Ponderay: Come meet your neighbors

PONDERAY — Come meet your neighbors.

That is the whole point of the city’s annual Neighbor Day — a chance to celebrate the end of summer with neighbors, family, and friends.

All the fun starts at 1 p.m. and continues until 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Harbison Field, located behind the Hoot Owl restaurant on Highway 200 in Ponderay with parking off Emerald Industrial Park Drive.

The festivities will bring the community together around cotton candy, crafts, retail vendors, and live music. The event will also include magic by Starr Alexander, inflatables, local food vendors, and fun activities for the whole family.

From 1:30-5:30 p.m., live music can be heard throughout the event, made possible by the generous contributions from Ponderay community businesses, said Kayleigh Miller, city planning director, and project manager. Performing will be the band “One Street Over” which will the stage.

Sweet Lou’s is hosting a beer garden and serving up food. Other food vendors also include Truck n’ Delicious, HOTDOGG!, Killer Tacos, ice cream from Sun Bear, cotton candy and shaved ice by Bombshell Sweets, cupcakes from Lakeside Bake Co., and more.

Ponderay Police and Northside Fire will go head-to-head in the second annual keg battle. In addition, the fire district will host extrication and hands-on fire extinguisher demonstrations during the event.

More, family-friendly activities include a petting zoo, inflatables, pony rides, a North

40 fly-fishing booths, craft activity by Home Depot and so much more.

Stop by the North Idaho Ice (NIICE) booth to play a little hockey as the local non-profit kicks off

fundraising efforts to bring an ice rink to Ponderay. Miller said the city also will be featuring the latest Field of Dreams concept renderings from HMH Engineering.

Updates on multiple projects including the “Front Yard” project to explore the upcoming lakeshore connection to the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail will be given at the event during the public open house at “Little City Hall”. That will allow the community to ask questions and leave feedback about the project.

“As we value[the community’s] opinion and are looking for input before we move forward,” Miller said.

Because Neighbor Day is a celebration of community connections, event admission and activities are free to all who attend.

Miller said Ponderay Neighbor Day as well as all Harbison Field improvements are funded through sponsorships from local businesses and organizations. This year, sponsors include Ting, Gardner Custom Homes, Mountain Metals, P1FCU, HMH Engineering, STCU, Kootenai-Ponderay Sewer District, the city of Ponderay, and more.

For more information, visit the city’s website at bit.ly/3RFqmp9 or call Ponderay City Hall at 208-265-5468.