Arts & Entertainment Archives - Page 61 of 109

Adam Beach says a connection to ancestry is important

9055468 — Adam Beach talks to media at the annual We Day event at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Oct. 18, 2013.
Photograph by: Nick Procaylo , PNG

By Tracy Sherlock, Postmedia News October 18, 2013

Adam Beach, a Canadian actor who stars in Arctic Air, lost both of his parents within a two-month period when he was eight years old. Although there was a lot of fear in his life growing up, he says it was a connection to his First Nations ancestors that made him who he is today.

“I grew up in sexual abuse and got involved in gangs in my teenage years. I was always running away from the fear of what happened to me,” Beach said in an interview at We Day. “I noticed myself being drawn toward the identity of who I am as First Nations and I realized that there are teachings there and a timeline that hasn’t changed.

“That helped me become brave and strong, a leader and who I am today.”

The Golden Globe-nominated actor was born in Manitoba, raised on the Dog Creek Reserve, and is a member of the Saulteaux First Nation. He has starred in more than 60 films and TV shows, including Big Love, Hawaii Five-O and the blockbuster Cowboys Vs. Aliens with Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig.

His Golden Globe nomination was for his role in the 2007 HBO film Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. He also won Best Actor at the American Indian Film Festival in 1995.

He says the entertainment industry changed his life by allowing him to have a voice. As an example, he said he was able to get a group of chiefs together to agree unanimously on the Save the Fraser Declaration because of that voice.

“That’s the voice I have and the strength I have … because of the entertainment value of being the ‘Hollywood Indian,’” he said. “And I respect it, I don’t abuse it, and I know that there is a value to this entertainment status. Every kid wants to be a star and looks up to an entertainer.”

The 40-year-old started the Adam Beach Film Institute last year in Winnipeg to help other native youth get involved in film careers.

“I want to find the next Adam Beach. I think we need to tell our stories — we haven’t tapped into that, so this will encourage an aboriginal workforce,” Beach said.

At We Day, Beach performed a First Nations blessing ceremony using a bear pipe and an eagle wing. He said the blessing was a way of connecting the crowd with its ancestors.

“I am asking our ancestors to hear (these) youth and help them with their vision of making social change,” Beach said.

“(The eagle wing is for) asking to take the energy of the eagle to help bless us … and to allow us to connect with it in the way that an eagle soars, has a longer vision and the gift of flight — so help us in our journey to fly.”

Lou Reed Dead at 71, lyrics to “Last Great American Whale”

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Rock legend Lou Reed has died at the age of 71. Reed recorded four essential albums in the late ’60s with the Velvet Underground, and went on to an acclaimed, if uneven, solo career. Both the Velvet Underground and Reed himself were always more influential than successful; Brian Eno once remarked that only 100 people bought the first Velvet Underground album, but every one of them went on to form a band. Velvets songs such as “Sweet Jane,” “Heroin,” “Rock and Roll,” and Reed solo tunes like “Walk on the Wild Side,” “Satellite of Love,” and “Perfect Day” never threatened to top the pop charts (although “Wild Side” did make it to no. 16 in 1972), but will continue to get heavy play as long as music snobs congregate in dingy college dormitories.

In 1989, Reed released New York, which was hailed by critics as a brilliant comeback, if not the best album of his career. New York was a commentary, often spiteful, on both the city and ’80s culture in general; targets included such emblematic figures as Mike Tyson, Bernard Goetz and Morton Downey. One song, “Last Great American Whale,” addressed the environment with an allegorical tale of a massive sea creature summoned by an Indian tribe but killed accidentally by “some local yokel member of the NRA.”

The man who wrote the definitive song about hard drugs (“Heroin”) and one of the great tributes to the power of noisy, rebellious music (“Rock and Roll”) didn’t have an “Indian song” per se, but “Last Great American Whale” was in the ballpark.

