If I had to put it in a single sentence: What’s the purpose?

Longer version: Why are we all showing up at Flat Top Park? What are we supposed to be celebrating? What are we supposed to be doing?

Don’t get me wrong: I think it’s great that West Richlanders can get together like this on a beautiful fall day and visit with neighbors. But it seems like such an odd mish-mash of things going on:

• The fire department is there showing off their equipment and letting kids sit in a real fire engine and get their pictures taken.
• Local businesses are there with booths selling their products and services.
• There are school-based singing and dancing groups putting on performances.
• At least one branch of the military had a booth, presumably to recruit new members? I’m not sure.
• There are games and contests, like sack races and such.
• There’s a big BBQ-style lunch area.

Again, not complaining. Just wondering where the “harvest” aspect is in all of this? Shouldn’t local farmers be there selling their crops and homemade goods? To me, a “harvest festival” is like a bigger, better farmers’ market-type of event. I don’t even know who organizes our Harvest Festival, but if they happen to find this, there’s my hope/request: little more focus on the “harvest” aspect of a Harvest Festival. Our other big city events — Hogs and Dogs, the Veteran’s Day Parade, etc., all have a very clear theme/focus. I think Harvest Festival needs one, too.

So now that I’ve shared my two cents, here are three pics that we took while we walked around Flat Top Park on Saturday. Had an interesting conversation with the Charter Cable reps, and I’ll write that up in a separate post.

This is a post from the West Richland Real Estate Blog by Cari and Matt McGee.

Harvest Festival 2010 Thoughts & Photos

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1. West Richland Harvest Festival 2010: September 18
2. West Richland Harvest Festival – September 20
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There’ll be food, artists’ booths, live music, games and other kids activities — plenty of stuff for the whole family to do. It’s sponsored by the Red Mountain Lions Club, West Richland Chamber of Commerce, and the City of West Richland.

This is a post from the West Richland Real Estate Blog by Cari and Matt McGee.

West Richland Harvest Festival 2010: September 18

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July 2, 2010: Independence Day concert featuring Mid-Columbia Master Singers
July 16, 2010: Nick Vigarino plays Chicago and Delta blues music
July 30, 2010: Bram Brata and OK 2 Botay perform steel drum and Caribbean-style music
August 6, 2010: Wylie and the Wild West featuring the original Yahoo yodeler, Wylie Gustafson
September 10, 2010: Teen Night

This summer’s Concerts at the Pavilion are being organized by the Red Mountain Lions Club; club members will be selling hot dogs and other snacks/beverages during each concert.

Each Concert at the Pavilion event is FREE, and they all begin at 7:00 pm at Flat Top Park in West Richland.

This is a post from the West Richland Real Estate Blog by Cari and Matt McGee.

West Richland Concerts at the Pavilion Start Tonight

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1. Concerts at the Pavilion – 2008 Schedule
2. 4th of July in West Richland
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I haven’t seen any news about how many/bikers showed up. Maybe it’s just me, but it seemed like the crowd was smaller this year than in past years. We showed up at about 5 pm, which is when we normally get there, and the crowds weren’t as big. Maybe everyone just arrived later this time around? Could be. But I wonder if a lot of people chose, instead, to attend the Cool Desert Nights event in Richland? I don’t think Hogs & Dogs normally competes with that, does it?

Either way, we enjoyed ourselves as we always do. Cari volunteered for a few hours this year and made some new friends in the process. The kids and I walked around and did a lot of people-watching, and a lot of gawking at the motorcycles.

I’ve posted 20 Hogs & Dogs photos on Flickr, and some of them are included below.

This is a post from the West Richland Real Estate Blog by Cari and Matt McGee.

Hogs & Dogs 2010 in the books

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West Richland’s Hogs and Dogs event needed some volunteers, so I signed up!  I’ll be there from 4-7, selling food tickets.  I really wanted to be a model, perhaps posing in a bikini on a Harley, but they said that wouldn’t be necessary.  Hmmmm.  Anyway,  I’ll also be live-tweeting and Facebook status updating from the event, so follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook if you haven’t already.

As of 10 am this morning, they still needed some help, so if you’re so inclined, call 967-0521 and offer up your time.  They have two “shifts”,  from what I understand, 4-7 and 7-10.  But I bet if you said you could only work for an hour or two, they’d be good with that.

This is a post from the West Richland Real Estate Blog by Cari and Matt McGee.

West Richland’s Hogs and Dogs, Again

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We’ve updated our Hogs & Dogs info page with the latest info about:

• Expected traffic delays
• Road closures
• Motorcycle rider instructions
• Free shuttles for attendees

Even if you’re not planning to attend (and why wouldn’t you?), this is information that could affect you next Thursday, June 24.

This is a post from the West Richland Real Estate Blog by Cari and Matt McGee.

Hogs & Dogs 2010: Traffic Information

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1. Hogs & Dogs 2010 Coming Soon
2. Hogs & Dogs 2010 in the books
3. West Richland Hogs & Dogs 2008 – Win a Harley!

Representatives Brad Klippert and Larry Haler will be joined by State Senator Jerome Delvin to talk about the 2010 legislative session, as well as to speak with constituents individually and answer questions. Here are the details if you plan to attend:

1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Benton REA Meeting Room
6095 Van Giesen Street
West Richland

This is a post from the West Richland Real Estate Blog by Cari and Matt McGee.

State Reps Hosting Town Hall Tomorrow

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We’ll keep posting new information about Hogs & Dogs as we get it, but you may want to bookmark this page that we’ve made to keep track of everything that’s going on:

Hogs & Dogs Event Information

You’ll find all the event details there, along with a map to the sports complex and even some Hogs & Dogs photos from previous years.

This is a post from the West Richland Real Estate Blog by Cari and Matt McGee.

Hogs & Dogs 2010 Coming Soon

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1. Hogs & Dogs 2010 in the books
2. West Richland Hogs & Dogs 2008 – Win a Harley!
3. Hogs & Dogs 2010: Traffic Information

You’ll want to bring your own Easter basket to collect the eggs, and bring a camera if you want a photo with the Easter Bunny.

The hunt is organized by Yoke’s Fresh Market, Benton REA, and the city of West Richland.

Apologies for the late notice, but we just learned about this today, so….

This is a post from the West Richland Real Estate Blog by Cari and Matt McGee.

Easter Egg Hunt tomorrow in West Richland

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West Richland’s annual Earth Day cleanup is set for April 17th from 8 am to 3 pm at Enterprise Middle School.

Just like in previous years, there are different entrances/lines depending on what you’re doing. There’s one for yard debris like tree branches, another for household garbage, and a third for household hazardous waste. There’s no limit to how many times you can drop off your unwanted stuff, but you can’t drop off refrigerators or air conditioners.

One new twist this year: Goodwill will be on hand to accept any items that are too good to be thrown away.

If you have old/unwanted tires, you need to go to the Benton Co. Mosquito Control office at 4951 Van Giesen. That spot is open from 7 am to 3 pm on Saturday and there’s no charge for tire disposal.

Volunteers Needed

The city is looking for volunteers to help out with this year’s Earth Day cleanup. City officials, staff, and elected leaders will be volunteering — as will local firefighters, Chamber of Commerce members, and your neighbors. Call the Public Works Department at 967-5434 if you can volunteer, or just want to learn more.

[where: Enterprise Middle School, 5200 Paradise Way, West Richland, WA 99353]

This is a post from the West Richland Real Estate Blog by Cari and Matt McGee.

West Richland Earth Day Cleanup Coming Soon

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