac City!
Deadlines for hotel reservations and registration are fast approaching, so book soon!
For our out-of-town guests or those that don't want to drive back and forth from home, DoubleTree is offering registration for special hotel rates through December 28th. ($125/night-single, $135-double).
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2019 Parade
Participant & Vendor Applications Now Open!
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2018 Armed Forces Torchlight Parade Participants
Photos by Hawkinson Photography
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The 81st Armed Forces Torchlight Parade may still be 5 months away, but its never too early to submit an application! If you or your organization is interested in participating either in the Parade or as a vendor, please click the below link(s) to fill out your application.
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The Spokane Lilac Festival wishes our friends with birthdays in December & January
a Happy Birthday!
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December:
- Catherine Tunstall 12/1
- Kristy Hamby 12/3
- Jamie Dedmon 12/6
- Hal Patton 12/7
- Christine Leva 12/8
- Gail Nord 12/9
- Dick Totten 12/14
- Jack Aronson 12/25
January:
- Kathy Kendall 1/4
- Denny Kane 1/13
- Deborah Koch 1/15
- Nancy Cole 1/20
- Deborah Bowen 1/23
- Lisa Lembeck 1/25
- Joyce Tilloston 1/25
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December:
- Saturday, December 8th - Float Work Day, 10am-4pm, Float Barn
- Tuesday, December 11th - Pin Party, 6pm, Royal Park Retirement Center
- Tuesday, December 11th - New Directors Meeting, 5pm, Lilac Office
- Friday, December 14th - Spokane Lilac Festival Holiday Party, 5:30pm, Hamby Residence
- Thursday, December 20th - Royalty Candidate Applications Due to Office by 5pm
- December 24 through January 1 - Lilac Office Closed
January:
- Wednesday, January 2nd - Royalty Committee Meeting, 5:30pm, Lilac Office
- Monday, January 7th - Hosting Committee Meeting, RTP 5:30pm, Hosting 6pm, Lilac Office
- Monday, January 7th - Royalty Candidate/Parent Orientation, 6pm, Location TBD
- Tuesday, January 8th - Directors Meeting, 6pm, Location TBD
- Saturday, January 12th - Float Work Day, 10am-4pm, Float Barn
- Tuesday, January 22nd - Executive Committee Meeting, 6pm, Lilac Office
- Thursday, January 24th - Parade Krewe Meeting, 5:30pm, Longhorn BBQ Airway Heights
- Saturday, January 26th - Float Work Day, 10am-4pm, Float Barn
- Tuesday, January 29th - Directors/Royalty Candidates Meeting, 6pm, Location TBD
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Spokane Lilac Festival
3021 S. Regal, Suite 105
Spokane, WA 99223
509.535.4554
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