Ponderay Neighbor Day fetes community

PONDERAY — It’s going to be mostly fun and games at the third annual Ponderay Neighbor Day on Sept. 14 in Ponderay, and all residents, businesses and neighbors are invited to join in the community celebration.

The event is earlier this year to hopefully benefit from better weather. Festivities will take place from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, on Harbison Field behind the Hoot Owl Restaurant in Ponderay. Parking will be off Emerald Industrial Park Drive.

The theme of this year’s event is the 25th Anniversary of the Ponderay Police Department, and will showcase a patrol car and the chance to get to know Ponderay’s officers through fun activities.

The city of Ponderay and the Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail are hosting the free community event, which features numerous fun activities for children, live music from the Bum Jungle Band and The Liabilities, food vendors, a beer garden, craft and retail vendors, demonstrations by the Northside Fire Department as well as a K-9 demonstration by Corporal Inman and Bindy of the Sandpoint PD, and an opportunity to learn more about the city’s plans for the Field of Dreams and a railroad underpass to link the city to Lake Pend Oreille.

“It’s an exciting time for Ponderay,” said Susan Drumheller, president of the Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail. “Ponderay Neighbor Day is designed to be fun for families, but also a great way for people to connect with city officials to learn about these projects.”

Among the kid-friendly activities booked for the event include pony rides, a petting zoo and llama kissing booth; a bouncy castle, obstacle course and Water Zorb Balls from Northwest Inflatables; a climbing wall; carnival games; face painting; and a kids’ fishing pond provided by Sandpoint Marine and Motor Sports.

Vendors include a variety of products and farm produce, with food provided by Sweet Lou’s, Felker Northern Smoke BBQ, Papa Murphy’s, Shilla Korean BBQ with Seoul, Sun Bear Ice Cream and Gardner Grind Coffee. Contact Ponderay City Hall if you are interested in being a vendor, at (208) 265-5468.

One reason the city and Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail originally teamed up to host the event was to celebrate the connections being made throughout Ponderay and between neighboring communities, such as the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail. Public outreach about recreation and connection projects, including the lakeshore connection via a railroad underpass and the Field of Dreams regional sports and recreation complex, have been among the objectives of the event.

This past summer, the city applied for a federal BUILD planning grant to fund the design, engineering and construction of an underpass at the Harbison Field location, which would allow pedestrian and bicycle access to the lakeshore. With an undercrossing, the city could potentially create park amenities along the shoreline. The grant awards will be announced in November.

Meanwhile, the city received a $100,000 grant to launch the design and development of the Field of Dreams 50-acre regional park. A proposed plan for the park will be unveiled at this year’s Ponderay Neighbor Day.

Residents who stop by the Mini City Hall at Ponderay Neighbor Day to learn about recreation projects in the city will be entered into a free raffle. Drawings will be made at the tail end of the event for a $300 gift card for Quinn’s Hotsprings, 4 tickets for the SPORT scenic train ride, an Ozark Trail high performance cooler and numerous hand-crafted ornaments from Tis the Season Ornaments.

Ponderay Neighbor Day is funded through generous sponsorships from local businesses and organizations.

Information: cityofponderay.org/ponderay-neighbor-day-2019