They say he didn’t have an enemy
His was a greatness to behold
He was the last surviving progeny
The last one on this side of the world

He measured a half mile from tip to tail
Silver and black with powerful fins
They say he could split a mountain in two
That’s how we got the Grand Canyon

Last great American whale
Last great American whale
Last great American whale
Last great American whale

Some say they saw him at the Great Lakes
Some say they saw him off of Florida
My mother said she saw him in Chinatown
But you can’t always trust your mother

Off the Carolinas the sun shines brightly in the day
The lighthouse glows ghostly there at night
The chief of a local tribe had killed a racist mayor’s son
And he’d been on death row since 1958

The mayor’s kid was a rowdy pig
Spit on Indians and lots worse
The old chief buried a hatchet in his head
Life compared to death for him seemed worse

The tribal brothers gathered in the lighthouse to sing
And tried to conjure up a storm or rain
The harbor parted, the great whale sprang full up
And caused a huge tidal wave

The wave crushed the jail and freed the chief
The tribe let out a roar
The whites were drowned, the browns and reds set free
But sadly one thing more

Some local yokel member of the NRA
Kept a bazooka in his living room
And thinking he had the chief in his sights
Blew the whale’s brains out with a lead harpoon

Last great American whale
Last great American whale
Last great American whale
Last great American whale

Well Americans don’t care for much of anything
Land and water the least
And animal life is low on the totem pole
With human life not worth more than infected yeast

Americans don’t care too much for beauty
They’ll shit in a river, dump battery acid in a stream
They’ll watch dead rats wash up on the beach
And complain if they can’t swim

They say things are done for the majority
Don’t believe half of what you see and none of what you hear
It’s like what my painter friend Donald said to me,
“Stick a fork in their ass and turn them over, they’re done”

Before Schimmel: The Indian Women Who Became Basketball Champions

Montana State University News ServiceSome of the women from the 1904 Fort Shaw basketball team. Pictured in the front row, are Genie Butch, Belle Johnson, and Emma Sansaver. In the back row, from left, are Nettie Wirth, Katie Snell, Minnie Burton and Sarah Mitchell. — Montana State University News Service
Some of the women from the 1904 Fort Shaw basketball team. Pictured in the front row, are Genie Butch, Belle Johnson, and Emma Sansaver. In the back row, from left, are Nettie Wirth, Katie Snell, Minnie Burton and Sarah Mitchell.

Tip-off to basketball season is right around the corner. Shoni and Jude Schimmel are back at the University of Louisville, poised for another run at the national championships. Two years ago, Tahnee Robinson became the first Native American woman to be drafted by the WNBA and last spring, Angel Goodrich became the second. Indian girls are playing at many schools across the country and basketball reigns supreme throughout Indian country.

But Indian women and basketball are not as new as many think. In 1904 the women’s basketball team at Fort Shaw Indian Boarding School in Montana were world champions.

This arch at the site of the Fort Shaw Indian Boarding School proclaims the team as World Champions. (Jack McNeel)

Basketball was in its infancy, but rez ball was born.

James Naismith invented the game just 13 years earlier, so it truly was a new sport. Even during those 13 years it had evolved to something more resembling the game today. The clock didn’t stop, so the scores were lower and field goals only counted for one point, but the young women ran the full court as they do today. The uniforms could better be described as bloomers and the ball was slightly larger back then.

The History Museum in Great Falls, Montana contains a display of items and photos from the 1904 Fort Shaw Indian Boarding School basketball team including uniforms. (Jack McNeel)

The young women on the Fort Shaw team came from seven tribes throughout Montana and Idaho. Some of the girls had played shinny or double ball, but had likely never played this new sport. Their first game was against a high school boy’s team in Great Falls. The young ladies rode 40 miles in horse drawn wagons to play that game, winning and actually doubling the score of the boy’s team.

That was just the beginning. They beat the men’s teams at the University of Montana and Montana State by scores of 25-1 and 22-0. At halftime they entertained with songs on the mandolin and violin, recited poetry, sang and did Native dances. Teams didn’t want to play them.

