In this update, you’ll learn more about The Spokesman-Review Christmas Bureau, a Salvation Army-Fred Meyer toy drive, the Bing Crosby Holiday Film Festival and West Central Abbey’s fifth birthday.
News Story by Tracy Simmons | FāVS News
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the FāVS fundraiser this fall! The goal was to raise $8,000 to pay FāVS reporters and although we fell a bit short, we did raise almost $6,000. That money supports local journalism and we’re grateful! FāVS reporters are already busy working on stories.
Christmas Bureau Opens
Today, The Spokesman-Review Christmas Bureau opens. Hundreds of volunteers have been organizing donations, putting together toys, installing batteries and sorting books and pajamas. The toy team lead said in the Spokesman that things are more organized than previous years.
There will be performances including a returning dueling pianist and the Pacific Islanders Association. As of Wednesday, donations stood at $138,964, with a $600,000 goal. It includes quotes from several volunteers conveying optimism about the bureau’s readiness to serve the community this holiday season.
It will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 7, 8, 9, 12 and 14; and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Dec. 11 and 13 at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center, 404 N. Havana St. More details, including how to donate, can be found online.
Salvation Army Toy Drive
On Friday the Salvation Army will hold a toy drive from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at both Fred Meyer stores in Spokane and the one in Spokane Valley.
Shoppers can stop by any one of these three stores, purchase a new gift for a local vulnerable individual (newborn to age 18) and bring it back unwrapped to The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree bin.
Bing Crosby Holiday Film Festival
In more holiday news, the Bing Crosby Holiday Film Festival will take place Saturday starting at 10 a.m. The annual festival has been on a two-year hiatus since COVID. The theater will screen popular Crosby films, including the star’s perennial favorite, “White Christmas.” The event will also stage live entertainment featuring “Big Bing Theory” (live local a cappella group), and the “Zonky Jazz Band.”
West Central Abbey Turns Five
This month West Central Abbey turned five years old and celebrated with cupcakes and a funk band. In a newsletter to the church the Rev. Katy Shedlock said, “If the pandemic taught me anything, it’s that every time we gather it is a miracle by virtue of its singularity: we will never gather in exactly the same way twice. But I’ve also been in ministry long enough to know that not every Sunday feels like a miracle.”
FāVS wrote a feature on the church when it changed its name to “abbey” in 2020.
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