The Spokane Lilac Festival |
"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn."
—Hal Borland
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What an exciting March with the Royalty! Our VP of Royalty, Kim Johnson, has done an outstanding job working with our seven young ladies to prepare one of them to become Queen!
The Family Night went flawlessly with Directors both in attendance at the event and those live streaming. Not only was it a dress rehearsal for the Court but also to prepare for the Coronation live stream behind the scenes. Thank you to Christy Snow who was instrumental in the whole streaming process. And thank you to all those people working behind the scenes to make Coronation day, March 20, 2021 a successful day for our lovely Court!
I am so proud of each of our Royal Court members and think any one of them would make a great Queen to lead us through this next year.
On behalf of the First Lady, Chris, and myself, we want to send all of you who helped a big group hug and a HUGE thank you. It is amazing what the Lilac Festival Association can do when we all work together. THANK YOU!
Dan VerHeul
2021 President
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Passing of a Dear Lilac Member
Past President ('16)
Richard Logerwell
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We would like to honor our good friend and long time Lilac Director, Richard Logerwell. Richard was the 2016 "Lilacs in Wonderland" President and served proudly along side his wife & First Lady, Laurine.
We sadly and suddenly lost Richard last month to complications of Stage 1 Pancreatic Cancer. Richard was a devoted Float Toad since 2007, and along with Laurine, loved driving the floats all over our the Northwest, Showcasing Our Region!
It is an understatement to say Richard will sorely be missed, he will always be a part of the Lilac Family. We hold Laurine, and her and Richard's three children, in our hearts and our prayers.
Please join us at Richard's Celebration of Life ceremony, Saturday, April 10th at 11am. Spokane First Church (828 W. Indiana). You can also tune in virtually via the Lilac Festival Facebook Page.
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Photos by Laurine Logerwell, Gibby Media, Hawkinson Photography and Carla Stenberg |
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2021 Royal Court
Left to Right: Princess Kimberly, Princess Elena, Princess Maddie, Queen Julia, Princess Carly, Princess Mindee and Princess Lauren
Photo Courtesy of Hawkinson Photography
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March was a very busy month for our Royalty program! It was really special to have a sense of normality back into our lives.
Our seven Court members started the month with continuing their training on speech preparation and community service. Past Queen and 2021 VP of Communications, Sydnee Stelle, videoed in from Colorado to help the Court prepare for both the upcoming Family Night and Coronation but also gave tips and tricks for their prepared speeches. The Court then met one on one with their speech liaisons to get further guidance on how to optimize the message of their speech and relay that on stage. Thank you Sydnee and speech liaisons!
The ladies were able to get out in the community and help at 2nd Harvest as well as visit our very own Float Toads! This is an annual tradition where the Court and their parents not only head down to the Float Barn to meet our Float Toads and provide them lunch, but also learn about the amazing work they do for our Festival and even roll up their own sleeves to help a bit. Thank you Float Toads for showing us the ropes and continuing to be such a vital part of our Festival!
Coronation week found the Court excited and nervous with anticipation. Thursday, the 18th, was Family Night where they were able to practice both their prepared speeches as well as answer a warm up and impromptu question in front of their family and Lilac Directors. This is also where Directors could cast their vote for Queen (accounting for 40% of the overall score). We were able to take advantage of this new era and livestream for those Directors that could not attend in person. Thank you to those Directors that tuned in and voted! Coronation day, Saturday, the 20th, was a very long but exciting day. The Court started with their individual interviews with our panel of community judges, then a little relaxing and quality time with the 2020 Court and then it was time for the main event! The whole evening was so very lovely and such a joy to see for both our in-person guests as well as our many many livestream viewers. If you missed Coronation, don't worry it's been recorded. Click the link further in the newsletter to access the video! You can also see all the amazing pictures by Monika Hawkinson on our website!
All of the Court members did an amazing job at Coronation and were all deserving of the title of Queen. In the end, Julia McIntyre of Gonzaga Preparatory School was crowned the 2021 "Destination Spokane" Queen!
Congratulations to all our 2021 Royalty Candidates and Court members for all their hard work and dedication the last few months. And thank you to our 2020 Court for all their hard work and commitment this past year. The Lilac City should be very proud and inspired by all of our young leaders in our community.
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Row 1: Princess Mindee and the Court attend Speech Prep Training with Sydnee Stelle (streaming in on the TV).
Row 2 & 3: The Court headed out to the 2nd Harvest food bank to donate a couple hours of their time.
Row 4 & 5 : The Court and their Parents enjoyed the annual visit to the Float Barn and got to meet and help out with the awesome Float Toads and see the famous Cheshire Cat by Richard Logerwell.
Row 6: The Court has a sort of 'dress rehearsal' at Family Night and Princess Elena reads her impromptu question.
Row 7: The 2020 & 2021 Royal Courts pose after Coronation.
Photos Courtesy of Kim Johnson & Hawkinson Photography
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Queen Julia McIntyre
Gonzaga Preparatory School
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Photo Courtesy of Hawkinson Photography |
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Missed the 2021 Queen & Court Coronation? |
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Photo Courtesy of Gibby Media |
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We want to send a big congratulations to our long time Lilac member and overall outstanding Spokane resident, Marilyn Thordarson, for her selection a member of the 2021 Class of Business Icons, selected by the Journal of Business.
Marilyn has been a long time leader for the Spokane community and we could not be more proud to call her a member of our Lilac Family for the past 47 years! We could write an entire novel about how much Marilyn has done for our organization and community, but we think one of our Partners said it best:
"To be honored with such greats as Rich Hadley, David Clack, Paul Redmond, Bill and Judi Williams and more is truly a wonderful thing. It has been such a pleasure working with you over the years and I’m so very happy you are being recognized as a Business Icon for all you do and all you have done for our community. Thank you!" ~ Julie Read, The Spokesman-Review
Marilyn will be honored in a virtual ceremony on May 5th with her fellow Icons. We hope to be able to tune in!
Congratulations, Marilyn! We could not be more proud and think of a more deserving recipient!
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The Spokane Lilac Festival wishes our friends with birthdays in March & April a Happy Birthday!
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March:
- Shelley Sholl 3/1
- Jenifer Eberle 3/2
- Miranda O'Callaghan 3/3
- Neesha Wright 3/3
- Joan Petow 3/5
- Michael Cressey 3/7
- Russell Brown 3/14
- Flo Wood 3/20
- Joan Frank 3/25
- Jasmin Davis 3/27
- Roberta Greene 3/29
April:
- Toni Ernst 4/2
- Brad Hamby 4/7
- Marilyn Thordarson 4/8
- Don Bowen 4/11
- Mary Jo Kane 4/12
- Georgeanne Nichols 4/23
- Mike Moore 4/27
- John Cocks /29
- Karen Montague 4/30
- Michael Noyes 4/30
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April:
- Each Saturday - Float Barn Work Day, 10am-2pm, Float Barn (No work day on Apr. 10th)
- Thursday & Friday, April 8-9th - Office Closed
- Saturday, April 10th - Richard Logerwell Memorial, 11am Spokane First Church (828 W. Indiana) | Streamed on Lilac Facebook Page
- Tuesday, April 13th - Directors Meeting, 6pm via Zoom
- Monday, April 19th - Finance Committee Meeting, 6pm (Office & Zoom)
- Thursday, April 22nd - Community Partnerships Meeting, 6pm (Office & Zoom)
- Thursday, April 27th - Executive Committee Meeting, 6pm via Zoom
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Spokane Lilac Festival
3021 S. Regal, Suite 105
Spokane, WA 99223
509.535.4554
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Video Produced & Provided by Gibby Media Group |
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