A granite monument below the arch contains a photo and the name of each team member along with a steel basketball. (Jack McNeel)

The 1904 World’s Fair was held in St. Louis, Missouri. Fort Shaw Indian School Superintendent Fred C. Campbell arranged for the team and other Fort Shaw students to attend and live in tipis at the Indian Exhibit. They performed dozens of times showing their basketball talent as well as musical talents to raise money for the trip.

Missouri had put together an all-star team—their coach studied Fort Shaw and spent the summer preparing for them. They thought they were ready. It was a best of three series. The score in the first game was 24-2 in favor of Fort Shaw. Missouri requested a several week delay before the second game—the final score of which was 17-6, again in favor of Fort Shaw. They were declared world champions.

Fort Shaw was to close as a boarding school in 1910. The basketball team members went their separate ways, but their story continues to be told. PBS produced a movie called, Playing for the World. In 2004, Happy Jack Feder wrote a book called Shoot, Minnie, Shoot! Another movie was produced with that same title. In 2008, Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith produced another book titled Full-Court Quest: The Girls from Fort Shaw Indian School Basketball Champions of the World.

Paulette Jordan, Coeur d’Alene tribal member, played the role of Minnie Burton in the video. Jordan was a basketball player through four years of college at the University of Washington so the role came naturally. Minnie Burton was also an Idaho resident and a member of the Lemhi Shoshone Tribe.

“There was a lot of pride in playing the role of Minnie,” Jordan said. “I felt a strong relationship to Minnie who was a leader on the team. She was a natural, tall like me, and strong. She was a full-blood Indian. They were not just winners, but gracious about it. They kept winning and every time the hate became less… began transforming into respect. I believe that team had influence on the popularity of basketball into tribal culture that lasts to this day.”

The Fort Shaw Indian Boarding School no longer stands, although a couple of small stone buildings still occupy the site—but the basketball team has not been forgotten. A large steel arch has been erected with the words: 1904 World Champions. Beneath the arch is large granite stone with a steel basketball mounted on top with a photograph of the 10 young women on the team and the names of each player engraved in the stone. It’s a wonderful tribute to an incredible team that shocked the world in 1904.

Historic Haida Gwaii totem raising celebrates protection from logging

By Damien Gillis, October 24, 2013. Source: The Common Sense Canadian

A new video from Parks Canada follows the carving and raising of a 42-foot totem pole on Haida Gwaii this past summer. The first pole raising there in 130 years, it commemorates the 20-year anniversary of the creation of Gwaii Haanas National Park.

The Gwaii Haanas Legacy Pole was raised on August 15, 2013, at Hlk’yah GawGa (Windy Bay) on Lyell Island before a crowd of 400.

“Monumental poles are more than just art. They hold histories, they mark events and they tell stories,” explains artist Jaalen Edenshaw, whose design was chosen by a selection committee made up of a hereditary chief, two Haida citizens, a carver and two Gwaii Haanas staff members. Proposals were submitted without names attached, evaluated solely on their story and design.

In the video, Jaalen shows the different stories carved into the impressive pole, including one which symbolizes the 1980s blockade which protected the region from logging and led to the creation of Gwaii Haanas National Park. Another carved feature recognizes the formative influence of earthquakes on Haida Gwaii, which saw its famed hot springs dry up following seismic activity a year ago.

“The figure is ‘Sacred One Standing and Moving’,” Jaalen explains, “and as he moves, that’s when Haida Gwaii shakes and that’s what causes the earthquakes.”

The pole raising was a team effort, with dozens of Haida people and visitors pulling together on five long lines to erect it and lodge the base of the red cedar pole in a pre-dug hole for stability.

The whole process is captured from a bird’s eye-view via a small go-pro camera placed on top of the pole.

Nike N7 Holiday 2013 Collection: Where Innovation Meets Tradition

By Terri Hansen, Indian Country Today Media Network

A visually stunning Pendleton blanket with a distinctive, contrast-driven look subtly blends black and white to create rich gray tones that appear both heathered and color-blocked throughout the design is the fruit of Nike’s collaboration with Pendleton Woolen Mills.

