Thrive Yakima Valley

11/26/2024

10/17/2024

The spooky season is here! Join us for a hauntingly good time aboard Yakima's historic trolleys. 🧙‍♀️🎃👻🚋

Buy your tickets online in advance to guarantee the time and number of seats of your choosing! https://www.simpletix.com/e/yakima-halloween-trolley-2024-tickets-190561

10/17/2024

🎺23rd annual Harvest Marching Band Festival is Saturday, 9 am to 8 pm, at Zaepfel Stadium.
🥁Details at www.harvestbands.org

10/17/2024

IT'S NOT JUST OUR HERITAGE ON THE LINE! The 6th Avenue project will also have broad impacts on tourism and economic development, traffic flow, access to local businesses, street safety, recreation, and more. Please take 3 minutes to share your thoughts:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JMS7HX2

SURVEY CLOSES AT THE END OF THIS WEEK!

Observations about Concept 1:
✅ Preserves and restores the trolley line to Selah
✅ Keeps a center turn lane, which is good for traffic flow, safety, and access to local businesses
✅ Enhances the William O. Douglas trail
✅ Keeps the trolley aligned in the center of the street which is safer and historically accurate
✅ Is most similar to the current configuration of the street
✅ Keeps the trolley system on track to become Yakima’s first National Historic Landmark—a boon for tourism and economic development

Concept 2:
❌ Creates a potentially unsafe situation where the trolley goes against traffic in one direction
❌ Is the most costly option

And Concept 3:
❌ Destroys the trolley line to Selah completely
❌ Ends forever the possibility of the trolleys becoming a National Historic Landmark

10/11/2024

Opening Today! Yakima Valley Artist Fall Showcase-
This exhibit will display the works of well established and up and coming artists of the Yakima Valley! Join us for an opening reception November 14th, 2024 from 5pm-7pm!

Artists:
Se-hui Amos
Betsy Bloomfield
Bill Brennen
Ani Li Gresham
Duane Heilman
Aislinn Hematyar
Rosie Saldana
Laura Siebol

09/22/2024

Join us at State Fair Park today from 1pm to 7pm for FAT’s the Flavor at the Fair! Meet and Greets with The Fat Pastor & Asher Niles, culinary demos and our 3rd annual fresh, handmade salsa contest!
✨🧈🤗🌶️✨

We're so excited for this weekend's events!

First, come join us tonight at The Chefs On Tour! We'll be making the most incredible 24 Hour Pacific Northwest Hunters Ragu over Creamy Parmigiano Polenta!

Flavors of Rosemary & Lemon-Thyme float throughout the beef & pork ragu, with bits of smoked pancetta jumping out for effect! The confit'd tomatoes add the familiar red flavors to the dish, and the creamy polenta serves as the perfect base. Sit back, take a bite, and pretend your favorite Italian took you camping!

The Fat Pastor Junior will be serving this up with Tenielle and Malynda tonight, and everyone is so excited to serve you!

Tickets Available -------> https://memberships.cwhba.org/ap/Events/Register/kgFEdZaHzCVC1

On Sunday, be sure to join us for "Fat's The Flavor At The Fair!"

Join The Fat Pastor & The Fat Pastor Junior as they demo food throughout the day, and judge an amazing salsa competition.

12pm - The Fat Pastor Junior Demo

1:00pm - The Fat Pastor Demo

3:00pm - Salsa Competition!

6:00pm - The Fat Pastor & The Fat Pastor Junior Demo TOGETHER!

We can't wait to see you this weekend! Have fun, and enjoy the lasting beautiful weather!! Hope it's not going anywhere anytime soon!

09/19/2024

During an open house on Thursday, we want to hear from you about a project in the early design stage involving a rebuild and rail renovation for 6th Avenue.
👉Find details and maps at www.yakimawa.gov

09/19/2024

AN APPEAL FROM TROLLEY PRESIDENT KEN JOHNSEN
To all friends of the Yakima Trolleys: Throughout the 51 years that I have been working to save and preserve the historic YVT railroad in Yakima, there have been times when the future of the trolleys looked very grim indeed.

Sometimes we had outright enemies on the City Council; sometimes there were people outside the city government who had designs on taking over the trolley property; and there was the time that the Union Pacific Railroad was going to abandon and scrap the whole railroad.

Each time people rallied to show their support, or sometimes a hero would appear, as Lynn Buchannan did many years ago to protect the trolleys from a hostile Council. Or letters were written to Union Pacific which persuaded them to donate the railroad to the City of Yakima. Or grants were obtained by the trolley association to pay for repairs that were actually theCity's responsibility.

In short, the trolleys have led a charmed life and have managed to get through all the difficulties and still keep running.

I believe we will again, but we are facing a serious threat and I am writing to ask your help. The people planning the rebuild of 6th Avenue are asking the public to let them know if there is support for rebuilding the trolley track along with the roadway in 6th Avenue.

Rebuilding the track at the same time as the roadway would make a very smooth surface without the broken rail pieces we have seen in recent times, thus ensuring automobile traffic a smooth ride and no broken tires.

Rebuilding the track would keep our Selah line intact and allow us to once again run trolleys to Selah. This in turn would allow us to become a National Historic Landmark as the last intact interurban railroad in America.

Rebuilding the track with its quaint trolley would enhance the residential neighborhoods that we run through and add value to the 6th Avenue corridor.

Rebuilding the track would demonstrate a positive attitude from the City towards historic preservation. Even now people come from all over the world to see Yakima's historic interurban railroad. This brings in tourist dollars and spreads Yakima's fame.

Not rebuilding the track, and paving it over with asphalt, would only accomplish one thing: the demise of the YVT trolley railroad. It cannot survive without an intact line to Selah.

So I am asking you, dear friends, to please make time in your Thursday evening activities to go to Garfield Elementary School for just a few minutes, anytime between 5:30 and 7:30 pm, to write your comments about your preference for having the trolley railroad rebuilt along with the 6th Avenue roadway. The City is waiting to hear from you! Thank you!!

Ken Johnsen, President
Yakima Valley Trolleys

09/06/2024

🤗✨🍺 There’s still time to enter your homemade brews at the fair!

08/14/2024

FISH ON! Captain Cod at Bearded Monkey Music today!! 😋