Red, White & BOOM

MOSES LAKE – Citizens of Moses Lake gathered on Saturday in Sinkiuse Square and McCosh Park for the Red, White, & Boom Independence Day celebration, hosted by the Moses Lake Museum and Art Center and the city’s Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services Department.

Dollie Boyd, superintendent of the Museum and Art Center, explained the motivation behind the event.

“We wanted to do not just fireworks, but we wanted to bring back the summer concert series. We did some surveying around town, and that was the number one thing that people wanted to see.”

The group of volunteer event coordinators usually behind Moses Lake’s Independence Day celebration decided to focus their efforts on the 2023 Spring Festival, according to Boyd. The museum stepped in to work with the Parks Department to organize the Independence Day event.

Boyd spoke further about the Museum’s goals in helping manage the celebration.

“Moses Lake hasn’t always been known for its arts and cultures, and we’re trying to change that. We want to support creative businesses.”

Beginning with a farmers market in McCosh Park at 8 a.m., the celebration continued throughout most of the day. After the market was a free family scavenger hunt at noon before the main event moved downtown to Third Avenue at 2 p.m. Various booths were set up in Sinkiuse Square for the public to check out.

The Museum and Art Center, which had its own booth, sat among several information stations for local institutions, including Grant County Animal Outreach, Access to Baby and Child Dentistry, Grant County Health District, Washington Special Olympics, Grant County Conservation District, NCW Libraries and the Moses Lake MLK Committee.

LaDonna Richie, of the MLK Committee, commented on the number of people visiting the informational booths set up downtown.

“There’s been a really good turnout. I think it was advertised really well, so there’ve been a lot of people coming by.”

Event coordinators initiated an open mic from 2-4 p.m. and a Street Taco Contest at 4 p.m. The taco contest judging panel consisted of Mayor Don Myers, Deputy Mayor Deanna Martinez, Richard Paulk – executive chef at Samaritan Healthcare – and local artist Fabian Nunez.

According to the Moses Lake Downtown Association, Nunez’s graphic design company, Artisans Co., designed the taco contest’s trophy, which was 3D printed by Big Bend Community College. The panel presented the trophy to Enrique Garcia of Tacos El Rey, the winner of the contest.

At 5 p.m., community members made their way to McCosh Park to enjoy games, local vendors and food outside the McCosh Centennial Amphitheater, which hosted Journey tribute band Stone in Love for a free concert at 8:30 p.m. The concert is the first of several musical events scheduled for Moses Lake’s Summer Concert Series, according to Boyd.

Event attendees set up their own seating hours before the concert, watching Stone in Love rehearse as the amphitheater slowly filled up. George Hernandez, a concertgoer camped near the top of the theater, spoke about the event and the holiday.

“It’s very important. I have a five-day weekend, and after working all week a free event is nice.”

Red, White & Boom’s grand finale was a fireworks display above McCosh Park at 10 p.m. Moses Lake Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services Director Doug Coutts reflected on the success of the event in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald.

“We received many positive responses on City social media pages about the event, particularly the Street Taco Contest, Open Mic, concert in the park and Free Family Saturday. It was fun to see the community and guests enjoy the festival.”

Gabriel Davis can be reached at gdavis@columbiabasinherald.com.