The Nike N7 Blanket is part of the new Nike N7 Holiday 2013 Collection. A portion of the proceeds from its sales will benefit the American Indian College Fund, the nation’s largest private provider of scholarships for American Indian students.

Nike N7 Pendleton blanket (Courtesy Nike)

When sketching out the initial artwork for the blanket, Nike N7 Collection Designer Derek Roberts looked to traditional Native American dress for inspiration, specifically how patterns work together to create a garment. He started at the bottom of the blanket, with a smaller pattern of arrows that repeats and grows in scale towards the center and is a mirror-image pattern from top to bottom.   Roberts also took visual inspiration from Nike Flyknit, with the PWM Nike N7 Blanket’s woven wool fabric mixing to create unique color tones and shapes. Adding a unique twist to the traditional Pendleton Woolen Mills blanket designs that often feature a multitude of colors, Roberts made the decision to use only black and white.

“The goal with the artwork for the Nike N7 Pendleton Woolen Mills (PWM) Blanket was to bridge the gap between heritage-based, traditional style and current trends in a way that would inspire the entire Nike N7 Holiday 2013 collection,” Roberts told Indian Country Today Media Network.

The center of the blanket design prominently features the Nike N7 mark—three arrows pointing back to signify past generations, three arrows pointing forward to signify future generations, and arrows in the center to represent the current generation. The arrows sometimes appearing as triangles or other shapes, convey both movement and balance.   The blanket is reversible for a positive/negative visual effect, with a black base on one side and white on the other, and includes the iconic blue Pendleton Woolen Mills badge with black and cream Nike N7 label. Soft wool is featured on the white side.

The PMW Nike N7 Blanket retails for $298 USD, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the American Indian College Fund, which has been “Educating the Mind and Spirit” of Native people for nearly 25 years, providing an average of 6,000 scholarships annually. The College Fund also supports the nation’s 34 accredited tribal colleges and universities located on or near Indian reservations.

Four other styles in the Nike N7 Holiday 2013 Collection were inspired by the Nike N7 Pendleton Woolen Mills blanket artwork.

The PWM N7 Graphic Tee (Courtesy Nike)

The PWM N7 Windrunner Jacket – Elements from the blanket design inspire the decorative sleeves on the iconic Nike Windrunner Jacket for a neutral yet strong and modern look that is rooted in traditional values. Embroidery stitching is featured on the sleeves and the N7 logo is both inside the jacket and on the chest. The jacket also features reflectivity for visibility. Suggested Retail Price: copy00 USD.

The PWM N7 Graphic Tee – On the men’s and women’s Nike N7 Graphic Tee, the scale of the blanket pattern is exaggerated and placed on the shoulder of the men’s and waist of the women’s tee for a dynamic and distinct look. The white-on-black graphic is comprised of small lines that relate back to the actual fibers of the blanket to create a fade effect. Both tees also include decorative stitching. Suggested Retail Price: $34 USD.

  The PWM N7 Air Force 1 High & PWM N7 Roshe Run – For the men’s Nike N7 Air Force One and women’s Nike N7 Roshe Run, a lighter wool fabric was created by Pendleton Woolen Mills that features a representation of the pattern on the bottom of the blanket. The neutral patterned fabric creates contrast with the solid black upper of both styles. Suggested Retail Price for the PWM N7 Air Force I High: copy35 USD. Suggested Retail Price for the PWM N7 Roshe Run: $85 USD.   The Nike PWM N7 Blanket is available at Nike.com and Pendleton-USA.com.

The PWM N7 Windrunner Jacket, PWM N7 Air Force 1 High and PWM N7 Roshe Run, as well as additional styles from the Nike N7 Holiday 2013 Collection, will be available beginning October 26 at Nike.com, Nike and Foot Locker locations across the United States and Canada. Mercer will also feature the Nike N7 Pendleton Woolen Mill fabric for a limited time as part of its bespoke offerings.

