Family Fun: Liberty Lake festival lines up summer fun
The Liberty Lake Summer Festival kicks off this weekend with “The Croods: A New Age” on Saturday night and fireworks for the Fourth of July.
This year’s festival will continue through Labor Day weekend with a mix of recent and popular family-friendly movies, as well as shows from the traveling Shakespeare in the Park troupe and the Spokane Symphony, said Bob Schneidmiller, who helps organize the festival.
“We really think that this year is probably going to be as big a group as we’ve ever had simply because people haven’t been out to the movies, they haven’t been out doing very many things,” Schneidmiller said. “We look forward to a very busy season.”
The festival grew from a Spokane Symphony concert at Pavillion Park in 2001, the year Liberty Lake incorporated. Over the years, the Friends of Pavillion Park expanded it to include movies and other events. Now, the friends group isn’t involved, and the city and the Kiwanis Club are the main organizers, with STCU sponsoring the movies.
Schneidmiller is an avid classical music fan, so the symphony concert is his favorite event of the festival. “It’s something I always look forward to,” he said.
He said people often bring picnics for the concert, and many people come to the park throughout the day to save their spot on the grass with blankets.
“When the symphony is here, that’s kind of a special time. A lot of people, they have family here, and they bring barbecues, picnics. … It’s more of a celebration,” he said.
The festival “is one of the things that makes Liberty Lake what it is,” Schneidmiller said.
Movies
All screenings are free and start at dusk at Pavillion Park, 727 N. Molter Road, unless otherwise noted. The Kiwanis will have a concession stand as a fundraiser at all of the movies.
Saturday: “The Croods: A New Age”
July 16: “Sonic the Hedgehog,” at Orchard Park, 20298 E. Indiana Ave.
July 17: “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
July 24: “Onward”
July 30: “Toy Story 4” at Orchard Park
Aug. 7: “Frozen 2”
Aug. 14: “Avengers: Endgame”
Aug. 20: “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”
Aug. 21: “Raya and the Last Dragon”
Aug. 27: “Abominable”
Other events
Sunday: Fireworks at Pavillion Park start at dusk. Usually, there’s a band before the fireworks show, but because organizers were unsure of pandemic restrictions, the concert is off for this year. They plan to bring it back next year.
Aug. 22: Shakespeare in the Park presents “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The free show is sponsored by Greenstone Homes and starts at 5 p.m. at Pavillion Park.
Aug. 28: Liberty Lake Throw Down, a cornhole tournament fundraiser for HUB Sports Center, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. at Orchard Park. Registration is $30-$75 and open through Aug. 13. Visit hubstportscenter.org for more information.
Sept. 4: The free Spokane Symphony Lud Kramer memorial concert starts at 6 p.m. at Pavillion Park, though inclement weather may change the location. The city’s Barefoot in Park is also that day, with activities throughout the day, as well as a car show sponsored by the Kiwanis. A schedule and more details will be released closer to the event. That weekend also marks the 20th anniversary of Liberty Lake’s incorporation, which was Aug. 31, 2001.