Summer begins

For more than 150 years, summer crowds have swarmed to the Liberty Lake area for music, games and entertainment.

That delightful tradition continues this year at the 10th Annual Summer Festival, held on the picturesque grounds of Liberty Lake Pavillion Park.

Events kick off with a July 1 fun run, continue with free outdoor concerts and movies and close with a twilight symphony performance.

“It’s like revisiting a time gone by,” said Kelli Schneidmiller, secretary of the Friends of Pavillion Park, a nonprofit that schedules most park events as well as the fundraising events to pay for them.

“You bring your picnic and your blanket and it’s fun to take time out for family and friends,” she said.

The contemporary celebrations grew from gatherings in the 1850s, said Ross Schneidmiller, a local historian, former Friends board member and Kelli’s husband.

“This series connects to a history of music that Liberty Lake has been well known for since the grandson of Circling Raven, an elder in the Coeur d’Alene tribe, lived here,” he said.

Back then, numerous Native American tribes pitched tepees near the lake and competed in three days of games and fun, including horse and canoe races that culminated with a bonfire the final day, he said.

“The grandson would sing Circling Raven’s prophesies and his melodious voice carried over the water,” according to historical records, Ross Schneidmiller said.

In 1909, a grand dance pavilion – with an expansive floor that hovered on stilts out over the lake – drew Hollywood celebrities and other folks to the area. Orchestras and big bands kept the crowds hopping until the place shut down in 1958.

Today, the park’s Pavillion is a replica of that earlier dance hall building, for which it is named.

“The (modern) venue is amazing because you sit in this (grassy) amphitheater and you’re looking at a replica of the Pavillion and looking over the hills the Native Americans would have been seeing in the 1850s,” Ross Schneidmiller said.

As always, these summer events encourage camaraderie, sense of community and cultural enrichment.

“We try to have an eclectic mix of events and concerts and we’ve had anywhere from 400 to 7,000 people,” said Ken Kaiyala, president of Friends of Liberty Lake Pavillion.

“They have a really good time and really enjoy what’s going on,” he said.

“We’re trying our best to make this a community activity everyone can attend. And I think that all the volunteers and all the people who worked on this have that in mind. It’s not just for the city, it’s for the entire community,” Kaiyala said.

Musical events and movies take place in or directly in front of the pavilion.

A grassy slope gently rises from the heart of the pavilion, creating lawn seating with views of the stage. Viewers are asked to sit on blankets or in low-slung camp-style chairs so as not to obstruct anyone’s view.

All events are suitable for families and children. Please leave your pets at home. Burgers, fries, chips, snacks and soft drinks are sold at the park’s Liberty Lake Kiwanis Club’s concession stand.