The Nike N7 collection of apparel and footwear supports the N7 Fund and its mission to inspire and enable two million Native American and Aboriginal youth in North American to participate in sport and physical activity. The N7 Collection highlights the N7 philosophy—In every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations—and also embodies Nike’s Considered Design ethos to create performance product engineered for superior athletic performance and lower environmental impact.

Since the Nike N7 collection launched in 2009, more than $2 million has been raised for Native American and Aboriginal youth sport programs through the N7 Fund. Nike N7 and the N7 Fund are aligned with Designed to Move, a growing community of public, private and civil sector organizations (including Nike) dedicated to ending the growing epidemic of physical inactivity. For Nike N7 Collection retail locations and for more information about Nike N7, visit NikeN7.com, or follow Nike N7 on Facebook and @NikeN7.

Pendleton is recognized worldwide as a symbol of American heritage, authenticity and craftsmanship. With six generation of family ownership since 1863, the company celebrates 150 years of weaving fabric in the Pacific Northwest in 2013. Inspired by its heritage, the company designs and produces apparel for men and women, blankets, home décor and gifts. Pendleton is available through select retailers in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia; Pendleton stores; company catalogs and direct-to-consumer channels including the Pendleton website, http://www.pendleton-usa.com.

Halloween Fun at Tulalip Hibulb Cultural Center, October 27

A fun-filled afternoon of storytelling, film and crafts at the Tulalip Hibulb Cultural Center on Sunday, October 27, 1-3PM. $2.00 discount for anyone in a Halloween costume!

Red Wind Casino Plans $45 Million Expansion

Construction Starts Next Month; Completion Set for December 2014

52686534e0156.image — Expanded casino
An artist’s drawing shows what the Red Wind Casino will look like once a $45 million expansion project is completed. Work is set to begin in November on the project, which will add 42,700 square feet of floor space to the casino, including a non-smoking section. The project will be completed in December 2014.

October 23, 2013 Nisqually Valley News

By Nomee Landis nlandis@yelmonline.com

OLYMPIA, WA – A $45 million expansion of the Nisqually Red Wind Casino will bring 70 new jobs to the area and will continue to fuel a significant economic expansion that has occurred within the Nisqually Indian Tribe in the last year, said Cynthia Iyall, chair of the Nisqually Tribal Council.

Construction is set to begin on the casino expansion project next month and will be completed by December 2014. In all, 42,700 square feet of gaming space will be added to the current 95,000-square-foot structure. A remodeling of the parking structure will add 600 spots. The expanded space will include a smoke-free casino.

Only about 1 percent of the roughly 400 employees at the casino are members of the Nisqually Tribe, Iyall said. Many of the tribe’s 766 members are employed in tribal government positions; there are about 300 such positions.

“We rely on the surrounding community for employment, and it seems to be a good partnership,” Iyall said.

The remodeled and expanded casino will carry on with a natural elements theme begun with the construction of the Tribal Center. That building’s roof is curved to

reflect the back of a fish and the flowing Nisqually River. The old tribal building behind it is being remodeled with a pitched roof, which is reflective of a mountain, Iyall said. The upgraded casino building will incorporate grass-like elements because the Nisqually Tribe’s historic name, Schally-Absch, means people of the river and people of the grass country, Iyall said.

The original casino, which was built in 1997, is the tribe’s economic engine, Iyall said, and revenues from that business have allowed the tribe to expand its economic presence in the region. Four new tribal businesses have opened within the past year alone. The tribe has a new construction company called Nisqually Federal WHH Construction.

The tribe opened a seafood processing plant, called She-nah-num Seafood, in Tumwater about six months ago. Tribal fishermen sell their catch to the plant, which processes it and prepares it for retail sale. Then the seafood is purchased by casinos, buffets and fine-dining restaurants up and down the coast.

The tribe has also opened two convenience stores, the Nisqually Market in Lakewood and the Nisqually Market Express in the Nisqually Valley near Interstate 5. Both of those have opened within the past year, Iyall said.

“We utilize our gaming as a springboard to get into other types of businesses for the tribe,” Iyall said. “It is the engine of our economic development. With a portion of these funds, we have been able to diversify our economy on and off the reservation, strengthening our sovereignty and building the tribe for the future.”

The money generated from those jobs brings security into tribal homes, Iyall said. There are just so many positives from the casino operation, she added, and the expansion will help spur future economic growth.

The casino earnings will also help fuel an upgrade of the convenience store on the reservation, the Rez-Mart. That project will begin soon and will add products and services, including perhaps a post office and office space, Iyall said.

In addition to these projects, the tribe is also extending its wastewater treatment system and is building a public safety complex, according to a statement provided by Iyall.

“The Nisqually Tribe is investing in the future,” Iyall said in that statement. “The tribal council wants to provide long-term opportunities for our members and their families — opportunities for good jobs, good health care, good homes and good education. We especially want to provide quality care for our elders.”

The tribe contributes more than $1 million each year from casino revenues to charitable and nonprofit organizations and local governments that extend the benefits of the operation into the surrounding communities, according to the statement. The current casino boasts three restaurants, 975 video lottery terminals and an assortment of gaming tables.

The tribe’s Medicine Creek Enterprise Corp. manages the casino. That corporation is chaired by John Simmons.

“We’re proud of the casino’s success,” Simmons said in the statement, “and we welcome the opportunity to keep growing, to keep generating income and to benefit our members.”

Korsmo Construction will be the general contractor for the expansion, according to a statement. That is the same company that built the new Tribal Center across the street from the casino. KMB Designs is the architect for the project.

HiJinx Carnival treats grade school kids to Halloween fun Oct. 26

Karen Whitehead helps her son Bryson don his Wolverine costume at the Oct. 22 'Give a Costume, Take a Costume' exchange in preparation for the Oct. 26 HiJinx Carnival.— image credit: Kirk Boxleitner — Karen Whitehead helps her son Bryson don his Wolverine costume at the Oct. 22 ‘Give a Costume, Take a Costume’ exchange in preparation for the Oct. 26 HiJinx Carnival.
— image credit: Kirk Boxleitner

Kirk Boxleitner, Arlington Times Reporter

LAKEWOOD — The Lakewood School District doesn’t want their grade school kids to be left out of the seasonal fun on the weekend before Halloween, which is why Lakewood Elementary, English Crossing Elementary and Cougar Creek Elementary have come together again to stage the annual HiJinx Carnival from 6-8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, in the gymnasium of Lakewood High School.

David Campbell, president of the English Crossing Elementary PTA, explained that local PTAs put on this fall carnival for all the families in the Lakewood School District and the surrounding community.

“Our main focus is to provide the students of our schools the chance to come together, in a spirit of friendship and community, in a safe environment for kids,” Campbell said. “Since we encourage each of the kids to come in costume, we’ve arranged for a few local family photographers to capture this moment. The Lakewood High School Drama Department has also agreed to give us a great time of spooky stories throughout the night.”

These new features will complement familiar favorites such as games, bouncy houses, raffles and a cake walk, all of which are administered by PTA members and volunteers to whom Campbell expressed his appreciation.

“HiJinx is a great carnival that is completely volunteer-run,” Campbell said. “While the PTA is a main sponsor of the event, we recruit local individuals, businesses and other groups to help out with the event, and we always encourage groups and clubs from the high school and middle school to come by and pitch in. The football team, the cheerleaders, Drama and Honor Society, just to name a few, help run our games, paint faces and generally support the elementary school kids.”

According to Campbell, a yearly average of 30 adult volunteers are required to set up and tear down the staging for the event, but the majority of volunteers come from high school groups.

“These students really fill each of the booths and help the younger students have a great time,” Campbell said.

This year, Lakewood Elementary PTA President Julane Urie suggested a costume exchange, which took place at her school on Tuesday, Oct. 22, and marked the first “Give a Costume, Take a Costume” event for the Lakewood School District.

“It was a huge success,” Campbell said. “Anyone with school-age kids probably has a few boxes of costumes from years past that are still in great condition, but are too small for their own kids to wear another year. For many families, these costumes are worn only once, then put into storage, so this was a great way for everyone to get the chance to try a different costume without spending any cash at all.”

Especially in light of the country’s ongoing economic troubles, Campbell acknowledged that a number of families in the Lakewood School District might not otherwise be able to furnish their children with Halloween costumes.

“We really hope that this gave them a chance to step forward and enjoy this lasting memory,” Campbell said.

Looking to the HiJinx Carnival itself, Campbell reiterated that the invitation to this event extends beyond the boundaries of the Lakewood School District, to all grade school-aged kids. “This event isn’t about school politics, PTA grants or sports boosters, but rather, it’s just about clean safe fun for all families,” Campbell said. “In recent times, trick-or-treating has caused anxiety attacks for parents, when they think about sending their kids out door-to-door, so we strive to create a safe place for parents and kids to come and enjoy this holiday.”

Although the fall can often turn into a mad dash between various school sports and extracurricular activities, Campbell hopes the community will take the time to treat themselves to one of the largest volunteer-run events presented by local PTAs throughout the year.

“Halloween is a holiday that parents and students should try and fit into their busy schedules,” Campbell said. “By encouraging appropriate costumes for all of our families, we hope to allow parents and their children a chance to enjoy this event and celebrate the season.”

Lakewood High School is located at 17023 11th Ave. NE in Arlington.

Cabela’sTulalip Spooktacular, Oct 26

Cabela’s halloween

Cabela’s Tulalip will host a “spooktacular” for kids and adults from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, with trick or treating in each department of the store. Then take a stroll through the haunted aquarium, try a shot in the 3D Pumpkin Archery Range, decorate yourself with ghostly camo face paint, sample some terrifyingly delicious Dutch oven treats and hunt for the elusive, hairy Sasquatch. Try your hand (1-15 years of age) at the Sasquatch calling contest at 1 p.m. for a chance to win prizes.

For more information, call 360-474-4880.

New hotel to be paired with Angel of the Winds Casino

October 23, 2013

By Sharon Salyer, Everett Herald writer

ARLINGTON — The Angel of the Winds Casino, which drew more than 1 million visitors last year, has announced plans to add a $20 million, 125-room hotel.

Construction is scheduled to last 14 months. “I would like to see a grand opening maybe on New Year’s Eve of 2014,” said Travis O’Neil, the casino’s general manager, on Wednesday.

The casino, which opened in 2004, is one of the last along the I-5 corridor to add a hotel, he said.

The five-story hotel will make the casino a destination rather than just a day-trip site, he said. “It’s something the guests have been asking for for quite a while.”

The project also will add more than 100,000 square feet onto the casino and include a new gift shop, smoke shop and drive-up entryway.

Bellingham-based Exxel Pacific has been selected as the project’s general contractor.

Plans for the hotel have been under consideration for the past 18 months, O’Neil said. Casino staff went to members of the Stillaguamish Tribe to see “what we could do and what we could afford,” he said.

The hotel doesn’t aim to be a copy of the five-star, 370-room Tulalip Resort Casino, O’Neil said. Instead, he said, it will fit the character of the casino, known by its advertising tagline, “The World’s Friendliest Casino.”

Room prices will be in the $100- to $120-a-night range with plans to offer promotional packages with discounts on those rates, O’Neil said.

Groundbreaking for the project is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday. Workers erected a fence around the construction site on Monday.

That has greatly reduced the parking on the south side of the casino, but parking on its north side hasn’t been affected. Shuttles are available to help people navigate the area, O’Neil said.

The casino is expected to hire an additional 50 employees to work at the hotel.

“We are truly blessed to have an opportunity to add a hotel to our facility and provide more services to our guests,” Shawn Yanity, chairman of the Stillaguamish Tribe, said in a statement. “Not only are we growing our tribal economy, but growing the local economy too by increasing job opportunities and tourism.”

The last major expansion at the casino, at 3438 Stoluckquamish Lane, was in 2008, a $44 million project that tripled the size of its gaming area.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.